Parliament members and civil servants, learning about foresight as a method of public administration and setting long-term priorities, will study European experience
The Parliament of Ukraine and the Accelerator Lab of the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine have launched a series of webinars examining international experience in using strategic foresight to plan future work in the public sector.
The webinars will acquaint Ukrainian members of the Parliament and officials from the central executive authorities with the strategic foresight method, as used by parliaments and government agencies in other countries. They will examine real examples of foresight processes, discuss priority foresight methods for Ukraine’s public sector, and form a foresight community in the public sector.
First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk said strategic foresight would be an important, core element for improving the work of the parliament, forming a sustainable, effective and practically applicable function of the Ukrainian state across a varied range of areas.
“The Verkhovna Rada of the current convocation has already done a lot to plan both its activities and develop predictability in the legislative process,” Stefanchuk said. “In particular, planning of the drafting of laws by the Verkhovna Rada was introduced, and a plan of work for the drafting of laws by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for 2020 and 2021 was adopted.”
The strategic foresight method allows parliaments and governments to analyse and better understand the processes and possible scenarios of change, to anticipate specific trends, and to assess the consequences and impact of their policies under various circumstances. Systematic use of strategic foresights, going by the experiences of the countries that have introduced this method, helps to improve the quality of public policy formation.
The state and political bodies of many European countries have special strategic foresight units responsible for envisaging future scenarios, formulating long-term priorities for certain public policies, and systematically monitoring signals (new technologies, the media, economic changes, etc.), which must be taken into account when creating state development strategies.
For example, the Parliament of Finland set up a Committee for the Future in 1993 to check policies proposed by the government for their compliance with key trends and the predicted future scenarios. Similar units also function in other parliaments of the world (the European Parliament, the UK parliament, the Estonian parliament, etc.) and in other government structures. Leading experts from these countries will share their experiences with their Ukrainian colleagues, noting the results achieved and giving practical recommendations during the four planned webinars.
UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Dafina Gercheva said the UNDP in Ukraine was pleased to see there was wide interest in modern methods of public administration, including foresight methods, among representatives of the Ukrainian Parliament and government experts. She said UNDP was ready to support the introduction of new approaches to policy development in every way.
“Strong political will, along with a favourable legal and regulatory framework, are needed to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Gercheva said. “However, no less important is a professional and modern civil service – one which is not only efficient, transparent and accountable, but which also widely uses innovation and foresight. Only future-oriented societies can meet the complex challenges of the 21st century.”
At the first webinar on 19 July, participants learned about the experience of the UK and Northern Ireland in developing policies for the future, discussed the possibilities of applying this approach in Ukraine, and shared their views on the role of parliament in building strategic foresight capabilities in the public sector.

The other webinars, in which Ukrainian officials will learn about the experiences of Finland and Estonia, are scheduled to be held in September and October.
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