Development of more transparent transversal skills to connect with the EU

The "Connected to EU" project was born out of the need to address the structural fragility of public administration, highlighted by the health emergency, and the lack of adequate competencies among managerial staff. Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU establishes that Union institutions must operate in the most transparent way possible to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society. Public bodies can benefit from greater legitimacy and effectiveness only if they are fully accountable to society and citizens. To be efficient and effective, an administrative system must impact the value system of society and enable all citizens to participate more easily and actively in the decision-making process. It is therefore essential to invest in the human capital managing these systems, developing not only technical skills but, most importantly, transversal skills for those tasked with leading public institutions. The project aims to foster a constructive dialogue and international cooperation to develop a community of public administrations that aspire to excellence and to create guidelines for public executives.

The main objectives the project aimed to achieve were: - Create constructive dialogue and international cooperation to form a community of public administrations aspiring to excellence. - Develop guidelines for public managers to enhance their personal and organizational soft skills and digital capabilities, with the goal of making public bodies best practices. - Address the need for improving public administration efficiency through digital transformation, especially in light of weaknesses exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. - Develop transversal and digital skills of public managers to make public bodies more effective, accountable, and resilient. Build a network for proactive discussion on the state of public administration across the partner countries (Italy, Romania, Czech Republic). - Create an interactive technological infrastructure for information and training aimed at developing soft skills and promoting best practices among public managers. - Produce guidelines on becoming a "virtual public executive" to help make public institutions best practices. - Promote active citizenship and improve dialogue between citizens and public administration. - Increase the quality of work in public organizations.

The phases of the "Connected to EU" project were structured as follows: Phase I - Context Analysis: Analysis of the reference contexts and data collection in the participating countries Evaluation of the collected data Mapping of public bodies and census of target adults with a focus on soft skills Data clustering using probabilistic sampling (15 managers per country) Phase II - Development of the Model: Identification of monitoring indicators to define the ideal state of a public body Definition of the model for developing the soft skills of the virtuous public manager Creation of a new non-formal investigation methodology Administration and evaluation of the survey results Identification of personal and professional growth competencies Phase III - Information/Training: Creation of an interactive technological infrastructure for information and training Development of tools for organizational and strategic management Experimentation, monitoring, and evaluation of the training model Phase IV - Evaluation, Dissemination, and Replicability: Creation of guidelines for becoming a virtual public executive Analysis of the project's replicability to other target groups Dissemination of results

The main concrete outputs and results of the project so far included: A joint report on the shared analysis of organizational and strategic management of public bodies and soft skills of target adults in the three partner countries (Italy, Romania, Czech Republic). Development of a soft skills development model for virtuous public managers. Creation of an interactive technological infrastructure for information and training, including: A project website (www.connectedtoeu.eu), An e-learning platform with training modules Implementation of e-learning activities for target groups in each partner country. Collection of feedback and creation of individual analysis reports on the e-learning activities. Development of the structure and initial content for guidelines on becoming a "virtual public executive" to help make public institutions best practices. Organization of multiplier events to disseminate project results in partner countries (two completed so far, one upcoming). Regular transnational project meetings (both virtual and in-person) to coordinate activities and monitor progress. Ongoing dissemination activities through various channels (websites, social media, articles, etc.). full guidelines document.