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“Cohesion Policy Today and Tomorrow: Mazowsze’s Contribution to the Discussion”
New training offer
”The functioning of the executive in Poland. The work of the Marshal of the Sejm.”
Latest KSAP-ENA Francophone Conference
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A lecture of the above title was given on January 20th by Dr Adam Struzik, who, in his capacity as Marszałek (Marshal), heads the regional part of the administration in the Polish voivodship (province-region) of Mazowieckie (Mazowsze). This region is of interest inter alia because it includes both the Polish capital city, Warsaw (as the richest part of the country of above-average wealth from the EU point of view), and rural areas and small towns quite seriously afflicted by poverty and other related problems. In consequence, as the speaker noted, there is a more than four-fold disparity within the voivodship between its richest and poorest sub-regions. Dr Struzik thus presented and discussed the situation of his own voivodship in detail, as well as giving overall consideration to the past, present and (especially) future of the European Union’s cohesion policy.
Recently released online and in book form, the KSAP offer of training courses for the February-July 2010 period covers subjects ranging from administration and management (36 courses), via matters of the economy and public finance (17), through to the EU and foreign policy (34). There are also a wealth of skills and techniques courses, as well as 58 courses of varying format in the English, French, German, Russian and Spanish languages, these covering both general administrative language, and the language of policymaking, economics, law and the EU.
On December 16th another in the series of KSAP seminars was held, the esteemed guest speaker on this occasion being Marshal of the Polish Sejm (i.e. Speaker of the Lower House), Bronisław Komorowski, who gave a lecture of the above title.
The latest in the series of Francophone Conferences organised jointly by KSAP and France’s École Nationale d’Administration took place on December 10th and 11th under the title “Challenges to the development of human resources in public administration at a time of economic crisis, i.e. how to operate more effectively on less?” The Conference forms part of an ESF co-financed project being implemented by KSAP within Poland’s Human Capital OP, and specifically its ”Good Governance” Priority (Priority V); Measure 5.1 ”Strengthening the potential of the governmental administration.” The Conference addressed issues both philosophical (like civil service core values and the status of civil servants) and practical (like employment, expenditure and HRM).
The National School was joined by the Polish Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization in running a Conference entitled “Challenges in the Healthcare System: Human and Organizational Resources and the Potential for Efficient Management and Governance”. The Conference took place at KSAP on December 15th 2009, and was addressed by Poland’s Minister of Health, Ewa Kopacz. Much of the time was devoted to the presentation of a report on management potential in the central healthcare institutions, as drawn up at KSAP on commission from the WHO. More specifically, the Conference considered the challenges facing healthcare today, the necessary competences for personnel in healthcare administration and how best to organise central healthcare institutions.
On December 7th, the National School hosted a meeting that formed part of the training programme called S.E.N.S.E.-Białoruś (Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise), as organised by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The key aim was to acquaint participants with the history and role of the National School in the development of the Polish Civil Service. A discussion followed the presentation given by the Deputy Director, Dr Marek Haliniak, and there was ample opportunity for the establishing of better professional contacts with the large number of Belarussian guests, not least students of the President of Belarus’s Academy of Administration.
The latest work to be published by KSAP, in the Polish language, is ”Współdziałanie administracji rządowej i samorządowej w Unii Europejskiej”. Under the scientific editorship of Prof. Michał Kulesza and Dr Marcin Sakowicz, the book concerns the joint action of the central and local government administrations within the EU.
By decision of November 15th, the National School announced the results of a competition seeking to foster economics education in Poland. The contest drew 68 registrations, from among which some 39 case studies were submitted for consideration to a 3-person jury comprising Drs. Bogusław Czarny, Małgorzata Znoykowicz-Wierzbicka and Piotr Maszczyk (all of KSAP and the Warsaw School of Economics). The top prize (4000 PLN) went to Konrad Popławski for a study of the Polish mobile phone market, while second prizes of 2500 PLN were won by Beata Bogusz for “To be or not to be professionally passive – that is the question”, and by Eryk Krysowski for a study of the Keynesian-monetarist struggle for influence in crisis-hit America. Five Special Awards were also conferred by the Director of KSAP.
Under the editorship of Dr Krzysztof Szczerski, "Podmiotowość geopolityczna – studia nad polską polityką zagraniczną" offers a collection of studies from 16 authors on Polish foreign policy in the conventional sense, but also as regards the country’s presence in the world – economically, via international organizations and military and peacekeeping roles, by virtue of Poles or people of Polish origin present around the globe, as a “brand” and as various kinds of “soft presence”. In turn, "Wybór orzeczeń" offers a selection of key judgments of the European Court of Justice and decisions of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, as compiled by KSAP Coordinator and Lecturer Prof. Jan Barcz, as well as Anna Pudło.
