Ukrainian delegation visits D.C. to study U.S. civil service system (08/06/06)

Ukrainian delegation visits D.C. to study U.S. civil service system

by Olena Krychevska
U.S.-Ukraine Foundation

WASHINGTON - A delegation of Ukrainian officials met with a wide range of U.S. senior officials and experts in civil service during a visit to Washington on June 11-16. The trip was organized by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation as part of its Project to Assist Ukraine's Civil Service Reform.

The group from Ukraine consisted of Tymofiy Motrenko, the head of the Civil Service of Ukraine; Oleksandr Demyanyuk, the head of the Personnel Management Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; and Andriy Vyshnevsky, director of the Center for Support of Civil Service Institutional Development under the Main Department of the Civil Service of Ukraine.

Commenting on the delegation's dedication, Jack Heller, the project's senior advisor, stated that "This is a remarkably serious, capable and hard-working group. It has the enthusiasm and talent to lead significant administrative reform in Ukraine."

During the week in Washington, the delegation had the opportunity to get an in-depth understanding of the American public service system during meetings with key U.S. government agencies and organizations. In particular, the Ukrainian delegation met with senior officials in the Office of the Vice- President, U.S. Department of State and the Office of Personnel Management. The Office of Personnel Management and the Ukrainian representatives agreed to draft a governmental memorandum of cooperation.

The week's agenda was arranged primarily by George Nesterczuk, technical consultant to the project, Mr. Heller, senior advisor, and U.S.-Ukraine Foundation staff. The Embassy of Ukraine in the United States also provided significant support to the visit.

Additional meetings were held with the Office of Government Ethics, Office of Special Counsel, Federal Labor Relations Authority, Merit Systems Protection Board, U.S. Agency for International Development, National Academy of Public Administration, International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute, Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Foreign Service Institute, as well as with Ambassador George Staples, the director general of the Foreign Service.

The delegation met with Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Oleh Shamshur. The Politics and Governance Task Force of U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Policy Dialogue project hosted a lunch meeting with the delegation, and on June 15. Mr. Tymofiy Motrenko spoke at the Kennan Institute on the "Transformation of the Ukrainian Civil Service System under Conditions of Political Reform."

During their stay in Washington the delegates had an opportunity to visit the Taras Shevchenko monument, give an interview at Voice of America and meet with Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program participants from Ukraine.

The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Project to Assist Ukraine's Civil Service Reform is designed to assist the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in improving its personnel management systems. More specifically, the 18-month project will be supporting efforts within Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to design and install more effective systems for rotating personnel between domestic and foreign assignments, the recruitment and placement of foreign service professionals, training, managing the performance of personnel, and strategic planning.

The principal work of the project is to be conducted by dedicated task forces established within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program is funded by the Fund for Democracy and Development, which derived funds from a monetization program at the Department of Agriculture.

In Mr. Motrenko's words, the visit "laid the foundation for a systematic long-term cooperation between the governments of U.S. and Ukraine in its reformation of the civil service."

For further program information from the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, readers may contact Marta Matselioukh at [email protected] or 202-223-2228, or log on to http://www.usukraine.org/foreign_affairs.shtml.

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