Professionalisation of the senior civil service (SCS) is a key determinant of organisational performance in the public sector. It helps governments fulfil policy objectives. Building a professional SCS involves the development of both professional competence and political responsiveness. However, SCS professionalisation remains one of the main challenges in the public administrations of the Western Balkans.

This paper provides an overview of the state of play in the Western Balkans based on the Principles of Public Administration elaborated by SIGMA, and on other OECD analytical work, and suggests ways forward. The paper demonstrates that most of the current systems are not yet capable of producing a professional SCS. The paper intends to help senior-ranking decision makers, both at the political and SCS level, to design policies and institutions to support greater professionalism of the SCS.