A well-functioning government office acts as a co-ordinator of the decision-making system and as such is
crucial for the government’s capacity to define and pursue its collective objectives.
The “Government Office” is a generic term that refers to the institution(s) at the centre of government
responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and serving the Council of Ministers as a collective
decision-making body. This paper describes and analyses the functions and organisation of government
offices in a comparative context, covering OECD member countries, central and eastern European
countries (CEECs), and countries of the Western Balkans (ex-Yugoslavia and Albania). The analysis is
based on information gathered by Sigma and GOV (PUMA)1 since the mid 1990’s, supplemented by
results of a written questionnaire administered by Sigma and GOV in 2003.
Co‑ordination at the Centre of Government
The Functions and Organisation of the Government Office Comparative; Analysis of OECD Countries, CEECs and Western Balkan Countries
