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COST Action IS0601 “Comparative Research into Current Trends in Public Sector Organization – CRIPO” organises:

High-level Conference for Invited Practitioners, Policy-makers and Researchers

“Structuring Government in the 21 st Century:Managing and Controlling Public Agencies at National and EU-level in Times of Crisis”

27 May 2011 – Brussels (Belgium)

Some images

 

During this one-day High Level Conference, the CRIPO-network invites high-level policy makers, civil servants, and managers of agencies from 20 European countries and from the EU-level.

The objective is to analyse the current challenges in managing and controlling public agencies in times of crisis and joined-up government, and to discuss the policy recommendations
which arise from the four-year collaboration between researchers in 23 European countries within the CRIPO-network.

Objectives of the High Level Conference on Agencies

Many European governments have hived off public tasks to a wide range of “public agencies”, with considerable autonomy which allows these public agencies to perform their tasks in a more flexible and innovative way.
However, the large-scale delegation of public tasks to such agencies calls new ways of contract-based result control and a more intense coordination within and across policy sectors. The current financial and budgetary crises and citizens’ demand for more integrated policy and service delivery even intensifies these calls for both better accountability, better performance and increased collaboration between agencies on the one hand and between agencies and their parent departments on the other hand.

In the COST-CRIPO Action (2007-2011) 35 high-quality European public management research teams from 23 countries have been joining their forces in an common research strategy on public sector organisation. Central research focus is the changing autonomy, control and coordination of public agencies, as well as the explanations and consequences of this trend. Central is the question to what extent increasing autonomy, more result-oriented control and more whole-of-government coordination of public agencies leads to more organisational performance.
One of the main pillars of the CRIPO network is the COBRA-group which gathers and analyses similar survey data on agency autonomy and control in a high number of participating countries which allows to compare agency types and features operating in different politico-administrative cultures. The COBRA joint database encompasses at the beginning of 2011 data on more than 1400 agencies in 15 European countries (Belgium, Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, and Romania), the EU-agencies as well as three non-European countries like Australia, Tanzania and Hong Kong.

During this one-day High Level Conference, the CRIPO-network invites high-level policy makers, civil servants, and managers of agencies from 20 European countries and from the EU-level to discuss the current challenges in managing and controlling public agencies in times of crises and joined-up government.
The CRIPO network will discuss with the practitioners the policy recommendations which arise from four years of comparative research in 23 European countries. In subsequent parallel sessions researchers and high level practitioners will confront their views on current ‘burning’ issues regarding the creation, management and control of agencies, and the related agencification policies in different European countries.
The international conference will provide answers to the following questions:

  1. How to rationalise the agency landscape in times of crisis, in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness, without losing the advantages of flexibility and innovativeness?
  2. How to improve the political and managerial leadership of agencies?
  3. How to optimally design result-based control (e.g. Management by Objectives and results) of agencies by parent ministries?
  4. How to improve long term relationships between agencies and their parent ministries, allowing for both autonomy for agency managers and for sufficient control by the parent ministry?
  5. How to optimize the accountability of agencies, by combining or substituting traditional accountability mechanisms with new mechanisms for accountability towards users, parliament and citizens?
  6. How to optimize the management and control of EU-level agencies and networks and how can their collaboration with national agencies enhance the implementation of EU-policies by EU-countries?

Finally, an internationally composed plenary panel of practitioners and scientists will reflect upon the policy recommendations and insights presented and will discuss the priorities for agencification policies in European countries and at the EU-level.

Program

Thursday, 26th of May 2011: Paleis der Academiën / Academy Palace - Brussels

Internal meeting for the CRIPO research partners: program

Friday, 27th of May 2011: Paleis der Academiën / Academy Palace - Brussels

Program in pdf

9.00 - 9.30 Registration and welcome coffee

9.30 - 9.45

Plenary Opening of the High Level Conference “Structuring Government in the 21 st Century: Managing and Controlling Public Agencies at National and EU-level in Times of Crisis”

Welcome by Mr. Kurt Van Raemdonck, Cabinet director of the Federal Minister for Government Enterprises (Belgium) - speech in pdf

Introduction by Prof.dr. Geert Bouckaert - Chair of the Cost CRIPO Action (Catholic University Leuven, Belgium)

9.45 - 10.30

Plenary presentation of the main policy recommendations of COST-CRIPO for practitioners and policy makers on ‘managing and controlling agencies in the 21 st century’ (policy recommendations in pdf) - presentation in pdf


By dr. Sandra van Thiel (Erasmus University of Rotterdam) and dr. Koen Verhoest (Catholic University Leuven)