On October 22nd and 23rd, in the context of the preparatory training KSAP is running prior to Poland’s holding of the EU rotating presidency in 2011, the National School was delighted to play host to:
A cycle of training offering a general orientation as regards the legal system, institutional setup and decisionmaking processes of the European Union was inaugurated ceremonially at KSAP on October 19th. Present alongside the participants as the training gained its formal inauguration were Minister Michał Dowgielewicz and Coordinator Prof. Jan Barcz. The training of course links up with the need to prepare the Polish administration for the tasks awaiting it when Poland takes up the rotating presidency of the Union in the second half of 2011. It is therefore addressed to representatives of the central governmental administration working in the Ministries and offices most directly connected to the Presidency, and in particular those expected to play a key role in coordinating Presidency-related teams, and/or foreseen as heads of delegations or chairs of Committees and Working Groups in 2011. Each training session will involve 60 or so participants, the ultimate aim being to offer the full series of sessions to some 1200 civil servants. It is anticipated that approximately one-third of the training will be provided in English.
KSAP was the host-organiser of a very valuable study visit of the above title which took place on 19th–21st October. Implemented in cooperation with the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE), and funded under DG Education and Culture’s Lifelong Learning Programme, the visit brought together participants from Bulgaria, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Turkey and the UK, as well as of course the host country Poland. CEDEFOP (the EU’s Thessaloniki-based Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) was also represented, making this an important opportunity for those from old, new and would-be Member States to learn about the Polish Civil Service and its training (not least in KSAP), and to share and exchange general information and experiences on how best to raise qualifications, skilling levels and standards in countries’ civil and public services.
A meeting of the above profile took place on October 16th, as part of work to implement a project originating in the Prime Minister’s Chancellery offering "Support for the Government of Georgia in Implementing a Regional Development Strategy as regards Decentralisation and Human Resources Development”. The project is being co-financed under the Polska Pomoc 2009 Programme from Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On October 1st, KSAP played host to representatives of the CPA, which forms part of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan [The word Yuan literally means “Court” and there are 5 making up the Taiwanese administration, the others being the Legislative, Control, Judicial and Examination Yuans]. Models by which to run qualification procedures for the civil service were discussed in the course of the meeting – at which KSAP was represented by Joanna Langiewicz, Dr Robert Sobiech and Michał Mierzwa.
The Francophone Club held its first meeting of the 2009-10 academic year on September 30th at the National School. The lead theme of this year’s meetings will be Do Polish Administrative Personnel Need to Know French? Director Jacek Czaputowicz set things in motion with his words of welcome to the first meeting, at which it was also possible to enjoy and admire a thought-provoking exhibition mounted by Piotr Firlus of the 17th Year Class, who was seeking to illustrate the varied presence of French culture in the Polish capital city by means of an exhibition of photographs entitled Francuskie oblicza Warszawy.
With the support of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, KSAP was honoured to host several high-level guests to give training on September 15th and 16th under the title “Strategies by which to lobby and exert an influence in the European Union”. M. Daniel Guéguen is the President of the Brussels-based consultancy CLAN Public Affairs, as well as being Director of the European Training Institute (ETI), while Karol Sachs is in charge of “Solidaritous and Alternative Financing” at the DG of Crédit Coopératif, while also serving as President of the Fédération Européenne de Finances et Banques Ethiques et Alternatives.
On September 7th, the National School was delighted to host a Seminar on "Preparing personnel for work in the public administration – experiences of young civil servants from Poland and The Netherlands". The participants included a 37-strong group of officials from the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management in The Hague
The commencement of studies by the 20th Year-Class at KSAP was celebrated ceremonially from 11 a.m. on September 4th, with leading figures in the world of Polish administration and from the Diplomatic Corps in attendance. The event gave an opportunity for the distinguished guest, Dr Sławomir Brodziński (appointed to the re-established post of Head of the Civil Service in April 2009) to introduce and present a number of matters of crucial interest to Poland’s public administration, most especially as regards the impact of the Civil Service Act of November 11th 2008. Also offering information of importance, as well as considerable pause for thought, was the Inaugural Lecture – on ”Poland in the European Union” – given by an “insider” when it comes to the Union’s decisionmaking process and general functioning, Polish MEP, Dr Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP), who sits on the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
On July 15th, the National School of Public Administration played host to a delegation from the Kaliningrad Branch of the St. Petersburg-based North-West Academy of Public Administration. The delegation consisted of Director Igor Krasnyanskiy; Head of International Cooperation Irina Soboleva and Maksim Savinov, Head of the Association of Former Lane Kirkland Scholarship Holders in Kaliningrad District. The visit provided the Academy with an opportunity to present itself and its work, and to discuss possible cooperative ventures with KSAP.
