LocationsA joint EU-UNDP press release
Kyiv, 12 June 2020 – Experts from the EU-UNDP Parliamentary Reform Project have presented their final report on an Institutional and Functional Analysis they carried out jointly with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in January and February 2020 on the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat – the body that manages the work of Ukraine’s parliament.
The analysis assessed the Secretariat’s current structure and functions, from human resource management to its use of IT solutions. Experts suggested that the analysis should form the basis for the development of a Strategic Development Plan for the parliament’s Secretariat.
“The European Union supports Ukraine´s strengthening of its state institutions, and we believe that this analysis will lay the grounds for the reform of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,” said Ambassador Matti Maasikas, the Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
A key finding is that adjustments to the roles and interrelations of individual departments are unlikely to have the optimum effect if they are not carried out within a redefined strategic context and changes to the Secretariat’s organisational culture. To achieve this, the VRU leadership should develop and agree on a new strategic plan as a matter of urgency, the experts said.
The report’s major recommendations include:
● Introducing strategic planning in the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat to determine its mission, values and goals in the near future. The Strategic Development Plan should become one of the key documents for the reform programme in the Secretariat, the experts said.
● Determining a set of measures to carry out a more effective human resources policy, from recruitment to promotions and transfers between units.
● The establishment of a training centre to provide training in the soft and hard skills needed by the public servants working in the Secretariat.
● Further work on the introduction of IT solutions for document management and law-making.
● Further enhancement of both internal and external communications, including parliament’s presence in social networks.
United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Ukraine Dafina Gercheva said that UNDP highly appreciates the Secretariat’s strong support for the parliamentary reform process.
“The Agenda 2030 Declaration acknowledges the significant role parliaments play in supporting and monitoring the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Gercheva said. “We welcome the proactive approach of the Secretariat to introducing transformative changes, which will lead to increased organizational effectiveness.”
In turn, Secretariat Head Viacheslav Shtuchniy thanked the experts from the European Union and UNDP project, saying they had done important work in conducting the institutional and functional analysis.
“We’ll carefully study all conclusions and recommendations and will most probably transform them into a roadmap for reforming Parliament’s Secretariat,” Shtuchniy said.
The head of the Secretariat said that on 11 June he had signed an order to establish a working group on developing a Strategic Development Plan based on the report’s findings.
Background information:
The institutional and functional analysis was conducted by the Parliamentary Reform Office (PRO) jointly with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in January and February 2020, as part of the EU-UNDP Parliamentary Reform Project. The PRO is a key component of the project, and an advisory group to the Leadership and Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine under the general supervision of the VRU Chairperson. The EU-UNDP Parliamentary Reform Project aims to strengthen the functioning of the Ukrainian parliament, making it a progressively more effective, accountable and transparent institution.
