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Using the power of digitalisation for shared process and quality knowledge management: Croatian digital tool eSUK

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

CAF Best Practice
Date of publication: September 2025

Executive summary

Digital tool (repository) eSUK (https://kvaliteta.gov.hr) is a result of ESF project on quality management which combines in innovative way methodology for quality management based on CAF 2020 with optimization and standardization of business processes. Formalized with Guidelines for Quality Management in Public Administration adopted by Croatian Government, laid the foundations for further implementation of quality management in PA. 

About the organisation

In 2018., Ministry of Public Administration started implementation of a quality management based on CAF 2020 in the Croatian Public Administration (PA) within ESF project. In 2020., Croatian ESF project team was recruited in Quality Management Division of Ministry of Justice and Public Administration with aim to ensure sustainability of the project results and coordination on implementing quality management system in Croatian Public Administration Bodies (PABs). Today, Quality Management Division is a part of Directorate for Digital Society Development and Strategic Planning in Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation which is, among other, responsible for administrative and professional affairs related to the public administration.

Quality improvement aspects

The general objective of the ESF project “Implementing a quality management system in the Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia” was to introduce quality management in Croatian PA as a unique concept that did not exist before – by defining new methodologies for PA in quality and process management and developing digital tool eSUK to support quality management implementation. Quality improvement aspects of the ESF project were:

  • transfer of already mapped processes in paper format for stakeholders in project in digital repository eSUK with engaged experts for process mapping work
  • building knowledge management base of official documents for stakeholders in project with engaged experts for quality management in digital repository eSUK
  • training of public servants to implement quality management in their PABs using digital tool eSUK in partnership with National School for Public Administration for professional training. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, training was completely online (Zoom platform, eSUK training environment (https://kvaliteta-edu.gov.hr/), which was very challenging and required an innovative approach since project required training of 600 public servants from all parts of country, and National School for Public Administration held training courses until then mostly in-person, in small class groups.

Stakeholders and communication

Ministry formed Steering Committee for implementing ESF project. Members of Committee were: Ministry State Secretary, Croatian ESF project team in Ministry, National School for Public Administration director, Ericsson Nikola Tesla project manager for development of digital tool eSUK (public procurement tender) and authorized representative of the public procurement contract for expertise in the field of quality management and process mapping.

Stakeholders on the project were 137 PABs (17 Ministries, 14 State administrative organizations, 16 counties, 32 cities, 32 municipalities, 26 legal entities with public authorities) and their public servants. On developing digital tool eSUK were engaged IT developers, together with experts in the field of quality management and process mapping, who were also engaged on training of public servants, all under public procurement contract.

In 2021, Croatian ESF project team translated a published CAF 2020 document and in 2022, Quality Management Division formed Working group of experts for evaluation and trainers on standardization and optimization of business processes and quality management (self-assessment) in partnership with National School for Public Administration.

Implementation process/approach

When it comes to use of digital tool eSUK, main challenge, due to COVID-19 pandemic, was tackling with different levels of public servants digital competencies. Quality Management Division Working group prepared instructions and tutorials for online courses and was in charge for inviting public servants on training. Public servants who have undergone the whole training were competent for managing implementation of quality management and were appointed as Head of Quality Management for their PAB.

Other main challenge in using digital tool eSUK was the fact that, although this digital solution was tested during and after development by IT developers and experts in quality management and process mapping, when launched for training purposes in test environment and used by a larger number of public servants, it became clearer that some setups need to be modified and more tailor-made for PA users, which is in plan (required data for process description). As there was no legal framework for quality management in PA during the period of the project implementation, certain challenge for Heads of Quality Management in PABS and Quality Management Division in Ministry was to ensure further implementation of quality management new methodologies and using of digital tool eSUK.

Main project output is development and implementation of digital tool eSUK for quality management as innovative and representative example of CAF implementation, as well as digitalization and modernization of Croatian PA, which does not require further costs for PABs in knowledge management as important enabler for quality management implementation. For maintenance of this tool, Quality Management Division on regular basis renews contract and implements additional improvements when needed.

