19 December 2023, Online

ReSPA Director Maja HANDJISKA-TRENDAFILOVA and Renaud DEHOUSSE, President of the European University Institute (EUI), have formally inked a partnership agreement fostering research, policy discussions, training sessions, mobility programs, and internships. Its primary goal is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, training, and mobility opportunities among civil servants and academic members from the Western Balkans and EUI. Ultimately, the aim is to bolster Public Administration Reform in the Western Balkans through collaborative efforts.

“Signing of our partnership agreement marks an exciting leap forward in our collaboration, opening doors to a wealth of cooperation avenues right from the start. We eagerly anticipate an ongoing exchange of expertise, innovative ideas, and invaluable knowledge sharing. This alliance is set to spark dynamic joint initiatives, empowering civil servants and institutions throughout the region and guiding them toward a future of enhanced governance and successful Public Administration Reform. underlined Director HANDJISKA-TRENDAFILOVA.

The partnership, which began in June of this year, has already borne fruit regarding capacity-building initiatives. In July, a Summer School on European Integration, specifically tailored and delivered as a joint initiative, provided an invaluable learning experience for 24 civil servants from the Western Balkans. This program covered a wide array of topics, including negotiations, EU institutions and decision-making, EU foreign policy and diplomacy, the geopolitical context of EU integration, new enlargement methodology, key sectoral issues in EU accession negotiations, and communicating the EU integration process. Additionally, ReSPA contributed to the Summer School on Agile Governance and supported the attendance of selected public servants from the region at the Executive Certificate program "Economics for Policymakers."

Over the next five years, this partnership will prioritise designing executive education programs, collaborative research endeavours, organising joint events like conferences, high-level policy dialogues, and workshops that aim to enhance the skill sets of public administrators from the Western Balkans, facilitating the exchange of research papers and studies.

A crucial aspect of this partnership is the Knowledge Management Platform, envisioned as a central hub for exchanging information related to relevant publications, articles, studies, and training opportunities. Its purpose is to strengthen the knowledge-sharing aspect of the partnership, thereby contributing significantly to the overarching goal of fortifying public administration in the Western Balkans.