Reform of Cantonal Administration – How to Achieve More Efficient and Better Public Services

A workshop with representatives of cantonal authorities was held in Neum on April 24 and 25, 2025, focusing on how to improve the work of cantonal administrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main topic was the need to make public administration more efficient, simpler, and more accessible to citizens. Public administration reform has been recognized as an important step in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress towards EU membership, as it is among the first issues to be addressed in accession negotiations.

During the workshop, Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) presented the concept and methodological approach for conducting a functional review of public administration. This review entails a thorough analysis of the work of cantonal institutions – what they do, how they are organized, and how efficient they are – based on which concrete measures are proposed where needed.

A functional review means a detailed analysis of who does what in the public administration, which institutions exist, what tasks they perform, and how efficiently those tasks are carried out. The aim of this review is to determine whether there is a need for changes in how institutions are organized – whether some should be merged, dissolved, or assigned new responsibilities. All of this is intended to make services more accessible to citizens, reduce unnecessary procedures, and ensure responsible spending of public funds. The functional review serves as a basis for adopting a clear and detailed plan for restructuring the existing public administration bodies. For these changes to be successfully implemented, it is crucial for authorities at the cantonal and higher levels to demonstrate political will and support, and to ensure that enough qualified personnel and resources are available to carry out the reform.

A strategic approach to the functional review, along with consistent implementation of the restructuring plan, will reduce bureaucracy, provide faster and simpler services to citizens, improve the accountability of public institutions, and ensure the rational use of public funds. This will contribute to the creation of a more modern, efficient, and accessible public administration.

The workshop in Neum and the conclusions reached demonstrated that representatives of cantonal authorities understand that these changes are necessary. Therefore, TI BiH calls on cantonal authorities to adopt the proposed model, which offers concrete solutions and tools that can be immediately applied in the reform of cantonal public administration, bringing real benefits to citizens.

The workshop was held within the project “Preventing the Capture of Institutions and Public Resources (CERC)” which is implemented with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom through the UK International Development Program