Leadership for Managing Reforms

We support people, teams, and institutions to envision, design, and implement policy reforms. That is why we offer learning events that stimulate public officials’ personal capabilities and growth combined with content related to their expertise. We mostly focus on interaction and communication capacities, problem-solving, networking, digital skills, policy cycles, and management. We support teams in public administration in organizing their work based on trust and values and explore modalities for joint problem-solving that work best for them, bringing in innovation and a spirit of joint achievements. We also help public institutions to advance as knowledge-centered, resilient, and innovative organizations. In turn, we expect public institutions to strengthen their intra- and inter-institutional coordination as well as leadership skills centered around the effort to bring new thinking to designing reforms that support green, smart, and fair economic growth.

Topic lead

Polona Sirnik

Officer, Leadership and Learning Ecosystems

polona.sirnik(at)cef-see.org

2023 Highlights

In 2023 we will continue to support the mechanisms for the coordinated and participatory Economic Reform Programme (ERP) process that is a part of the FISR2 project - Structural Reforms Better Integrated Within Fiscal Frameworks. This entails systematically addressing the challenges in the coordination process. We will be addressing improved coordination through strengthening capacities such as: team work and action planning; collaborative problem-solving; communication and writing; negotiation techniques; digitalization of the ERP; building on personal strengths and leadership capacities. In terms of the format of our activities we also introduced coaching for the ERP coordinators and an approach to team-planning that is entirely participatory based and aims to address the coordination process of the ERP with early involvement of all stakeholders, and iterative cycles of co-creation.

Related events

Collaborative Approach to Impact Assessment 2 - North Macedonia

Online Course: May 8 – September 29, 2023

WeLead: Online Learning Methodologies and Tools

Online Course: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024

WeLead: Grow Your Skills to Promote Change

Are you a young leader in the public sector tasked with promoting change under tough expectations and large uncertainty about the future? We carefully picked two transversal competencies – building rapport and harvesting deep conversations through the art of hosting; and two iterative and foresight methods – foresight and scenario visioning, and problem-driven adaptation – that can help you be more successful.

Online Course: September 4, 2023 – September 3, 2024

WeLearn: Participative Governance and Listening at a Bigger Scale

Workshop: September 25 – 27, 2023

How to Make a Good ERP

Online Course: September 25, 2023 – August 31, 2024

Managerial Accountability (I/II): The Role of Internal Audit and Central Harmonization Units

Webinar: September 26, 2023

Writing Policy Notes: Making Ideas Clear and Concise

Workshop: September 26 – 28, 2023

WeExperience: Intra-regional study visit in Tirana, Albania

Study Visit: September 27 – 30, 2023

Change Management and Decision Making

Workshop: October 11 – 13, 2023

Role of Communication in Reform Processes

Online Course: October 17 – 27, 2023

How CRM Processes Impact Tax Morale

Workshop: October 17 – 19, 2023

CEF Supports Collaboration to Boost Gender Equality Efforts

We recently hosted a study visit from North Macedonia, welcoming representatives from the State Audit Office (SAO) and the Secretariat for European Affairs, along with the North Macedonia branch of the UN Women office. They held meetings with experts from Slovenia and the CEF, to discuss possibilities for advancing greater gender equality.

Enhancing Public Administration and Financial Management in Montenegro

In close cooperation with the Montenegrin Ministry of Public Administration and Ministry of Finance, we are delighted to announce the start of the EU-funded project “Support to Coordination, Monitoring and Reporting on Public Administration Reform Strategy and Public Financial Management Reform Programme 2022-2026”. The objective of this project is to improve citizens’ quality of life and economic growth by creating a well-functioning, digital, and accessible public administration.

Exciting Learning Opportunities Are Set to Begin Shortly

With the arrival of autumn, we invite you to embrace this season as an opportunity for fresh starts and the pursuit of learning and sharing knowledge. We will continue offering online and in-classroom learning opportunities across four thematic priorities we have specified for our work: public financial management, central banking, leadership for managing reforms, and learning and knowledge ecosystems.

Clear Communication: The Key to Unlocking the Value of Internal Audit Activities

Elena Colesnic from the Ministry of Finance of Moldova joined us at the recent workshop during which we explored strategies auditors can use to enhance their communication skills and foster stronger relationships with key stakeholders while delivering high-quality audit reports. We are happy to share her thoughts on why she found this learning event meaningful, motivational, and inspiring.

A Day in the Life of ERP Coordinators

The Economic Reform Programme (ERP) serves as a vital document in the economic dialogue between the EC and candidates and potential candidates. It has been prepared annually since 2014 and plays a crucial role in coordinating the participation of future members in the EU's economic policy. In order to step in the shoes of those who directly work with the ERP, we had a conversation with the three members of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) ERP Coordination team: Amina Mulabdić, Expert Associate at the Directorate for Economic Planning (DEP), Maja Perić, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Srpska, and Naida Damadzić, Statistics Analyst at the Development Programming Institute of the Federation of BiH.

