BRIDGE Showcase on Building Institutional Excellence in Elections

TIRANA, ALBANIA – From May 18 to May 19, 2026, the Xheko Imperial Hotel in Tirana hosted an intensive and highly interactive two-day BRIDGE showcase based on the Building Institutional Excellence in Elections module. The event showcased the BRIDGE methodology to mid and senior level positions of the Central Election Commission and contributed to enhancing the organizational capacity, strategic resilience, and leadership infrastructure of electoral stakeholders in Albania.

The showcase was supported by the OSCE Presence in Albania’s project “Support to Electoral Reform and Process in Albania”, funded by Sweden, Switzerland, U.S. Mission to the OSCE and Poland and the Council of Europe’s project “Strengthening Elections’ Integrity in Albania” (SEI), funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and implemented by Academy of Political Studies and Central Election Commission of Albania.

Participant Dynamics and Facilitation Team

The two-day training program brought together 14 key election professionals from different CEC Directorates and partner organizations. The participant group included both women and men, contributing to diverse perspectives and enriching the discussions throughout the workshop.

Maintaining this structured pool of 14 participants, the demographic featured a strong representation of both female and male professionals (9 women and 5 men). This diverse composition highlighted a commitment to gender inclusion, fostering a rich environment for cross-cutting dialogue, multi-layered perspectives, and enriched discussions throughout the workshop.

The workshop was facilitated by Doina Bordeianu, BRIDGE Accrediting Facilitator and Erion Meta, TtF Complete facilitator. Their combined national and international expertise provided a seamless blend of theoretical frameworks and firsthand operational knowledge.

Unpacking the Core Focus

As a showcase workshop, the programme provided an overview of selected concepts and learning activities from the Building Institutional Excellence in Elections module. The two-day agenda focused on several key themes relevant to strengthening institutional performance within Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), offering participants an overview of the strategic architecture required to support effective election management. The primary thematic pillars included:

1. Understanding the necessity and building blocks of Institutional Excellence.
2. Mapping internal and external administrative challenges.
3. Strengthening institutional resilience and executing impactful advocacy.
4. Nurturing ethical leadership and identifying the symptoms of healthy versus toxic workplace cultures.
5. A practical walk-through of the specialized Building Institutional Excellence in Elections curriculum.

One of the highest-rated sessions was Effective Leadership. 96% of participants rated the session as “Completely Successful” – reflecting a considerable requisite for transformative modern leadership paradigms within the public sector.

The momentum carried over seamlessly into the second day, where the focus shifted toward organizational environments. The deeply resonant session on “Healthy vs. Toxic Workplace Culture” emerged as another major highlight of the workshop, with a 98% of participants evaluating it at the highest level. Participants engaged in analyzing the internal dynamics of their teams, emphasizing that identifying and rooting out toxic behaviors is just as critical as establishing strategic goals when aiming to build long-term institutional excellence.

Feedback & Reflections

The atmosphere inside the Xheko Imperial Hotel was characterized by open dialogue, collective introspection, and vibrant collaboration. Rather than a traditional lecture setup, the workshop operated as an active think-tank. One hundred percent (100%) of the attendees confirmed that the workshop’s learning outcomes were completely clear and successfully met, illustrating the high pedagogical standard of the BRIDGE methodology.

The qualitative evaluations yielded powerful reflections from the participants:

1. The participants noted that they successfully grasped the complex “theoretical path to achieving excellence” and, crucially, how to “apply those theoretical concepts within the daily functions of the CEC.”
2. Trainees reported an increased understanding of how institutional excellence requires the synchronized interaction of Culture, People, Strategy, and Structure. For many, the informal networking was just as valuable, with one participant highlighting that they “got to know their institutional colleagues much better.”
3. The discussions on ethical leadership inspired action, with a participant stating that the course taught them “how we should act to be leaders and to inspire others.”

Looking Ahead

As the workshop drew to a close, participants expressed a strong desire to see this training module expanded. The primary recommendations for future iterations included dedicating more time to analyzing real-world, localized case studies and facilitating broader cross-group debates to tackle sensitive electoral topics.

As a BRIDGE Showcase, the workshop offered participants a practical introduction to the Building Institutional Excellence in Elections module and demonstrated how the BRIDGE methodology can be used to facilitate reflection and dialogue on institutional development within Electoral Management Bodies.