WeBER 3.0 continues to promote the crucial role of CSOs in PAR, while also advocating for broader citizen engagement in this process and inclusive reform measures which are user-tailored and thus lead to tangible improvements.

By grounding actions in robust monitoring data and insights, WeBER 3.0 will empower civil society to more effectively influence the design and implementation of PAR. To foster collaborative policymaking and bridge the gap between aspirations and actionable solutions, the project will facilitate sustainable policy dialogue between governments and CSOs through the WeBER Platform and its National PAR Working Groups. Finally, through small grants for local CSOs, WeBER 3.0 bolsters local-level PAR engagement, amplifying
the voices of citizens – the final beneficiaries of the public administrations’ work.

WeBER 3.0 products and further information about them are available on the
project’s website at www.par-monitor.org

Članak Western Balkan PAR Monitor: PUBLIC SERVICE AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 2024/2025 se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Public administration reform (PAR), as an integral part of the first cluster, is one of the fundamental conditions on the way to the EU membership. In the Western Balkans region, this reform has been assessed for years through the lenses of the SIGMA Principles of Public Administration, developed by OECD/SIGMA and endorsed by the EU.

These Principles define what makes a well-functioning administration in terms of its ability to deliver transparent, efficient and effective services to citizens and to support socio-economic development. In the context of high external pressure for tangible developments in PAR, homegrown demand for better administration becomes even more important to keep pressuring the government to pursue reforms once the external conditionality dissipates as a result of a completed EU accession process. Civil society actors, with local knowledge of the administration’s functioning, can lead such domestic advocacy efforts aimed at better administration. Independent PAR monitoring and evidence-based dialogue with the government represent a good approach to achieving this goal.

Based on such a rationale, the WeBER project has completed the third PAR monitoring cycle for 2021/2022. The structured, evidence-based approach, as in the previous two monitoring cycles, particularly focuses on PAR aspects with the highest relevance to civil society and to the public. WeBER PAR monitoring strongly relies on the strengths, skills, and local knowledge of the civil society in the Western Balkans. It builds on SIGMA’s Principles of Public Administration as a cornerstone of PAR, while assessing them from the standpoint of an independently produced PAR Monitor methodology. Overall, the methodology, slightly revised using the lessons learned in the first monitoring cycle, is based on the selection of 22 SIGMA principles within six key PAR areas, monitored and reported through 23 compound indicators.

The third monitoring cycle also represents the last edition of the PAR Monitor in accordance with the existing framework of the SIGMA Principles from 2014, modified in 2017, since the process of revision of the Principles is ongoing. Therefore, the next, fourth monitoring cycle will be based on the modified PAR Monitor methodology, aligned with the new SIGMA framework, given that it represents the basis of the WeBER approach to PAR monitoring in the Western Balkans region. The design of all WeBER indicators enables comparisons between the administrations in the Western Balkans and allows for regional comparability of results.

In addition to the methodology, the PAR Monitor package comprises a comparative monitoring report for the entire WB region as well as six reports which elaborate on detailed findings for each administration. This report provides the results of the third monitoring cycle for Serbia, including a set of actionable recommendations.

Članak National PAR Monitor 2021/2022 se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The PAR Monitor 2021/2022 is the result of monitoring work performed during 2022 by the Think for Europe Network, and it represents a compilation report of all the key findings for the entire Western Balkan region in six areas of PAR defined by the SIGMA Principles of Public Administration. Furthermore, as the third systematic PAR monitoring in the region by civil society, this report offers benchmarking between WB administrations and comparison with the baseline 2017/2018, and 2019/2020 monitoring cycles.

PAR Monitor reports are based on a comprehensive methodological framework designed by the WeBER research team, combining quantitative and qualitative evidence sources. With the EU-SIGMA Principles as the building blocks of monitoring work, PAR Monitor reports complement the same type of work of the SIGMA/OECD and the European Commission and offer citizen and civil society perspectives on these Principles. Together with this comparative regional report, the PAR Monitor package consists of six national reports, each including findings on the 23 compound indicators to monitor a selection of SIGMA Principles.In

line with the WeBER mission, these monitoring exercises are driven by the necessity to strengthen domestic, bottom-up pressure for PAR from the civil society in the region, especially from the view of keeping demand for this reform ongoing in the event of loosening of the EU’s conditionality in PAR domain eventually. All findings from this report, PAR Monitor 2019/2020, and the baseline PAR Monitor 2017/2018 can be accessed and compared via the Regional PAR Scoreboard.

