Presentation given at the Service Design and Delivery in a Digital Age - Academies for EaP countries organised by the SIGMA Programme and the GiZ Eastern Partnership Regional Fund. Topic 3: Quality management systems and quality culture.

1. The country–wide approach in
stimulating and supporting CAF
in Poland
Katarzyna Dudzik
National CAF Correspondent
Civil Service Department
Chancellery of the Prime Minister

2. Information to share:
• Main institutions in Poland involved in CAF stimulating and supporting
• Review of joint and sectoral initiatives implemented aimed at promoting the
CAF in Poland
• Key plans for the nearest future in promoting and stimulating CAF
• Lessons learnt

3. Main institutions in Poland involved in CAF
stimulating and supporting:
- main actors and their responsibilities

4. Civil Service Departament
Chancellery of the Prime Minister
National Institute for Local Government
Main institutions in Poland
involved in CAF stimulating and supporting

5. Representative of the Head of the Civil
Service, Civil Service Department in the
Chancellery of the Prime Minister
National Institute for
Local Government,
public agency of the
Ministry of the Interior
and Administration
Experts representing private sector or local
administration, retrained under the EU project
implemented by the MIA
Structure of the Polish „CAF Network”
– main actors

6. • Promotion of the CAF in the public sector
• Dissemination of information on the CAF
• Representing the country at CAF NC meetings
• Promoting Polish good practices abroad
• Cooperation with other stakeholders in
promoting and popularising CAF
• Promoting of CAF in local gov’t
• Ensuring of the PEF for local gov’t
• Coordinating of the CAF experts
network
• In cooperation with CAF NC -
representing of the country in CAF
NC meetings
• Cooperating within the expert network
• Assessing of CAF implementation under PEF
• Refreshing/ increasing of their CAF/ PEF knowledge
Structure of the Polish „CAF Network”
– main actors and their responsibilities

7. Review of joint and sectoral initiatives implemented
aimed at promoting the CAF in Poland
- selected activities

8. • 2006 – 2007: "Implementation of the CAF method in selected ministries
and central offices”
The first years of CAF in Poland
- joint and sectoral key projects stimulating CAF, co-financed by the EU
• 2008 – 2009: „Improving management capacity in government offices”
• 2009 – 2011: „Preparation of local government units for use the Common
Assessment Framework (CAF) in the process of measuring potential and
achievements through training measuring potential and achievements through
training staff and advisory assistance”

9. Photo:CAF NO
CAF External Feedback and possibility to apply for Effective
CAF User Label for local gov’t
Photo:CAF NO Photo:CAF NO
• Polish version of the CAF External Feedback (PEF)
• Positive response of the Head of Civil Service to MIA’s proposal to involve CAF
Correspondent in PEF implementation in local governments (2012)
• 77 officies with granted the label of „Effective CAF User” (2015 – 2016)
• After 2016 only 6 of them have applied for the label more than once

10. Network of CAF Experts (CAF External Feedback
Actors), coordinated by CAF NO:
• CAF experts meetings (2017 - 2018)
• Close cooperation in the process of updating the model
and translating the CAF2020 brochure into Polish
(2019-2020)
• close cooperation in promoting CAF in Poland and
abroad
Photo:
CAF
NO
Photo:
CAF
NO

11. Free of charge
training activities on
CAF for gov’t
administration (2017-
2018)
Free of charge
training activities
on CAF for
government
administration
(2017)
Photo:
CAF
NO
Photo:
CAF
NO
Training/workshops on CAF: Promotion of the CAF during a meeting with
the DGs of government offices in Poland
and the Public Service Council (2017)
In 2020 - free of charge online training
on CAF for 330 public administration
employees

12. Publications on CAF and PEF:
• Polish CAF brochure and CAF flyer
• Polish PEF procedure
• CAF guide
• Selection of good practices, implemented as a
result of the CAF use

13. https://www.gov.pl/web/sluzbacywilna/caf
https://www.gov.pl/web/sluzbacywilna/wiadomosci-caf
Dedicated webpage on CAF of the CAF NC:
https://www.nist.gov.pl
Dedicated webpage on CAF of the CAF NO:

14. • 4079 registered CAF users from 59 countries
CAF in numbers according to EIPA database (2021)
• More than 10% - 424 offices and institutions from Poland
• Poland still in the world's top five countries with the highest
number of CAF users
• 77 offices with the label Effective CAF Users

