ELIOS Integrated Plan for the development of the Bulgarian Public Administration BALKANS – REGULATIONS FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF ITALY IN THE STABILIZATION, RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BALKANIC COUNTRIES (ITALIAN LAW n. 84/01) Regional Province of Enna

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - LEAD PARTNER REGIONAL PROVINCE of ENNA - CO-WORKER EUROCONSULT p.s.c.a.r.l.of Enna is the Italian partner which will co-operate for the implementation of the project in its technical and practical parts - PARTNERS SOFIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DOBRICH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE YAMBOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VRATSA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VELIKO TARNOVO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MUNICIPALITIES OF DOBRICH, YAMBOL, VRATSA. V.TARNOVO

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION  OBJECT OF THE PROJECT 1)Revitalising the local economic system and its development trying to use the best Italian and regional entrepreneurial practise; 2) Supporting the local public administration with particular reference to the business activities and entrepreneurial development; 3) Supporting the development of SME; 4) Creating stable conditions for the cooperation between the Bulgarian and the Italian economical system.

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBBLIC ADMINISTRATION  MAIN OBJECT The project particularly aims at implementing a new organisational and managerial system of the involved Chambers of Commerce through the Cooperation with both local and national institutions, while improving the structure, the management and the organisation of the administrative procedures and the start-up of Assistance Centres for SMEs. As “a small experiment”, ELIOS project intends to experiment a new model of bureaucratic-administrative simplification of the procedures, which are important for both the local and the entrepreneurial development of small local areas, where the relation between entrepreneur and public administration occurs in a direct way.

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PROJECT TIME FRAME January 2005 – December 2006

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TARGET GROUP Public and private Managers

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION  In order to reach in the project’s objectives, the activities are divided into the following operative phases:  WP 1 - The building up of a partnership network;  WP 2 - Identification and SWOT analysis;  WP3 - Know-how and best practise transfer;  WP4 - Training period in Private and Public Management;  WP5 - Creation and start up of Service Centers, while supporting the productive activities;  WP6 - Project’s monitoring and evaluation.

PHASE WP1 - BUILDING UP OF A PARTNERSHIP NETWORK This first phase aims at formalising our partnership and carrying out the working plan. It comprises the following activities: - organization of a preliminary meeting in order to define and subscribe a “Co-operation Protocol”, a detailed programme of the whole project, the definition of partners’ roles, the creation of a “Pilot Committee” and its running. - organization of a press conference to present the project.

PHASE WP 2 – IDENTIFICATION AND SWOT ANALYSIS The first important step of the project is to carry out an analysis, aiming at identifying strengths, weaknesses and an organizational model. - SWOT Analysis. An exhaustive and propaedeutic survey of both general and specific conditions of Bulgarian public administration, with particular reference to services for SMEs.  - Definition of an organizational model. An ideal organizational model will include: a specific organizational unit, the identification of human and professional needs, communication and co-ordination methods, mutual exchange interface systems.

PHASE WP 2 – IDENTIFICATION AND SWOT ANALYSIS Aims and experimental activities. The Bulgarian municipalities, which have been involved and included in the experimental stage of the project Elios, will have to carry out some activities according six main operational steps:  SURVEY OF THE PROCEDURES REGARDING THE PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES  DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURES FLOW CHART  SWOT ANALYSIS  COMPARISON WITH THE ITALIAN MODEL  DEFINITION OF THE ORGANISATIONAL MODEL  FINAL CHECK OF THE EFFICIENCY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ORGANISATIONAL MODEL IN USE.

PHASE WP 2 – IDENTIFICATION AND SWOT ANALYSIS  A Team of experts on administrative simplification were in charge of the organisation and the carrying out the SWOT analysis: 1. The Project Manager Dr. Michele Sabatino, Project Manager of EUROCONSULT Italia; 2. Italian Senior Consultants - Eng. Ignazio Alberghina – expert on carrying out and management of One-stop-shops for Enterprises - Dr. Vincenzo Di Natale – expert on Reforms of Italian Public Administration; A Bulgarian Senior Consultant - Prof. Krassen Stanchev – Executive Manager of the Institute of Market Economy in Sofia.

PHASE WP 2 – IDENTIFICATION AND SWOT ANALYSIS Through a in situ visit, a direct observation and a questionnaire, which has been submitted to Local Public Administrations, Chambers of Commerce and Enterprises, the Team of experts worked out a propaedeutical and in-depth study of the general and specific situation of the Bulgarian Public Administration, with particular reference to the services for SMEs.  The results of the interviews to municipalities and enterprises are: 1. Entrepreneurs think that the system needs vast improvement; 2. There are many administrations involved in a single process; 3. There is lack of clarity about each administration competences; 4. The most quoted problems are bureaucratic slowness and delays and insufficient availability and access of information about the particular application case; 5. Procedures are so complicated and tangled, that the entrepreneurs need generally to come back. 6. The personnel administrating the municipality is probably not well skilled, unable to provide the necessary information to SME on time; 7. The uniformity of problem and discrepancies gives an opportunity to launch similar approach to problems in different pilot cities;

PHASE WP 2 – IDENTIFICATION AND SWOT ANALYSIS At the end, the main obstacles for the start-up of new enterprises are the complexities of bureaucratical accomplishments, required for the achievement of the necessary authorizations.

PHASE WP 3– KNOW-HOW AND BEST PRACTISE TRANSFER The third phase aims at transferring know-how, best practise, experiences and innovation strategies from European public administration to SMEs. Organization of a seminar entitled “Bulgarian Public Administration and the One Stop Shop for productive activities”. The main aim of this forum is to focus the institutional attention on the theme of development and streamlining of Bulgarian public administration. Bulgary should improve the administrative sector particularly the economic and entrepreneurial development in order to positively affect the access to the inner market and the enforcement of the acquis communitaire.

PHASE WP 4 – PRIVATE AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT TRAINING This phase aims at developing specialised training courses for both public and private managers. -Organization of an Integrated Training Course consisting of: meetings with Italian and Bulgarian experts; on-line training and a stage in some Public Administration Italian offices. The main themes may concern:  a) Principles of simplification and decentralisation;  b) Prototypes of Service Centres (Roles, functions and competence of Service Centres);  c) Innovative services to SMEs and territorial network services;  d) Standards of Quality certification;  e) Local development.

PHASE WP 5 – CREATION AND START UP OF SERVICE CENTERS  In this phase the following activities will be carried out :  - Technical assistance and start-up support. First of all operational meetings will be organised with public and private managers in order to advice and support them in their job throughout the transfer of skills from 3 experts in the activation and strengthening of innovative Service Centers. - Organization of a final presentation of the Service Centres.

PHASE WP 6 MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT Monitoring and control activities will be carried out during the whole project period. The Co-Worker, together with the Lead Partner, will be in charge of the creation of a management, monitoring and control system of the project. The “Pilot Committee” will be in charge of organising the co-operation. The Co-Worker is in charge of the ex-ante, in itinere and final monitoring and of the Final Report’s drawing up as well.

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBBLIC ADMINISTRATION  The bad functioning of administrative system and the bureaucratic delays affect negatively the whole economic system. It is necessary that Bulgarian Public Administration enforces instruments to reduce the strength of these bindings, such as the One Stop Shop for Productive activities, which has been conceived as a tool to simplify the procedures and for the realization and implementation of entrepreneurial development.  We are sure that the start-up and the implementation of this project experience will have its major importance in the dissemination and transfer of best-pratise to improve the public system, but also to lead the Bulgarian economy to a dimension which should be more coherent and integrated with the European challenges

ELIOS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Thank you for your attention