DIGITALSKILLSINTHEPUBLICSECTORIN THEWESTERNBALKANS
BACIDIIIREPORT
EMPOWERINGPROGRESSWITHDIGITALTRANSITIONIN WESTERNBALKANANDMOLDOVALOCALGOVERNMENTS
ThomasProrok
KDZ–CentreforPublicAdministrationResearch,Austria
www.kdz.eu
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ContributionstoadigitaltransitionthroughBACIDIII
• Experiencesharedwithin thedigitalizationworking group(LGAand representativesofcities)
• StudyVisittoViennaand LinzinDecemberfocusing onOpendata,AI,digital skillsandViennaasa smartcity
• NALASisdeveloping trainingmaterialin cooperationwithKDZ accordingtotheneedsof localgovernment associations
• Webinarsandonline sessionswithbestpractice examplesindigitalization andsmartcityinitiatives fromcitiesinAustriaand theregion
• Materialwillbeavailable through NALASwebsite
• Examples:Graz,Tirana, SmartParkingSystemin BanjaLuka,ChatBot applicationinBiH,Digital TransformationRoadmap
UNDPSarajevo,…moreto come!
• DevelopingtheFIRST digitalizationreportona localgovernmentlevelin theregion
• Overviewoftheregion anddigitalizationefforts onalocallevelincities andmunicipalities
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Howdidwestructurethereporttogainagood understandingofthelocallevel?
1. Overviewofthecountries(states,municipalities, provinces,etc.)andtheir(national)strategies regarding
▪ Skills (GlobalTalentCompetitivnessIndexincombinationwith NALASsurvey)
▪ Digitalinfrastrucutre
▪ E-Government
▪ OpenData
▪ Cybersecurity
2. NALASdevelopedasurveytoidentify opportunitiesandweaknessesloflocal governments
▪ especiallyweretheylackininfrastrucutre,fundsand skills–theconclusionsofthesurveyamongthe groupareavitalpartofthereport
3. IncludingtheUNLocalOnlineServiceIndex (2022)forafirstindicator–whichassessesmost populatedcitesinthe193UNmemberstates
4. Incorporatingexistinggoodpracticesona nationalandlocallevelindentifiedinthecountries
5. Highlightingtransformativeecosystemsinthe respectivecountries
6. Funds–andwheretofindthem!
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Whataretheconclusionsofthisreportandwheredowe gofromhere?
Thepotentialofdigitalizationisnotbeingusedsufficientlybymunicipalities.
NotahighpriorityfordigitalizationandsustainabilityinWBmunicipalities
Lackofnationwidestrategiesandsupport
▪ (e.g.dataexchange,electronicidentities,comprehensivee-serviceintegration, strategicdocumentalignment)
Lackofinformationaboutexistingfundingopportunities
Lackofdigitalskills ➔ lowimplementation&riskofcyberattacks.
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Goingforward…
▪ Forallidentifiedareasofimprovementthereisaneedforbetterdigitalskillsinorderto
▪ Identifythepotentialinamunicipality
▪ PrioritizecertainareasofdigitalisationandalsoWHICHneedtobeprioritized
▪ Lackofstrategiesshows lackofknowledge(andpoliticalwill)
▪ Lackofskillsingeneralisahighrisktothesafetyofcitizendata
▪ Moreeducationofpublicadministrationregardingnewtechnologiesandhowtousethem!
▪ Morenetworkstoexchangebestpractices!
▪ BuildingaplatformthroughNALASthatcanactasanintermediateinhelpingdifferentmunicipalities andcitiesconnect,developideasandstartimplementingthem!
▪ Formulatingconcretenextstepsforeachcountryonalocalgovernmentlevel!
The development of skills in the SEE region is important for us at KDZ in cooperation with NALAS to speed up the process of European integration!
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6 HeadofKDZ–CentreforPublicAdministrationResearch KDZ–CentreforPublicAdministrationResearch KDZ–ManagementConsultancyandProfessionalTraining Corporation prorok@kdz.or.at +431892349218 +4367684957918 KDZ–ZentrumfürVerwaltungsforschung @thomasprorokor@KDZ_Austria KDZ–CentreforPublicAdministrationResearch|Guglgasse 13|A-1110 Vienna|+4318923492 |institut@kdz.or.at|www.kdz.eu ThomasProrok