Hasmikh Dilanyan
Public Radio of Armenia
The Public Service Council of Armenia is preparing a pilot project “Excellence in Public Sector” aimed at expanding the administrative capacities through the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) tool and improving the quality of public services.
The Action is carried out by a partnership formed of 7 countries situated in the Black Sea Basin: The Municipality of Paggaion (Greece) – the applicant, Regional Agency for Cooperation and Development (Bulgaria), Sile Municipality (Turkey), Agigea Commune (Romania), Ciocana District Office (Republic of Moldova), Association of the Graduates of the Academy of Public Administration affiliated to the President’s Office of the Republic of Moldova (Republic of Moldova), Civil Service of the Republic of Armenia (Republic of Armenia), Agency for Cross Border Cooperation Euroregion “Lower Danube” (Ukraine).
The kick-off meeting for the “Excellence in Public Sector” grant programme implemented in the framework of the “Black Sea Basin 2007-2013” joint operational programme under the EU ENPI (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument) cross-border cooperation was held on July 18-19, in Kavala, Paggaio (Greece). The meeting was organized by the beneficiary, the Paggaio Municipality, with the participation of the representatives from the respective organizations from Greece, Armenia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a result of the co-operation among the EU Ministers responsible for Public Administration. It is an easy-to-use, free tool to assist public-sector organizations across Europe in using quality management techniques to improve their performance.
According to Ruzanna Khachatryan, acting head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Public Service Council, the major partner is Greece represented by the Paggaio Municipality.
The goal of the kick-off meeting in Greece was the detailed discussion of the issues related to actions, organizational procedures and funding for the first semester with the participants.
During the meeting the Steering Committee was confirmed and its actions were specified. The representatives of the participating organizations made their presentations on the activity of their organizations. Some issues related to the schedule were also clarified, among which: publication of the brochures, first promotion campaign, training of the trainers.
The project with the total length of 18 months is implemented through co-financing. The European Union covers 90 percent of the cost – €38,160 – through its European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (EU ENPI). Every partner country finances 10% of the project. “The 10%, which makes €4,240, is paid from the state budget,” Ruzanna Khachatryan said.
In September 2013 two or three representatives from each participating country traveled to Greece for the training of trainers. The participants were given certificates of CAF trainers. The Civil Service Council is preparing a program of training of another 5-6 trainers, and the whole team will start implementing the pilot programme, which will last until May 2014.
“We’ll conduct self-assessment to see how it works. We’ll present a report and then apply it in other government agencies, if necessary. This method allows to perform a truly fair self-assessment to reveal the weak sides of the organizations and find effective solutions,” Ruzanna Khachatryan said.
Further information about the project is available at http://excellence-bsb.eu.
The participants of the programme will come together in Romania in December 2013 to discuss the plans for the next six months.
