Public Administration Reform in Czechia after 2000 - Ambitious Strategies and Modest Results ?

Abstract

The chapter summarizes and discusses the main topics, developments and issues of Czech administrative reform, based on desk research, secondary literature on developments of administrative reform in the country and input obtained through mapping and analyzing ESF / ESIF support and interviews with employees of central bodies that are responsible for the coordination and evaluation of the use of ESF / ESIF support. It is based on findings prepared within the project European Public Administration Country Knowledge (EUPACK) that focused on researching dynamics of public administration in EU member states and the contribution of external support to improving public administration quality. The research indicates that partial results have been accomplished particularly in the following areas: openness and transparency, quality management implementation (by municipalities and regions) and e-government. Civil-service legislation has been consolidated rather recently, yet has changed various times, and this undermines every effort to evaluate its effects. A national PA evaluation system is being developed by the Ministry of the Interior but focuses (similarly to PA strategies and related operational programmes) on input indicators. This raises questions about possibilities to evaluate actual quality in PA and results of projects implemented within PA reforms.