PPT SIGMA workshop on Public consultations, Albania 13 December 2018

1. © OECD
Harmonizing Public
Consultations Across The
Government in Albania
Challenges & Solutions
Timo Ligi, Goran Forbici
Tirana, 13 December 2018

2. Agenda for the day
• What makes a well-functioning public
consultation system?
• What are the current challenges in Albania?
• How to address these challenges?
1

3. Important elements for a functioning public
consultation system
• Procedures established by the legal framework
• Procedures implemented consistently, incl.:
 advance warning to affected stakeholders;
 written + other forms of consultation;
 consultation on primary as well as secondary legislation;
 supporting policy documents made available alongside
draft regulation;
 report on outcomes of consultation submitted to the
government and made publicly available.
• Functioning quality control and availability of
guidance 2

4. Current functioning of public consultation
processes
• How do you assess it on a scale from 1-5?
3

5. Challenges?
Infrastructural
(e.g. institutional and legal
framework, IT tools)
Implementation – actual
practice
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6. Infrastructural challenges
5
• Quality control, coordination and systematic
support to public bodies not
regulated/established
• No guidance documents available (further
elaborating the rules and providing best practices)
• IT infrastructure in place, but not used widely
neither by public bodies nor stakeholders (weak
promotion) -> no central database -> weak
overview
• No systematic and on-going training programs (->
lack of skills and knowledge)
• Weak role of coordinators for public consultations

7. Implementation challenges
6
• Low response due to lack of targeted and broad
approach
• Advance notification rarely practiced
• Early involvement unsystematic, consultations
focused on drafts (e-consultations)
• Unsatisfactory feedback to stakeholders

8. PART II
Addressing the challenges
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9. Establishing quality control and
coordination
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• oversight of processes (monitoring, gate-keeping)
• coordination (annual reporting, identifying
challenges)
• support to public bodies (capacity-building,
coordination of coordinators, consultancy, training)
• promotion (highlighting best practices, promoting
different consultative mechanisms and methods,
promotion of appeal mechanisms, etc.)
WHO?

10. Office of the Prime-Minister:
9
• OPTION 1: Regulatory Directorate
• OPTION 2:
Regulatory Directorate -> quality control and oversight
Directorate for Good Governance and Policy
Development -> support and promotion
• OPTION 3:
Regulatory Directorate -> laws and other regulation
Directorate for Good Governance and Policy
Development and Division -> strategic documents and
policies

11. Guidance documents?
10
• Governmental Guidelines on public consultations?

12. Strengthening the role of coordinators for
public consultations?
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• Main contact point
• Responsible for annual consultation plan of the
public body
• Providing expert advice and support to officials
• Collecting and publishing public consultation
reports
WHAT KIND OF CAPACITY BUILDING WOULD BE
USEFUL FOR CO-ORDINATORS TO FILL THIS ROLE?

13. The Electronic Registry of Public Notification
and Consultation?
12
• central register of all past and ongoing
consultations on draft acts
• all public bodies must use it for their e-
consultations and publication of relevant
consultation materials
• reports on consultations must also be published
there
HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS?

14. Weak skills and knowledge?
13
• On-going and systematic training programme, run
by the oversight unit

15. Advance notification?
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• Annual Governmental consultation plan (based on
the annual normative programme)?

16. Low response?
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• Targeted approach (i.e. systematic use of early
involvement and various methods and
communication channels to reach broader
audience)?
• Use of consultation documents?
• Systematic and informative reporting on the
results (with prescribed/harmonised format)?

17. So where do we start?
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