Recently, the IDM team, in collaboration with the Department of Public Administration and the Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, embarked on a transformative study visit to the Netherlands. Our mission? To bring the best practices in public administration back to Albania, ensuring a more transparent and accountable governance system for our citizens.
Here are the highlights of our visit:
- Integrity and Anti-Corruption Practices: We gained valuable insights from The Hague Academy for Local Governance, focusing on strengthening integrity and tackling corruption, serving to enhance our own anti-corruption initiatives.
- Learning from Amsterdam: A visit to the Integrity Office of the Municipality of Amsterdam—one of the largest in the Netherlands—allowed us to explore successful practices related to onboarding new civil servants, developing a robust manual of integrity rules, and effectively investigating integrity violations. These discussions were crucial for identifying how we can implement similar frameworks in Albania.
- Engagement with Key Stakeholders: Our meetings with officials from the Public Prosecutor’s Office provided us with real-world examples of how ethical dilemmas and integrity violations are managed. This collaboration emphasized the importance of accountability in public service.
- Institutional Transparency: Together with the Open State Foundation, we explored tools for civil society to monitor integrity breaches, highlighting the Dutch model of periodic civil monitoring as an effective practice to enhance transparency in public institutions.
- Adaptation for Albania: The final discussions at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations focused on essential topics such as public servant integrity, transparency, and lobbying in public administration. Together, we identified the best methods to adapt these Dutch practices to fit the Albanian context.
This study visit is part of the project “Serving Democracy and Citizens through Improved Public Integrity,” funded by Sweden. We are committed to translating these learnings into actionable strategies that foster integrity and transparency in our public administration.
Let’s work together to build a brighter future for Albania!
