Place: 26th NISPAcee Annual Conference, Iasi, Romania
Date:  May 24-26, 2018

Chair:
Zorana Gajic, ReSPA (Regional School of Public Administration), Danilovgrad, Montenegro

Presenters - ReSPA Governing Board members:
Selma Dzihanovic Gratz, Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina
        Mr. Jahi Jahija, Ministry of Information Society and Administration, Macedonia

As NISPAcee’s partner, ReSPA organised the Panel on Supporting Public Administration Reform (PAR) through Regional Cooperation in the Western Balkans. In addition to presenting ReSPA’s achievements and current activities, ReSPA representatives presented a number of recent comparative studies to the Panel.

The following comparative studies and policy papers were presented:
- Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights Applicable in Administrative Disputes.
- Recommendation on Public Participation in the Policy-making Process.
- Quality Management in Public Administration and Public Services in the Western Balkans.
- Methodological Guide for Costing of Government Strategies.
- Implementation of Merit Recruitment Procedures for Public Service.

All studies and policy papers are available in electronic form for downloading from the ReSPA website: https://respaweb.eu/11/library#respa-publications-and-research-18

The audience was particularly interested in the Recommendation for Improving Public Participation in the Policy-Making Process, and in the Methodological Guide for Costing of Government Strategies.

The ReSPA Panel was an excellent opportunity to present PAR efforts in the Western Balkans to a wider professional audience. The conclusion of the Panel was that there is a need for stronger links between academic research and public administration practice for the Western Balkans and beyond.