The purpose of this direction is to create conditions under which government bodies develop public policy based on analysis results and communication with stakeholders, as well as ensure its effective implementation for the sustainable development of the state.
Key issues remain the insufficiently effective system of central executive bodies, lack of a clear division of functions for policy formulation and implementation, an imperfect mechanism for directing and coordinating the activities of ministries, and an unresolved system of state strategic planning.
According to legislation, ministries are defined as bodies responsible for formulating and implementing public policy in one or more areas, while the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine directs, coordinates, and controls the activities of ministries.
Existing mechanisms for directing and coordinating the activities of ministries and ensuring their capacity to formulate policy need improvement. The list of areas in which the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine formulates and implements policy needs to be more clearly defined. The authority for policy formulation across all areas is intended to be assigned to specific directorates within ministries. Ministries should focus on policy formulation, while policy implementation functions will gradually be transferred to other central executive bodies.
An important task is to improve the process of formulating and implementing long-term decisions on the country’s development and coordinating policy formulation and implementation, which are key elements of the executive authorities’ activities in the public administration system. At the same time, the planning process of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should be aligned with a long-term vision for the state’s development, the medium-term budget process, Ukraine’s international obligations, and the aspiration to implement leading global standards, including those of the OECD, in various fields.
Solving problems in the area of state strategic planning, particularly those related to the preparation and execution of national programs and state target programs, is possible by developing and adopting relevant legislation, strengthening the institutional capacity of central executive bodies, and developing civil servants’ competencies in this area. Tasks to develop the state strategic planning system will be carried out within the framework of implementing the Public Finance Management Reform Strategy.
The procedure for establishing and terminating central executive bodies requires improvement in terms of properly justifying the need for their creation and defining their scope of competence. Due to the absence of a clearly defined mechanism for succession, problematic issues arise related to the transfer of property obligations of a terminated body and the proper execution of functions transferred to another central executive body. As a result, the principle of continuity in exercising state powers is violated, and measures to terminate central executive bodies sometimes take years.
Additionally, it is planned to review procedures and workflows in government bodies, especially the process of conducting public consultations on policy formulation and implementation and the process of monitoring and controlling the implementation of management decisions. Auditing these processes will allow identifying general negative trends and making them more convenient for citizens, including through the use of modern information and technological solutions.
There is also a need to improve managerial accountability in accordance with European principles, taking into account the specifics of Ukraine’s public administration system.
Tasks for Implementing This Direction of the Strategy:
- Improving the system for developing draft legal acts, including through the unification of regulatory drafting rules and the examination of draft acts;
- Enhancing the process of conducting public consultations and consultations with the public on policy formulation and implementation, including introducing a public consultation module on the online platform for interaction between executive authorities, citizens, and civil society institutions;
- Improving the organization and operational procedures of central executive bodies, including refining directing and coordination mechanisms, organizational structure, clear definition and distribution of functions and powers, eliminating duplication, and ensuring accountability for results, considering the principles of managerial accountability defined by the SIGMA Programme;
- Simplifying procedures for the establishment and termination of central executive bodies as legal entities of public law and defining a clear mechanism for succession in case of changes in the system of central executive bodies;
- Completing the formation of directorates to enhance ministries’ capacity for policy formulation in relevant areas;
- Continuing the process of removing functions and powers not inherent to ministries by transferring such functions and powers to other central executive bodies, local executive authorities, or local self-government bodies within the framework of decentralizing powers, or by relinquishing them altogether;
- Introducing a systematic review of procedures and workflows in public authorities to continuously improve them through reengineering, establishing transparent rules, and unified standards;
- Implementing an electronic archive and creating suitable conditions for the long-term storage of electronic documents in the electronic archive;
- Updating legislation on citizens’ appeals and public information, including the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals”;
- Introducing modern tools and approaches to working with appeals using a “one-stop shop” approach, particularly on the online platform for interaction between executive authorities, citizens, and civil society institutions;
- Implementing a unified system for processing and reviewing appeals aimed at reducing the processing time, avoiding ambiguous, unsubstantiated, or incomplete responses, enabling tracking the status of appeals, and ensuring citizen satisfaction with the results of the review of appeals.