To ensure effective post-war recovery and consistent adaptation of all areas of public administration to EU standards, public servants must have competencies in strategic management models, preparation and implementation of development strategies, effective teamwork, leadership for change, organisational transformation, and strategic planning.

All of these issues were covered by the School of Strategy Training, an educational project of the High School that brought together public administration leaders and industry experts to ensure the development of professional competencies of senior public service officials.

For a month, experienced trainers provided knowledge to unlock the potential of a strategic vision for rebuilding the country. The project’s priority areas were focused on strategies for the development of the country, public spheres, organisations, and personal development.

SURGe project strategic planning experts Maria Plaksenko, Tetiana Danyliv, Iryna Lazorevych, and Natalia Koroliuk, management consultant Olena Yuzkova, and organisational transformation and leadership expert Natalia Kadia worked with the students.

Additional online modules were aimed at developing competencies in priority areas of civil service development. Participants discussed the role of the manager in building an integrity environment in the organisation with Iryna Chahovets, Head of the NACP’s Department of Outreach and Training Programmes. “Communications in the format of a reading club was presented by Roksolana Stadnyk, Head of the Department of Information and Public Relations of the CMU Secretariat, and Tetiana Andriychuk, Deputy Head of the Division for Civil Society Development and Public Relations of the Department of Information and Public Relations of the CMU Secretariat. The participants also had the opportunity to talk about gender-responsive governance with Sabine Fraser Günes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine.

At the end of the School, the participants presented their work – strategies for the development and recovery of Ukraine. Later, they will be summarised by the SURGe project team and the High School in a Transition book. This document will serve as a basis for understanding and further study of the processes of strategic development and reconstruction of the relevant areas of public administration.

It is worth reminding that 20 public servants, who were first appointed to category A civil service positions, took part in this year’s School of Strategy Training. In 2023, 42 public servants of category A took part in the project.