Promotion of the 1st generation of Certified Public Procurement Trainers, December 11, 2009

Two members of the eGov Project Team, Elena Stamatoska and Darko Janevski, were among the 40 trainees that have passed the exams and became Certified Public Procurement Trainers. The diplomas were handed over by the Director of PPB Mrs. Mare Bogeva Micovska, USAID Mission Director Mr.Michael Fritz and the Dean of Law Faculty Mr.Borce Davitkovski. Graduation Ceremony took place on December 11, 2009 at the Law Faculty "Justiniana Prima". The training for "Public Procurement Trainers" was organized by the Public Procurement Bureau and supported by USAID

Evaluation of the Impact of the eGov Project Activities in Macedonia Presented to Key Partners and Media, November 30, 2009

The evaluation performed by the Metamorphosis Foundation between July and September 2009 revealed that the five specific G2B Applications supported by the eGov Project, had crucial impact on the general process of e-government development in Macedonia from 2004 to 2009.

Download brief information [MK] ;

Download complete survey report.

Integrated version of e-Procurement presented to CA's - November 10-20, 2009

The eGov Project Team supported by Public Procurement Bureau started with trainings on how to use the new integrated version of the e-Procurement system. During two weeks in November 6 trainings were delivered to over 100 representatives of 30 contracting authorities (public institutions and municipalities).

During month of December, the eGov Project and PPB will continue with more trainings on the integrated system.

Photo:Participants were interested to hear the novelties in the system and actively participated in the discussions and practical exercises

Elena Stamatoska appointed as Chief of Party - November 1, 2009

As of November 1, 2009 Mrs.Elena Stamatoska took over management of the USAID funded eGov Project, replacing Mrs.Gordana Toseva. Mrs. Stamatoska previously covered the position of Deputy Chief of Party and Project Manager of the e-Procurement and e-Tax systems. She is with the project since its early start in 2004 and will be leading it to its closure in January 2011.

Evaluation of the Impact of the eGov Project Activities in Macedonia Presented to USAID, October 26, 2009

The evaluation performed by the Metamorphosis Foundation between July and September 2009 revealed that the five specific G2B Applications supported by the eGov Project, had crucial impact on the general process of e-government development in Macedonia from 2004 to 2009.

Download complete survey report.

Gordana Toseva Awarded with USAID Appreciation Award October 26, 2009

The USAID Mission Director Mr.Michael Fritz awarded the eGov Project Chief of Party Mrs.Gordana Toseva with Appreciation Award for her achievements and great contribution in development and implementation of e-government.

.National Employment Agency Assumes Ownership over the Electronic System for Online Registration of Employment - September 15, 2009

After two years of productive and successful cooperation, the eGov Project and the National Employment Agency finalized the implementation of the project for online registration of employment.

The source code of the electronic application was officially presented to the head of IT department Silvana Trajkovska by the eGov Project Chief of Party Gordana Toseva at a ceremony held on September 15, 2009. By the delivery of the source code, the National Employment Agency became an owner of the system assuming all rights and responsibilities with regard to its managing and maintenance.

e-Strategies Conference on Transformational Government, September 14, 2009

On invitation by British Publishers the eGov Project Chief of Party Gordana Toseva participated on a one day round table discussion on the topic of Transformational Government. The participants of the discussion consisted of ICT vendors, academic and donor community gave recognition to the accomplishments of the eGov Project's initiatives leading the transformation of some public services.

The debate covered the following aspects :

Have the opportunities opened up by Macedonia's ambitious e-government development program been fully recognized by Macedonian institutions themselves and the correct business processes behind the technology being devised? Or Web 2.0 offers governments the opportunity to make interaction with the citizen easier, enable more accurate feedback and facilitate better services. How can Web 2.0 be best utilized by government in this citizen-centric way? What impact have open source solutions had on the transformation of government services?

Citizen and business confidence is also important for successful e-government, particularly in terms of sensitive information storage and the exchange of money. How is this being fostered and what examples of best practice are available?

While wireless and broadband penetration is good in Macedonia, internet usage is low. How can this situation best be remedied in order to accelerate take-up of e-government services?

