EXPERIENCE OF EASTERN PARTNERSHIP COUNTRIES AND EU MEMBER STATES ON COOPERATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY: THE BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNT (CASE OF ARMENIA) VACHE KALASHYAN RA CIVIL SERVICE COUNCIL, MEMBER PhD in Public Administration, YSU Associate professor KYIV, UKRAINE 30 JUNE -1 JULY, 2016

SOME CONCEPTUAL REMARKS Feedback Infrastructure  Awareness  Involvement  Influence

MECHANISMS

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK  Under the RA Law on Civil Service, participation of public organizations in recruitment & attestation processes for civil servants as observers is provided  By the RA Law on Public Service, CSO councils have been established in all public authorities  By the decree of the President of Armenia, the Civil Council had been established in 2012

COOPERATION BETWEEN RA CSC AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS  2 November MoU signed between RA Civil Service Council and Union of Armenian Government Employees, NGO  MoU determines the scope of cooperation with the civil society to initiate monitoring within civil service  26 November 2008 – Trainings conducted by Union of Armenian Government Employees, NGO, jointly with RA Civil Service Council, with the support of OSCE Office in Yerevan. As a result, civil service competition and attestation procedures were improved, corruption risks reduced, the level of knowledge and skills of commission members related to communication, conflict of interest, assets declaration and ethics rules was improved

COOPERATION BETWEEN RA CSC AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS  2010–short-termtrainingcourses implemented forcivil bycivil developed organizations, and withinthescopeof “Integrity servants society inPublic Service System” module  Such trainings promote the development of non-formal education on the one hand, and on the other hand provide grounds for the formation of Life Long Learning in the Republic of Armenia

COOPERATION BETWEEN RA CSC AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS  SinceNovember2014,questionnairesdevelopedfor andleadingcompetitiontestsforcivilservicechief positions modernized and improved.  Based on MoU signed between RA Civil Service Council, Union of Armenian State Employees and Yerevan State University, trainings targeted at developing anti- corruption skills have been conducted and are still being conducted for civil servants employed in the RA public bodies

Association Agreement Implementation  2009 – a tripartite MoU on Cooperation signed between RA Ministry of Economy, RA Civil Service Council and British Council  It was targeted at conducting training courses for public officials involved in European integration process, within the framework of “European Union: cooperation and skills” program, implemented by British Council, Armenia, through the support of RA Government  The training courses were aimed at developing the skills of public officials, exchange of experiences, as well as efficient implementation of European Neighbourhood Policy, EaP in the Republic of Armenia

Association Agreement Implementation  A needs assessment research has been conducted prior to the implementation of the program, wherein participated representatives of 27 Ministries and public bodies  The course covered topics on communication and negotiation skills, public relations (PR), and program management skills, on introducing European institutions and terminology

Association Agreement Implementation  Since September 2007 and over 2008, with the support of OSCE Office in Yerevan, research studies were carried out for civil servants in charge of PR, as well as for those responsable for mediain police, defence and national security bodies.  Studies were targeted at the institutionalization of training program on freedom of information  The key objective was to assess the knowledge on freedom of information principles, as well as to assess the state of play on the implementation of Freedom of Information legislation of those responsible for media in public bodies

Association AgreementImplementation  jointly with “Freedom of Information Centre” NGO, the RA CSC implemented a “Training Course on Freedom of Information for Civil Servants in Charge of Public Relations” program  Theprogramwastargetedatensuringenhanced accessibilityofinformationinArmeniaandincreasing thetransparencyandaccountabilityofRApublic administrationbodies information throughopenaccessto

Why public management reform? (OECD report entitled Government of the Future (2000))   Governments need to keep up with society in terms of responsiveness and better, faster and more services.  Trust in government needs to be re-established.  Government’s role is changing under new pressures including the loss of the government monopoly, greater competition, the opening-up of societies and international structures.

CHALLENGES  During decision-making, the Local authorities should turn the public engagement from imitated activities into real ones.  a/ Results of monitoring by civil society organizations should be released in managerial decisions;  b/ Expert resources of the civil society organizations/Community inhabitancies/ should be involved in decision drafting process rather than just provided with ready drafts;

CHALLENGES  c/ Community inhabitancies should also be involved /with casting vote/ in structures directly responsible for public services on local level;  d/ Relevant services in the areas where civil society have obviously advanced professional abilities should be delegated to them.

POST SCRIPTUM There are no perfect systems, but any system is viable in case it possesses inner potential to seek perfection.

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