Great success is also achieving that quality management and use of digital tool eSUK became mandatory for PABs with adoption of Guidelines for Quality Management in Public Administration on the government level (in 2023), where monitoring of quality management implementation in PABs is regulated by reporting to the government level on year basis.

Success Measurement. Main results with regards to the focus area

Main results of using digital tool eSUK for shared process and quality knowledge management are:

  • digital solution for process documentation, mapping, optimization and standardization in one place – currently, there are 2700 business processes of
  • digital repository of information and documentation of PABS in one place enables more efficient knowledge management – setting-up of statistic generator on number of documents of all PABs in repository in plan.
  • benchlearning and benchmaking tool for PABs – currently, digital tool eSUK use 164 PABs and about 800 users of PA. Quality Management Division provides support for quality management implementation in PABs (e-mail, telephone, online meetings and workshops on request)
  • continuous improvement of PABs using integrated self-assessment functionality (and also external assessment in the future) based on CAF 2020 – currently, there are 20 conducted self-assessment of PABs.
  • integrated functionality of conducting surveys in PABS – provides possibility to PABs for opinion gathering not only when it comes to how public servants use digital tool eSUK and what improvements of tool could be made from their perspective, but also to implement OECD methodology for monitoring the wellbeing of civil servants in public administration, once it is defined (TSI MCP 23LU02-HR – EU survey of central government public servants: Strengthening evidence-based people management policies and reforms, September 2023 – August 2025). From this viewpoint, one could say it provides support to Republic of Croatia in accessing OECD.
  • integrated functionalities of:
  1. process mapping/optimization/standardization – implies also integrated open source platform Camunda for notation and modeling of business processes in .bpmn format
  2. linking with related processes stored in repository
  3. linking with PA Service and business catalogue – standardisation of services and development of guidelines still in progress.

 

  • option for linking with other government digital solutions in “state cloud” (interoperability) – i. e. Human Resource Management platform, Public official documents central catalogue of PABs…

 

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

Digital tool eSUK for quality management and process mapping/optimization/standardization is innovative and representative example of CAF implementation, as well as digitalization and modernization of Croatian PA.

Not only that Croatian PA for the first time developed a solution, and what’s more, digital, for process mapping/optimization/standardization and knowledge management in one place, but also for benchlearning and benchmaking, for continuous improvement of PABs offering opportunity for self-assessment based on CAF 2020 (and also external assessment in the future), administrative burden reduction in providing PA services to citizens and business entities and more effective decision-making on investment of PA in further digitalization of public services.

Use of digital tool eSUK presents synergy of business process mapping, knowledge management are knowledge sharing and self-assessment based on CAF 2020 for one institution on the same platform that becomes full-fledged tool for quality management in PA on the whole.

Lessons learnt

In general, public servants showed their interest in QM training and enthusiasm for implementation of quality management in newly developed concept. Nevertheless, it is more challenging when there is no legislative framework form start that explicitly imposes certain obligation. It’s not just challenging for those who implement project, but also for those who are willing to undergo training because regular working tasks mainly have priority over new concepts.

Another lesson learned is, when you implement new concept, and especially with a new digital solution as a part of it, to be aware of the fact that not everyone is on the same level of knowledge and digital skills. It’s not just about developing a human-centered  solution, but also about ability to bring the knowledge and product closer to users in the most basic possible way. Never assume that something is common knowledge just because you or most people know it, or it seems so basic to you. Otherwise, this can cause unneeded resistance to the matter and take you more time than planned.

  • As well, keep in mind:
  • value-added impacts on the policies on national level and how this solution fits in and contributes to the “big picture”
  • use of digital tools (i. One Drive, Zoom, Teams) for building a network of key stakeholders (users of QM, line managers, process owners).
  • a bit challenging at start, but later on becomes much easier for users when implementing quality management using digital tool(s).

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complete study

About the author(s)

Dubravka Vukalović
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation
Croatia

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Written by: Dubravka Vukalović
of Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation

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Received Golden Case recognition at the CAF Users Event 2025 in Warsaw
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The Human Resources Management Service (Government of the Republic of Serbia)
, Serbia