Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 14th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview IX. Working Group on Integrity in Public Governance Author(s) Aive Pevkur Ministry of Finance of Estonia Tallinn Estonia Title Ethical values in Estonian public service organisations File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract Development of Estonian public service ethics has been not very consistent during the period since the PS was founded in 1991. Ethics was not one of the first priorities in that time. While the norms and values required by European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour and in EU and OECD documents are recognized in new member states, there is a question as to whether and to what extent these values are recognized among public servants in Estonia. The Estonian Public Service Code of Ethics has been put forward as a collection of values, which express the Public Service ethos. At the same time Estonian PS Code of Ethics recognises the basic public sector values, which are commonly accepted in most European countries. However the code is widely perceived as a basis for administrative punishment, and most Estonian public servants consider the Code as imposed by Parliament (Riigikogu) and almost like a law (appendix to Public Service Act), rather than as an expression of the public service ethos. It is necessary to explain this situation by comparing the required ‘core values’ and actual values in Estonian PS carried by public servants. To find out the actual core values in today's public service, the Estonian State Chancellery, which has responsibility for development and coordination of PSE, initiated a values survey, to identify accepted values and expectations for preventive measures. In addition, it was decided to develop a methodology to enable such surveys to be conducted regularly. The pilot phase will end in October 2005. The current Survey is dedicated to mapping espoused values and problem-issues, and is conducted in two parts. The first part consists of 10 group interviews covering various levels of officials including Secretaries-General: second, it is hoped to have responses to internet-based questionnaires from 1000 respondents. The Survey will be completed in the end of January 2006. The paper will introduce the results of the survey discuss some general conclusions, including possibilities for the survey outcomes to affect the development of the Public Sector Ethics policy and practice in Estonia.
