Published jointly by the UNDP and the London School of Economics, the April issue, devoted to Reform of the State, was launched in the Bank of Greece, Athens.

The guidelines for multi-country initiatives have been finalised after the round of consultations with the networks of Focal Points and UNDP Country Offices.

The draft guidelines for multi-country activity proposals are currently being consulted with the networks of Focal Points and UNDP Country Offices. Comments will be collected by end June, and the aim is to finalize and publish the guidelines by early July.

In the last week of February, the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic ratified a Bill guaranteeing 7,1 million USD in funding for the five-year regional Project, Regional Centre for Public Administration Reform. A Project office serving all the countries in the region will be established in the near future in Athens, Greece. By autumn, the Project will be supporting multi-country initiatives generated by the network members, and implemented in cooperation with UNDP country offices.

One of the key recommendations of the UNDP/RCPAR Survey concerns the expansion of the RCPAR network in participating countries. The idea is to enlarge the constituency and, through membership of specialised departments and agencies, cover the core PAR areas of the Project.

The first UNDP/RCPAR Survey of Potential Assistance Needs in participating countries has just been completed. The preliminary results of the Survey have been been made available to all Focal Points and Community of Practice members for comments.

On Thursday 14 June in Athens, UNDP Bratislava and the Greek Government, through the Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization, signed a partnership for the promotion of regional Public Administration Reform (PAR) for the next five and a half years, with the Greek Government pledging a total funding of about $7.1m.

The first UNDP/RCPAR Survey of Potential Assistance Needs in the Participating Countries has just been launched.

The Greek Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization has recently entered into a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme Bratislava Regional Centre through the United Nations Development Programme Regional Centre for Public Administration Reform (UNDP/RCPAR). The partnership is based on their shared commitment to advancing public administration reform in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States through technical cooperation.