Amman, Sept. 7 (Petra) -- Minister of State for Public Sector Development Badria Al Balbisi on Monday reviewed the mechanism for assessing institutional culture at the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV), as part of the second phase of a project to assess institutional culture in the public sector.

The visit was part of a project being implemented by the Service and Public Administration Commission (SPAC) in cooperation with the Public Sector Modernization Program Management and Implementation Unit. The second phase targets the diagnosis of institutional culture and behavior in 24 government entities in order to identify gaps between existing practices and the desired culture and develop interventions tailored to the needs of each institution.

Al Balbisi met with JRTV Board Chairman Ghaith Al-Tarawneh, Director-General Muhannad Safadi, and a number of the corporation's department directors in the presence of Secretary-General of the Ministry of Government Communication Zaid Al-Nawaisa.

She said the Public Sector Modernization Roadmap had established a dedicated component for institutional culture given the importance of changing day-to-day behavior within public institutions in ways that improve the quality of services provided to citizens.

The government aims, through the initiatives and values incorporated into institutional culture, to change the reality of day-to-day behavior within public institutions and improve individual and institutional performance, ensuring that these values and initiatives do not remain merely on paper, she said.

Al Balbisi said the government was preparing to launch institutional culture values in the coming period and would circulate them to all ministries and government institutions for implementation over three months, followed by an assessment of the extent to which they had been applied.

She said the methodology underpinning the institutional culture assessment project was not based on ranking institutions according to which they performed best, but rather on improvement and development and highlighting challenges that need to be addressed, ultimately improving performance and the services provided to citizens.

Al Balbisi reiterated that one of the outcomes of the second executive program for public sector modernization was to make citizens the focus of attention. This outcome does not concern service providers alone, she said, but also those responsible for drafting legislation and plans, so that all efforts are geared towards serving citizens and simplifying the procedures provided to them.

She called on senior management at public institutions to attach greater importance to institutional culture in order to send a clear message to employees about the need to strengthen institutional culture, improve performance, and pursue development in the service of citizens.

Safadi, for his part, stressed the importance of the institutional culture assessment project in strengthening the corporation's work environment and developing institutional practices and behavior in line with modernization and development requirements.

He said the corporation was keen to benefit from the assessment's findings to improve performance and strengthen teamwork in ways that would enhance the quality of its media mission and services provided to citizens.

SPAC Secretary-General Yasser Al-Nsour said the importance of assessing institutional culture at JRTV stemmed from the national role it performs. Improving performance is not limited to procedures and systems, he said, but also extends to the culture, behavior, and daily practices within the institution.

The assessment aims to diagnose the current state of institutional culture, build on positive practices, and identify opportunities for improvement and development, thereby strengthening the work environment and enhancing institutional performance, he said.

It would also contribute to achieving the objectives of public sector modernization and providing media services that meet citizens' expectations, Al-Nsour added.

//Petra// AF