| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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With the service delivery reform program, Albania joins the community of countries where the principle of “citizen in the center” is a living practice. There are many similarities in the problems faced, but also unique characteristics that impact reform design and implementation choices.
The FO-BO separation in Albania is one such innovative approach. It implies that while the institutional service owners retain responsibilities in processing applications, the interaction with citizens is no longer administered by them. Instead, whether at physical or virtual service windows, this is managed in an integrated fashion based on defined customer care standards of performance, standardized or automated interaction with the back offices, and regular monitoring of the entire service delivery value chain. This is what ADISA, the Agency for the Integrated Delivery of Services in Albania, stands for.
Established in October 2014, under its enhanced mandate as a unique state institution responsible for ensuring overall top service delivery quality and easy access to central government services by citizens and business in Albania, ADISA represents an efficient and effective centralized mechanism that combines uniform adoption of private sector customer care best practices with the fulfillment of obligation by the state to deliver administrative services.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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The public service reform program, ISDA, takes place under one of the six priorities of the Albanian government, namely Innovative Good Governance, and is led by the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration (MIPA). At the apex of its governance structure is the Public Services Interministerial Committee chaired by the Prime Minister, with the participation of all the ministers of institutions on focus, and the minister for local government.
At the juncture between the governance and operational structures stands the program steering committee composed of key institutional stakeholders in reform implementation, key departments at the Prime Minister's Office including the Delivery Unit (DU), as well as the specific management group established by MIPA. Under the Minister’s chairmanship, this committee makes operational decisions and carries out oversight.
Government institutions with specific functions under the reform, such as ADISA and AKSHI (National Agency for Information Society) and those with legal responsibilities for delivering administrative public services, play the primary role in implementing reform policies.
Working groups at the Ministry and dependent agency levels constitute the intra-agency operational mechanisms. Meanwhile, the Good Governance Integrated Policy Management Group, which is chaired by MIPA, utilizing at the technical level also the instrument of the thematic group on public services, serves to support inter-agency coordination, whose highest level is the Interministerial Committee.
The reform beneficiaries include on one hand, service seekers, i.e. citizens and businesses taking advantage of overhauled service delivery, and on the other, service providers, i.e. public administration employees who benefit from greater efficiency through standardization, specialization and automation, and improved skills through training and capacity building. Their number is conservatively upwards of 740,000 citizens, referring primarily to the operations by ADISA at the separated front office of the Immovable Property Registration Office (ZRPP) Tirana and the integrated Kavaja Center.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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Reform planning and implementation has been based on a holistic multi-track approach with reinforcing activities along all its pillars. The first order of business was creation of an inventory of central government administrative services (July 2014), which subsequently underwent EU-standard-based classification and codification. In parallel, a staged scope definition led to the identification of services to be tackled first, while an assessment of practices by institutions and citizen experiences provided a priority list of issues to be addressed. The SMS-based Citizen Feedback Mechanism was piloted in November 2014. The reform management and operational structure was put in place with the establishment of nine ministerial and up to twenty technical agency working groups (September 2014-February 2015), as well as of ADISA, ISDA Steering Committee and the special reform program management group.
In 2014-2015 core initiatives began in the areas of: a) business process reengineering with a thorough analysis of the state of play in the delivery of each service on scope, b) FO separation incubator resulting in the piloting of ADISA-managed ZRPP service windows in Tirana in October 2015, and c) standardization of the application form based on a unified template, and the preparation of user-friendly service information passports. Activities were enhanced in the area of digitization, increased interoperability of state databases and online services, with an overhaul of the unique government portal: e-albania launched in May 2015.
The planning for the onset of reform activities was accompanied by a fund-raising effort which succeeded in garnering prompt assistance from donors. Also, the ISDA Support Project, a donor pool fund managed by UNDP, was launched in August 2014. Almost USD 700,000 in donor assistance have been disbursed by end of 2016. Pledged funds amount to USD 3.4 million. The World Bank loan of USD 32 million was approved in August 2015, and became effective in March 2016. Nearly USD 7.35 million have been disbursed so far. State budget funds have also been committed from the start, with USD 10.6 million disbursed in ISDA-related projects during 2015-2016.
To establish activities on a firm footing, two framework documents were produced following extensive consultations: 1) the law no. 13/2016, dated February 18, 2016 “On the way of delivering public services at front office level in the Republic of Albania”, and 2) the long-term policy document on the delivery of citizen centric services by central government institutions, approved by the Council of Ministers’ decision no. 384, dated May 25, 2016.
2016 marked several major milestones including the start of re-engineering for all services in 10 key institutions (January), launch of the e-health card (February), conduct of nationwide household survey on service delivery (March-April), completion of FO-BO feasibility study providing the nationwide distribution model for central government services (August), launch of construction e-permitting as an online-only service (September), start of ADISA service delivery performance monitoring in 12 institutions (September), availability of a unique telephone number: 118-00, for information on over 400 services (October), opening of the pilot ADISA integrated Center in Kavaja with work beginning for three additional centers (November), and the completion of the first nationwide third-party mystery-shopper assessment of service delivery (December).
