Training for Public Servants on Human-Rights Based Approach in Public Policy Design

The UNDP in Ukraine training on a human rights-based approach in public policy design helped public servants who are involved in the digitalisation sphere learn how to develop state policies and electronic services based on principles of human rights and gender mainstreaming. It helped them dispel myths and learn the basic requirements, which resulted in more inclusive public services developed for Ukrainian citizens.

Innovation Summary

Innovation Overview

Civil servants' awareness of the concept of human-centred policy design is essential for a genuinely inclusive digital transformation that will leave no one behind.

The strive to support the Government in strengthening the expertise of national public servants in this area so that they could develop more inclusive public policies and state electronic services for the most vulnerable groups was incorporated at the core of the DIA Support project, which UNDP in Ukraine launched with funding from Sweden in 2021. One of the work streams that the project has undertaken in this direction since its creation was training public servants in the basics of the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA). The approach is a prerequisite to ensuring that civil servants understand their duties, are accountable, and deliver high-quality public services to citizens as rights holders.

In 2021, within its project and at the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (MDT), UNDP organised a training session for the ministry’s employees, representatives of other government ministries, state agencies, and the parliament. The training objective was to raise the awareness of civil servants on the use of a human rights-based approach and to help them apply the new knowledge in their daily professional activities.

As a result of the two-day training, 63 civil servants, including 41 women and 22 men, who were involved in developing public policies and creating digital tools for people from the most vulnerable groups, obtained the knowledge and skills to apply HRBA in their decisions and products. Namely, they enhanced their knowledge about efficient policymaking, engaging various groups of stakeholders, public policy quality monitoring and evaluation, and gender mainstreaming. The project later uploaded video recordings of training modules to the YouTube channel to provide open access to essential knowledge for the broader audience of public servants.

The training became the continuation of previous efforts of the UNDP in Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Transformation on the promotion of HRBA among public servants. Earlier, together with the Better Regulation Delivery Office in Ukraine and the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, they produced an online course “Public Policy and How It Is Shaped” for civil servants for the Diia.Education platform (a MDT’s educational platform). The series consisted of 5 modules reflected in 10 short episodes. In 5 months since its launch, almost 8,000 users fully completed the course and obtained a certificate equal to 0.2 ECTS. In their feedback, course listeners indicated their interest in gaining a more in-depth understanding of a human-centred approach and gender strategies in the development of public policy and learning skills in how to apply their principles. Hence, comprehensive training on the main principles and mechanisms of implementing HRBA in state policy was designed to fulfil the beneficiaries’ requests.

Innovation Description

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

Several key features made the HRBA training innovative:

Firstly, a comprehensive agenda enabled the study of the application of HRBA in various domains, thereby equipping public servants with overarching knowledge and broadening their perspectives on their work outcomes. Among others, they learned about the novice topic of web accessibility.

Moreover, the training was designed to provide public servants with hands-on experience and practical skills so that they could immediately apply the obtained knowledge. Reflecting global experience, trainers taught how to develop public policy and electronic services duly considering human rights and gender mainstreaming.

Finally, the training became part of a large-scale work of UNDP and MDT on strengthening public servants’ capacities to develop all-inclusive policies. Promoting the previously developed online course, the session also laid the foundation for further, more in-depth training on various aspects of HRBA.

What is the current status of your innovation?

The analysis of pre- and post-training questionnaires showed that its participants “highly” or “somehow” increased their awareness about HRBA and gender mainstreaming. By December 2023, over 17,000 persons also completed the online course “What is Public Policy and How It Is Shaped” on the Diia.Education platform. 97% of respondents – public servants who completed the series – said that their awareness level of inclusive approaches in the formation of public policy substantially or partially increased, and half of the respondents confirmed the full readiness to use the HRBA and gender mainstreaming in their daily work.

Since 2021, the UNDP and the Ministry of Digital Transformation have substantially intensified and scaled up their work on increasing policymakers' awareness of the human-rights-based approach. Their efforts ranged from specialised training sessions to undertaking thematic educational activities dedicated to the HRBA’s specific aspects, such as web accessibility.

Innovation Development

Collaborations & Partnerships

The HRBA training became part of a joint work of UNDP and the Ministry of Digital Transformation on promoting inclusive digital transformation in the country, which they undertook within the Sweden-funded project. A few other ministries and state bodies partner in implementing certain initiatives in this area. Representatives of various government and local authorities participate in such training, whereas citizens access and learn from online educational products resulting from this cooperation

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

Government officials gained profound knowledge and practical skills to apply principles of the human-rights-based approach in their work. As a result, citizens could benefit from public policies and new digital solutions that are now designed in an inclusive manner considering human rights, principles of gender equality, and web accessibility requirements. In their turn, civil society and the private sector are and have been integral actors in promoting inclusive public policies in the country.

Innovation Reflections

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

In 2023, UNDP organised an online survey to measure the level of government employees’ awareness of HRBA and inclusivity approaches to the provision of digital services. Among 4,170 (46% women and 54% men) ministries’ civil servants who completed the questionnaire, 66% of respondents confirmed that they were aware of inclusive approaches in the provision of state e-services and were using them in the work. Most respondents self-assessed their level of awareness at a high level. And 83% of those who learned about HRBA fully or rather agreed with the statement, “Learning was useful because I apply the knowledge I’ve gained to my daily work.”

Challenges and Failures

Differing work spheres and expertise levels of public servants caused difficulties while designing the training. Although participants were involved in policy design and digitalisation, their work streams, responsibilities, and skillsets were different; that’s why it was hard to construct an agenda encompassing the needs and interests of all officials. Consequently, it might have led to differing levels of understanding of human rights and gender issues and skills obtained by participants.

Secondly, it is hard to measure the impact of training on the transformation of the public sector. Besides the conducted survey among public servants, it is challenging to track how they apply the knowledge and skills from the training in their work.

Conditions for Success

Several factors were essential for the effective implementation of the HRBA training.

Firstly, continuous cooperation with government partners was crucial for prompt training design and organisation. This remains a key factor that helps further promote HRBA and gender mainstreaming in the public sector.

The government's political will and aspirations to build a more inclusive public services provision system play an essential role in establishing such cooperation and organising educational initiatives for public servants.

Finally, an active civil society that guards democratic practices of public sector accountability and transparency contributes to igniting interest in HRBA. It helps build a more inclusive society in the country.

Replication

Pursuing the goal of increasing the knowledge and skills of government institutions to digitalise citizen-oriented services, UNDP and the Ministry of Digital Transformation have developed several other educational products for public servants dedicated to certain aspects of HRBA and gender mainstreaming. Namely, specialised training on digital accessibility is regularly organised for representatives of central bodies and local authorities, with over 1,500 public servants completing them in two years. Also, online educational series were introduced on the MDT educational platforms, such as “Web Accessibility”, “Digitalisation in Public Sector” and “Monitoring and Quality Evaluation of Administrative Services Provision.” It enabled civil servants to gain essential knowledge in an edutainment format.

Lessons Learned

Scaling up activities to all authority levels leads to higher effectiveness in knowledge promotion among public servants. While teaching topics, such as HRBA and gender mainstreaming, it is advised to organise training for employees at the regional and local, not only the central, levels. This will have a more encompassing impact on public sector transformation.

Adaptability is vital for successful activity implementation in an uncertain environment. Since the start of the full-scale Russia invasion of Ukraine, training, such as on HRBA and web accessibility, faced logistical and organisational difficulties. Hence, their launch must be flexible and adaptable, with several alternatives identified, such as quick transfer into online mode.