CAF National Correspondents Meeting — European quality management at its best
The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) recently hosted the CAF National Correspondents Meeting at the EIPA office in Maastricht. The meeting, which took place on 20 March, was attended by CAF correspondents from over 15 countries.
EIPA’s Director-General Marco Ongaro, together with Programme Director Martijn Pluim, Head of the European CAF Resource Centre Gracia Vara Arribas, and Deputy Head of the CAF Resource Centre Tihana Puzić set the tone of the day with their opening words on innovation and collaboration within the public sector. It proved to be a dynamic day filled with ideas, discussions, and strategic planning to nurture the growth and impact of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF).
Main discussion points
The most recent advancements regarding the Toolbox for Practitioners on Quality of Public Administration were presented to the group. Alexandra Papatheodorou, Policy Officer at the European Commission‘s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), also provided them with an update on the Commission Communication’s (ComPAct ) implementation. With a presentation of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) by Croatia, a discussion of the TSI actions in 2024, and some updates on the Procedure of External Feedback (PEF), the recognition scheme to evaluate the self-assessments that have taken place in an organisation—nearly 400 effective CAF users have previously been awarded the PEF label—the CAF Correspondents shared the most recent developments of the CAF community in action.
Correspondents from Hungary and Poland took the stage to present plans of their respective European Council Presidencies around CAF and the CAF community held a brainstorming session to shape the agenda and direction of announced events.
EPSA and CAF
The group discussed research work on the institutionalisation of total quality management in the EU and candidate countries, further exploring the collaboration between the European Public Sector Award (EPSA) and CAF, as well as research works and training packages on quality management.
This meeting in Maastricht proved to be highly effective, inspiring, and productive, highlighting the dedication of participants to step up the CAF dynamics, in Europe and beyond. And yes, it is so good to see so many national CAF correspondents around one table, new ones and veterans in CAF, discussing with vigour on all CAF related topics. We extend our appreciation to all involved, emphasising the critical importance of leadership commitment and promotion of the CAF benefits in driving the CAF agenda forward.
– Tihana Puzić, Deputy Head of the European CAF Resource Centre
Wrap-up and future steps
The day concluded with an exchange of insights and suggestions regarding preparations for the following CAF events. The next CAF National Correspondents’ meeting will take place on 6 October in Hungary and the Polish CAF National Correspondent announced the organisation of the CAF Users event 2025 in Warsaw during their Presidency turn, for an estimated 150 participants.
The CAF National Correspondents Event emphasised the importance of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement in the realm of Quality Management. DG NEAR played a pivotal role in facilitating research and curriculum development, crucial components for the sustainability and expansion of the CAF and the group benefitted from the enriching discussions that received input from the Director of the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA).
Looking ahead, let’s continue to strengthen our collaborative efforts and capitalise on opportunities to enhance the impact of CAF initiatives.
Interested in learning more about the Common Assessment Framework?
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is the result of the cooperation among the EU ministers responsible for public administration. It provides a general, simple and easy-to-use framework, which is suitable for a self-assessment of public sector organisations and their development towards excellence: stronger citizen’s orientation, process, resource and performance management and empowerment of employees, whilst fostering transparent and open organisational culture. Find out more about the purpose of the CAF model:
