Merit recruitment in the Western Balkans

Since 2013 I have regularly collaborated with the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA). The first research project was implemented in 2015 for the ReSPA Working Group on HRM/HRD in the public sector with a focus on identifying obstacles to the effective implementation of merit recruitment procedures in the Western Balkans. The project led to the publication of a project report and several presentations at the ReSPA Annual Conference in November 2015 and Open Days in Brussels and Belgrade in 2017.

In 2018, I coordinated a second project that sought to update the first ReSPA regional merit recruitment study and to evaluate change that had occurred in the region between 2015 and 2018. In 2020, I led on a third ReSPA merit recruitment study, which drew lessons for the Western Balkans countries and developed a self-assessment framework for merit recruitment in the public service.

The team members include

  • Kim Sass Mikkelsen, Roskilde University
  • Christian Schuster, UCL
  • RankaBartula-Musikic, ReSPA
  • Goran Pastrovic, ReSPA
  • Fanni Toth, University of Loughborough
  • Damir Ahmetovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Margarita Ivanova, North Macedonia
  • Milena Muk, Montenegro
  • Irena Najdov-Little, North Macedonia
  • HamitQeriqi, Kosovo
  • RajkoRadevic, Montenegro
  • AnsiShundi, Albania
  • Vladimir Vlajkovic, Serbia