Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 14th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview VII. Working Group on Capacity Building of Civil Servants... Author(s) Polya Katsamunska University of National and World Economy Sofia Bulgaria Title Improving administrative capacity of the Bulgarian public servants through training File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract The focus of paper analysis is the concept of administrative competence and the study reveals the strategic role of training for improving the level of public servants’ competence in Bulgaria. Alongside with the introduction of modern public service in Bulgaria, the Bulgaria administration is to meet the challenges of the future EU membership and the requirements for efficient cooperation with the European institutions and administrations of the member states. The adopted Strategy for modernization of the administration – from Accession to Integration 2003-2006 laid the foundation of building system of managing human resources, based on clear criteria and procedures in the state administration and of professional development. The research of foreign experience shows that in Europe and USA the concept of administrative competence of public servants is considered as an integral part of the whole policy for reforming public administration and improving the administrative capacity. The factors that impose the introduction of the concept of administrative competence in the Bulgarian administrative system are discussed. They are groped into two categories: the current administrative practice in Bulgaria and the normative prerequisites. The object of analysis is the level of competence of public servants holding managerial positions in the Bulgarian administration. Currently, public servants’ competence is evaluated in six main areas, which are broadly and not precisely defined to cover contemporary requirements and criteria for administrative competence. The review of new publications and the data gathered from of the recent researches reveal the set of minimal administrative knowledge, skills, abilities, personal and business traits that managerial public servants must possess to perform effectively and efficiently their functions. Based on the author’s research it is presented in the paper the detailed analysis of the most critical knowledges and skills for professional competence of managerial public servants in the Bulgarian central administration. On the other hand, the study of the educational structure of the administrative employees reveals that there is a strong need for professional skills development and qualification of managerial employees in the administration in order to adopt the modern models of organization and administrative functions according to the best practices in the EU member states. It requires a continuous training of public servants to develop appropriate capacity, new administrative culture and professional ethics. To improve civil servants' knowledge and skills for the purpose of developing the capacity of the public service in Bulgaria a Strategy for training of the public administration employees was adopted. The Bulgarian model includes two distinct trends of training - training for professional and career development. The role of the Institute for Public Administration and European Integration in the field of training and qualifying the public servants is analyzed. The training programs and seminars are grouped into two categories (mandatory training for experts and newly appointed specialists and specialized training in different fields) and the difference between them is explained. The study is based on an extensive review of documents and reports regulating the administrative reform in Bulgaria. In addition, the analysis and conclusions are based on findings from personal observations and interviews with governmental officials and civil servants from different levels of state administration.
