Category: Public Sector and Service Innovation
Client: President’s Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Public Administration, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration
In recognition of the fact that the next layer of leaders within the public sector of Sri Lanka needs to be equipped with the necessary skills and mindsets required to tackle the country’s ambitious development goals, Citra designed and facilitated the Citra Fellowship on Public Service Excellence, with guidance from and in collaboration with the President’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Public Administration, and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA). This four-month experiential learning programme was customized by Citra to suit the requirements of the public sector officials to further strengthen and transform them to become innovative and agile in championing the sustainable development process of the country.
Building on the success of the Fellowship since its initial one back in 2019, Citra introduced a new iteration of the Fellowship programme that was tailored specifically for higher level officials, namely, Additional Secretaries, and Senior Assistant Secretaries working across different Ministries in Sri Lanka.
The potential participants were selected through an independent selection criterion to complete the Fellowship programme which consisted of three stages. Upon the successful completion of the programme, they had the opportunity of joining a network of over 120 Fellows in Sri Lanka, and seven other countries and a wider network of more than 900 public officials who champion the embedding of innovation, strategic foresight, and digital skills and tools within their respective departments and organisations.
With the objective of building an exclusive cohort of leaders within the highest level of public service officials, Citra exposed the participants to new ways of development planning, strategic foresight, innovation tools and approaches such as Human Centred Design, Collective Intelligence, as well as Anticipatory, Adaptive and Agile Governance (AAAG) principles at relevant stages of the programme. The ultimate aim of these interventions is to forge an efficient and forward-thinking public service sector to meet the current development visions of Sri Lanka.
The programme covers various focus areas using hands-on, game-based, experiential learning methodologies to ensure maximum engagement of participants, and to also highlight the practicality of these tools and approaches. The first stage which consists of a five-day residential programme covers modules under broad areas such as innovation and foresight approaches for policy making and development work, strategic futures, and citizen-centric digital transformation.
The second stage of the Fellowship commences when participants return to their respective workplaces. After the completion of the programme, participants carry out a small-scale project over three months in their own department or organization. The project could be as small as introducing a new step which makes an already existing process more efficient or redesigning an existing process altogether. During this experimental period, the Citra team plays the role of mentors, and hold regularly scheduled check- ins with the participants, and connect relevant stakeholders and technical partners to assist in the implementation of this pilot project.
Additionally, during the residential portion of the programme, we also aim to change the mindsets of the participants and inspire them to become champions of innovation in Sri Lanka. As such, one of the highlights of the Fellowship is the daily evening fireside chats we facilitate with noteworthy individuals from various sectors including Ministers, current and retired secretaries, innovative business leaders, and others. These engagements give the opportunity for the participants to hear from key folks who have carried out daring initiatives in their own fields, and be inspired to do the same in their own workspaces.
At the concluding third stage of the Fellowship, which is marked by a recap event, the Fellows are reconvened to share their experiences, learnings and challenges in trying to innovate within their own workplaces. Several Fellows in past recap events have acknowledged the programme to have been a dynamic and innovative one which championed a paradigm shift in their thinking and problem-solving process within their organizations.
The recap is also an opportunity to lend voice to the work they have done throughout the Fellowship programme and recognize the capacity of the Fellows as innovation champions and leaders within the public sector.
Going forward, Citra together with UNDP will also facilitate the engagement of relevant technical experts from its expansive network of regional and global partners across the various thematic areas to further elevate the programme, and to make it a truly global experience for the public sector officials in Sri Lanka.
