How do you ensure you have the right staff with the appropriate skills to deliver services for citizens?  On 26 June 2024, the Council of Europe Office in Tirana hosted a Focus Group meeting on the New Core Competencies Framework, which is being developed for local level civil servants in Albania.

The Department of Public Administration, the Albanian School of Public Administration, and representatives from Human Resources Units in 8 local authorities worked on further refining the Draft Core Competencies Framework, prepared by the Centre of the Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.  In the final stages of revision, the updated framework aims to standardise and elevate HR practices at local level, enhancing the entire human resources management cycle—from recruitment and training to development and performance management, in line with Council of Europe Standards – notably Principle 8 set out in the Committee of Ministers’ 2023 recommendation CM/Rec(2023)5, which reads:

“There should be consistent and sustainable efforts towards strengthening the organisational leadership of government and public institutions, and the capabilities and capacities of all public officials, so that the fundamentals of good democratic governance are effective.”

This activity was organised in the framework of the project “Supporting Public Administration Reform at Local level in Albania” implemented by the Centre of the Expertise, with the financial support of the Federal Republic of Germany.  The project aims to strengthen the institutional framework for training local officials and elected representatives, develop the capacities of Local Government Units for effective management of human resources, and foster meaningful participation of citizens.