OSCE enhances conflict management skills of Ukrainian public servants

On 6 September, the tenth group of Ukrainian civil servants and local self-government officials completed an in-person training session on conflict management. The course was developed by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and the High School of Public Governance with the support of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine.

This year, the programme was completed by 206 public officials representing a variety of governmental offices, including local authorities and territorial communities from across Ukraine. The programme consists of an intensive online course and a 3-day on-site practical training exercise.

Applying the acquired knowledge and skills, participants will be able to perform preliminary assessments and mapping of conflicts affecting their teams and identify further steps and measures to be taken to improve the situation. This also includes performing interventions on their own by interviewing participants and helping them identify their needs and interests, or involving external expertise if needed. Participants learned about the theory of conflict management and the basics of dialogue and mediation. They also practiced effective communication tools and ways to assess the impact of conflicts on their work and the functioning of their institutions. To maximize the results of the training course, participants analysed real-life situations they face in their daily operations.

The OSCE and the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service plan to continue building conflict management skills of public servants next year.

This work is based on methodological tools and instruments previously developed with OSCE support, including the Guidebook “Conflict Management for the Needs of Public Service” (available here), Methodology Recommendations on Conflict Management in State Institutions (available here) and the Methodology Recommendations on Conflict Management in Local Self-Governance Bodies (available here).

The training programme has been conducted within the framework of the Project “Building Dialogue and Mediation Capacity for Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution” implemented with the support of the OSCE participating States and partners. Please see the full list of donors here.