10.30 - 10.45

Coffee Break

10.45 - 12.45

Three parallel sessions focussing on current challenges

Expert session 1 (organised by the Anglo research team): Rationalization of agencies in times of crisis

Report on expert session 1

  • Academic perspectives on agency rationalization: trends, challenges and responses
    • Dr. Alice Moseley (Research fellow, University of Exeter) and Dr. Muiris MacCarthaigh (Institute of Public Administration, Ireland) - presentation in pdf
  • A practitioners’ view on Irish experiences of agency rationalization:
    • Mr. David Denny, (Sectoral Policy Division, Department of Finance, Ireland) - presentation in pdf
  • A practitioners’ view on British experiences of agency rationalization:
    • Ms. Paula McDonald, CBE (Deputy Director, Public Bodies and Workforce Reform) - presentation in pdf
  • A Panel discussion with practitioners from central departments and agencies from the UK and Ireland
    • Mr. David Denny, (Sectoral Policy Division, Department of Finance, Ireland).
    • Mr. Moling Ryan (Association of Chief Executives of State Agencies, Ireland)
    • Mr. Stephen Speed (Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service and Chair of the Association of Chief Executives - UK)

Expert session 2 (organised by the Nordic research team): Result control of agencies and agency performance: the Nordic way

  • Opening speech by Prof. dr. Jon Pierre (University of Gothenburg)
  • ‘The experiences of management by objectives and results and agency performance’ by a Nordic high-level practitioner
  • Comparing Nordic ways of result control and agency performance by Assoc. Prof. dr. Morten Balle Hansen (University of Southern Denmark), and dr. Birgitta Niklasson (University of Gothenburg)- presentation in pdf
  • Reaction from a Practitioners’ panel:
    • Mr. Sten Heckscher, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Administrative Court (Sweden)
    • Mr. Tor Saglie, former CEO of NAV and currently research officer at the Department of  political science, University of Oslo (Norway)
    • Mr. Niels Godtfredsen, Department Head, responsible for reorganizing state administration, the Danish Ministry of Finance (Denmark)
    • Mr. Tuomas Pöysti, Auditor-General of Finland – President of the National Audit Office of Finland (Finland)
  • General discussion

Expert session 3 (organised by the CEE research team): Politics, leadership and agencies

  • Moderator: Prof. dr. Calin Hintea, University of Cluj
  • Keynote speech: Prof. dr. B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh (USA) - presentation in pdf
  • Practitioners’ panel:
  • Dr. Catalin Baba, Secretary of State, Head of the Prime Minister's Office, Romania
  • Dr. Dan Lazar, Secretary of State, Ministry of Finance, Romania
  • Jurgita Siugzdiniene, Director of the  Strategic Coordination Department, Office of the Prime Minister, Lithuania - presentation in pdf
  • Kaido Paabusk, Head of Public Administration and Public Service Deparment, Ministry of Finance, Estonia - presentation in pdf
  • Dr. Miroslav Beblavý, Member of Parliament, Slovakia and Senior Research Fellow, CEPS, Brussels - presentation in pdf
Discussion

12.45 - 13.45

Lunch

13.45 - 15.45

Three parallel sessions focussing on current challenges

Expert session 4 (organised by the Latin research team): Traditional and new forms of accountability of agencies towards parliament and citizens

  • Academic insights on traditional and new forms of accountability: Assoc. Prof . dr. Koen Verhoest  (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium) - presentation in pdf
  • 'French autonomous public bodies and their relationship with the State' by Dr. François Lafarge (Ecole nationale d'administration, France) - presentation in pdf
  • ‘Innovative forms of agency accountability to users, peers and citizens’ by Prof. Dr. Roel in 't Veld, Chairman of the Audit committee of the Charter Group for Public Accountability - presentation in pdf
  • ‘Parliamentary oversight of agencies’ by Mr Jan Peumans (President of the Flemish Parliament) - speech in pdf
  • A Panel discussion with practitioners from central departments and agencies, moderated by Prof. dr. Silvia Mendes (University of Minho, Portugal)
    • Mr Jo De Cock, CEO of the Health Insurance Agency (Belgium)
    • Mr José A. de Azevedo Pereira, Director-General of the Portuguese Taxation Administration (Portugal)

Expert session 5 (organised by the Continental research team): Happily ever after? Building long term relationships between ministries and agencies.

