Working Group IV calls for papers addressing issues with regard to Public Administration Reform (PAR) in CEE and CIS countries. In this respect, reform is defined as being any restructuring of the administrative part of the organisations of the public sector. The focus of this WG is based on investigations concerning formation and administrative organisations and institutions, the development and restructuring of intergovernmental relations, and organisational learning concerning (inter)governmental co-operation within the framework of EU integration, European Neighbourhood Policy, as well as external and regional co-operation with the states in Central Asia.

The conclusions of the WG IV meetings in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 also included the fact that in order to build a more in-depth theory on PAR, we need more information about what is actually going on at the local, regional and national levels.
Therefore, we primarily seek papers which are based on:

a) monitoring the actual reforms in Public Administration (as defined above), and

b) where the investigation was conducted using the comparative method.

The papers should address questions such as, but not limited to: what kinds of reforms take place in public administration in the countries of CEE and Central Asia? What are the plans with regard to PAR in these regions? What kind of policies directed towards reform are actually implemented and with what results? How are these results being measured? A selection of these papers will be used for a special issue of the NISPAcee journal.

Second, papers will be accepted with regard to

· Theoretical overviews on PAR.

· Interesting case studies in PAR in CEE countries.

· Interesting case studies in PAR in CIS countries.

· Longitudinal research in Public administrative reform in CEE and/or CIS.

· The impact of the common legacy of CEE and CIS countries on PAR.

A selection of these papers will be considered for the proceedings of the conference.