The capacity and resilience of the public administration in EU Member States is crucial for social fairness, the implementation of Union policies, budget and funds, including the effective implementation of the reforms and investments of the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRP). ​

Public administrations are also critical in the crisis-preparedness of the EU and its cyber-security. However, public administrations face several challenges to ensure both service delivery to its stakeholders (“business as usual” delivery), but also to prepare for the challenges of the future and adapt to the foreseeable megatrends.

This proposed flagship initiative aims at helping the Member States to design and implement structural reforms to prepare resilient public administration for the future. ​

The flagship will support public administrations to enhance their capacity to: ​

1. Deliver services to citizens corresponding to increased and diversified needs;​
2. Adapt to the megatrends of the future including rapid technological change, need to respond to complex policy decisions requiring specialised expertise; ​
3. Ensure preparedness for future crisis management. ​

EU Member States may choose for technical support under the following [non-exhaustive] list of measures:

Component 1 – Attractiveness of the public administration as an employer with the view to hiring and retaining talented professionals

1. Strategies for effective human resource management, including attracting and recruiting professionals, with a special focus on graduates and young people.
2. Strategies for talent retaining in the public sector. Retention of current (more specialised) civil servants (flexibility in career development, attractiveness of public sector beyond remuneration, incentive-based policies, values, etc.) and methods to measure the effectiveness of any policy/strategy chosen.
3. Rebranding through communication and awareness activities of the public administration as an employer offering career opportunities, flexibility, serving of public interest, values etc.
4. Implementation of the above strategies.

Component 2 – Enhanced skills and capabilities for the public administration of the future

1. Analysis of existing competencies and skills in the public sector, and their use across the job profiles.
2. Strategic work-force planning for the public sector (identification of skills required for policy makers, managerial/leadership skills, digital skills, skills for embedding strategic foresight into policy-making, law drafting of digital ready legislation, service delivery, etc.), with a focus on skills for the future for the implementation of large-scale reforms, notably those linked to the RRPs and the digital and green transitions.
3. Identification of training needs based on the skills required for the future and the public administration in the digital era.
4. Review of existing opportunities for upskilling and reskilling of civil servants.
5. Design of new training programmes and career development opportunities for civil servants.

Component 3 – Review of structure and processes for strategic foresight, evidence-informed policymaking

1. Mapping public administrations’ business process, existing capacity for assessing the megatrends of the future through strategic foresight, including lessons learnt from national and regional recommendations.
2. Assessment and recommendations to improve public administrations’ capacity to design, monitor and evaluate public policies aiming at embedding strategic foresight and evidence-informed policymaking:
   • Instructional mechanisms and practices that enable the use of evidence
   • Developing the interaction between public administration and knowledge producing organisation
   • Developing capacity for use of science in policymaking
   • Developing capacity for foresight
   • Tools and strategies for improving access to research for policy makers

Component 4 – Support to the development of crisis preparedness capabilities and cyber-security

1. Mapping of public administrations’ preparedness, in particular in the context of the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive. The objective is to increase the resilience of critical infrastructure and promote cyber-security in the EU Member States. Support will include the mapping of public administrations’ business process and assessment of Member States’ level of preparedness for crisis management
   • Lessons learnt from national and regional recommendations;
   • Mapping critical infrastructures to make them more resilient;
   • Assessment of cyber-security;
   • Data management and sharing systems for crises;
   • Crisis management and coordination mechanisms.
2. Support to the development of coordinated action plans and their implementation, in particular in the area of cyber-security.

Template

REFORM-B2ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (REFORM-B2[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)