In terms of successful EU accession for Macedonia, regional cooperation is essential, particularly relating to the reform process for justice and public administration, legal harmonization and standardization. This will raise public confidence, increase accountability and ease cross-border cooperation in criminal cases. It will also improve efficiency and save money. How is cooperation being developed and what solutions exist to ease this convergence?
More on the e-Strategy go to http://britishpublishers.eu/estrategies/macedonia/

Ministry of Transport and Communications Assumes Ownership over the Electronic System for International Transport Licenses - July 29, 2009

After three years of productive and successful cooperation, the eGov Project and the Ministry of Transport and Communications finalized the implementation of the project for electronic distribution and managements of international cargo transport licenses. The source code of the electronic application was officially presented to Minister Mile Janakieski by the eGov Project Chief of Party Gordana Toseva at a ceremony held on July 29, 2009. By the delivery of the source code, the Ministry of Transport and Communications became an owner of the system assuming all rights and responsibilities with regard to its managing and maintenance.

Upon receiving the source code, Minister Janakieski emphasized that the assistance received by the eGov Project was crucial for establishing the new transparent and efficient system and that the positive experience from its implementation initiated a number of other similar initiatives within the Ministry.

The electronic system for distribution and management of international licenses is a web-based solution that enables fair and efficient distribution of transport licenses based on pre-determined criteria and virtually without any influence by a human factor. The application was developed in close cooperation of the eGov Project, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Association of Transporters MAKAMTRANS.

Memorandum of Understanding Signed for Further Development of EXIM, July 28, 2009

The USAID-funded eGov Project continues to support the Government of Macedonia and the Customs Administration in streamlining the complex and complicated procedures for issuing of export/import licenses and quotas by assisting the second stage of development of the Single Window for Export/Import Licenses and Quotas - EXIM. Assistance will include development of new features as well as integration of EXIM with the new Customs Declarations Processing System - CDPS and other electronic systems managed by the Customs Administration. The framework for future assistance activities is provided in a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation signed on 28 July 2009 by Gordana Toseva, Director of the eGov Project and Vanco Kargov, Director of the Customs Administration.

The EXIM system was developed in close cooperation with the Customs Administration and fifteen other government institutions. It was launched in November 2008. Its implementation included harmonization and simplification of the legal and administrative procedures, as well as transformation of the application and approval process from paper to electronic. The result is a powerful tool that enables businesses to engage in cross-border transactions much faster and at a much lower cost than ever before.

The eGov Project's assistance for e-government development in Macedonia continues - July 2, 2009

The eGov Project continues to support the process of e-government development in Macedonia by providing significant capacity building assistance to the Ministry of Information Society as the main government institution responsible for Information and Communication Technolgy (ICT) policies. The framework for future assistance activities is provided in a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation signed today between the eGov Project and the Ministry of Information Society.

"E-government services significantly ease the adminsitrative and financial burden on companies and increase the transparency of governemnt operations. E-government includes much more than just software development. It requires reforms in the government processes and procedures, as well as radical changes in the traditional perception for doing business with the government. All parties involved in e-government development must be aware of this" said the eGov Project Chief of Party Gordana Toseva.

Assistance will include but not be limited to the following areas: training, on-the-job mentoring, preparation of strategic documents, strengthening of the coordinating role of the Ministry with regard to ICT policy development, etc. The main goal of the USAID activities is to provide the Ministry with the experience and expertise accumulated from the eGov Project and to increase the capacity of the Ministry.

In the last five years USAID has utilized the eGov Project to significantly change the e-government landscape in Macedonia by supporting the development of relevant applications, such as e-procurement, EXIM (the on-line system for issuing export and import licenses), online registration of job opportunities , e-tax, as well as by generally improving the environment for the implementation of electronic government services. In addition to financially supporting the development of the software for the respective applications, the Project also worked with its partners to simplify procedures, re-engineer processes and changethe legal environment to ensure successful implementation of the applications.

eGov Project Actively Promotes eGov Applications

During April and May 2009, the eGov Project organized presentations of its applications in Skopje, Tetovo, Shtip, Bitola and Kavadarci. The presentations were attended by over 1200 representatives of business community public institutions as potential users of EXIM, e-Procurement, e-Tax and Employment Registration applications.
Download presentations

eGov Project Applications Presented as Country Lighthouse Projects - April 23, 2009

EXIM, e-Procurement and e-Transport Licenses were presented as Country Lighthouse e-government Projects at the Executive Training in Electronic Government organized by the Centre for e-Governance Program.
On April 23, 2009 the Centre for e-Governance Program organized the Executive Training in Electronic Government in Skopje. During the training, the participants delivered brief presentations on e-government development, services and policies. Macedonian local experts presented the current status of the e-government framework and projects and discussed these issues with the workshop trainers. Other sessions included current standards and practices for organizational, semantic and technical interoperability, analysis of key governmental projects and discussion on projects funding mechanisms. The participants were also informed on international and EU best practices and case studies.
This training was part of a series of five executive seminars held in the SEE region (Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia). The seminars were intended for policy makers, executive members of governmental institutions and organizations and other private/public sector experts.

