In this interview, Sigrid Arzt Colunga explains the role of the Technical Secretary of the National Security Council in Mexico. She discusses the administrative coordination necessary to serve national and public security needs in Mexico. Just as the Calderon administration is coming into power, she describes the political diplomacy and cooperation she uses to transition into her newly created role as the President’s security adviser. She also details the process of communicating with and reporting to the President and Congress, as well as coordinating efforts with other ministers and technical secretaries. Arzt says one of the challenges of the job is that the legal mandate detailing the power of the position is vague, and because it is a new position, others in the bureaucracy and older agencies do not immediately accept her authority. Arzt also explains the mission and vision behind the National Security Plan, and describes some of her responsibilities, like allocating budget appropriations, working with the governors to secure states, and coordinating agenda items for the President’s meetings with senior administrators. 

Momo Rogers describes his work as Director General of Liberia’s Cabinet Secretariat. He traces the changes he made to improve the cabinet’s processes and his office’s relationships with the ministers. Staff from the African Governance Initiative (AGI) helped throughout the work he describes. His first order of business for the new ministry was shortening cabinet meetings. He implemented processes such as including indicative timing in the meeting’s agenda, producing a manual for cabinet ministers, and improving communication with the cabinet, and he details each change in this interview. By providing two to five page summaries of the lengthy policy documents, Rogers says he helped the cabinet ministers be more prepared for their meetings, make their work more efficient. As he explains, he improved the communication between the Cabinet Secretariat and the ministers by utilizing email and text messaging as well as by establishing personal relationships. He describes the trust and positive working relationships he set up, and how these contribute to his working and the cabinet’s overall functioning. For the future of the Cabinet Secretariat, Rogers hopes in addition to maintain their role as a facilitator, his office can be more involved in policy planning, particularly the early stages. In describing his own work, he talks about fostering a positive, productive relationship between the president and the cabinet and between the president and him, which he says improves as he becomes more familiar with those with whom he works.     

Case Study: Improving Decision Making at the Center of Government: Liberia's Cabinet Secretariat, 2009-2012