International Relations

EKDDA has developed a wide network of co-operations with equivalent bodies and participates actively in international fora and meetings. It also participates in UN and OECD programs and European civil servant exchange programs. It is a member of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA), and participates in the Network of Directors of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration (DISPA).

Furthermore, in the framework of transnational agreements, it implements training actions for the transfer of international expertise for the support of administrative reform and holds innovative programs for best practices adopted either by public administration entities in European Union member states or international educational institutes or research centers. It has also drawn up a restructure and modernization study for the local government of the Republic of Cyprus and has undertaken, via a program agreement, to support the preparation of the Presidency of Cyprus of the European Union Council.  It held in Athens two international thematic conferences: one in 2011, in cooperation with the French ENA, and the other in 2008, with the participation of the representatives of all its counterparts in Europe and internationally. In October 2017, EKDDA, under the aegis of the President of the Republic, Mr. Prokopis PAVLOPOULOS, in cooperation with the Council of State and the “Public Law Mediterranean Laboratory”, University of Toulouse (France), held an international two-day conference on “Public Services in the Mediterranean”, with the participation of representatives of the academia, the legal world, diplomats and other civil servants of high national and international prestige, strengthening thus the extroversion of the entity and its scientific nature.

In the same year, 10-13 October, seven European universities from seven European countries and, more specifically: the University of Leuven (Belgium), RWTH Aachen and Fraunhofer/FIT (Germany), the International University of Greece, the Technological University of Gdańsk  (Poland), the Technological University of Delft (Holland), the University of Stockholm (Sweden) and the Danube University Krems (Austria), cooperated with the National Center of Public Administration and Local Government of Greece (EKDDA) in organizing an educational program entitled “Management of Digital Transformation of the Public Sector” in Thessaloniki. It is a program for CIOs (Chief Information Officers) and Information Technology Officers of the Public Sector from all European countries.

EKDDA also participates in the European research program SlideWiki, in the framework of HORIZON 2020, along with 16 more partners. The aim of the project is the participatory development of cooperative OpenCourseWare courses and, in general, education courses at a European level. A more specific target is the support of vulnerable groups. The commencement of the project signals the new strategy of EKDDA for the development of Research and Innovation in Administration and the new policy for Open and Cooperative Learning.

In June 2019, EKDDA was actively present in the annual conference of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) in Singapore, in two sessions that were proposed by EKDDA and were approved by the competent IIAS scientific committee on: Good Governance and Technology. The scientific care for the implementation of those sessions belongs to EKDDA scientific personnel who also proposed them. Apart from those sessions, EKDDA participated with two scientific lectures on other fields.

Key Actions / Projects

• Redesign of the admission examination and training program of the National School for Public Administration & Local Government in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the EU Directorate General for Reform (DG Reform), Expertise France and the French National Institute of Public Service (Institut National du Service Public – INSP, formerly École Nationale d’ Administration – ENA).
• Transfer of knowhow and best practices to our Balkan and Eurasian counterparts.
• Training programs concerning the Internal Audit System in the Public Sector and the Integrity Advisor. A total of 387 Internal Auditors and 166 Integrity Advisors have been certified up to now.
• Implementation of L.4622/2019 “Executive State” is materialized with a certified training programs for the newly established ‘Executive managers’ branch (e.g. Information Systems Security Officers, Human Resources Development Consultants, etc).
• Training programs for the enhancement of human rights within public administration (LGBDQ+) accordingly to national strategies.
• Upgrading the digital skills of civil servants with the collaboration of Microsoft.

Partnerships

EKDDA pursue and implement collaborations and partnerships by signing Protocols of Cooperation with ministries, decentralized administrations, regional and local authorities, public agencies, independent administrative authorities and social partners.

At European and international level, EKDDA has developed a wide network of collaborations with foreign counterparts and actively participates in international fora and meetings. It also participates in UN, OECD and French former École Nationale d’Administration (ENA) – now Institut National du Service Public (INSP) programs, as well as in European civil servant exchange programs. EKDDA is a member of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Public Administration (IASIA), the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA) and participates in the Network of Directors of the EU Schools and Institutes of Public Administration (DISPA).

EKDDA also collaborates with many distinguished institutions abroad such as the LSE, Harvard Kennedy School and the University of London among others, focusing on the areas of innovation, business ethics, leadership and data analysis in the public sector as well as innovative learning.