The eGov Project and Public Revenue Office Promoted e-Tax Services for SMEs - April 8, 2009

The Public Revenue Office and the eGov Project officially invited SMEs to start using e-Tax services at a press conference held on April 8, 2009.
e-Tax services have since 2006 been used only by the large tax payers. Since April 2009, they are available to all tax payers, regardless of their size. PRO and the eGov Project are implementing an intensive promotional campaign to inform potential users of the functionalities of the e-Tax system.
At the press conference, the media were addressed by Gordana Toseva, Chief of Party of the eGov Project and Muhedin Avdic, Director of the PRO Department for Tax Services. The functionalities of the application were presented by Blagica Mitrovska, Head of the PRO IT Department. The event was covered by a large number of media representatives interested in the possibilities and the benefits of the system.
e-Procurement System Integration - March 2009
During March and April 2009, the eGov Project experts, Public Procurement Bureau and IT company Seavus worked intensively on defining the detailed solutions and modules for the planned process of integration of the two electronic procurement systems - the PPB Web Information System and e-Procurement. Work was taking place in a constructive and collaborative atmosphere and it should soon be completed. The integration will financially be supported by the Macedonian Government. The integrated e-procurement system will be completed by January 1, 2010.

e-Procurement Source Code Delivered to PPB - March 12, 2009

The eGov Project delivered to the Public Procurement Bureau the source code of the e-Procurement software application together with all accompanying documents. The event took place at the PPB premises on March 12, 2009.
PPB has received a source code of a modern and secure e-Procurement system that fully complies with the Macedonian procurement legislation, as well as all EU requirements. During the event, the Director of the PPB, Mrs. Mare Bogeva-Micovska expressed her great appreciation for the support given by the Project regarding the development and implementation of the e-Procurement.

PPB Presents Special Recognition Award to the eGov Project - March 12, 2009

The Public Procurement Bureau marked the successful implementation of the e-Procurement system by presenting to the eGov Project a Special Recognition Award.
The award was presented to Gordana Toseva, Chief of Party, Elena Stamatoska, Deputy Chief of Party and Darko Janevski, Lawyer.

Women are Changing the e-Government Landscape - March 6, 2009

On the occasion of the International Women's Day 8 March, the eGov Project is honoring ten women leaders in software development and e-government at a ceremony held in Skopje on Friday, March 6.
The eGov Project closely cooperated with the honorees over its five-year program for implementation and development of e-government solutions in Macedonia. They are:
1. For the leadership, expertise and professionalism in the process of developing and implementing the Electronic System for Employment Registration, which has significantly improved the efficiency and the quality of Macedonia's civil employment services:
o Biljana Jovanovska - Director, Employment Service Agency
o Silvana Trajkovska - Head of IT Department, Employment Service Agency
o Biljana Petkovic - Project Manager, NEOCOM software developer

2. For the outstanding dedication and professional engagement in developing and implementing the Single Window Export/Import Licenses and Quotas (EXIM), a system that facilitates trade and demonstrates the impact of ICT in cross-border operations:
o Slavica Kutirov - Project Manager, Customs Administration
o Vesna Levkova Damjanovski - Project Manager, ULTRA

3. For the leadership, continuous commitment and outstanding performance in the development and implementation of the Automated System for Management of International Cargo Transport Licenses, which has increased the transparency, fairness and predictability in the process of distribution and management of cargo transport licenses:
o Aneta Stojanovska - Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Transport and Communications
o Biljana Muratovska - General Secretary, MAKAMTRANS Association of Transporters

4. For the leadership and the continuous support in the process of developing and implementing of the e-Procurement System, thus making the public procurement procedures in Macedonia more transparent, efficient and cost-effective:
o Mare Bogeva Micovska - Director, Public Procurement Bureau

5. For the leadership, continuous commitment and professional engagement in developing and implementing the e-Tax System, an application that pioneered the process of online submission of tax application, thus making the process efficient, simple and cost-effective:
o Blagica Mitrovska - Head of IT Department, Public Revenue Office
o Vesna Novakovic - Head of Public Relations Department, Public Revenue Office

