We are managing a project funded by the FCO's GLobal Opportunity Fund through the British Embassy in Bulgaria to support the Bulgarian Ministry of State Administration and Administrative Reform (MSAAR) in effective and efficient implementation of public administration reform both at central and local level.
- Strengthening the administrative capacity of the Bulgarian Administrative regulation team to propose initiatives for improving the regulatory environment in Bulgaria for fewer administrative burdens on businesses
- Supporting the e-Government Directorate of MSAAR, acting as a “technical engine” to the Managing Authority of OPAC in development of the project pipeline, connected with the priority axis III “Administrative service delivery and development of e-government” and definition of technical description of the projects
- Creating a new model for a performance related pay scheme for the Bulgarian administration
- Supporting MSAAR in the process of standardisation and integration of the administrative services provided by all administration levels
- Improving efficiency and effectiveness of the MSAAR Inspectorate experts in the implementation of their duties and coordination in their work
- Supporting MSAAR in the review of the OPAC, elaboration of its project pipeline, with a specific focus on the Human Resources Development Priority Axis of the Programme
By bringing external expertise mainly from the UK government, the project will support the Bulgarian government’s efforts in six particular.
This strand will meet the need of strengthening the administrative capacity of the Bulgarian Administrative regulation team to propose initiatives to improve the regulatory environment in Bulgaria for fewer administrative burdens on businesses. The following activities are envisaged under the project:
- Workshop for presenting the UK Better Regulation model. The presentations made during the workshop are:
- Standard Cost Model base or other similar model experience presented
- Recommendations on the Better regulation Programme implementation
- Conference on Better Regulation
Besides finalising the content of the Programme, a serious challenge will be preparation of the Operational Programme project pipeline, connected with the priority axis III “Administrative service delivery and development of e-government”. The proper definition and planning, selection of achievable goals, development of a timetable etc. are of great importance for the success of the projects in this priority. The following activities are envisaged under the project:IT planning projects under OPAC priority axis III "Administrative service delivery and development of e-government" drafted
- Technical description assistance, timetable, etc. of projects from priority axis III provided
- Experts from e- Government Directorate and OPAC Managing Authority familiarized with UK good regional practices in e-government project portfolio management, e-services delivery and Structural Funds management
- Transfer of know-how, expertise and experience in e-services implementation and increased capacity of the e-Government Directorate
– Performance related pay system in the state administration
The project will develop a draft model for a performance related payment as part of the HR management policy in public administration, propose changes in the existing legislation and elaborate relevant curriculum and training materials.
Within the framework of this strand, Paul Gibbons and Lyubomir Stefanov carried out a review of the existing payment scheme in Bulgaria state administration. See the report here- in Bulgarian.
In order to study the current best practice in making additional payments to civil servants in Britain with particular reference to bonus schemest, Paul Gibbons visited the H.M. Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The report on the visits to UK ministries was presented to Directors of HR Directorates within the Bulgarian cental administration. See the report here - in Bulgarian.
and proposal for their standardisation
The project will support the Bulgarian government in improving the quality of administrative services through ensuring better communication between administrations, further integration and standardisation of administrative service delivery and creation of preconditions for e-government. This would strengthen the confidence of the citizens and business in the state administration. By involving UK expertise we expect to achieve the following:
- Shared best practices in the administrative service delivery. In order to achieve this, there were a number of visits to the MSAAR by the UK experts Glyn Evans, Service Birmingham and Ian Paterson, Birmingham City Council. Further to that, a workshop on Standardisation of Administrative Services was organised on 12 - 13 Dec. where the following presentations were made:
- Thorough analysis on Bulgarian administrative services quality and Action Plan with proposed steps for further improvement
- List of administrative services offered by regional and local administration offices in a standard way
- List of recommendations for improving the quality of the administrative services and for standardisation of the administrative services
of MSAAR “Inspectorate for the State Administration”
The UK positive experience in the field of administrative control, and more specifically in the field of control over public structures and state administration, would be used for improving the transparency and accountability of the Inspectorate’s activity. Optimisation of activities and enhancing capacity of the Inspectorate in the fields of control and management check over civil service legislation and preventing and combating corruption cases are among the expected outcomes from this strand. Good practices from the UK, Italy and Portugal were presented in a workshop, organised under this strand by:
- Maria Antonia Pereira, Portugal:
- Presentation by Marco Muser, Italy - in Bulgarian
- Presentation by David Blackburn, UK - in Bulgarian
As Managing Authority of OPAC, the MSAAR will need assistance in finalizing the content of the Programme in the light of the comments made by the European Commission during the negotiation process. The preparation of the Operational Programme project pipeline is also a challenge that is linked to the fast and successful start of the Programme implementation. Among all the Priority Axes of OPAC, Priority Axis II “Human Resources Development” is the biggest and will have major impact on the civil servants’ competences. The project will help in setting-up of an achievable, creative and timely project pipeline, reviewing OPAC content and enhancing MSAAR expertise in management and implementation of OPAC.
- Bulgaria’s capacity to implement PAR effectively enhanced and the professionalism of public administration improved
- Bulgarian government capacity of ensuring the sustainability of PAR strengthened
- Mutually beneficial relationships between public administration governmental bodies (central and local) from Bulgaria and the UK established and/or enhanced
- MSAAR know-how and expertise in the six areas addressed by the project through tapping UK expertise and consultancy enriched
- Bulgaria better positioned to demonstrate to the European Commission and other relevant European authorities its progress in tackling the current shortcomings in public administration in the following EC monitoring period
- MSAAR capacity to use effectively European Structural Funds for further improving public administration performance enhanced
- Administrative services incl. e-services available to citizens and businesses in a standard way allowing easy access to these services for all citizens and businesses throughout the country
| 
