EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S MILLION-EURO DIRECT GRANT TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY

CONTRACT SIGNED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT "STRENGTHENING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITIES OF SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS IN SERBIA"

The end of the year brings the beginning of another extremely important long-term project for the Republic of Serbia. This is a direct grant from the IPA 2019 funds of the European Commission, which will be entrusted for implementation to the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). The project plan includes the training of about 255 civil servants in positions, 150 of which are newly appointed while around 105 civil servants are already in positions. The project is planned to last 30 months, starting from March 1, 2021, while the projected budget of the project is one million euros.

"We are extremely proud that the Academy has been recognized as a reliable partner of the European Commission for the implementation of such an important project. It is of great importance that in the period of challenges in the implementation of various projects, we still receive funds for carrying out such significant projects," said the Acting Director of NAPA, Dejan S. Miletić. The purpose of this project is to strengthen the integrity, managerial and professional capacities of civil servants in public administration and as such, the project is an integral part of the broader strategic goal - the establishment of a professional and accountable, merit-based public administration that provides high quality public services. That is the public administration that the Republic of Serbia needs, that its citizens and economy need, but also the one that the European Union needs, Miletić added.

The main partners of the National Academy for Public Administration in the realization of the project will be the Human Resources Management Service, the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, the General Secretariat of the Government, as well as other state administration bodies.

This project is based on the concept of a training programme for civil servants in position which was developed by the Academy in cooperation and with the support of SIGMA, and as such, the programme was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia for 2020. In addition to trainings, which include those aimed at improving knowledge in key areas of public administration and those aimed at improving skills, other forms of professional development are planned, such as coaching sessions, the forming of individual development plans, study visits and the so-called one-off events. The project will support the preparation and implementation of a modern programme of comprehensive professional development of civil servants in position and will contribute to the strengthening of Academy’s capacities in its transformation into a modern development training center.