Chapter 1: The future of the CAF
Thomas PROROK
The future of the CAF: Eleven ideas to reinforce the CAF The CAF is the first choice to sustainably develop public sector organisations. The idea that a common framework is available for the entire public administration of a democratic Europe that sets common standards for good management and governance is unique and should not be jeopardised. The power of the CAF is particularly evident in many countries that plan to join the European Union or want to increase transparency, the rule of law, democracy and prosperity. The CAF combines so many beneficial aspects besides mere performance-optimising virtues that it defines a league of quality and organisational development model of its own: ▪ The CAF provides open doors to anyone interested in qualitative organisational development, without any financial or technical barriers. ▪ The CAF stimulates the self-optimising capacities of organisations, addressing every single person as a potential creator/co-creator of excellence. ▪ The CAF introduces methods and provides practical future-oriented good practice examples for continuous self-optimisation processes. ▪ By focusing on quality and excellence, the CAF stimulates the development of all organisational aspects, e.g. reflecting on mission, vision, strategies, structures, processes, personnel development, participation, partnerships, resources management, innovation, creativity, communication, skills, performance and impact measurement. ▪ Via the CAF, organisations assess their strengths and potentials for optimisation, thus gaining transparency and mutual consent on features to maintain and features to tackle, thus securing maximum joint effort, efficiency and effectivity. ▪ The CAF not only promotes performance excellence, but it also guides public administration organisations towards positive societal outcome and impact, encompassing European values and strategies. ▪ The CAF invites to and provides a network of international CAF users for sharing experiences and learning from each other. Despite these tangible virtues, it must be stated that on its 20th anniversary the future of the CAF is sadly by no means secure. The development of the CAF in recent years has prompted cause for concern regarding whether it will remain the strong European Common Assessment Framework for better quality in public administration in the next few years, defining the common European standard for good public governance. The future of the CAF seems to be threatened for various reasons. ▪ The CAF is not yet used in all EU countries. At least nine countries have no national CAF structures, and the European institutions do not use the CAF. 69
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Many countries implement the CAF with EU or other funding programs and are not sufficiently prepared for a time after the funding period. In some countries, no sustainable CAF structures are built up. In the event of a change in staff or retirement, the CAF activities are suspended. The European CAF Network has no clear rules and knowledge management. The CAF remains a “gated community” with very few partnerships in academia, the non-profit or private sector. The “Effective CAF User” label is not widely known, and it is least widely accepted as a certificate for excellent public sector organisations. The “ownership” of the European Public Administration Network (EUPAN) is not visible and perceptible.
Challenges for the future of the CAF
1.1 The use of the CAF in EU member countries Twenty years after the first publication of the CAF, it has not yet spread across all EU countries and even most EU institutions are not aware of the CAF. Countries like France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom1 have not nominated correspondents for the European CAF Network or facilitated the CAF implementation so far. Other countries have withdrawn from the European CAF Network and stopped the national CAF support after a certain period of time or showed different levels of involvement in the network (e.g. Germany). Despite the fact that the European Commission is part of EUPAN, unfortunately it has never participated actively in the European CAF Network. Currently, at least nine EU countries are not members of the European CAF Network and have no national structures for facilitating the CAF implementation, while the same can be said for European institutions. On the other hand, the CAF is also occasionally used in EU countries that do not have an official CAF structure (e.g. Sweden). Particularly interesting are those cases in which state development aid supports the CAF operation in other countries without adequately promoting the CAF in their own country (e.g. Sweden, Germany). Furthermore, it has to be recognised that the CAF is very attractive to those countries that apply for membership in the European Union. Public administration reform is a prerequisite for EU membership and supported by SIGMA OECD and the Principles of Public Administration, which request systems of quality management, high quality of service delivery where the CAF is also recommended2. Therefore, five observer countries from non-EU states complete the European CAF Network. This situation weakens the CAF and the CAF network. Especially for the further development of the CAF, voices from countries that view the CAF critically and prefer other modernisation programs would be important. 1 2
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Since 2020, no longer an EU member state. OECD/SIGMA: The Principles of Public Administration, 2017.
Chapter 1: The future of the CAF
The CAF must not become an instrument of a small, committed group that only discusses within itself. Countries with a long-standing tradition on public sector modernisation like Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden could certainly inspire the CAF development.
