ReSPA has established a unique online collaboration platform to support WB administrations cope better amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Being aware that ReSPA has a strong intermediate role among WB governments, we have organized a series of online conferences and webinars, together with our prominent partners determined to support our members in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first online conference held on 16 April 2020, aimed to detect key challenges that digital service teams have been facing, gathered more than 40 senior IT civil servant professionals from the WB countries. They highlighted twenty essential issues that needed to be addressed. The regional context has been enriched by the Slovenian, the EU, as well as the USA experience presented by ReSPA's prominent experts who volunteered.   

The second online conference  held on 4 May 2020, aimed to explore new ways of convening, talking and learning as agile support to WB governments in overcoming the detected challenges caused by the pandemic. To emphasize priorities in the resolving of the detected institutional challenges in public administrations and public services among the WB governments, ReSPA has launched an online survey. More than 40 WB IT professionals within ReSPA eGovernment group discussed the most appropriate forms of intervention as ReSPA's response to their needs in overcoming the pandemic.  Also, they deliberated about OECD, CEFTA, RCC and CHHS experiences related to the crisis presented by ReSPA's partners and prominent experts who volunteered.

The third online conference held on 13 May 2020 – organised as a workshop entitled "How to become an effective Remote Manager" was devoted to supporting the WB region in remote management. The experts of the Public One GmbH from Berlin, who volunteered, presented remote management opportunities to more than 20 ReSPA Governing Board members at senior level and HRM professionals. After the workshop, a meeting of the HRMD Working Group members was organized, aimed to identify some common challenges and needs related to remote human management.

The fourth online conference held on 28 May 2020, was organised as a webinar in which the world-known expert John O'Duinn (who also volunteered) introduced the idea and philosophy of Distributed and Open Digital team concept to IT professionals within ReSPA eGovernment group. The participants found out why the digital "distributed teams" concept is relevant to public administrations (especially during emergencies such as the global pandemic) and what the novelties and tips are for working together while humans are physically apart.