Who We Are


We are devoted to better public administration services to citizens and businesses in the Western Balkans

Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) is a regional organization established in 2010 as a joint initiative financed by European Commission and WB administrations. It is managed and governed by five ReSPA Members: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, while Kosovo* is beneficiary.

As a regional hub aiming to help governments find an effective and sustainable way to resolve the historical burden of weak institutions in public administration, and to take forward Western Balkans (WB) in the area of Public Administration Reform (PAR) we in ReSPA special emphasis devoted to Policy Development and Coordination, European Integration and Accession Negotiations, Human Resources Management and Professional Development and Service Delivery.

Our mission is to support the creation of transparent, accountable and professional public administration institutions that provide efficient services to the benefit citizens and businesses.

We put forward our resources, our expertise, and vast skill set to provide the WB governments with access to global best practices and to enjoy comprehensive research documents with strong recommendations to strengthen the quality of public administration institutions. 

As a people-oriented international organization, we are aware that European integration gives citizens in the WB region a chance to build institutions that will gradually become more transparent and trustworthy, that will last and create a culture of self-regulation in the Western Balkan societies.

Ms Maja Handjiska Trendafilova ReSPA Director

Jointly with the Western Balkans governments and our European partners, we work to support the development of modern, transparent, accountable and participatory public administrations that work for the people and bring tangible results and European values.

We will continue to empower civil servants by enhancing regional cooperation and knowledge transfer and providing tailor-made expertise and capacity-building tools to better equip them for addressing significant societal challenges. By ensuring their constant improvements, we jointly work towards progress in professionalization and building public trust in the Western Balkans institutions and towards collaborative public administrations that are the backbone for all the reforms underway and ahead. Successful public administration reforms are crucial for more prosperous economies, more resilient societies, and for our accelerated EU integration!


* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and ICJ Advisory opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of independence.

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