The new online series is intended to teach civil servants about public policy and how to shape it so that the interests of all people, including those from the most vulnerable groups, are protected

Kyiv, 11 August 2021 – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), and the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NACS), has developed a new online educational series for civil servants entitled “What is public policy and how to shape it?” 

As of today, the new series is available on the platform Diia. Digital Education. 

The online series consists of five modules in 10 episodes. Each is devoted to a different topic: What is public policy and how is it formed; the problem of public policy, interests as the basis of policy; versions of state policy; and influence as the essence of public policy. 

After completing the series, civil servants will be able to receive 0.2 ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). 

During the presentation of the series, Valeria Ionan, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, said the online series would help improve the skills of civil servants in the country, who number more than 160,000.

“We’re well aware of (civil servants’) need to acquire new knowledge, apply new approaches in their daily work, and constantly expand their field of responsibility regarding the decisions they made,” Ionan said.

“That's why together with our partners, we’ve developed an educational course for them. We appreciate the efforts of our partners – including UNDP, without whom this series would not be possible – for their continued support to the Ministry of Digital Transformation.”

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative to Ukraine Manal Fouani noted that public policy should always address the public interest and capture the views of all stakeholders including and especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized, and that this is emphasized in the online series.

"A whole-of-society approach is what we always promote when consider public policy development,” Fouani said. “We know that societies cannot move forward sustainably until they move forward together – that is a theme that underpins every lesson in this series.”

Nataliia Aliushyna, Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NACS), noted that the online series would be useful for both civil servants and local government officials.

"The formation of an effective system of professional training for civil servants and local government officials is extremely important for us," Aliushyna said. "This educational course will expand the horizons and worldview of civil servants. After all, we’re considering in detail how policies are formed, what kind of cogs are in this huge machine, and how we should move in the right direction."

Oleksii Dorogan, CEO of the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), emphasised that this educational course would be useful not only to civil servants, but also for GR specialists and advocacy specialists.

"This course explains in very simple words how policy is formed and who is involved," Dorogan said. "In addition, we talk about what public policy is, how to identify and solve problems, how to formulate public policy, implement it, and then evaluate and review it. This is a standard cycle that enables the work of any government agency that shapes policy to be broken down into molecules.”

The educational series was developed as part of the “Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalisation of Public Services in Ukraine (DIA Support)” project, which is implemented by UNDP in Ukraine with financial support from the government of Sweden. 

Background information 

The “Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalization of Public Services in Ukraine (DIA Support) Project” started on 1 January  2021, and aims to bridge the digital divide that exists between generations and different social groups. Its main goal is to increase the accessibility of new digital solutions so that everyone in the country can use digital services, and no one is left behind.

For more information, please contact: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Communications Team Leader at yuliia.samus@undp.org, +380971391475