European Institute of Public Administration EIPA Maastricht The

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA): “Learning to Build Europe” Dr Edward Best European Administrative School Brussels, 7 March 2008 E. Best © EIPA, 2008

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 “Learning to Build Europe” • focus on public management and the challenges of European integration • complementarity with national bodies • distinctive learning and development opportunities – multinational context – practice-oriented, forward-looking, problem-solving – research-based • support for administrations and practitioners, as well as input into the scientific community • scientific research on EU governance, EU policies, interaction between EU institutions and Member States • comparative studies on issues of common concern • role in relevant European networks

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 “Learning to Build Europe” • EIPA and the EU Institutions • EIPA and EU research • Three examples: state aid, presidency, comitology • Common Assessment Framework (CAF) • Looking forward: some key goals

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 EIPA and the EU Institutions • Lot 8 – framework contract for the provision of training and consultancy on issues of “EU Governance” • 2002 -2007, for the Commission (75 activities in 2007) – “standard” seminars (e. g. for DG ADMIN on decision-making, comitology, data protection. . . ) tailor-made activities (esp. RELEX, TREN, SJ, EMPL. . ) participation of officials in EIPA courses • New Framework Contract (3/4 yrs) - now also covers other institutions/bodies/agencies

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 Commissioned Comparative Research (EU) e. g. • Regulating Conflicts of Interest for Holders of Public Office in the European Union (European Commission, 2007) • Performance evaluation mechanisms in central administrations (German Presidency, 2007) • State of implementation of the CAF in Europe (Austrian Presidency, 2006)

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 EIPA and Research Networks: EU-CONSENT • Network of Excellence supported by 6 th Framework Programme: research on EU reform and enlargement, coordinated by the University of Cologne • EIPA leads Work Package on EU Institutions Panels in main EU academic conferences Book The Institutions of the Enlarged European Union Academic/Practitioner workshops Education and dissemination

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 Comprehensive Approach to EU Policies e. g. State Aid • • Standard seminars on substantive and procedural rules Seminars on procedures Sectoral seminars Advanced seminar In-house seminars Masterclass Consultancy Mixed audiences of national and EC officials Comparative case-analysis Critical analysis of EU policy

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 EIPA: Preparing for the Presidency Major integrated programmes for national administrations e. g. Netherlands, Slovenia (65 seminars 2006 -2007) Specific modules on planning, coordination, chairing, codecision. . . • Accumulated experience : expanding knowledge base, methodological development, benchmarking • Multidisciplinary learning and skills development through political, administrative, psychological and cultural angles • Practical dimension of the EU agenda, governance dynamics and constitutional debates • Anchored to the national dimension : coordination, management, representation and policy styles.

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 An Example: Comitology at EIPA • Area in which EIPA has been leading research and training for many years • Experienced ‘Comitology Team” at EIPA, including both in-house experts and regular invited speakers • Excellent contacts with key players in the EU institutions and in the Member States • Training and research activities systematically combine insights from theory and from practice • High degree of specialisation, combining legalprocedural analyses with case studies of key sectors

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 EIPA’s Comitology Training • Key provider of seminars for the European Commission (Lot 8), as well regular contributions to seminars for Council, EAS and other institutions • Seminars for individual member states • Multinational ‘open seminars’ organised in Maastricht and Brussels • Seminars provide mix of presentations, case studies, simulations and group work. • Consultancy services offered to decision-makers on specific aspects of comitology

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 EIPA Research on Comitology • EIPA book publications on important occasions of comitology reform (pre-1999, post-2006) • Recent book about the wider question of committee governance in the EU • Upcoming edited volume looking at the impact of enlargement, 2006 reform and Lisbon Treaty • Ongoing research about ‘comitology in practice’ inside the committees • Contribution to the research undertaken in the context of the Commission-funded EU-CONSENT network of excellence

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) • Designed by the Innovative Public Services Group of EUPAN • Launched at the 1 st European Quality Conference, May 2000 • CAF 2006 version launched at 4 th European Quality Conference in September 2006 • CAF Resource Centre at EIPA

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) • By March 2008, 1167 registered users in – 36 countries – Court of Auditors, Europol, DG Translation, DG Admin • Objective set by the DG’s : 2010 registered users by 2010 “stressing the importance of CAF for the implementation of Quality Management in the public administrations of the EU Member States and the importance of reaching and maintaining high quality standards in the civil service. Berlin June 2007. ”

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht E. Best © EIPA, 2008 Looking Forward: Some Key Goals • provision of services to the EU institutions • recognized and innovative “open activities” • specialised and complementary training modules for national clients/partners • studies, policy advice, new training on priority topics – e. g. implementation of EU law, Better Regulation, the future of comitology, external action, . . . • expansion of CAF and development of consultancy services