Initiating a New ERP Cycle: Advancing Structural Reforms in Western Balkans and Türkiye

The Western Balkans and Türkiye are embarking on a new 2024-2026 ERP cycle, and significant progress has been made in the past month. The CEF team has been collaborating with officials from the Western Balkans and Türkiye to initiate the start of this cycle. Workshops were held in Zrenjanin, Jahorina, Tirana, Skopje, Ankara, and Prizren, as part of the EU-funded multi-beneficiary project called "Structural Reforms Better Integrated Within Fiscal Frameworks" (FISR2), which is implemented by the CEF.

Young Leaders of the Western Balkans Gather for the Opening Event of the "WeLead” Project

The “WeLead: EU Scheme for Young Professionals in the Western Balkans” (WeLead) project, a four-year initiative funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the CEF, was officially launched today at a high-profile opening event in Ljubljana. The project is intended to contribute to good neighborly relations and the advancement of the EU integration process of the Western Balkans through improved regional cooperation of young people.

CEF Director Joins CIPFA's Annual Conference Public Finance Live

CEF Director Jana Repanšek joined the panelists at the CIPFA’s annual conference, Public Finance Live, and discussed how the current political and economic landscape is challenging the governance systems and can limit the effectiveness of capacity development work in the public sector. Here are some extracts from Ms. Repanšek's presentation about the opportunities and challenges South East Europe (SEE) will be facing in the coming years.

CEF Governing Board Met in Tirana to Review Achievements, Discuss Future Plans, and Promote Learning for Stronger Public Institutions

Members of the CEF Governing Board convened in Tirana on June 22, 2023, for the annual meeting. The meeting was hosted by Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, who has chaired the CEF Governing Board over the past year. During the meeting, the Governing Board reviewed and confirmed the CEF`s business and financial report for 2022. They also discussed the governance and program outline for 2024-2025. Governor Sejko handed over the rotating chairing of the CEF Governing Board to Octavian Armașu, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova.

Interview with the CEF Governing Board Chair Governor Gent Sejko

As Albania prepares to hand over the chairing of the CEF Governing Board to Moldova, we were happy to talk to Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, about the strong partnership between the Bank of Albania and the CEF. Governor Sejko expressed his high satisfaction with the long-standing collaboration between the two institutions, which has flourished over the course of two decades. He praised the tailored learning and knowledge sharing programs offered by the CEF, which have played a vital role in the professional capacity development of Albanian experts. Looking ahead, Governor Sejko expressed his confidence in the continued strengthening of the partnership between Albania and the CEF.

Launch of the LearnOrgLab Project: Supporting the National Bank of Moldova Become a Learning Organization

The National Bank of Moldova (NBM) and CEF have successfully launched the NBM LearnOrgLab project, aiming to transform the NBM into a learning organization over the course of three years. This project will focus on developing the individual, team, and institutional capacities of the NBM staff. The NBM leadership has acknowledged the significance of investing in the development of their employees' leadership and learning skills. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and developing the capacity of its staff, the NBM aims to enhance its potential for success and make significant progress towards achieving its strategic objectives.

People Are Telephones to Each Other

Mr. Česlavs Gržibovskis from the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Latvia participated in the online course “Digital communication for public officials” where he acknowledged that people are telephones to each other. His story about people being telephones to each other began when he was in Ljubljana at the beginning of the 2000s and continued in April 2023 during this online course – again in Ljubljana but this time virtually. Together with other course participants, he “contacted” the great artist Dali virtually and received a digital Dali painting depicting growth and economic development.

My Journey to Discovering the Power of Learning Organizations

Jonida Qira from the Albanian General Directorate of Taxation shares her thoughts on why she found the recent workshop “Transforming Public Institutions into Learning Organizations” meaningful, motivational, and inspiring. The event was delivered as part of the EU-funded multi-beneficiary project “Structural Reforms Better Integrated Within Fiscal Frameworks” (FISR2).

Key Takeaways from CEF's Learning Event on Structural Reforms and Importance of Engagement

Ms. Evelina Visoçi from the Albanian State Agency of Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination (SASPAC ) joined us at the learning event where participants received an overview of institution/sector-specific qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods for the design of structural reforms and integration of controls that can facilitate the implementation. We are happy to share some of Ms. Visoçi’s personal learning takeaways from the event that was delivered as part of the EU-funded multi-beneficiary project “Structural Reforms Better Integrated Within Fiscal Frameworks” (FISR2).