Report on expert session 5

  • Academic insights from the CRIPO team by Assoc. Prof. dr. Sandra van Thiel (Erasmus University Rotterdam) - presentation in pdf
  • A practitioner’s view by Dr. Peter Grünenfelder, Chancellor of the State of Argovie, Switzerland
  • Panel discussion moderated by Prof. dr. Reto Steiner (Center of Competence for Public Management, University of Bern)
    • Mr. Jaap Uijlenbroek, Director-general Organization and Management of the Dutch Government (The Netherlands)
    • Dr. Peter Grünenfelder, Chancellor of the State of Argovie (Switzerland) - presentation in pdf
    • Mr. Gregor Wenda, Secretary-General Austrian Society of Administrative Sciences (Austria)

Expert session 6 (organised by Bocconi University): Agencies and policy networks in the European Union: challenges for an evolving mosaic

  • Introduction and presentation of the research findings on the patterns of networking in EU Agencies, by Prof. Edoardo Ongaro, Dario Barbieri and Nicola Bellé, Bocconi University and SDA Bocconi School of Management - presentation in pdf
  • Challenges for agencies and agency development: interventions by Dr. Pablo Amor, European Research Council-Executive Agency (ERCEA), Mrs Madlen Serban, European Training Foundation (ETF); Mr Dante Storti, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
  • Policy networks and EU agencies in the ‘everyday administration’ of European policies: the perspective of high-level civil servants – interventions by Mrs Cesira D’Aniello (General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union); Mr Mario Paulo Tenreiro (European Commission), Mr Eoin O'Shea (European Court of Auditors)
  • Open debate and conclusions (moderated by prof. Edoardo Ongaro)

15.45 - 16.00

Coffee break

16.00 17.15

Plenary panel discussion , moderated by Prof. dr. Geert Bouckaert: ‘How to govern public agencies in the 21st century: challenges and solutions’

  • Mr Mark Andries, Cabinet Director of Minister Geert Bourgeois, Vice –minister-president of the Flemish Government and Minister of Governmental Affairs
  • Mr. Andrew Davies, (Senior Counsellor in the Director’s Office) OECD, France
  • Mr Heiki Loot, Secretary of State (Head of Government Office) in Estonia
  • Prof. dr. Guy Peters, University of Pitssburgh, USA
  • Mr Maroš Šefčovič  (Vice-President and Commissioner in charge for Inter-institutional Relations and Administration)

17.15 - 17.30

Concluding remarks by Prof. dr. Per Laegreid (University of Bergen) and Dr. Julia Stamm, director of the ISCH Program - COST Office

17.30

End of the High-Level conference on Agencies

Reception

 

Practical information

Venue:

kvab

BRUSSELS - Paleis der Academiën / Academy Palace-  Rue Ducale 1 (Hertogsstraat 1) - B-1000 Brussel  (pdf)

26/5/2011: Welcome in hallway A-D - seminar in RUBENSAUDITORIUM

27/5/2011: Welcome and registration in MARMERZAAL - Seminar in AUDITORIUM

Expert session 1: Rationalization of agencies in times of crisis: RUBENSAUDITORIUM
Expert session 2: Result control of agencies and agency performance: the Nordic way: AUDITORIUM
Expert session 3: Politics, leadership and agencies: OCKEGHEM ROOM
Expert session 4: Traditional and new forms of accountability of agencies towards parliament and citizens: RUBENSAUDITORIUM
Expert session 5: Happily ever after? Building long term relationships between ministries and agencies: OCKEGHEM ROOM
Expert session 6: Agencies and policy networks in the European Union: challenges for an evolving mosaic: AUDITORIUM

Registration:

Registration is free of charge.

Accomodation and flight:

Paticipants book their own flight and hotel.

List of possible hotels in Brussels:

  • Stanhope Hotel (*****) - Rue du Commerce 9 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 215 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Centrale (****) - Rue des Colonies 10 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 175 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Du Congres (***) - Rue du congres 42 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 150 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Eurostarts Sablon Hotel (****) - Rue De La Paille 2 To 8 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 125 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Minotel Chambord Brussels (***) - Naamsestraat 82 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 120 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Aristote (***) - Avenue De Stalingrad 7 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 75 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Chantecler (**) - Rue De La Grande Ile 26 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 95 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Albergo (**) - Victoria Regina Square 11 - 1210 Brussels (+/- 75 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Sun Hotels Brussels (**) - Rue Du Berger 38 - 1050 Brussels (+/- 65 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Hotel Albert (**) - Rue Royale Ste Marie 27 - 1030 Brussels (+/- 65 euro per night via hotels.com)

  • Maxhotel (*) - Boulevard Adolphe Max 107 - 1000 Brussels (+/- 85 euro per night via hotels.com)

Or other hotel: booking.com / hotel.com (normal price)

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Production: io & Anita Van Gils| Most recent update: September 20, 2011 | Disclaimer
URL: http://soc.kuleuven.be/io/cost/