Conf/CfP - Dialogue and Cooperation with Civil Society for Better Public Administration Results, 13-14 March 2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Publish Date: Feb 14, 2017

Deadline: Feb 15, 2017

Event Dates: from Mar 13, 2017 12:00 to Mar 14, 2017 12:00

Background of the assignment

The general objective of the Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) project is to strengthen the overall capacities and accountability of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) beneficiaries; to guarantee the quality of services of CSOs; and to create a sustainable role of CSOs in the democratic and European integration processes. The main purposes of the project are to:

  • Increase and improve the capacity and actions of CSOs; and to
  • Improve the democratic role of CSOs.

In June 2016, in Pristina, TACSO organised a Regional Conference “Role of Civil Society in Public Administration Reform - EU Standards and Practice”1, which served as a forum to discuss public administration reform (PAR) with an emphasis on citizen engagement and exploring modalities to advance cross-sector collaboration. This event considered The Principles of Public Administration (SIGMA2/ OECD3) as well as the Guidelines for EU support to civil society in the enlargement countries for the period 2014-2020 as recently established frameworks for support to the development of Public Administration and Civil Society (CS) in the Western Balkans and Turkey (WBT). The conference brought together participants from civil society, European institutions and national authorities from the six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, 4Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia) and Turkey to discuss:

  • Standards and good practices of CSOs’ participation in PAR in the European Union (EU);
  • Experiences from the region;
  • Results of research on the current state of play in the region; and
  • Proposals for the improvement of CSOs’ involvement in PAR.

The event disclosed that several interventions, where CSOs are playing active and important roles in PAR have been going on for some time, either at the national levels in some of the WBT countries or across the region. One of the prominent CSOs active in the area of PAR is Transparency International BiH (TI BiH), who, together with the Center for Investigative Reporting, is implementing a project funded by the Swedish Embassy and Government of Denmark. TI BiH is the first civil society organisation in the region to have established a results-oriented monitoring and evaluation of public administration reform processes and throughout the year has several public events where findings related to PAR issues, PAR monitoring, and issues related to CSOs’ role in the PAR processes are discussed with all the relevant stakeholders.

According to the knowledge Transparency International BiH has gathered, public administration often does not recognize the role of civil society in the reform process or that role is underestimated as is the case in the WBT. Lack of dialogue and cross-sector cooperation in PAR often results in a poor understanding of the reform processes and its results. Despite these circumstances, the number of initiatives and mechanisms for civil society involvement in PAR has increased over the past few years. Those initiatives and mechanisms vary based on the conditions that prevail in each country, the policy processes, as well as the level of the country’s transparency, openness and readiness to involve civil society in PAR.

Moreover, openness and inclusiveness are often on test when it comes to dealing with different issues and challenges (lack of knowledge, human resources, Information Technology capacities, other resources, etc.). That is the reason why cooperation with civil society ranges from providing information through formal consultations to full cooperation by methods of co-production. However, most of the mechanisms for civil society involvement seem to be challenged in the process of implementation. Challenges remain at the level of political will and capacity to engage more with civil society. Considering this, genuine engagement requires a major shift in the culture and operations of the government, skilled public servants, and citizens willing and capable to contribute to the improvement of public administration.

Based on the assumption that the interest and capacity of civil society actors and organisations to contribute to the PAR agenda have increased, some steps towards the improvement of cooperation between public administration and civil society should be made in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Some initial steps have been undertaken, mainly upon the initiative of CSOs in various countries. In most cases, this is reflected through civil society’s involvement in the policy making and monitoring of reform implementation. This is why the establishment of a formal framework for regular and structured dialogue with civil society on PAR at the national and regional level is a priority to be addressed. Furthermore, there could be room for support to civil society’s engagement in PAR processes through the organisational development of CSOs to engage in PAR; through CSOs’ networking with an aim to strengthen their participation in PAR; as well as to support CSOs’ actions
relevant to PAR in the WBT.

Objectives and Focus

Cooperation with Civil Society for Better Public Administration Results, Dialogue and Considering the aforementioned, the overall objective of the Regional Conference, organised jointly by the TACSO Regional Office and Transparency International BiH, is to present and promote existing efforts of civil society in public administration reform processes throughout the WBT, as well as to facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge between CSOs and representatives of institutions on the crucial role CSOs have in the design, implementation and monitoring of public administration reform.

More specifically, it is hoped that, at the conference, the participants will have the opportunity to learn about the third PAR results-oriented monitoring developed by Transparency International BiH; to contribute to the debate and explore models and best practices in PAR; to suggest ideas on how to strengthen the role of civil society actors and organisations in the PAR agenda across the WBT; to foster partnership between the representatives of institutions and CSOs in the WBT; and to create and use existing platforms in effective ways that would ultimately enable public institutions to reach towards the knowledge and capacities of civil society in overcoming the obstacles that PAR faces.

Criteria for selection of applicants:

  •   Formally registered civil society organisation in one or more of the WBT countries (countries covered by TASCO)

  •   Have three years of experience in works related to PAR and/or Open Government Partnership (OGP)

  •   Member of a national or regional (WBT) network(s) that is contributing to PAR or OGP

  •   Strong command of the English languag

CSOs can nominate only one of their representatives to attend. Three CSO representatives will be selected from each TACSO country to participate in the conference.

Application procedure

Interested applicants are requested to complete the Application Form in English and send it to the e- mail address of the TACSO office in their country by February 15, 2017 with the subject heading: PAR Conference Participation.

TACSO Offices: 

  • TACSO Albania - info.al@tacso.org
  • TACSO Bosnia and Herzegovina - info.ba@tacso.org
  • TACSO Kosovo - info.ko@tacso.org
  • TACSO Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - info.mk@tacso.org
  • TACSO Montenegro - info.me@tacso.org
  • TACSO Serbia - info.rs@tacso.org
  • TACSO Turkey - info.tr@tacso.org

For selected participants, TACSO will cover the travel costs (including the costs of visas, if applicable), accommodation, meals and refreshments.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

For more information click "Further official information" below.


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://tacso.org/doc/opencall_final_PARparticipants_final.pdf

Similar Opportunities


Disciplines

International Relations

Political Sciences

Social Sciences

Eligible Countries

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Kosovo

Macedonia

Montenegro

Serbia

Turkey

Host Countries

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Conference Types

Call for Papers