The future of Western Balkan public administrations in focus at the ReSPA Conference

The key topics of the two-day conference are strategic workforce and succession planning, career mobility, continuous development to promote professional growth, and the identification of essential competencies required to navigate future challenges.

The participants were initially greeted by Franc Props, the Minister of Public Administration and co-host of the event. "People are the key to the success of any public administration, so it is essential to attract, retain and develop employees in order to meet constantly changing societal needs. Over the next two days, participants will have an excellent opportunity to share best practice, learn from one another and collaborate on ideas that will shape the future of human resource management in public administrations," Minister Props emphasised. In her opening address, ReSPA Director and co-host Maja Handjiska Trendafilova also emphasised the importance of strategic leadership, workforce planning, and future competencies in ensuring the sustainability and resilience of public administrations. "Public administrations are the vital backbone of effective governance. If we wish to modernise the public sector — and our societies with it — we need to invest in strategic leadership and develop competencies to make institutions future-ready,' said Handjiska Trendafilova.

During the first part of the meeting, the participants were also addressed by Peter Vagi from the OECD SIGMA programme (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and Jerneja Jug Jerše, Head of European Commission Representation in Slovenia. The opening session was concluded with a keynote address by Borut Pahor, former President of the Republic of Slovenia, who highlighted the great importance of cooperation and well-organised public administrations as one of the foundations of every society. 

The panel discussion was moderated by Peter Pogačar, the Director-General of the Public Sector Directorate at the Ministry of Public Administration. Participants included the Slovenian Minister of Public Administration; the ReSPA Director; Goran Minčev, the Minister of Public Administration of North Macedonia; Jelena Žarić Kovačević, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of Serbia; Naim Gjokaj, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro; and Bardhyl Dobra, the Kosovo Deputy Minister responsible for public administration. During the discussion, the participants delved into the critical aspects of steering change within the public sector. In this context, Slovenian Minister Franc Props highlighted the current reform of the public sector pay system as a good example. "This is the first thorough reform of the pay system in 15 years, which in itself reflects the complexity and significance of the reform. Our goal is to establish a fairer, more transparent and flexible pay system that primarily ensures appropriate remuneration for public employees based on their work performance and responsibilities, while taking into account the specifics of individual professional groups," he explained.

The afternoon began with a bilateral meeting between Slovenian Minister of Public Administration Franc Props and North Macedonian Minister of Public Administration Goran Minčev. They exchanged information on reforming public sector employment and pay systems, and set out the way forward for further bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

ReSPA is an international organisation dedicated to strengthening regional cooperation, promoting shared learning, and supporting the development of public administration in the Western Balkans. Its purpose is to help regional governments develop better public administration and services, and improve their overall governance systems for the benefit of their citizens and businesses, while also preparing for European Union membership.

As the conference continues (English-language page), presentations by the OECD and the public administrations of Greece, the Netherlands, and Italy will provide further opportunities for the exchange of good practices in this field.