From Adoption to Practice: Success Factors and Challenges in CAF Implementation Across Europe

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of the CAF model in Europe, to analyse best practices and challenges faced by public institutions, and to identify the quality performance indicators within the results criteria of the CAF 2020. The research methodology is based on literature review and content analysis of the best practices nominated by EIPA. The resources used included scientific articles in the field and official EUPAN and EIPA reports. The study’s results show that the competence, agility, and quality of the staff represent key elements in achieving service quality from the perspective of the analyzed case studies. The main challenges identified are resistance to change and lack of training, limited institutional capacity for coordination and trouble in establishing communication channels. The quality performance indicators associated with the CAF result criteria includes measure related to: citizen satisfaction, such as waiting time, number of complains, access to information; people results, such as training participation, employee satisfaction; social responsibility, such as energy consumption and community engagement; key performance results, such as budget execution or use of ICT, etc. All of these indicators illustrate the multidimensional nature of performance assessment in public institutions. The qualitative nature of the analysis, the subjectivity involved in interpreting best practices, and the restricted number of case studies analysed represent the limitations of the present paper. Despite these limitations, the research provides public institutions with a structured overview of qualitative performance indicators and an overview of challenges they could face during the implementation of the CAF model. UDC: [005.6:338.465+352/354]:061.1EU; JEL: H83, O38, M12, M14