The reform program is monitored closely by the Delivery Unit at the Prime Minister’s office, which provides monthly reporting of progress against the work plan. Quarterly and semiannual reviews take place as part of the meetings of the Public Services Interministerial Committee. Under the World Bank and UNDP projects, as well as the PAR strategy, quarterly and annual implementation reports are submitted. Progress is measured based on indicators, some of which, as in the WB project, are also linked to disbursements.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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Reform design and implementation has entailed a collaborative effort led by MIPA with the strong support from the Prime Minister’s Office. It has relied on the engagement of civil servants across central government institutions on scope in Albania: nine ministries and up to twenty government agencies at both leadership and expert levels. Local government partners have also been engaged, with mayors of the 61 municipalities as primary interlocutors.
Outside Albania, collaboration with civil servants in other European countries, such as Austria, Georgia, Estonia and France, with extensive experience in citizen-centric public service delivery reforms, has been enabled through bilateral cooperation memorandums or twinning projects.
Special contribution has been provided by international development partners active in support of good governance reforms in Albania, such as the World Bank, UNDP, the EU, and bilateral donors, such as Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, South Korea and Japan. This is also the case for private local and international businesses in Albania with well-established customer care practices, such as in telecommunication or retail.
Local and international experts have also been key contributors. In a novel approach for a government program in Albania, the special program management group established by MIPA combines civil servants and full-time local experts that divide responsibility over reform component design and implementation.
Importantly, primary reform beneficiaries: citizens and businesses, on an individual basis and as part of civil society organizations and business associations, have been engaged through feedback elicited directly, participation in consultative forums and focus groups, or as part of reform-related initiatives/projects, particularly in monitoring.
The overall engagement has been based on thorough stakeholder mapping and informed by capacity need assessment.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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1. Standardized service information passports and application forms based on inventoried, classified and codified administrative central government services.
Ensuring transparency and accountability, promoting effectiveness and combating petty corruption, the impact of these initiatives towards standardizing the application process has been twofold: to ensure that citizens can have a unique reference to all that is required to apply for a service (documents, fee, deadlines) and can do so in a well-structured and predictable fashion; as well as to contribute in streamlining the application process for FO service clerks, capturing all key data that enable interoperability among state databases to support automation, and in making BO processing more efficient.
2. Separated and integrated front offices.
ADISA management of FOs of institutions has enabled the severing of everyday contact with applicants by officials responsible for service processing, not infrequently laced with requests or offers of bribes. It has secured the introduction of customer care standards at the FO for a wide range of services through trained and closely monitored staff. Separation of duties has also allowed institutional service owners to focus resources on performing their functional responsibilities better. Finally, ADISA standard at the FO has contributed in BO implementation of uniform processing procedures.
3. Established service standards' authority.
The appointment of ADISA as the standards’ authority in service delivery has filled an institutional vacuum to create the responsible structure sustaining customer care standard design, implementation and oversight. This has enabled for the first time in Albania the submission of indicator-based service delivery performance monthly reporting by institutions.
4. Award for best performing institution in central government service delivery.
Thanks to a nationwide mystery shopper assessment conducted by an Albanian civil society organization, which included a recognition of the best performing offices and institution, there is now an established methodology for third-party performance monitoring in service delivery accompanied by awards to be distributed annually.
5. More online services at level 4 of automation.
The import of the 150% increase in the number of services that can be transacted online (275 currently, AKSHI report) compared to end of 2014, with additional ones in the pipeline, is not only in providing a convenient channel of access, but also considering the investment behind, which means digital data and interoperability. These are tools that allow for more efficiency and greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness, as well as support the whole of government approach in service delivery implementation.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Resistance to change has been a key reform challenge. The motives range from a perceived loss of authority to loss of openings for petty bribes and corruption to incur favors, as well as added scrutiny over performance. An inward looking institutional culture and conservative stance have been contributing factors. The counter response has been based on the strength of the reform imperative and an evidence-based approach. Its key elements have included strong high-level involvement, employment of high-stakes piloting facing resistance head on, a win-win collaborative attitude focused on tangible benefits for institutions, addressing objections both at the leadership and technical levels, employing citizen feedback and regular reporting.
The flip side to the resistance to change has been the challenge to ensure harmonized interventions given multiple implementing stakeholders. To address this, high-level engagement and coordination, as well as facilitation by the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit have been sustained by the work of joint teams between ADISA and agencies on scope supported by the needed expertise. Promoting best practices across institutions and following through with their replication has been key. Regulatory instruments, such as Council of Ministers’ decisions or instructions by MIPA have also been effectively employed.
Given the reform scope, funding constraints in terms of amount and timing have been a challenge to sustaining the reform momentum. A critical support instrument in this respect has been the set-up of the donor pool fund managed by UNDP, where the Italian Government is a key contributor. The commitment of state funds, especially at the start of the reform has been essential.
Managing success has also proven challenging during reform implementation, with ongoing pressures to expand scope. A clear governance structure and review process has enabled that this would take place organically and in line with the overall reform staged approach.
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