Presentations on e-Signatures

The eGov Project aims at demystifying the e-signatures and digital certificates to the end users and at encouraging them to obtain and use digital certificates, thus enhancing the usage of the electronic systems that require this form of electronic identification and signing. In the first half of 2009, the Project has delivered 23 presentations and addressed 1.200 representatives of the public and private sector.
Download information on digital certificates

e-Procurement Workshop (Athens, Greece) - February 26, 2009

On February 26, 2009, Deputy Chief of Party of the eGov Project Elena Stamatoska, participated as a presenter at the Workshop on Electronic Public Procurement in South-East Europe held in Athens, Greece. The main objective of the workshop was to explore the strategic role of electronic public procurement (ePP) and highlight its importance for the broader European region.
The workshop was attended by 72 participants from 14 European countries and was divided into four sessions. The presentation of the Macedonian representative was delivered during the second session with subject "Electronic Public Procurement Practices".
Elena Stamatoska presented the current status of electronic public procurement in the Republic of Macedonia. She gave a brief introduction on the overall e-government applications developed within her country and then focused on the ones related to ePP, namely the web-information system, mandatory for publishing notices and notifications on awarded contracts, and the e-Procurement system for conducting public procurement procedures electronically. The development of local ePP solution in Macedonia started in 2006 and currently offers an centralized web-based interface that covers the entire public procurement process and is compliant to IDABC Functional Requirements.
Ms. Stamatoska outlined the underlined technology used with focus to security specifications, and presented the different types of users and roles of the system. The functionalities provided by the ePP solution, as well as a number of snap-shots were demonstrated and a reference to statistical information on registered contracting authorities, economic operators, tenders submitted per year etc. was made.
In conclusion, Ms. Stamatoska emphasized that future steps in the development of the Macedonian e-Procurement involve (a) integration of the web-information system with the ePP Solution and deployment of the end application to a more advanced hardware infrastructure, and (b) continuation of training activities for preparing users for the mandatory usage of the system as of January 1, 2010.
For more details on this event, please read the workshop Report and the PPT presentation.

The eGov Project Initiated the Establishment of the Working Group on e-Signatures - February 2009

With the aim of addressing and facilitating all issues related to e-signatures, the eGov Project initiated the establishment of the Working Group on e-signatures, which was supported by the Minister of Information Society, Mr. Ivo Ivanovski. The Working Group is composed of representatives of the following institutions: Ministry of Information Society, Ministry of Finance, KIBS, Makedonski Telekom and USAID e-Gov Project. It held its first meeting in February 2009.

e-Procurement Trainings, January 2008 - April 2009

During the entire 2008 and the first 4 months of 2009, the eGov Project in cooperation with the Public Procurement Bureau organized and delivered 45 training events and presentations for around 1.400 representatives of various contracting authorities and economic operators. The prime objective of these events was to train the participants on how to use the functionalities of the e-Procurement system. For more details on the delivered trainings click here.

e-Procurement Workshop, Wienna, Austria - January 14, 2009

On 14th of January 2009, Deputy Chief of Party of the USAID funded eGov Project, Elena Stamatoska, attended a workshop in Vienna on the Development of eProcurement solutions in line with the European Directives. The workshop was organized in cooperation with the Auftrag.AT/ Wiener Zeitung (Official Gazette of the Austrian Republic) and the eProcurement Forum of the European Commission. The purpose of the workshop was to provide an opportunity to the participants to exchange experiences on the development of public e-procurement solutions aligned with the European legislation.
Republic of Macedonia had 5 representatives at the workshop, including the representative from the eGov Project: the Director of the Public Procurement Bureau (PPB), Mrs. Mare Bogeva Micovska, two representatives from the department responsible for the Macedonian e-Procurement system within the PPB and one representative from the City of Skopje, as a contracting authority and registered user of the system. The presence of three employees from the PPB shows the great support from the Government and interest to use the e-Procurement system in Republic of Macedonia.
During the workshop, the representative from the eGov Project used the opportunity to briefly present what has been done so far in the Republic of Macedonia in the area of e-procurements. After the presentation the attendants were impressed and very interested in the Macedonian e-Procurement system. The proof for the great interest in the Macedonian system was that the representative from the eGov Project was invited to present the system on the next e-Procurement workshop that took place in Athens on February 26, 2009.
After all presentations delivered during the workshop it was concluded that Macedonia is really advanced in the area of e-procurements compared to the other countries and can be used as an example to the other countries that are undergoing development of e-procurement solutions.