1.2 Financing of CAF programs Most of the countries offer services (CAF implementation, CAF training, “Effective CAF User” label) for the CAF user free of charge3. Many countries use EU funds or international donors for financing the CAF programs (e.g. Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia). In other countries (e.g. Belgium), the CAF is a “state program” fully financed and organised by the country. In Austria, Finland, Germany and Portugal, CAF users in general have to pay for consultancy, training and the procedure for external feedback for the “Effective CAF User” label. These different models of financing CAF in the countries would need further research to work out the specific advantages and disadvantages. However, the experience over the past few years has shown that after funding from the EU or international organisations had stopped, the CAF efforts in many countries were scaled back or even withdrawn. In these cases, the funded CAF programs did not generate sustainable CAF structures and systems for providing and financing CAF in the countries.
1.3 Sustainable CAF structures in the countries In addition to the fact that not all EU countries have built up national CAF structures and responsibilities, the institutional setup differs. Prorok, Rossi and Parzer4 highlight the differences between the two models of “CAF resource centre in the ministry” and the “agency model”. Further differences can be identified: Is the CAF mentioned in the responsible ministry’s organisation chart? Is there a clear responsibility in the ministry for the CAF? Is the CAF defined in national strategies? In which organisational unit is the CAF located? Is the CAF embedded in higher-level reporting or performance management systems? All of these questions are important for securing the institutional sustainability of the CAF. The authors identify at least three situations when the country’s entire CAF engagement was discontinued due to the change of position or retirement of the person responsible for the CAF (Denmark, Germany and Norway). A similar situation can currently be observed in the European CAF Resource Centre on a pan-European level. In many cases, institutional sustainability is not guaranteed and it often depends on the commitment of individuals.
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See article in this publication: Prorok, Rossi, Parzer: CAF in Europe – How CAF works on the National and European Level. See article in this publication: Prorok, Rossi, Parzer: CAF in Europe – How CAF works on the National and European Level.
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1.4 Governance of the European CAF Network The European CAF Network is a working group of the EUPAN5 and it follows the core principle of “consensus”, which is sufficient for the day-today operations of the CAF network. However, when it comes to making important decisions about the further development of the CAF model, the CAF implementation process or the “Effective CAF User” label, the consensus principle reaches its limits. In combination with the creeping withdrawal of the European CAF Resource Centre from the (co-)chairmanship of the CAF network, this creates a vacuum in which those positions that are most intensively introduced assert themselves. Through these informal decision-making structures, the CAF runs the risk of losing its own high quality and innovation standards. In addition, the CAF Network does not have adequate knowledge management. It is impossible for new CAF correspondents or interested parties to research the current status quo of the CAF, as it is based on the incomplete tacit knowledge of a few. There is no documentation on the minutes and decisions of the CAF network meetings. The CAF network also finds it difficult to gain access to decisions of the EUPAN General Directors that are CAF-related. A structured exchange between EUPAN General Directors and the CAF network does not take place and is dependent on national communication channels.
1.5 Partnerships with the CAF Comprehensive partnerships with universities, academia, NGOs, international organisations and the private sector have not been sufficiently developed. In some countries, selected partnerships are known, especially with the national EFQM organisations. However, in general, it has to be recognised that the CAF is still an inter-administrative exercise, and a gated community. Partnerships are created between public administrations but not with organisations outside of this spectrum. This leads to a situation where academia misses out on the CAF and therefore cannot contribute to its further development. Furthermore, the allies for change are missing. If there is no sharing of knowledge or interest among consultancy companies, NGOs or international organisations, the number of convinced CAF believers will not grow. The quality conferences and CAF user events of the last 20 years are part of this insight: these were not freely accessible to the interested public, but rather participation was only possible based on an invitation from the national CAF correspondents. Other potentially interested parties only found out about these events afterwards, if at all. The reluctance to use new media and collaboration tools is also an indicator of the lack of openness to new partners in the CAF community.
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See article in this publication: Prorok, Rossi, Parzer: CAF in Europe – How CAF works on the National and European Level
Chapter 1: The future of the CAF
1.6 “Effective CAF User” label The reputation of the “Effective CAF User” label as the “quality and excellence certificate” for public sector organisations has not yet been raised to a satisfactory extent. Various reasons for not using the CAF label can be identified: some organisations complain about the complexity of the label procedure, others criticise its strict criteria, while others find the effort too high or the application too expensive. Many simply do not see the benefits and added value of the “Effective CAF User” label. While a more detailed analysis of the causes is beyond the scope of this article, it is clear that this form of certification or award is necessary for the further development of the CAF and public administrations in Europe. Special efforts are necessary for this.
