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Creating a Culture of a Quality Development in the Regional Administration Lovech

Received Golden Case recognition at the CAF Users Event 2025 in Warsaw

CAF Best Practice
Date of publication: September 2025

Executive summary

The practice has been implemented to improve the activities and results achieved by the organisation from 2021 to 2024. Improvements have been achieved in strategic planning, work processes, administrative services, and employee initiative. The project is innovative because it demonstrates the benefits of the progressive implementation of quality standards in public administration.

About the organisation

Lovech is one of the 28 regions, defined by a Decree of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria in January 1999. The town of Lovech is the administrative centre of the region, which includes 8 municipalities, 112 settlements and 116394 residents. The territory of the region is 4 128 km2. The regional administration is a legal entity supported by the budget with its headquarters in the settlement, which is the administrative centre of the region. The regional administration is a state administrative structure in Bulgaria, which represents the executive power at regional level. It functions as a territorial body of the government and assists the regional governor in exercising their powers, ensures their technical activities and carries out activities related to administrative services for citizens and legal entities. The regional administration is headed by a regional governor, who is a single-person executive body, appointed by the Council of Ministers (the Government).

The main responsibilities of the regional governor are to implement state policy at local level and to ensure correspondence of national and local interests in the implementation of regional policy. Their obligations include:

 

  • management and protection of state property in the region;
  • the legal conformity of the acts issued by the bodies of local self-government and the local administration;
  • coordination and control of the activities of the local units of the ministries and of the other administrative structures, which implement administrative services within the territory of the region, regardless of their hierarchical subordination;
  • protection of the population, cultural property and physical assets, the environment, in case of disaster.

The total number of staff in Regional Administration (RA) Lovech is 28 employees.

Quality improvement aspects

The “CAF Effective User” certificate (awarded to us in 2018) expired in 2020, and the management of the Regional Administration Lovech started the implementation of the CAF 2020 model in the administration. This decision was driven by the desire to improve the overall performance of the organization. Over the years, changes have taken place in the administration team, with newly recruited employees, who brought fresh ideas for improving the work processes. At the same time, the experience gained from the implementation of the first CAF project in the period 2017-2018, with the guidance of the National CAF Resource Centre of Bulgaria, gave us confidence that we can successfully handle a new project independently with our own resources and human potential. By implementing the improvement project, we set ourselves the goal of improving the work processes and administrative services used by citizens and legal entities, upgrading the qualifications and administrative culture of employees and increasing the efficiency of their work.

It is worth noting that two of our colleagues are associated members of the National CAF Resource Centre of Bulgaria and passed the CAF application training and its external evaluation, which was also an important factor in the process of the project implementation. The project objectives were not quantified, because the main idea was to involve employees and use the internal potential of the organization in formulating improvements. As a result, all employees became aware of the long-term importance of implementing models for organizational excellence as shared values. 

Stakeholders and communication

By order of the Regional Governor, the implementation of CAF 2020 was mandated, as the senior management took responsibility for the process and has provided the necessary resources. The project was supported by the National CAF Resource Centre.

The project was presented initially to the manager staff, and in a separate meeting, to the whole administration personnel. The members of the CAF team were volunteers, appointed on the basis of certain criteria, which contributed significantly to the motivation and good teamwork of the staff. A team chairperson was appointed to manage, organize, and coordinate the activities in conjunction with the management. Throughout the project work, the chairperson showed responsibility, commitment, focus and motivation.

A series of activities were implemented in order to broadcast the project’s messages inside and outside the organisation. In the internal network of the organisation was developed a “CAF 2020” section with materials and documents, such as a “Recommendations from Colleagues” and a sub- menu for feedback and suggestions from all employees. A Communication Plan was drafted, pointing out communicational objectives, target groups, communication channels and activities. A “CAF 2020” section was designed for the administration’s website, and it is visible on the homepage, so that any interested person can use the published information (https://www.lovech.government.bg/section-94-content.html ).

According to the number of downloads the most interesting files in this section are:

  • Self-assessment report on the implementation of CAF 2020 in Lovech OA for the period 2018-2020 – 517 times.
  • Communication Plan of Lovech RA – 460
  • Improvement Plan of Regional Administration Lovech for the period 2022-2024 – 449 times.

A Leaflet was prepared and placed in the Administrative Service Centre, to inform the citizens about the process of CAF implementation in the administration and providing an opportunity for feedback, opinions, suggestions. Surveys were developed to explore the needs and opinions of citizens before, during and after the change process. Information about the project was regularly published on the website of the Regional Administration Lovech and sent to local, regional and national media, who covered it. The participation of the Public Relations Officer as a part of the “CAF team” was of significant contribution for the objective and elaborate coverage of the project. The project was implemented by the Regional Administration Lovech without official partners, but with the cooperation and support of many organisations and institutions and other stakeholders.

