SIGMA and ReSPA Public Administration Awards in the Western Balkan region – 2022 Edition

The winners of the PA Awards 2022 were announced at a ministerial event organised with ReSPA and held on 15 September 2022 in Skopje. Full details of the awards ceremony and winners are available on these dedicated pages.

The ministerial event addressed the theme of "Inspiring public sector transformation: public service custom-made to citizens and businesses". It assembled Ministers in charge of PAR good governance and digitalisation to discuss challenges and opportunities in the region. Video.

SIGMA and the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) initiated the Public Administration Awards to enhance governance initiatives and support the establishment of strong public governance systems in the Western Balkan region. The purpose of the ReSPA and SIGMA Public Administration Awards is to identify, promote, learn from and recognise inspiring practices, initiatives, services, and measures by governments in the Western Balkans.

This year, the PA Awards is recognising the provision of better public services to improve the lives of citizens in the Western Balkans. The Western Balkan governments have been tackling the challenges of the pandemic, including strengthening the capacities of governments and public administrations to cope with the wide-ranging socioeconomic consequences of such unprecedented challenges.

Achieving this aim requires innovative and long-term perspectives to provide better services for citizens. In addition to meeting citizens’ needs and increasing public sector efficiency through the adoption of new technologies and methods, governments need to be oriented towards the future and responsive to changing public needs and demands. To ensure that governments are more responsive and sensitive to societal changes, a forward-looking perspective must be embedded in public administration processes and service design. Therefore, a key task for the public sector in the Western Balkans will be to harness ongoing innovations to meet public demands for improved services.

This is why the PA Awards 2022 recognised efforts in three categories:

1. Digital transformation of the public sector and its services (e-governance, e-services, ICT technologies, cyber security, data management, and open data).

2. Quality management for improving public services (improving the quality of governance/institutions/public services).

3. Public administration for all (inclusive, effective and transparent governance).

Detailed information on applications, process and content is available on these dedicated pages.