The Contribution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan on Developing Digital Skills in Romanian Public Administration
Argumentation of the Research Topic
As an integral part of the European Union, Romania currently represents an important piece in the mechanism of member states for implementing one of the most important regional strategies of the European Commission - strengthening electronic sovereignty and preparing the union for the digital era, a goal set for 2030 through the European Digital Decade policy program, an initiative aimed at digitalizing all essential public services, creating sustainable and secure specific infrastructures, 20 million ICT specialists, advanced digital skills for human resources in public structures, and basic digital skills for at least 80% of citizens, as well as digitalizing businesses, in accordance with the digital transformation plan Compass for the digital dimension 2030: the European model for the digital decade.
Through the established targets, the Digital Decade policy is conceptually identified with e-governance, a global trend of governmental systems unanimously transitioning towards a digital governance characterized by innovation, efficiency, and inclusion, both having as their central point the digital transformation of public administration and the private sector, the development of human digital capital, and the securing of these interactions through secure and efficient electronic infrastructures.
At the level of Romania, the implementation of European policies through applied strategies and programs does not only contribute to fulfilling the obligations assumed as a member state of the EU, but also to the evolution of the four types of relationships universally recognized in the literature as the foundation of the e-governance concept: government-citizens (G2C); government-business environment (G2B); government-government (G2G); and government-employees (G2E). These relationships are based on the availability and accessibility of online public services, in conditions of transparency, efficiency, and security, as well as the contribution of citizens to the governance process through the use of online services and involvement in public consultation regarding government decisions.
In this context, the digital skills of employees in the public sector become essential in creating and developing the necessary digital infrastructure and services, in using mechanisms based on information and communication technology in all intra and extra administrative processes, so that Romania can contribute to achieving the European objectives for 2030, to the transition to the digital era and the development of e-governance as an important segment in shaping the single digital market, a priority of the European Commission, by facilitating access to public services for citizens and businesses and cross-border intergovernmental interactions.
The body of public servants must adapt, support, and use new technologies, both in front-office relationships, such as those between public administration, citizens and the business environment, and in back-office relationships - intergovernmental and between the government and its own employees.
Considering the ambitious goal of the Digital Decade, the European Union has created and implemented in 2021 the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), an essential element in the economic and social recovery post-Covid at the Union level, and a temporary financial instrument of great magnitude aimed at supporting member states in their digital transition.
The Digital Transformation pillar of the RRF is reflected in Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), component 7, Investment 16 - Advanced Digital Skills Training Program for Civil Servants - with a budget of 20 million euros, and the project will be implemented between 2023-2026.
In the context of a shortage of ICT specialists, a low level of general digital skills, and slow development of electronic public services that place Romania last in the annual monitoring of the European Commission on the digital development of member states, the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), we believe that a thorough analysis of the programs funded through the NRRP for training the digital workforce in the public sector can contribute to shaping a clear understanding of the strategies implemented, the challenges faced, and the identification of multiple training methods that can contribute to Romania's digital transformation structure and positive national evolution in European statistics.
Research Structure
The present research aims to conduct an exploratory case study on the advanced digital skills training program for 30,000 executive civil servants - approximately 20% of the executive staff - and 2,500 managerial civil servants, around 25% of the managerial staff, through the National Agency of Civil Servants (ANFP), a central public administration institution responsible for managing the civil service and civil servants in Romania, which is also the beneficiary and responsible for implementing the specific investment from the NRRP.
The purpose of the study is to determine the typology of training used in order to identify and propose mixed methods of digital education, both formal and informal, to supplement the initial training, testing, and certification services provided by the program implemented by ANFP.
The introductory part of the research structure focuses on presenting the European strategic framework for the development of digital skills and correlating them with national policies and programs, as well as highlighting the importance of the investment that Romania has undertaken through the NRRP regarding the training of civil servants.
We will emphasize with arguments the importance of digital skills for civil in the evolution of digital public administration and the achievement of the objectives of the Digital Decade, using relevant academic sources that identify digital skills as a fundamental element in the success of digital transformation and support complex training strategies, such as mentoring and exchange of experience, stimulated by periodic testing, as well as recruitment of personnel in the body of civil servants who already possess digital skills.
In support of the research, the data used will be collected through an analysis of official reference documents, both European and national, such as information regarding the level of digital skills of the Romanian human capital reflected in the DESI studies, the first report of the European Commission on the state of evolution of the Digital Decade, the Eurostat database, analyses and studies conducted by national key factors in the development of digital skills in the public sector: the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania, the National Agency of Civil Servants, the “Centru” Regional Development Agency , etc.
The next step of the research will focus on an actual case study on the digital skills training program for 32,500 civil servants initiated by the ANFP and its analysis in relation to the deadlines assumed in the investment implementation process, European strategies for the development of digital skills, comparing the results with similar studies in the literature regarding other complementary methods of supporting digital training in the public sector.
The paper will conclude by formulating conclusions and proposing future research directions.
Keywords: digital skills, NRRP, civil servants, Digital Decade
Author's information. Maria Matei, PhD, 2nd year, National School of Political and Administrative Studies Bucharest, specialization in Administrative Sciences. PhD thesis topic: Evolution of E-governance in Romania in the context of the European Digital Decade. Formation of human capital.
Year of birth: 1977, Târgu-Jiu, Gorj county. Job position: councilor at the Prefect Institution-Gorj County, Monitoring Service for Decentralized Public Services, Emergency Situations, and European Affairs. Contact information: Tel: 0757.733.987, e-mail: maria.matei.22@drd.snspa.ro.