Implementation process/approach

The process and the steps taken have been carefully planned. They are as follows:

1.      Planning and organizing the process

The comprehensive implementation of the Organizational Excellence Tool – CAF 2020 was assigned in August 2021, by an order of the Regional Governor. Throughout the process, senior management has supported the project, the work of the teams and employees, and provided the necessary resources. A self-assessment group called “the CAF team” was formed with set tasks. The CAF team defined the framework and planned follow-up activities in the self-assessment process. The order, issued by the regional governor, instructed all employees of the Regional Administration Lovech to provide the necessary assistance to the self-assessment group in the implementation of the process, thus regulating the involvement of other employees in the work of the team and the successful implementation of the model. An “Instruction for the implementation of the organisational excellence tool CAF 2020 in Regional Administration Lovech” was worked out. It defined the objectives, participants and requirements for the CAF team, tools, approaches and activities in order to provide

a clear and systematic framework for the whole process. A timetable was approved to serve as a basis for consistent implementation of the main steps on the way of the application of the model. A mechanism was in place to monitor and oversee the implementation of the roadmap, with progress achieved at key milestones. The steps were regularly reported to the management and shared with the staff and other stakeholders.

The decision to implement CAF 2020 was presented to all management staff at a meeting held by the Regional Governor. Since the process was launched, regular reports on its progress have been made during operational meetings with the Regional Governor. A Communication Plan defines the objectives of the CAF communication, the target groups and the messages to them, the communication channels and tools, the planned communication activities, etc.

A variety of communication channels were used with different media. Registration has been made in the electronic database of the European CAF Resource Centre in Maastricht – for CAF 2020 implementing organisations. Eighth employees took part in the CAF team, including people in leadership and expert positions from different structural units of Regional Administration Lovech. The group was established on a voluntary basis, and its key objectives were to conduct an analytical self-assessment of Regional Administration Lovech based on the CAF methodology and to prepare a report on the results of the self-assessment.

The roles and specific responsibilities of the team members were further specified in ad-hoc meetings. The compiling of a detailed archive of documents was planned in order to track each step of the process, and the team members to systematize and organize this documentation, were selected.

In September 2021, the members of the Self-Assessment group took part in a training on “Implementation of CAF 2020 in RA Lovech” by an associate member of the national CAF Resource Centre. In February 2022, a second training, related to prioritization of improvement measures and preparation of the Improvement Plan, was held.

Information about the training was published on the website of the RA Lovech, as well as through a press release to local and regional media and social networks.

2.      Preparation for self-assessment

A portfolio of documents has been created to serve as evidence and justification for the self-assessment. As an additional source of justification for the self-assessment, a satisfaction survey with the employees, has been organised through an anonymous questionnaire.

A large-scale survey of the opinion and suggestions for improvements from key partners of the administration was conducted – letters were sent to stakeholders – a total of 58 addressees, (such as: The Administration of the Council of Ministers, the State Agency for Road Safety, municipalities, territorial structures of the executive power, NGOs, health, cultural, educational institutions and media in Lovech region) with an explanation of the CAF tool and its introduction in the RA Lovech. In response to the request for their opinions on improving the administration’s activities, including recommendations, strengths and measures for improvement, were received external assessment letters from 18 organizations, which were analysed in the context of the self-assessment and improvement process of the administration’s work.

A series of self-assessment group meetings were held, in which decisions were discussed and adopted on the organization of work and actions related to the self- assessment, the distribution of tasks and the method of their implementation, the roles and responsible persons, the actions and steps in the process, the deadlines and progress of implementation.

3.      Carrying out self-assessment

The essence of the self-assessment went through two key phases – individual and consensus assessment. The head of the team prepared a timetable for preparing individual assessments and for holding consensus meetings on them.

The consensus meetings were held in an atmosphere of open dialogue, with each member having the opportunity to present their views and findings. Initially were discussed the ascertainment that had similarities in the individual assessments. The next step was to reach consensus on the conflicting opinions. The adoption of a consensus assessment was based on arguments in the available evidence and to additional information, if necessary.

During these meetings, a table was filled with the results of the team’s consensus assessment. Based on the self-assessment work, the team identified 259 strengths, 162 areas/elements for improvement, and proposed 179 ideas for improvement measures/activities in an analytical report. The report was approved by the Regional Governor of Lovech Region and was communicated to all RA Lovech staff through the internal network. A special presentation on the report and the key results of the self- assessment was prepared and presented to staff and other stakeholders. The entire report is published on the administration’s website in the CAF section and is publicly available in order to ensure maximum transparency in the work on the implementation of the model and to provide feedback to and from stakeholders.

