In this interview, Baiba Petersone describes various tasks ministries assigned the Policy Coordination Department, particularly the civil service reforms she led. In her first few years in the new department, the main task was to survey Latvia’s policy-making system. From this survey, Petersone explains the department knew its first task was to create a policy system. They developed a process based on several types of documents, each with a different purpose. The department also created an annotation system to include information such as the costs of a proposal. The next step was to implement an inter-ministerial consultation system. Petersone discusses how the department chose its priorities and the sequence of its reforms. Finally, she details the civil service reforms undertaken, which she was in charge of. Her working group proposed abolishing the contract system and reforming how the government sets civil servant salaries. She describes the options considered and how the economic crisis of 2008 affected their ability to implement their changes.

 

Case Study:  Moving Beyond Central Planning: Crafting a Modern Policy Management System, Latvia, 2000-2006