1.7 Ownership of the CAF and EUPAN The CAF was initiated by EUPAN in 1998 when the Ministers of the EUPAN commissioned designing “general principles concerning the improvement of the quality of services provided to citizens”6 and institutionalised the European CAF Network, which is a working group of EUPAN. Furthermore, they nominated the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA) to “host a European CAF Resource Centre that supports the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework as the TQM tool for the European Public Sector.”7 In 2020, it must be stated that the connection between the CAF and EUPAN has become very fragile. Not all EUPAN members are part of the European CAF Network. The countries with established CAF structures are set up very differently and cannot always offer sustainable CAF support. The CAF responsibility and ownership of EUPAN is too low for the CAF to have a clear future as a unified, strong instrument of administrative reform. Furthermore, the commitment of EIPA and the European CAF Resource Centre8 to the CAF has weakened. It seems that after 20 years the CAF is an adult and the “parents expect their kid to leave the common family home and get independent and selfreliant”. From the authors’ perspective, the CAF must enter a new phase to be successful in the next 20 years. The tried and tested must be retained, but at the same time new ideas must be allowed. Some – certainly not final – elements of this new era will be explained in the next chapter.
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Staes et al.: Five Years of CAF 2006. 2011, p. 11. Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic: The EUPAN Handbook. 2016, p. 15. At the time of the writing of the book, EIPA started an initiative to enforce the European CAF Resource Centre again.
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Eleven ideas for a sustainable CAF future
2.1 Opening CAF for academia and further stakeholders CAF needs more exchange and cooperation with: ▪ Academia, so that researchers and students become more acquainted with CAF, public administration reform, good governance and can inspire the CAF with studies, research and new ideas. University courses covering “CAF, organisational development, public administration reform and European values” should be developed. Moreover, in the further development of CAF representatives from academia should be included. ▪ Further interested stakeholders and NGOs dealing with public sector quality, transparency, rule of law, open government and public administration reform. A discussion is needed concerning whether and how partners of public sector organisations can be involved in the CAF work. At least an intensive dialogue and system for certified “CAF trainers and consultants” should be developed. On the one hand, we should recognise that in many countries consultancy companies are offering paid CAF services to interested customers. However, on the other hand, it must be ensured that no individual economic interests are capturing the CAF, as sometimes can unfortunately be observed with other standard-setting institutions. An exchange with these companies is usually very limited, eventuating in a lack in quality of CAF services offered by companies with little CAF experience. Nevertheless, it is conceivable that the content and process of the CAF could be fertilised by the experiences of consultancy companies Bearing the ambivalence of the CAF and profit-oriented consultation in mind, the potentials of a future dialogue might still hold interest. Resuming the cooperation with EFQM can also be considered. In general, the “gated community” of the CAF might cherish some fresh air and an opening-up to new ideas and impulses.
2.2 Developing a sustainable business model Ensuring sustainable CAF structures at the national and European level is the main challenge for the future of the CAF. In order to overcome the dependency on EU or international funding, proper business models have to be elaborated. The basics are encouraging as many countries have experience with different financing or CAF service approaches. The CAF will only have a future if several providers of CAF services exist and the CAF users are responsible for financing the services. Of course, larger organisations with own organisational development departments should also be able to use the CAF independently without external support. However, in general, CAF services should be offered by a large number of CAF experienced organisations and experts, whether official CAF centres, consulting companies, universities, NGOs, NPOs, etc. 74
Chapter 1: The future of the CAF
2.3 Relaunch of the European CAF Network After 20 years, the CAF network needs a relaunch, and without doubt it needs to be further developed. Without giving up the close ties to EUPAN, the CAF network has to build: ▪ stable foundations; ▪ with clear rules; ▪ openness for new members and partners; and ▪ authority to train and certify CAF experts. In order to achieve stable foundations, it is necessary that all EU members, the European Commission, OECD, OECD SIGMA and further interested European institutions actively participate in the network. In addition, a further institutionalisation is to be considered, in which an office with an elected chairman and an advisory board will be set up. The financing of the activities of the office can be ensured through membership fees. Statutes to be drawn up for the CAF network define the roles and responsibilities in the CAF network, define the voting rules if the principle of consensus cannot be applied and clarify the admission processes for members. The activities and their financing must also be clarified in the statutes. An important point of the further development of the CAF network is the openness for cooperation and new partners. Since the CAF and the CAF network are recognised worldwide (e.g. African countries, United Nations, Astana UN Hub, etc.) and often contacted by individual experts, appropriate channels must be created for their integration and the network must be opened up. Furthermore, a clear certification process for CAF consultancies, CAF facilitators and trainers is needed. Those offering CAF services should need a certificate from the (relaunched) CAF network.
