Contemporary public administration is tackling the challenges of globalisation, social and demographic changes, migration, and climate change. Layered and complex reform trajectories and instruments are needed to modernise public administration, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery, and achieve high standards of reliability and accountability. All sectors of society, including public administration, will have to play a role in the effort towards a green transformation. Faced with rapid and accelerating socio-economic change, public administrations need to take into account the opportunities offered by new technologies, as well as develop new services aimed at openness, transparency, and citizen participation accordingly.

The conference paid particular attention to the topic of the digital transformation of public administration. The issues taken into consideration were as follows: the role of the public sector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as the challenges of implementing new technologies in the transformation of public administration. Moreover, in the knowledge society, the capacity to innovate and the ability to implement innovations are very important for the public administration of the future.

The scope of the topic was an opportunity to directly reference the theme of the 2011 conference held in Varna, Bulgaria - Public Administration of the Future. The objective of this topical review was to gain insight into the changes and developments predicted and problematised at the Varna conference (public administration reform, e-Government, Civil service, fiscal policy...) and to gain insight into the realised potential, new challenges, and issues of public administration a decade later.

The conference was opened by an Opening Ceremony.

Several distinguished speakers presented their welcome and openning speeches on this occasion:

Calin Hintea, NISPAcee President, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Dejan Miletic, NAPA Director, Belgrade, Serbia

Nikola Čanak, Professor of Applied Psychology and Communication, and of Leadership and Personnel Management, NAPA, Serbia Title of the presentation: Homo sapiens vs Homo digitalis

Gianluca Misuraca, AI4Gov Executive Director; InTouchAI.eu Team Leader and Key Expert on Technology Diplomacy; Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain Topic of his presentation: Designing the future of public administration - governance "of, with and by” Artificial Intelligence

Paul Joyce, Publication Director of IIAS, Brussels, Belgium; University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom Topic of his presentation: Public Governance and Digital Transformation

 

NISPAcee would also like to thank the local organisers, National Academy of Public Administration, mainly to Dejan Miletic, the Director and the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee as well as to Snežana Antonijević, Radmila Tomović and Tajana Avdalović, members of the Committee and to the whole Serbian team for the excellent organisation of the conference, financial support and preparation of the social events, which created a special, friendly and pleasant atmosphere for conference participants.Their openness and support were highly appreciated by the NISPAcee conference team as well as by all conference participants.

Simultaneously, NISPAcee would like to thank to members of the International Program Committee,including the coordinators of all research working groups, chairs of sessions and panels for their contributions to the high scientific and academic value of the entire event.

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