Support for Improvement in Governance and Management in Central and Eastern European Countries (SIGMA) is a joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union. The initiative advises transition countries on improving public governance at the central government level. SIGMA comprises two expert teams that provide individually tailored services to 15 countries. One team counsels the ten European Union candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on financial control, external audit and the civil service, and complementing the EU's twinning programme. The other team works with countries in the Western Balkans to strengthen public institutions, giving particular emphasis to budget, treasury and taxes; financial control and external audit; and civil service and administrative reform.