2.4 De-bureaucratisation of the CAF The process of CAF implementation is not standardised. Many countries have developed “their” specific approach of CAF implementation, although an overview or mutual learning is non-existent. A recent study has shown major differences in the procedure for creating the CAF improvement plan9. Some approaches are very detailed and complex, while others focus on involving the organisations’ leadership or are based on the results of interviews. In turn, other approaches interpret the self-assessment to such an extent that all employees of the organisation are included in the development of the improvement plan. It has to be recognised that CAF implementation is often an overbureaucratic exercise that loses sight of the goal, namely the improvement of the organisation. Critics see the CAF as a complicated, narrow-minded and innovation-inhibiting instrument that is operated with high bureaucratic 9
Staes et al.: CAF Improvement identification, prioritisation and implementation, 2016.
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effort. Therefore, a common effort to standardise the way of CAF implementation is needed, which makes the CAF easier to use and more open for innovation.
2.5 Recognising the CAF as the common European standard for public governance CAF is a treasure. In a comprehensive consensus process, the European public administrations agree on common guidelines for the management of public sector organisations. The CAF can therefore be seen as the standard for good governance. The CAF is special in the sense that because it is embedded in a quality management system, it also ensures that this standard is implemented and disseminated in the European public administrations. However, this dimension of the CAF is not seen broadly by decisionmakers in the member states and the European Commission. It is interesting to see that many accession countries and public sectors experts outside of Europe appreciate exactly this dimension of the CAF: a standard for good governance in public administration based on “European democratic values” like the rule of law, transparency, anti-corruption, fairness, etc. The unique potential of the CAF in this regard needs to be placed into increasing focus to fully exploit the power and possibilities of the instrument, as a common, voluntary European standard for good governance in public administration, whose framework of values works beyond Europe and serves as a model. For this purpose, the CAF must be declared a top priority in the European Commission and the member states, and it needs to be embedded in a joint body for the European public administration reform. The diverse actors at the European level (DG REFORM/SRSS, DG NEAR, JRC, Interservice Group, European Semester, etc.) are to be included here, as well as the member countries, scientific community and experts.
2.6 Use the CAF to spread the European model of public sector based on rule of law The CAF is mainly aimed at EU members and the closer EU neighbourhood. In addition, the CAF has already had an impact in many other countries and international organisations. There is no general overview, but CAF programs and trainings in Egypt, Georgia, Russia, Senegal, Turkey and many other countries are known. The activities of UNDP, the UN Hub in Astana or UNIDO should also be emphasised (see chapter on CAF in Cabo Verde in this publication). As a guideline for good public governance and reform of public administration based on European values such as the rule of law, democracy, transparency, anti-corruption and fairness, the CAF radiates far beyond Europe. Many actors in European foreign policy, international development and international administrative reformers are insufficiently aware of this fact. However, the CAF must start an international dialogue with these actors 76
Chapter 1: The future of the CAF
to elaborate its full potential CAF for the international development and foreign policy. The European External Action Service (EEAS) as well as DGDEVCO should be more aware of the CAF activities and its potential. Furthermore, a structured dialogue with the international development cooperations of the EU members as well as the concerned UN organisations is needed. In a relaunch and opening of the CAF network as described in the first “ideas” of this chapter, this dialogue and involvement should play a key role.
2.7 Implementing CAF in European institutions The CAF is the European Common Assessment Framework for better quality and governance in public administration, although the use of CAF in European institutions is very limited, and this needs to change. If the CAF is to be taken seriously in the future, European institutions must fulfil their function as role models. This is particularly evident in the candidate countries. The European Union is calling for “principles first” public administration reform programs, of which the CAF is one. However, the CAF is not used in one’s own organs and institutions. This contradiction weakens the CAF and the overall demand for public administration reforms.