Članak Western Balkan PAR Monitor 2021/2022 se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The state administration has been reforming for almost two decades, since 2004. With the adoption of the new strategic framework in 2021, it seems that the reform has gained a new momentum, with a greater orientation towards citizens and the economy.1 Not stopping at such a generally defined goal, the Public Administration Reform (PAR) Strategy offers an even more specific commitment towards the administration as a customer centre, that provides user-oriented services that are reasonably priced, while taking care of minority and vulnerable groups.

Despite such a far-reaching goal, the available data indicate that there is still a lack of sensibility of the administration for the needs of the citizens, especially for the vulnerable and endangered. Also, the data points to the uneven accessibility of jobs positions in the state administration – an aspect that the PAR Strategy does not deal with. If all citizens do not get the opportunity to access services, information and public facilities, not only the success of the PAR is put into question, but also the existence of an inclusive society and the exercise of human rights. Likewise, enabling persons belonging to vulnerable groups to get a job in the civil service, i.e., state administration bodies, should be one of the ways in which the reform can contribute to greater accessibility of the administration to everyone, within the broader social aspirations to reduce discrimination and respect different social needs.

Numerous international obligations and regulations of the Republic of Serbia require equal access and treatment of all persons who perform business with public authorities. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Serbia is a signatory, unequivocally stipulates that states provide equal access to institutions and services intended for the public, that is, promote the possibility of employment, including in the public sector.4 Also, according to the current legislation in Serbia, everyone has the right to equal access and equal protection of rights before courts and public authorities, and any discriminatory behaviour by a public official in a public authority is prohibited.5 In addition, employers in the public sector are obligated to provide equal employment opportunities for employment regardless of sex, gender and family status, while paying due attention to the equality of vulnerable social groups. It is particularly important to emphasise that discrimination against persons with disabilities before a public authority is considered to be administrative conduct that prevents or hinders the realisation of rights, as well as that discrimination regarding the availability of services and access to facilities in public use is prohibited.

Although PAR in Serbia is not only a long-term, but also a continuous development process that needs to be constantly adapted to new circumstances, it cannot yet be said that, as a result of this reform, we are closer to the aforementioned normative principles or dispositions, at least when it comes to the accessibility of state administration. This brief presents some of the problems with access to services, facilities, and jobs of the state administration, based on data from the WeBER PAR Monitor 2021/2022, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, and other relevant sources.

Članak State administration in Serbia: A thorny road to equal opportunities and access for all se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), public consultations are one of the crucial regulatory tools used to improve the transparency and effectiveness of regulations and policy documents.

Being part of the wider public administration reform (PAR), policymaking reforms in Serbia entail improvements in implementing consultations with stakeholders, and public debates on policy documents and legislation (hereinafter: public consultations), throughout the drafting process. By consulting the target groups throughout, the effects of the proposed solutions are assessed, and the costs minimized, which makes public consultations one of the most valuable tools in the preparation of draft policy documents and legislation. Moreover, involvement positively impacts sustainability of policies and ensure their responsiveness to real needs of the society.

However, public consultations are still insufficiently widespread in policymaking in Serbia, and when they are conducted, it is often pro forma, without ensuring the quality of the process. As a result, policies are often not adapted to the citizens’ needs, and their implementation degree is low. This further contributes to the reduced citizens’ trust in institutions, resistance to policy implementation, and ultimately, makes policies unsustainable.

Članak Public consultations and policymaking in Serbia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

It should be said that public administration reform (PAR) has been a strategic commitment of the Serbian Government. Similar to the previous one, the new PAR Strategy 2021-2030 aims to improve transparency and accountability at all levels. At the same time, tangible progress in this reform is one of the prerequisites for the successful European integration of Serbia. The issues of transparency of work and results are elaborated in detail in the Principles of Public Administration of the SIGMA programme, which serve as a guide for this reform in the EU accession process.

However, despite the dual importance of government transparency, the findings of the WeBER PAR Monitor show, for the second time, that there is still much room for improvement in this field, as public reporting practices are irregular, unpredictable, and almost completely unsuitable for meaningful public oversight of the results of both the Government and the state administration bodies.

Članak (Non)transparency as a mirror of (ir)responsibility se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.