15. Online survey on CAF knowledge, interest and
needs among public administration offices
- joint project of the CAF NC and CAF NO (2021)
• The basis was an agreement between the head of the civil service (SSC) and the
director of NIST (CAF NO)
• Main goal: identification of factors hindering the application of the CAF (difficulties)
and possible solutions (which could encourage the use of the model)
• 1 081 public administration offices involved – both at central and local level
• The analysis of the survey results and the development of recommendations for
HCS and NIST on how to popularise the CAF model were carried out by the team of
four Polish EFAC

16. Survey on CAF
- selected results
• 33% of the respondents (357 entities) confirmed their knowledge of the CAF model
• 45% of them (161 entities) said they used the CAF model for self-evaluation of the
organisation's performance
• the survey confirmed the usefulness of the CAF model in improving the organisation's
management: the improvement in the functioning of offices as a result of self-evaluation took
place mainly in two areas: people (54%) and processes (42%)
• time-consuming (73%) and labour-intensive (57%) indicated as the main obstacles to using the
model
• great interest in learning more about carrying out self-evaluation using the CAF (almost 60% of
all respondents)
• according to 75% of the respondents the self-assessment process needs strong external
support
• 73% of the respondents indicated training for the management of the organization as the most
necessary form

17. Survey on CAF
- key recommendations
• to intensify activities building awareness about CAF and competences in its application among
managers of public administration units
• seminars, trainings, workshops and online consultations of experts should be the most
common forms of dissemination of the model
• to direct the actions of popularisation and promotion of the model in the first place towards
larger offices employing more than 100 people
• in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance:
• to undertake activities promoting the CAF model as a tool for self-assessment within the
management control system
• to develop guidelines on how to apply the CAF in order to achieve
a self-assessment under management control which meets the requirements
of the Public Finance Act and the guidelines of the MoF
• to develop a several-year strategy for the dissemination of the CAF model including a
promotional plan

18. Cooperation with the Ministry of Finance (since the end of 2021)
- promoting CAF as one of the tools to carry out a self-assessment of management control
• Between February and July 2022, 3 webinars on CAF co-organised :
• nearly 1 000 participants
• well evaluated: met the expectations of the vast majority of
participants
• interest in the topic and in similar events in the future expressed
• Why MoF? - MoF coordinates the process of management control in Polish
public sector. The authors of the report stated that “(…) the CAF model
competes with the self-assessment conducted as part of the management
control system”. This state of affairs certainly does not encourage the use of the
CAF model.

19. Cooperation with the Ministry of Finance
- promoting CAF as one of the tools to carry out a self-assessment of management control
• In the statement:
• what is CAF?
• what information can we get from self-assessment
according to CAF?
• what are the benefits of regular applying the model?
• how to apply the CAF?
• why use the CAF model in management system self-
assessment?
• Joint – Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance – statement on
"Common Assessment Framework, CAF: an effective tool for self-assessment of
management control” (December 2022)
• Next step – including „CAF” in the guidelines for management control self-assessment,
scheduled for updating. First meeting scheduled for the mid of September 2023

20. Webinars promoting successful CAF users
• Webinar on „Improving the functioning of
the Ministry of Climate and Environment
using the CAF2020 model” (2021)
• Webinar on „CAF in local authorities” (2021)
• Webinar on good practices implemented in
Lubuskie Voivodeship Office in Gorzów
Wielkopolski (LUW) through the use of the
Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
(2022)

21. Using different channels to promote CAF
• Popularising free of charge events promoting CAF and CAF users
experience:
• Free of charge webinars on CAF organised by the Polish Centre
for Testing and Certification (2022)
• Public Management Forum organised by the National School of
Public Administration in Warsaw on improvements in public
administration as a result of applying modern management
approaches, including the CAF (2022/2023)
• Recommending CAF as a possible topic for trainings offered by
National School of Public Administration (2023)
• of the continuing training for public administration
• of the curriculum foe NSPA students under full time training

22. Website on CAF updated with new, useful information
(2022)
Good practice:
information from
authorities that have
applied the CAF
model and achieved
success
EFACs Network:
contact list to all
EFACs ready to
cooperate with the
authorite intere=sted
in using CAF

