This report provides a diagnosis of the extent to which Bulgaria’s public sector uses innovative approaches to strengthen its institutional and administrative capacity to deliver better policies and services to its citizens. A more responsive state administration can help increase public trust in Bulgarian public institutions.
This report was commissioned by the Council of Ministers’ Administration of Bulgaria under the Technical Support Instrument funded by the European Commission with a view to gathering insights into how the country can strengthen the innovative capacity of its civil service. It draws upon international best practices and guidance, such as the principles found in the OECD Declaration of Public Sector Innovation [OECD/LEGAL/0450]. The Declaration was adopted by 38 OECD Members and 5 non-Members, and aims to set innovation as a core and strategic function of public sector organisations and in the day-to-day work of public servants.
This report examines key milestones, stakeholders, and several factors influencing public sector innovation efforts in Bulgaria’s State Administration. It reviews Bulgaria’s innovative capacity against best practices from OECD Member countries and provides policy recommendations for Bulgarian authorities and policymakers. The assessment builds on previous OECD work on public governance such as Centre of government scan of Bulgaria: Strengthening strategic decision-making at the centre of government (2022).
This report is distinct from the evaluation of Bulgaria conducted by the Public Governance Committee as part of the country’s OECD accession process, which began on 25 January 2022. Nevertheless, the recommendations in this report are designed to align Bulgaria more closely with OECD standards and best practices and could provide technical support for actions related to accession.
The recommended improvements to Bulgaria's public sector innovative capacity offer an opportunity to address practical and structural challenges in adopting innovative approaches across the State Administration. This report has been peer-reviewed by members of the Network of the National Contact Points of the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation.
This Innovative Capacity Assessment was approved and declassified by the OECD Public Governance Committee on 17 October 2024 and prepared for publication by the Secretariat.