4.      Improvements

Improvement Plan for the Lovech Regional Administration was drafted as a result of the Self-Assessment Report. The Plan identified measures with specific improvement activities (32 measures in total), targets for results/indicators, and responsible persons/units for the respective measures.

The improvement plan had an overall implementation period of 2 years – 2022-2024. The following key areas for improvement were identified: strategic planning, work processes, administrative services, skills enhancement and stimulating employee initiative.

RA Lovech employees were invited to share their view on the Plan (during weekly Directorate workshops) as feedback on the Plan. We paid special attention to the fact that there is an opportunity for them to take part more actively in the implementation as there are some measures in the Plan that require the commitment of a wider range of people in the working groups. For this purpose, every employee was encouraged to express their willingness to participate in the formed work groups.

A system for monitoring and controlling the implementation of the Improvement Plan was developed aiming to provide the tools necessary to ensure the effective implementation of the planned objectives, priorities and specific measures, and to prevent problems in the course of the plan’s realization (if any).

Seven reviews of the implementation of the plan have been carried out as a result of the team meetings and discussions on the implementation of the measures. By the end of 2024, all measures have been implemented.

The methods and tools for implementing good practice are based on:
  • Coherence between strategic and annual plans and projects, activities and daily tasks in the organization.
  • Visibility and transparency of the processes, with the opportunity for feedback from external and internal stakeholders.
  • Cooperation between the structural units in the administration and the project team, taking into account each contribution to the common tasks and updating plans when necessary.
  • Taking advantage of established partner relationships, and bringing in new partners, who will contribute to better execution of planned tasks.
  • Interaction in the digital environment in order to be operational and oriented towards intensive exchange and communication at all levels.
  • Use of simple, flexible, and inexpensive tools, based on sustainable resource

The main commitment is to the application of the eight principles of excellence: Results orientation; Citizen/customer focus; Leadership and constancy of purpose; Management of processes and facts; People development and involvement; Continuous learning, innovation and improvement; Partnership development; Social responsibility.

There were some project costs that can be divided into:
  1. Internal:
    • For the preparation of leaflets, questionnaires and other documents produced by the
    • For conducting 1 training and 2 team building sessions for all administration
    • For implementation of 3 socially responsible initiatives: cleaning and restoration of contaminated sites, and a charity campaign.
B.     External:
  • For payment of the living expenses and the fee for the 2 team training
The main advantages in the implementation process are related to:
  • The existence of established rules and clarity about the structure, processes and responsibilities within the organisation.
  • Clearly defined external and internal customers of the organisation, and their specific
  • Availability of a clear communication policy and established channels of interaction with the external environment.
  • The professional and personal qualities of the employees in RA Lovech and their motivation to achieve the planned objectives.

A major challenge in the implementation process was the frequent change of the regional governors during the course of the project due to the series of extraordinary parliamentary elections in the Republic of Bulgaria. This challenge was overcome with the help of active communication between the CAF team senior management, by clarifying objectives, planning activities and deadlines for their implementation.

Success Measurement – main results with regards to the focus area

Result area 1: Strategic planning of organisational development
  • A Development Strategy for RA Lovech is adopted with its own mission – articulating a vision and values, as well as integrating elements of sustainability, digitalization, innovation and social responsibility.
  • Improved communication with the internal and external stakeholders on Lovech RA strategic and planning Stakeholder involvement in the accomplishment of the Lovech RA development strategy is ensured.
  • The RA Lovech Risk Management Strategy is up to
  • Partnership cooperation agreements were contracted with the Burgas RA, Gabrovo RA, Ministry of labour and social policy, Forestry University , and a register of partnerships was established.
  • A proactive information policy has been conducted on how the organisation works, its structure and processes.
Result Area 2: Human Resource Management
  • Training on “Effective Communication” was organised for all employees to improve team communication and team building.
  • Team building events were organised with the regional administrations of Burgas and Gabrovo to exchange experiences and good practices.
  • A system to encourage employees to implement innovations and good practices in their work and promote initiative was approved by the Regional Governor.
  • A system of flexible working conditions was introduced in the administration as one of the factors for achieving work-life balance for employees.
  • Voluntary participation of more employees in activities related to social responsibility was encouraged. This came as a result of organized training with the participation of all employees of the organization on social responsibility. Social responsibility causes were identified by employees annually, the participation in socially responsible initiatives was encouraged – cleaning polluted areas, painting benches, the “Talents in the Administration” charity initiative,
  • A separate waste collection system has been introduced in the administration,
  • A mechanism for learning by sharing what employees have learnt from different types of training in the internal network was created.
  • Apprenticeship programmes were implemented as a means of attracting new staff to the administration.
Result Area 3: Technology management in line with the strategic and operational objectives of Lovech Regional Administration
  • The RA Lovech Digitalisation Plan with specific objectives, activities and measures was implemented
  • By regulating the electronic exchange of documents in the organisation, the internal paper-based workflow was essentially reduced, and employees became technically equipped with the necessary technology for performing their duties. The contact information of the employees on the website of the Lovech RA for communication with the users has been kept up to date. The ways of surveying the users’ satisfaction with the provided administrative services of the RA Lovech has been updated.
  • The internal rules for the operation of the regional councils and committees were updated with the possibility of online/offline meetings (in view of COVID-19).
  • Citizens have been encouraged to give ideas and suggestions. The gathered information was analysed and used to improve the organization’s
  • The information posted on the internal network has been updated, and unnecessary information has been archived.
  • Compliance with the requirements of the Administrative Services Ordinance and the templates of applications for the provision of administrative services, deadlines and fees introduced by the RA Lovech was ensured.
  • The internal rules for administrative services have been reviewed regarding the application of the general, and some of the recommended standards for the quality of administrative services, according to the Administrative Services Ordinance, have been applied.
  • The quantitative and qualitative indicators used to measure the results are related to the number of documents developed, the number of partnerships, the given feedback, etc. The implemented performance monitoring and control system helps to track their qualitative dimension and effect on the administration’s