2.8 Re-design of the “Effective CAF User” label The “Effective CAF User” label needs a re-design. Some reasons for the limited acceptance of the label are described in chapter 1.6 of this article. Nonetheless, a certification process to award excellent public sector organisations that implement the CAF standard of good governance is certainly needed. Especially in times of social media and changes in the landscape of public sector awards (new EPSA10, World Summit Award11, Public Administration Award by ReSPA12 and SIGMA OECD, etc.) a stable, reliable and visible labelling for excellent public sector organisations that enables comprehensive benchmarking and knowledge exchange is needed. ▪
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After ten years of experience the “Effective CAF User” label needs: a re-design of the evaluation criteria focusing more on the quality and governance of the organisation and its will and competence for continuous improvement; a focus of the feedback (similar to a peer review) for the organisation through experts from the public sector; government programs, strategies and scorecards which support and convince the use of the “Effective CAF User” label; a clearer communication and marketing for the label; and more regional cross-border cooperation and exchange of “Effective CAF Users”.
See https://www.epsa2019.eu/ [Download: 15.09.2020]. See https://wsa-global.org/ [Download: 15.09.2020]. See https://www.respaweb.eu/80/pages/59/about-pa-awards# 15.09.2020].
[Download:
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2.9 Digitalize the CAF and its communication, collaboration and knowledge management Some countries have good experiences with digital CAF tools. These facilitate the CAF implementation and guide the members of the selfassessment groups through the CAF. The further development of these digital approaches holds strong potential for the CAF, whereby thematicallyfocused “CAF lights” can be offered, and playful nudging can help to easily convey how CAF works and make CAF known to a larger group of decisionmakers. In addition, the potential of digitalisation and social media at CAF is far from being exhausted and a CAF initiative in social media is necessary. This includes the consolidation of the CAF presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as starting the presence of CAF on YouTube, SlideShare, Issuu, Researchgate and Instagram, on which the CAF practically does not appear. The CAF network is ideal for a presence in social media, although it requires the commitment of many CAF actors (e.g. on LinkedIn or Facebook Groups, hashtags on Twitter or Instagram, tags on YouTube, keywords on Slideshare or Researchgate). A specific CAF account of one organisation – to which the many CAF actors have no access – would not meet the requirements of a modern network with diverse individual actors. The most urgent concern is digital knowledge management to provide all CAF-relevant knowledge for all interested parties. This must be designed in such a way that it can be filled by all CAF correspondents and users.
2.10 Towards Public Governance The CAF 2020 has embedded six new key areas related to current public governance: digitalisation, sustainability, agility, innovation, diversity, and collaboration. For the author it is clear that CAF is an ongoing journey and these six new key areas are just one step towards a further development of CAF. In the future, CAF has to fully embrace the Sustainable Development Goals and empower public sector organisations to reach the goals of the United Nations “Agenda 2030”. The eleven “Principles of effective governance for sustainable development”13 of the United Nations show the direction in which public administration must develop in order to implement the SDGs. The strength of the CAF has always been that it could flexibly accommodate the current needs in public sector and society. For the future, this certainly means expanding the 11 principles with their focus on effective governance, accountability and inclusiveness in the CAF and at the same time ensuring resilience, innovation and the rule of law.
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CEPA: The Principles of effective governance for sustainable development, 2018.
Chapter 1: The future of the CAF
2.11 Governments and EU recommending CAF implementation Finally, all governments of the EU members and the European Commission should recommend the use of CAF. The CAF is more than traditional quality management. It is the unique guideline for public governance and it leads through the organisational development of public administrations based on common European values and standards. Therefore, the involvement of the CAF in existing European and national public sector awards and competitions should be a matter of course. This can take the form of an additional award or it can be regulated by specific evaluation criteria or in the requirements for participation in the competitions.
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Conclusions
The CAF needs action at the European level now. After 20 years, one can see that the CAF glass is half full but also half empty. On the one hand, the CAF is a success story in some countries. On the other hand, there are clear signs that the CAF is entering a challenging phase. The CAF needs more commitment, knowledge and understanding from the EU members and the European Commission. For this to happen, the selfimage of the CAF network must also change and open up.
References Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) of the United Nations: “The Principles of effective governance for sustainable development”, New York 2018. Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic: The EUPAN Handbook, 2016. OECD SIGMA: The Principles of Public Administration, 2017 edition, Paris 2017. Staes, Patrick; Thijs, Nick; Claessens, Dorina: CAF Improvement identification, prioritisation and implementation, Maastricht 2016. Staes, Patrick; Thijs, Nick; Stoffels, Ann; Geldof, Sven: Five Years of CAF 2006. From Adolescence to Maturity – What Next?, Maastricht 2011.
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