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HOW TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SECTOR: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE DGME

By 15 February 2019April 10th, 2024Events, Managerial innovation
François-Daniel Migeon
Director General of State Modernization, Ministry of Budget, Public Accounts and State Reform
&
François Dupuy
Academic Director of CEDEP (European Center for Permanent Education associated with INSEAD) and sociologist

François-Daniel Migeon shared with us his conviction that the transformation of the public sector is not only possible but also underway.

François Dupuynous reminds us that a real transformation of an organization must affect its very operating principles, and that this is a challenge that is all the stronger in the public sector since the rules are firmly established there.

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rançois-Daniel Migeon confirmed this to us: we no longer ask ourselves the question “Can we transform the administration?” “But” How to transform the administration? “. This move to action was made possible by the impetus given by the leaders of the French State, in particular through the project of General Reform of Public Policies and the creation of the General Directorate of Modernization of the State. Leadership, the embodiment of change by people who have an influence on the behavior and actions of people – as he himself defines it – is indeed François-Daniel Migeon’s method for transforming administration. Indeed, in a moving structure, rules and processes can no longer be references or supports,change must be embodied.

For François Dupuy, “leadership” is a notion which, under the guise of empowering employees, all too often indicates an inability of management to set up an effective organization to control them. In addition, for there to be leadership, there must be free will, and this is what the public sector prohibits, with its universal rules and inflexible processes. Thus, a real transformation will only be possible if we tackle the way in which the administration operates, and first of all, the general statute of the public service.

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François-Daniel Migeon, to be pragmatic, used the methods of the private sector: dematerialization, pooling, … and in particular Lean Management, which appears to be well suited for the public sector. Indeed, its logic, which wants the solutions to come from the field and that the elimination of waste is not an end in itself but a condition for improving the service affects the vocation of public service of the personnel, who also appreciate the trust that we give it. Thus, for François-Daniel Migeon, the transformation is already well underway.

For François Dupuy “change does not happen when it is necessary, but when it is possible”, and all the conditions are not always met.