Assessment of the Situation of Standard Operating Procedures in Municipal Governments in Albania, 2017
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Assessment of the Situation of Standard Operating Procedures in Municipal Governments in Albania, 2017 January 2018 Prepared by Foundation for Local Autonomy and Governance, FLAG Deklarim STAR2—Konsolidimi i Reformës Territoriale dhe Administrative—është një projekt i financuar nga Bashkimi Evropian, Suedia, Italia, Zvicra, USAID, UNDP dhe Qeveria e Shqipërisë. Projekti zbatohet nga Zyra e Programit të Kombeve të Bashkuara për Zhvillim (UNDP) në Shqipëri. Ky dokument është në hartuar në kuadër të asistencës për Vlerësimin e Situatës së Procedurave Stardarte të Operimit në Bashkitë e Shqipërisë. Ai reflekton këndvështrimet e autorëve të tij dhe jo domosdoshmërisht pikëpamjet e institucioneve të lartpërmendura. Acknowledgements The report Assessment of the Situation of Standard Operating Procedures in Municipal Governments in Albania, 2017 is the first consolidated effort to document the usage and quality of Standard Operating Procedures and the variety of municipal regulations in the country. This report includes key findings and recommendations for stimulating the use of SOPs in Albania. The contribution of the Consolidation of Territorial and Administrative Reform, STAR 2, team, in particular the project manager, Edlira Muhedini, and the regional coordinators, and the municipal vice-mayors and directors who responded to the questionnaire and participated in the regional round-table discussions has been indispensable. This assessment was undertaken by Dr Iain Wilson and Alba Dakoli Wilson, with contributions from Artan Rroji, Klodiana Cankja, Naz Feka and Tirana Municipality, through presentation of their experience at regional meetings by their General Director of Human Resources, Keti Luarasi. This publication reflects the view of its authors and not necessarily those of UNDP and STAR. Assessment of Situation of SOPs in Albanian Municipalities 2 Acronyms ADISA Agency for the Delivery of Integrated Services Albania APP Agency for Public Procurement ASPA Albanian School of Public Administration CAP Code of Administrative Procedures CoE Council of Europe dldp Decentralisation and Local Development Programme DoPA Department of Public Administration EU European Union FLAG Foundation for Local Autonomy and Governance HR Human Resources IT Information Technology LGU Local Government Unit OSS One-Stop Shop PLGP Planning and Local Governance Project PR Public Relations SOP Standard Operating Procedure STAR 1 Support to Territorial and Administrative Reform STAR 2 Consolidation of Territorial and Administrative Reform UNDP United Nations Development Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development Assessment of Situation of SOPs in Albanian Municipalities 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 2 Acronyms .......................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 4 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 5 1. Key findings ................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 Regulatory documents in municipalities ...................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Awareness and presence of SOPs .................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Ambiguity of current legal framework applicable to SOPs .................................................................. 7 1.4 SOP coverage of processes in accomplishing municipal functions ................................................... 8 1.5 Performance impact and municipal expertise on SOP implementation ......................................... 8 1.6 Compliance with and awareness of CAP ...................................................................................................... 8 2. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 9 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................ 10 4. Results ...................................................................................................................... 11 4.1 Characteristics of the respondents .............................................................................................................. 11 4.2 Existence of SOPs and regulations in Albanian municipalities ........................................................ 12 4.3 Compliance with CAP of existing SOPs and regulations in Albanian municipalities .............. 13 4.4 Level of impact of SOP implementation upon performance ............................................................. 15 4.5 Level of awareness of CAP and SOP ............................................................................................................. 16 4.6 Level of expertise of municipal staff on SOP implementation ......................................................... 17 5. Conclusions on perceptions of municipal staff .......................................................... 18 6. Regional meetings .................................................................................................... 20 7. Recommendations .................................................................................................... 24 8. Annexes .................................................................................................................... 26 Assessment of Situation of SOPs in Albanian Municipalities 4 Summary Law 44/2015, On the Code of Administrative Procedures (CAP) in the Republic of Albania, was adopted on 30 April 2015, with the objective of ensuring an effective implementation of public functions for citizens and the protection of their legal rights. CAP requires the adoption of municipal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which aim to create the necessary framework to enable an effective and efficient functioning of the municipal administration. SOPs detail and describe recurring work conducted within an institution, facilitating consistency in the quality and integrity of the end product or result. It is a set of written instructions formulated in a set of procedures that lay down what should be done, when, where, by whom and how. To assess the situation of SOPs in Albania’s 61 municipal governments a survey was undertaken in December 2017 and January 2018. For the survey, a questionnaire was designed and included four sections: 1, Existence of SOPs and regulations in the municipality; 2, Level of awareness of CAP and SOP, including self-assessment of the municipality’s procedures to the articles of CAP; 3, Level of impact of SOP implementation upon municipal and directory performance; and 4) Level of expertise of municipal staff on SOP implementation. In addition, regulatory documents provided by the municipalities were assessed for compatibility with CAP. Meanwhile, regional meetings were held to reinforce the concept of SOPs, discuss issues with the filling in of the questionnaire and discuss further the current situation with regard to SOPs in the municipalities and identify aspects that can be used for recommendations for future training. 1. Key findings 1.1 Regulatory documents in municipalities The most common regulatory document reported by the Albanian municipalities is the Internal Regulation for Organisation and Functioning of the Administration. This enacted regulation was reported by 90 percent of the 59 responding municipalities as the main document currently regulating the duties of municipal staff in accomplishing municipal tasks and services. The lack of existence of a regulation was unrelated to the size of the municipality. Desk analysis of the fourteen regulations submitted by the municipalities confirmed that the main aspects that were regulated target the setting up of a regulatory frame to govern internal functioning of the various hierarchical levels of the institution. The frame outlines the distribution of functions and duties in the various municipal organisational units, assigning also functions and duties to the administrative units. In eight cases the regulations stipulate most of the key principles of CAP as a guide in conducting municipal affairs. Assessment of Situation of SOPs in Albanian Municipalities 5 The purpose and objectives of a municipal regulation are mentioned in the STAR 1 model Municipality Policies and Procedures, articles 1 and 2, and are referred to in the regulations of the municipalities examined here. Most of the municipalities have also used several other elements present in the STAR 1 model: municipal logo, categories of municipal employees, duties of civil servant job positions, municipal organisational structure and units, responsibilities and duties of the organisational units, management and staff, public relations, and management of the municipal administration. A glossary of terms is provided to varying degrees in the regulations of seven municipalities, while job descriptions of administrative staff are mentioned in the regulation of ten municipalities. Elements of SOPs are rarely found in some of these regulations, apart from in sections