Analysis of five ministries (MoF, ministry of interior, ministry of justice, ministry of economy and ministry of education) to assess the scope of delegation of decision-making authority at two levels: 1) from the political level (minister) to the administrative level (senior civil servants); and 2) from the top administrative level (secretary general/permanent secretary of the ministry) to the lower administrative level (heads of units within the ministry). Delegation is defined as meaning that no higher managerial approval is needed to take the decisions. Delegation from the political to the administrative level is prioritised to promote separation between policy-making and operational activities. Therefore, four criteria relate to delegation from the ministerial level to the administrative level, while three criteria concern delegation within the administrative level. Assessors check for the following seven regular decision-making items in all five ministries: • Procurement of low-level purchases (less than EUR 5 000) are signed below the level of minister; • Recruitment decisions and employment contracts of senior advisers and similar positions are signed below the level of minister; • Payments of salaries to the staff of the ministry are signed below the level of minister; • Replies to public information requests are signed below the level of minister; • Annual leave requests are formally approved below the level of permanent secretary or equivalent; • Business trips of staff members are formally approved (signed) below the level of permanent secretary or equivalent; • Approval of training for staff members is authorised below the level of permanent secretary or equivalent. The administration is asked to provide documentary evidence for each of the seven decisions. SIGMA verifies the information provided during on-site observations and interviews with relevant staff members of the sample ministries. Points are awarded for the number of occurrences where any of the five ministries meets any of the seven criteria. The maximum possible number of occurrences is 35. Point allocation: • 4 points = 30-35 occurrences • 3 points = 25-29 occurrences • 2 points = 20-24 occurrences • 1 point = 15-19 occurrences • 0 points = 14 occurrences or fewer