23. Key plans for the nearest future in promoting and
stimulating CAF
- planned areas of CAF Network activities

24. What are the key plans for the nearest future?
• Continuing the cooperation with MoF: updating the guidelines for
management control self-assessment by adding information on CAF
• 2024 second CAF survey
• Continuing following the EFACs’ recommendation included in the survey
report
• Continuing the close cooperation at the international level on
simplification of PEF procedure and promoting sectoral „CAF in
Education”
• First half of 2025 – Polish Presidency in the EU Council: leading the work of
EUPAN and the CAF National Correspondent meeting

25. Lessons learnt
- summary

26. •First CAF brochure in Polish
•CAF popularised under the
project of the CPM and MIA, co-
financed by the EU funds
• 420 offices with direct support
in using CAF
•PEF translated and procedure
on external feedback for local
gov agreed
•retrained EFACs and initiating
the EFACs network
2004-2013
•delegation of CAF NO tasks to
NIST
•77 offices with the title of ECUs
•sectoral activities on CAF
promotion – trainings,
guidelines
2014 - 2020 •coming back to joint
cooperation: research on the
familiarity and interest in using
the CAF model in the Polish
administration
2021
• cooperation with the MoF
– promoting CAF as a tool
to conduct internal control
self assessment
• cooperation with different
stakeholders in
popularising CAF
2021 – up to
now
The country-wide CAF stimulation process
in Poland over the last almost 20 years

27. Lessons learnt
• „CAF Resource Centre” better than „CAF Network” (scattered responsibilities and tasks)
• CAF helps improve functioning of the organisation when leaders are committed. Insufficient
management interest/support consequently reduces team motivation
• As a rule - joint activities more effective than sectoral one
• Offices appreciate/expect external support in the use of CAF, the use of CAF by CAF users does not
always work (usually not) as a „perpetual motion”
• The quality of external support is crucial - not only for the conduct of the self-assessment, but also
for using the results to improve the organisation and repeat the CAF in the future
• Improvement in the functioning of offices as a result of self-evaluation mainly in two areas:
people and processes and CAF confirmed its usefulness during COVID-19 – its worth
highlighting the results of the international study to interest offices in CAF
• CAF is not cost-free - the cost of staff has to be borne in mind
• The CAF is most successful when it is the result of the organisation's own efforts and is not imposed
from above
• The benefits of the CAF are worth the effort both at national level in stimulating and promoting the
model as well as at the organisational level in applying the model

28. Ministry of Climate
and Environment

29. Organisations that regularly use
the results of the CAF self-assessment
to plan and implement improvement activities
continuously improve their functioning
and the quality of their services

30. What is greatest asset of CAF?
- selected opinions of the Polish CAF users
Facilitates introduction of
new solutions that
improve the quality of
work, products and
services provided
Team building - the joint
commitment of
management and
employees, contributes to
the elimination of horizontal
silos in the organisation
Low cost - CAF is
cheap to apply
Introduces a focus on
productivity in the
organisation and focus
on the quality of results
Offers a holistic
assessment/diagnosis
of the organisation,
supported by concrete
evidence
Provides comprehensive
information on the organisation's
performance, highlighting
strengths but also identifying
areas for improvement. It thus
makes it easier to determine the
desired course of action.

31. Lubuski Voivedeship Office
in Gorzów Wielkopolski
• Examples of improvement activities:
• "Starter package" for a newly recruited employee
• "Idea Box" - new function on the intranet
• Implementation of internal recruitment
• Application of CAF since 2009, 5 SA to date

32. Kraków City Hall
• Examples of improvement activities:
• Simple language in communication with the customer/citizen
• Krakow Taxpayer Portal
• Citizen service points in selected shopping centres
• Improved internal communication
• Application of CAF since 2011, 5 SA to date

33. County Office
in Nowa Sól
0
50
100
150
200
250
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
Serie1
Serie3
Serie5
Serie7
• Examples of improvement activities:
• Image study of the County Office in Nowa Sól
• Development of mission, vision and value systems
• Review, development and implementation of an organisational
structure for better knowledge monitoring in the County Office
• Review and development of internal information channels
• Application of CAF since 2013, 4 SA to date

34. Contact us in Poland!
Polish National CAF Correspondent: Ms. Katarzyna Dudzik
katarzyna.dudzik@kprm.gov.pl
tel. +48 22 694 66 64/ +48 607 490 624
Polish National Organiser on CAF : Ms. Agnieszka Hermel
agnieszka.hermel@nist.gov.pl
tel. +48 500 165 787
Thank you for your attention!