Jammu, May 9: Finally waking-up to achieve tangible results of the initiatives or programmes, which get lost in the labyrinth of administrative inertia following the transfers of those who conceptualise them, the J&K government has decided to establish “Excellence Groups” in all its departments to maintain “continuity of thought.”
These “Excellence Groups” will facilitate exchange of ideas and concepts among Administrative Secretaries and other senior officers, who have held the charge of the department or office in the past besides present incumbents of these departments or offices.
The objective is to ensure “materializing of fruitful ideas or initiatives” and also to “promote value-addition in the governance structure, converting an idea into a tangible outcome.”
The decision has been taken in the wake of common observation that consequent upon transfers of Administrative Secretaries and senior officers from various departments, the departmental priorities get re-aligned and hence initiatives conceptualized or initiated by the outgoing Secretary or a senior officer, which may not get materialized during their tenure, sometimes remain unattended, thereby not yielding the desired outcome visualized by the outgoing officer.
“Transfers in an administrative setup based on tenure system are a routine affair, necessitated many a time, either by administrative exigencies or government priorities and interests. These transfers however, should not break continuity and flow of set organizational goals and priorities. Continuity of ideas and best practices is a key ingredient of administration and so is knowledge-sharing and a robust feedback mechanism, especially involving those who have prior experience of working in a particular department,” stated Commissioner Secretary General Administration Department Sanjeev Verma.
“Recognizing the significance of such ideas or initiatives (which may not get materialised following the transfers of those who would have conceptualised them) and therefore to ensure continuity of thought, it has been decided to establish “Excellence Groups” under the concerned Administrative Secretaries in all departments of the government of Jammu and Kashmir for facilitating exchange of ideas and concepts among Administrative Secretaries and other senior officers, who have held the charge of the department or office in the past and the present incumbents of these departments or offices,” Verma said in a circular.
He asserted that this would not only ensure materializing of fruitful ideas or initiatives, but would also foster value-addition in the governance structure, converting an idea into a tangible outcome.
“It is accordingly enjoined upon all Administrative Secretaries and Heads of Departments to establish these Excellence Groups and make them vibrant by organizing discussions, while inviting senior officers, who have previously worked in these departments or offices. This would foster knowledge-sharing and continuity of thought and this kind of forum for argumentation would be an aid to achieve tangible results of the initiatives or programmes conceived from time to time. These discussions should be instituted as an embedded feature of the overall working of the departments,” Verma directed.