Additional professional education of the public servants is one of the key factors for improving quality of provided public services for individuals and legal entities. Being in touch with the users is also import for improving public services. These conclusions were announced by international experts.

Tashkent hosted the international conference on “Modernization of the Administrative and Public Governance System of the Republic of Uzbekistan at the Current Stage: International Expertise and Experience of Uzbekistan”. The conference was organized by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, General Prosecutor’s Office, Development Strategy Center, British Embassy Tashkent, Konrad Adenauer Foundation and United Nations Development Program.

In September 2017, Uzbekistan adopted the Concept of Administrative Reform in the Republic of Uzbekistan, which defined measures to radically transform public administration and public services systems, develop e-government, reduce the administrative impact on the economy, expand market management mechanisms, create a healthy competitive environment and a favorable investment climate.

The conference summed up the intermediate results of the implementation of the Concept of Administrative Reform, study related foreign experience, as well as raise awareness of the national and international community about the current state and priorities of the administrative reform in Uzbekistan.

During the conference, international experts share their experience on reforming of administrative and public governance and improving public services to individuals and legal entities.

Training of public services

Mariam Latsabidze, Deputy CEO of Public Service Hall of Georgia, and Mr. Kamran Agasi, Director of Innovations Centre under the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan underlined that the country should improve skills of public servants, involved in providing public services, via organizing additional professional trainings.

According to them, training of specialists will help to improve quality of services and prevent corruption, as well as simplify bureaucratic processes.

Public service center can render services of private companies as well

Experts from Georgia and Azerbaijan said that the Centers for public services can provide additional services in partnership with the private companies as well.

In particular, the Centers for public services can provide insurance, services on crediting and promoting family businesses.

Providing private services will allow the Centers to attract additional financial resources to support employees and improve material-technical base.

Differentiation of services

Georgia and Azerbaijan pay special attention to differentiation of public services.

In particular, Public Service Hall of Georgia has various zones for rendering public services. The citizens and guests of Georgia can receive self-serving zone with help of infokiosks. There are also zones for public services, where services are provided in five minutes or more.

At the same time, the Centers for public services can cut service time for additional fees. For example, citizens need to receive a passport within one day, the price of the public services grows. If the service provided in set period of time, the regular fee is charged.

It is important to deal with comments and feedbacks of citizens

Kamran Agasi underlined that it is important to organize work with comments and feedbacks of population and legal entities, including comments at social networks. According to his opinion, this will alllow to raise trust of population to the state bodies and improve quality of provided services.

Create additional convenience for consumers of public services

If consider consumers of public services as the clients, it is important to improve their satisfaction from rendered services. It is necessary to create additional convenience.

Mariam Latsabidze underlined that Georgia developed services “Just Drive” or “Just Case”, which allow to receive public services without leaving automobiles or having snack in case, located in premises of Public Service Hall of Georgia.

It is important to create public servants’ recruitment system

Panos Liverakos, UNDP expert on civil service reform, welcomed development of a draft project “On public service” in Uzbekistan. He said that the draft law is important and sets framework for recruitment of public servants and their operations.

According to his opinion, it is necessary to ensure dissent payment of labour of public servants, which will serve as important factor for preventing corruption. It is also necessary to ensure balance in number of employees.

Specialist from Greece noted that the public servants should be responsive to requests of the citizens and focus on achievement of result.

He also underlined importance of creating of a system on management of employees and their training. The country should create system of recruitment of public servants, he said. Important factor for forming of the system of assessment of public servants’ work and their career promotion.

Introduction of assessment systems

Mr. Dmitry Maslov, representative of Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, proposed to use CAF (Common assessment framework) methodology to optimize and modernize public governance.

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is the common European quality management instrument for the public sector. It is a free tool to assist public sector organisations to improve their performance. The CAF helps the organisations to perform a self-assessment with the involvement of all staff, to develop an improvement plan based on the results of the self-assessment and to implement the improvement actions.

The model is based on the premise that excellent results in organisational performance, citizens/customers, people and society are achieved through leadership driving strategy and planning, people, partnerships and resources, and processes.

The CAF looks at the organisation from different angles at the same time, the holistic approach of organisation performance analysis.

According to him, the system is very popular in the European states, where the method is used in police. Introduction of the CAF will help to optimize structure of state bodies and their expanses.

Use of new technologies and blockchain

Using digital technologies, including blockchain, in rendering public services will improve trust of citizens and business to public bodies and decrease corruption.

Representative of Ernst and Young Kseniya Babushkina shared experience of China on reforming customs regulation through introduction of digital technologies, including blockchain.

Introducing system of analysis of risks and creating Command Center, customs bodies of China rank risks in customs procedures, which resulted in decreasing number of inspections and opportunities for corruption.

Currently, China started to use blockchain, in particular, to exchange customs information.

Interaction of state bodies and citizens

The Government needs to develop tools for assessment of activities of the state bodies, taking into account opinion and proposals of the citizens, Mr. Danu Marin, expert from UNDP Moldova, said.

According to his opinion, it is necessary to use all existing tools in work with citizens to ensure accuracy of results, including traditional methods and mobile solutions.

Ms. Ainura Bekkoenova, Expert on rule of law of UNDP Istanbul Hub, underlined on importance of use of traditional and digital technologies in interaction with the citizens.

She stated that currently public council are used in the world to find solutions to existing problems with participation of the state bodies. Such councils help to improve accountability of the state bodies.

UNDP expert voiced her opinion that online tools of interaction with the citizens should be used jointly with traditional methods. Digital solutions independently cannot solve existing challenges, she added.

Bekkoenova underlined that that the state bodies should not only listen to opinion of the citizens and also attract their voices to process of decision-making.

It should be mentioned that following the conference, recommendations will be developed to further enhance the ongoing reforms in administrative and public governance in Uzbekistan. These and other recommendations of the experts will be used to develop analytical notes for the leadership of Uzbekistan.

UzDaily.com