Online consultation on the draft revised Principles of Public Administration

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Have your say on the draft revised Principles of Public Administration Send your comments in English until 6 February 2023

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Introduction

The Principles of Public Administration were prepared by SIGMA and launched in 2014 as an instrument of the EU Enlargement policy, designed as a comprehensive policy framework for the candidate countries and potential candidates and soft acquis in the area of public administration reform (considered as one of the fundamentals of the Enlargement process). They encapsulate values and expected behaviours of public administrations based on existing EU and OECD standards and good practices of the member states, referencing the main standards adopted by both organisations, and other international standard-setting bodies. In 2017 the Principles were updated, a separate version was developed for the European Neighbourhood countries, and soon after that the Principles were complemented with a sound Methodological Framework, setting the corresponding performance indicators and detailed guidance. 

The Principles and the Methodological Framework together constitute a framework that (a) helps partner administrations design and implement public administration reforms, (b) enables objective monitoring and assessment of progress and state of play and (c) provides guidelines for SIGMA and technical assistance projects when supporting the governments in their work on public administration reform.  

They are important for both the OECD and the EU. They contribute significantly to disseminating the OECD standards of good governance in the SIGMA partner countries and at the same time serve as a tool of the EU Enlargement Policy.

After nine years of assisting partner administrations in implementing the Principles, and having conducted several rounds of full or partial monitoring assessments, SIGMA has accumulated a lot of lessons learned, and also learned that the realities of 2014 are getting outdated in some areas (e.g. digital government, green, open data, open government and EU integration). Both EU legislation and OECD legal instruments have evolved considerably. After close consultations with the European Commission (DG NEAR, DG REFORM and other relevant DGs ) and with other OECD directorates, SIGMA has updated the framework. The revision has been based on the following points:

• have one set of Principles for Enlargement and Neighbourhood partners instead of two as is the case currently,
• update to ensure policy coherence with EU, OECD and other international standards,
• simplify the language and improve the structure,
• do not revolutionise, keep it recognisable as partner administrations have already adopted this framework
• strengthen focus on emerging trends, especially digital.

Another significant update of the Principles of Public Administration is the inclusion of multi-level governance as an explicit focus. Two Principles have been added (number 16 and 33) to provide guidance in this area.

Purpose of consultation and targeted stakeholders

The revised set of Principles will be ready approximately a decade after they were launched. SIGMA is approaching the process of revision carefully and in an inclusive way, keeping good elements, historical data (as far as possible), and the “spirit” of the original, but making the necessary updates to reflect the policy realities and priorities of today.

The focus is exclusively on the 33 Principles and their sub-principles. The update of the measurement framework is still ongoing.

This consultation is held to ensure that the draft revised Principles of Public Administration benefits from the views and experiences of all relevant stakeholders. The consultation is open to stakeholders: business, trade associations, grassroots organisations, think tanks, research bodies, civil society organisations, international organisations, citizens, and of course the government officials in EU candidate countries and potential candidates who are SIGMA’s main interlocutors.

Process for the finalisation of the draft

The draft has already benefited from in-depth consultations within the OECD Secretariat and DG NEAR. Consultations were also completed with the Council of Europe on the new multi-level governance principles. Close dialogue with DG REFORM and other line DGs has been had to ensure alignment.

Comments from these consultations with external stakeholders will be incorporated into the final draft sent for approval at the OECD Public Governance Committee.

Guidance on providing feedback

Stakeholders interested in commenting on the draft revised Principles of Public Administration can send their written comments in English no later than 6 February 2023.

In their feedback, stakeholders are invited to answer the following questions:

• Does the draft revised Principles of Public Administration adequately reflect the policy priorities for modern public administrations.
• Are the Principles and sub-principles clear and useful for public officials to improve administrations?
• What changes, if any, would you recommend?

Comments should preferably be submitted in this form. All submissions should include the following information:

• Name and contact details.
• Position and organisation.
• Country or institution.
• Which Principles and sub-principles the comments address.

Specific re-formulations of Principles and sub-principles are welcome.

Comments submitted on behalf of another person or group of persons should identify all enterprises or individuals who are members of the collective group, or the person(s) on whose behalf the commentator(s) is/are acting.

Your rights

Input received will be considered public and may be published on the website, unless requested otherwise.

Any personal data provided as part of this consultation is protected consistent with the OECD Data Protection Rules. Please note, however, that your submission will be made public, as outlined above. Under the Rules, you have rights to access and rectify your personal data, as well as to object to its processing, request erasure, and obtain data portability in certain circumstances. To exercise these rights in connection with the consultation please contact sigmaweb@oecd.org.

If you have further queries or complaints related to the processing of your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer. If you need further assistance in resolving claims related to personal data protection you can contact the Data Protection Commissioner.