An event entitled «Strategic Planning Networking: Preparing for the SIGMA Assessment» was held, focusing on practical approaches to strategic planning, policy coordination and preparing government bodies for the SIGMA assessment.

Participants addressed topics that directly impact the quality of strategic planning: the alignment of policy and planning documents, the definition of expected outcomes and indicators, and monitoring and reporting.

The event was opened by Oleg Voitovych, Acting Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service. He thanked the SIGMA Programme for its consistent support of Ukraine in the field of public administration reform and emphasised the importance of professional development for civil servants in the context of preparing for the assessment.

 «Strategic planning is not just about documents, objectives or indicators. Behind every high-quality strategy there must be professional teams, clear procedures and capable institutions. That is precisely why the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, together with the High School of Public Governance, places considerable emphasis on training civil servants in the field of European principles of public administration. And it is of fundamental importance to us that this knowledge is not detached from practice, but linked to the actual approaches used during the assessment of public administration in countries applying for EU membership», noted Oleg Voitovych.

During the first session, participants reviewed the updated Principles of Public Administration used by SIGMA in its assessments, as well as the methodology and key criteria that require preparation now. In particular, the discussion focused on the quality of strategic documents, the coherence of plans, the availability of measurable indicators, monitoring of implementation and the preparation of reports.

During the second part of the event, participants discussed updates to legislation in the field of strategic planning and the expected changes arising from the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Roadmap and the new Public Administration Reform Strategy. The focus was on issues of coordination, the harmonisation of policy and planning documents, the definition of expected outcomes, and the synchronisation of strategic planning with public investment planning using the ‘Strategy – Investment – Outcome’ approach.

The practical session was devoted to innovative tools in strategic planning. Participants shared their experiences of using artificial intelligence and other digital solutions to optimise processes, and took part in a masterclass on the use of AI in their work.

The event was organised on the initiative of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in cooperation with the High School of Public Governance, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, the Centre for the Adaptation of the Civil Service to European Union Standards, and partners in the field of public administration reform, notably the SIGMA Programme, the OECD, GIZ, the EaP PAR project and Recovery for All.