Published: 04 February 2015 г.
The University of Central Asia’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration (UCA IPPA) celebrated the first graduates of its Certificate Programme in Policy Analysis (CPPA) in Bishkek on 3 February 2015.
“CPPA offers a rigorous learning experience, bringing together expert instructors and Central Asian civil servants and practitioners to explore and apply critical concepts and methods in policy analysis,” said UCA Director General, Dr Bohdan Krawchenko, who welcomed the graduates and guests.
Mr Oleg Tarbinski, Deputy Director of the Kyrgyz State Personnel Service and Ms Aidai Kurmanova, State-Secretary of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy also attended the ceremony.
“Our country is facing social and economic challenges that require public administration systems to be effective. To overcome these challenges we need to have highly qualified state administration staff. UCA’s Certificate Programme in Policy Analysis is a contribution to the development of civil servants’ professional skills. It has helped participants gain new skills and knowledge related to policy analysis,” said Tarbinski.
CPPA is an executive programme offered by the Institute of Public Policy and Administration. It is designed for civil servants, independent analysts and staff at think-tanks and non-governmental organisations and includes four modules: Policy Process in Government, Economics for Policy Analysis, Methods of Policy Analysis, Policy Monitoring and Evaluation. Each participant also develops and defends an original policy paper to a panel of senior researchers and government officials at an end-of-course colloquium.
In 2014, UCA offered CPPA concurrently for Kyrgyz, Tajik and Afghan civil servants at UCA in Biskhek and Dushanbe, in a flexible modular format to allow professionals to participate.
This cohort of 11 graduates undertook the course from May to November 2014 in Bishkek, taught by an international team, including Associate Professor Oleksandr Kiliievych, National Academy of Public Administration under the President ofUkraine; Cholpon Nogoibaeva, independent expert; Professor Aleksandr Tretyakov, Academy of Management under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic; Dr Krawchenko; and Dr Roman Mogilevskii, Head of Research, IPPA.
The language of instruction was Russian. UCA provided all course materials, including the recent UCA publication Benefit-Cost Analysis Guide, the first authorised Russian language translation. Cost-benefit analysis is a standard methodology used in assessing central and local government expenditures on programmes, projects and policy.
The graduates received the professional development Certificate in Policy Analysis and a certificate supplement detailing the programme of studies and learner’s achievement in accordance with European norms. The course is a 25 credit European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) programme.
“CPPA offered a good opportunity to develop my analytical thinking. We were trained by highly qualified instructors. It was helpful in developing my writing and analytical skills, which are important for my professional development,” said course participant Ms Karlygach Nurmanbetova of the Tian Shan Policy Center at American University of Central Asia
CPPA is offered within the framework of IPPA’s Research and Public Policy Initiative (RPPI), supported by the International Development Research Centre and the Aga Khan Foundation, Canada. The publication of Benefit-Cost Analysis Guide was also supported under the Initiative. RPPI aims to ground policy-making processes in Central Asia in sound evidence and policy analysis by building the capacity of researchers to conduct independent and critical studies and by expanding the ability of policy professionals to utilise such research in policy development.
CPPA will be offered again in 2015 to Kyrgyz, Tajik and Afghan civil servants.