25-29 September 2023, a mission of Latvian experts from the Public Administration Services Development Department and the One-Stop Shop division at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia visits Uzbekistan to exchange experience in the field of improving the quality assessment and public services delivery in Uzbekistan as part of the Joint project of the Ministry of Justice, the European Union and UNDP in Uzbekistan “Improved Public Service Delivery and Enhanced Governance in Rural Uzbekistan”.

Members of the mission visited the Public Service Centers and back offices of organizations providing public services in the cities and regions of Uzbekistan, where they interviewed the employees working in the public service delivery, the consumers of public services, as well as assessed the quality of service.

During the visit, the experts led a workshop for employees of the Ministry of Justice and organizations providing public services on the methodology for assessing the quality of public services. The workshop programme included the best practices and experience of Latvia in the public service delivery, methodology for analyzing the quality of public services in Latvia, popularization of the provision of public services, the activities of the Call Center, the development of digital skills, and more.

In her presentation, Ms. Maija Anspoka, " Development of digital skills in public administration, Latvia`s case", noted that digital skills are now almost as important as breathing – they help to make contacts, find a job, and achieve goals in both professional and personal spheres. Digital skills provide benefits and contribute to competitiveness not only in the business environment, but also in public administration.

The presentation included information about the initiative of the Latvian public administration, which provides for increasing the digital competence and capacity of civil servants, including in the field of service management, data analysis, application of artificial intelligence and other modern technologies in operational and service modernization, flexible information, and communication technology project management.

In group discussions, participants discussed how to promote the use of modern digital technologies, develop the ability of society and public administration to effectively use the opportunities of digital technologies, increasing the competitiveness of the state and the national economy based on the experience of Latvia.

Trainers from Latvia in their presentations also spoke about the activities of customer service centers in Latvia, customer service standards, approaches and concepts and training of customer service personnel, as well as tools used to improve customer service.

Based on the results of the mission, experts will develop methodological guidelines for assessing the quality of public services with relevant recommendations for further implementation and adoption.