Author: Maciej F. Bukowski, Agnieszka Grzegorzewska

Poland is increasingly asserting itself on the European map. Over the past three decades, a vibrant economy has emerged in Poland, with a strong domestic market and powerful global business players. The Polish armed forces are gradually modernizing and—thanks to unprecedented spending on comprehensive armaments programs—have the potential to become a key guarantor of security in Europe.

The weak link that may, in the long run, prevent Poland from building a strong global position is its outdated model of public administration. An administration capable of efficiently diagnosing key challenges, opportunities, and problems, and responding effectively on the domestic and international stage.

Poland needs coherent and predictable public policy to effectively respond to complex crises and build long-term institutional resilience. Geopolitical challenges such as the war in Ukraine and the deepening economic and political difficulties within the European Union demonstrate the enormous challenge of building an effective public administration capable of coping with potential crises.

Currently, the Polish administration operates in a siloed fashion, with limited information exchange and a low level of coordination between ministries. Staff disruption and fragmented strategic planning reduce the quality of decisions and hinder the pursuit of a unified foreign policy position. Implementing the Whole of Government (WoG) approach, proposed in this policy paper, could break this impasse. The WoG model involves breaking down institutional barriers, strengthening coordination at the center of government, and utilizing analytical data for policy planning.

Key recommendations:

• Establishing a professional and stable public service, with protection of personnel from political exchanges and strengthened incentives for experts.
• Establishing a permanent strategic coordination center under the Prime Minister, responsible for integrating the activities of ministries and monitoring the implementation of government priorities.
• Improving the quality of law through a transparent legislative process, limiting sudden changes and introducing effective consultations at an early stage.
• Development of the state’s analytical base, including foresight tools, common databases and the rotation of officials between ministries.
• Concentrating Poland’s positions on the international stage through a unified, comprehensive negotiating mandate and better coordination of expert resources.
• Introducing a phased implementation plan for WoG, initially in areas with the highest costs of lack of coordination, such as energy and digitalization.

Implementing the WoG approach will allow Poland to fully mitigate risks and maximize the opportunities arising from membership in international organizations—from the European Union and NATO to the World Health Organization and other institutions in which our country plays an active role. In the coming years, Poland will face complex negotiations, including those concerning the new EU budget formula, the evolving role of NATO, and regulations affecting domestic producers, such as tobacco growers.

The experiences of countries such as Norway, France, Singapore, and Australia demonstrate that implementing the WoG model enhances a state’s ability to address cross-cutting issues and increases the predictability and coherence of its actions. In Poland, WoG could prove to be a breakthrough in the modernization of the Polish administration, allowing the state to effectively plan for the long term, respond quickly and coherently to crises, and present a unified, comprehensive, and well-established position on the international stage.

The report is available in Polish.