Establishing an Expertise Unit: Past Lessons for a par excellence fund

Today, GAP Institute published a new report entitled “Establishing an Expertise Unit: Past Lessons for a par excellence fund.”

The Government of Kosovo, at the beginning of 2022, established the “Expertise Unit” to facilitate the engagement of local and foreign experts in the public sector, to provide subject matter expertise in certain areas where there is a lack of human capacity. The Government had introduced a similar practice in 2009, when the “Brain Fund” was established.  In spite of the good start, the “Brain Fund,” would gradually transform, from a fund intended to attract individuals skilled in areas of expertise shortage, into a fund of allowances for managerial positions. As this initiative had strayed off course from its original purpose, GAP Institute had proposed to terminate the Fund in order to stop the misuse of public money.

GAP Institute through this report provides greater detail on the new Government initiative, juxtaposed to the six-year (2009 -2015) practice of the Cadre Fund, and some examples of similar practices in other countries.

In order to prevent the recurrence of previous abusive practices, GAP Institute provided the following recommendations: Clearly define needs of the institutions and areas/positions for which the engagement of experts will be required; Provide a clear specification of eligibility criteria for the selection of candidates; Provide support to staff in areas of expertise shortage, who are currently part of the civil service, as a retention incentive; At least 25% of the financing for this Fund should be covered by the State budget; In addition to engaging foreign experts, efforts should be made to include local professionals who benefit from scholarship opportunities to study abroad, funded by the Government itself or international organizations , with the expectation of contributing to Kosovo institutions upon return.

Please find the full Report by clicking here.

The analysis in Serbian language is available in printed form. 

The EU funded project "Innovation for resilient media and citizen engagement" is implemented by: Kosovo 2.0 and GAP Institute. 

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of GAP Institute and Kosovo 2.0 and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. 

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