03/2021

On June 22nd CAF experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland met for an online exchange for the first time. The aim is to strengthen the CAF (Common Assessment Framework - www.caf-centre.eu) in German-speaking countries and to learn from the experiences of "others".

It has been shown that the CAF makes an important contribution to the further development of public administrations in the direction of good governance in all three countries. Together, the foundations for a future certification system for excellent public administrations (label Effective CAF User) have been developed.

The German National Regulatory Control Council - the advisory body of the German federal government, which also deals with questions of public administration reform - recommends audits with the CAF (Common Assessment Framework) in order to make the state and administration fit for future after Covid19.

Thomas Prorok, Deputy Managing Director of KDZ: "I am particularly proud that the work of the CAF Centre of KDZ - Centre for Public Administration Research is recognized by the report.

Read the German report here.
More on CAF: www.caf-centre.eu.

KDZ has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Egypt CAF-Centre. A first result of the cooperation is the contribution “CAF in municipalities” of Philip Parzer and Thomas Prorok to the new book „Excellence in selecting leaders and institutions assessment”.

Read more here.

WeBER’s Western Balkan PAR Monitor provides high valuable insights on the status quo of Public Administration Reform in the Western Balkan countries. The view of civil society and civil society organisations on the governance, effects and reform of public administration is of the highest importance for the future development and the EU-accession of the countries.

"Congratulations to the WeBER team and the partner contributing to the PAR Monitor", states Thomas Prorok, who is a member of WeBER Advisory Board.

Read the WeBER Western Balkan PAR Monitor here.

KDZ organised with Foster Europe the Workshop "Local authorities in the Western Balkan and their vision of a future Europe".

Some key findings of the conference:

• The future of Europe has to be created together with the Western Balkans.
• Governance, Transparency and Collaboration with Civil Society will play a key role.
• Local Governments as the one responsible for local economic development and public services have to be involved in the EU-accession negotiations.
• Citizen and Civil Society Involvement needs more support.

Missed the conference? You can watch the recording here.

The report covers Bregenz, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna and measures the complexity and cost of regulatory processes, as well as the strength of legal institutions that affect SMEs in Austria concerning starting a business, construction permits, getting electricity, registering property and enforcing contracts through a local court.

The report recommends beside others to set the base for mutual exchange between these cities on tested good practices that other cities can adopt.

However, "exchange shall not only be provided horizontal between the cities but also vertically with the federal and regional level since they set the legal frameworks", added Alexandra Schantl from KDZ in the aftermath discussion.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Under the BACID fund, 29 projects have been implemented and funded. The activities are now online and can be accessed via the BACID website.

BACID is co-funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and implemented by the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns and KDZ-Centre for Public Administration Research.

At the end of May, the CSPF member cities met and dealt with the topics "𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 (𝗦𝗗𝗚 𝟳)" 𝗮𝗻𝗱 "𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀´ 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀".

These were the main "Take-Aways":

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework vs (Financial) Management frameworks  
2. Equality vs Financing Schemes 
3. Local vs National-International, for example: The contrast between city limits and the systemic nature of environmental issues
4. Engineers vs CFOs 
5. Public vs Private, for example: Adapting/designing municipal projects to mobilize international capital, designing these to provide returns and justify investment to stakeholders from the outset
6. Investments vs Operation: The economic and social value of new (green) infrastructure beyond its initial investment, i.e. its operating costs and maintenance over the long-term.

Read more about CSPF on www.cspf.eu.