USAID Caps Five Years of Court Clerk Customer Service Trainings
Completing a five-year chapter of work with Bulgaria’s court clerks, the USAID Judicial Strengthening Initiative (JSI) delivered its final customer service training on May 25 - 26 in Sofia. Of the several ongoing court clerk training programs to promote the rule of law, this most recent customer service training marks both the end of one USAID JSI effort and a new beginning for Bulgaria.
Five years ago, customer service was a foreign concept in most Bulgarian government institutions, including the courts. To address this fundamental governance need, JSI and its predecessor, the Judicial Development Project, developed a customer service program and then implemented intensive two-day trainings in methods of improving communication, professionalism, and efficiency. The result has been an increase in the number clerks that recognize the importance of good customer service, the value of professional etiquette, and the essential role of clerks as the “face of the courts” to build trust in institutions and bolster judicial system reform.
Since its start in 2001, the series of 26 trainings has reached 670 clerks from all across the nation’s courts, and has become a critical component in the effort to build public trust in Bulgaria’s government institutions. To ensure sustainability of the project, court clerks have been trained as trainers in customer service. The curriculum and knowledge of how to develop and organize training programs were transferred to the National Institute of Justice and the National Association of Court Clerks.
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| Court clerks from all over Bulgaria at work during one of 26 USAID customer service trainings |
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