PforR on Modernization and Optimization of Public Administration

closed

The objective of the Modernization and Optimization of Public Administration Program Project for Serbia is to improve efficiency in public sector employment and finances. The Government of Serbia has launched an ambitious program of public sector reforms that seek to enhance efficiency in the public sector. The Government’s overall framework for reforming public sector administration is set out in a (PAR Strategy adopted in 2014. Together with the action plan for the Implementation of the Public Sector Reform Strategy (2015-2017), adopted in 2015, the strategy sets out the immediate priorities of the Government of Serbia with respect to key reforms in the public administration. Both the PAR Strategy and Action Plan cover five major areas of reform: improvement of the organization and functioning of the public administration systems; strengthening of human resource management; improvement of public finance and public procurement management; increased transparency and enhancement of ethical standards and strengthening the Government’s supervision capacities. The PAR strategy complements and incorporates elements of other strategic planning instruments, notably the Procurement Strategy (2014), the Public Financial Management Reform Program (2015) and the Action Plan for Open Government Partnership (2014). The Bank’s engagement supports these reforms in the core systems of human resource management, public financial management and public procurement. These reforms are addressed in turn below with a focus on human resource management, in many respects the most challenging part of the reform agenda.