The essence of the innovation and the transferability of the solutions introduced

The project is innovative and a good example for other institutions because it shows in practice the benefits of persistent application of organisational development tools and quality standards in public administration. The application of the CAF model in the Lovech Regional Administration twice over a period of 6 years has shown that consistent efforts to demonstrate the benefits of its application have not been in vain. Visible results and benefits have been obtained for different stakeholders, which is the motivation that makes employees, partners, and clients trust the process, be motivated and satisfied with the achieved improvement.

Some of the measures in the Improvement Plan were integrated into the organisation’s strategic planning/administration objectives and the administration’s Annual Plans for 2023, 2024 and 2025, which is a guarantee for the successful implementation of the project.

For the implementation of some of the measures, specific working groups were formed, composed of CAF team members and other administration staff. The working groups were designated by the Governor and were given responsibilities and deadlines for the implementation of the task.

The inclusion of the Public Relations Officer with experience as a journalist in the CAF team itself contributed significantly to the rich and intensive work on communicating the CAF and its implementation process. With her professional expertise, they effectively assisted in the development of the CAF Communication Plan and in providing regular information about the project inside and outside the administration, so that maximum publicity and transparency about the work of the process team to be ensured and all stakeholders regularly informed about the progress of the implementation of the model.

All members of the CAF group contributed significantly to the correct and quality introduction of the model by their devoted and intense work in an excellent team atmosphere and motivation, clearly understanding the meaning of the efforts made in their additional work on CAF. Senior management appreciated the work of the CAF team.

Lessons learnt

Lesson One: Building a balanced and motivated team:
  • When forming the project team, it is a good idea to include employees with different backgrounds but with high motivation and willingness to work on new challenging tasks, including young employees who can provide a different and fresh perspective.
  • Organize training sessions for the team, to give them confidence in the right
  • Giving out praise and recognition of employee contributions and efforts from management is a strong motivating factor.
  • The role of the project leader is essential – they need to be an experienced employee with good communication and teamwork skills.
Lesson Two: Communication, communication and more communication:
  • The project should not be limited to a certain group of employees, but open to all stakeholders (inside and outside the organization).
  • Rely on regular communication and prompt information from the project leader to all members – about planned tasks and team meetings (in terms of timing and content), as well as specific tasks and expectations for each group member.
  • The purpose of broad communication is to create commitment and dedication to the project by every member of the working community and other stakeholders. Understanding the significance of the end result and its purpose is of paramount importance for the success of the efforts. A wide range of actions and channels need to be used to make the staff and the stakeholders widely aware of the work of the project.
Lesson Three: Good planning guarantees future success:
  • Good planning and a balanced distribution of tasks within the team is essential, e.g. the group leader coordinates, structures, monitors the overall process, prepares timetables, provides all team members with the agenda of the meetings, organizes the minutes of meetings, coordinates the activities of the working groups formed to implement the improvement plan, etc.
  • It is important that at every step in the process, team members know what is expected from them, who they can seek advice/assistance from, and work committedly in an atmosphere of openness and
  • Periodic review and monitoring of performance is a guarantee of a positive end result, including if corrective action needs to be taken.
  • Documenting the entire process is invaluable material for analysing what happened during the process.

Read the
complete study

About the author(s)

Neli Miteva
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION LOVECH
Bulgaria

Other best practices

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Bulgaria
Written by: Neli Miteva
CAF Team manager
of REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION LOVECH

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