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Preparing to introduce new educational standards for “Administration”
June 17th 2009 saw the National School play host to a Conference on ”Proposals for new educational standards as regards tertiary-level courses in the subject Administration”. The Polish Association for Education in Public Administration is also co-organising the event, which enjoys the patronage of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Civil Service Recruitment Exams
On June 27th, KSAP will be running the latest (2009) round of testing of knowledge, skills and managerial predispositions under the statutory procedure qualifying potential candidates for Poland’s Civil Service. The required exams are to be given at the Expo XXI Centre in Warsaw.
Conference on “Strengthening the system of motivation in the Polish Civil Service in the content of European Best Practice”
On 26th June 2009, a conference convened at KSAP under the above title. It formed part of the project on ”Improving the motivation system in the Polish Civil Service” (PL2006/IB/OT/OT/03/TL – as co-financed by the Transition Facility – Flexible Reserve No. 2006/018-180.01.08.03) which is being implemented by the Prime Minister’s Chancellery and the Office of the Committee on European Integration, in cooperation with a German partner represented by the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Office for Administration (BVA).
”The Financial Crisis – Challenge and Threat for World and Region"
A Conference of the above title was held at the National School on May 30th 2009. The joint organisers were the Academy of Young Diplomats (Akademia Młodych Dyplomatów) and KSAP, and the proceedings were opened by a lecture from former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Prof. Grzegorz Kołodko.
Edition II of the European Senior Civil Servant Course, 18 – 22 May 2009, Caserta, Italy
As a project partner in the ESCS, the National School of Public Administration is pleased to announce a second running of the European Senior Civil Servant Course on the above dates at Caserta. The Course, which is targeted at higher-level civil servants and those thinking of taking up a managerial post in public administration, comprises e-learning and in-class components and addresses the five subject areas of:
· Institutions of the EU and its legal framework
· The political and legal frameworks of EU Member States
· Managerial tools and behaviour
· Ethics
· Statistics and economics
Countries – detailed insights into relevant institutional and economic issues (France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland and the UK).
Pilot Judgments Conference
On May 14th-15th inclusive, the National School of Public Admnistration played host to an International Conference devoted to the Pilot Judgments Procedure of the European Court of Human Rights
KSAP encourages participation in case-study competition
In May 2009, the National School announced that it was inviting entries for its first running of a Polish-language case-study competition seeking to promote the teaching and understanding of economics in Poland. The competition will be open to all, but it is particularly hoped to attract the interest of those in their first year of Economics studies at Poland’s higher-education institutions. Entrants will be competing for First, Second and Third Prizes of 4000, 3000 and 2000 PLN respectively, with a special award of 3000 PLN to be awarded by the Director for the best study concerning the public sector’s role in the economy.
German civil servants pay visit
A group of German officials 16 strong visited KSAP between May 11th and 15th, to participate in a further edition of the training successfully co-organised for many years now by the National School and BAKöV (the Bundesakademie für öffentliche Verwaltung). The German guests’ visit comprised lectures given at KSAP, plus a number of opportunities to meet with representatives of Poland’s administration.
Tunisian officials hosted
The period May 11-14th inclusive also saw the National School of Public Administration play host to a group of civil servants from Tunisia. The visit was jointly organised by KSAP and ENA (France’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration), with a view to the participants becoming better acquainted with Polish-EU administrative cooperation. A series of valuable meetings with higher-level Polish officials were therefore set up to meet the needs of the North African visitors.
UN recognition for KSAP’s work
The National School of Public Administration is thrilled to have been declared the 2009 winner of the United Nations Public Service Award in the category ”Advancing Knowledge Management in Government”. It was the Prime Minister’s Chancellery that put the National School’s name forward for the award – in the context of the UN’s Public Administration Programme – which is given to outstanding organizations worldwide operating in the name of public service. The successful candidate for this particular Award was to meet criteria that included roles in: increasing administrative efficiency, promoting accountability and transparency, introducing new concepts, and transforming a given country’s administration. The Award is to be conferred upon KSAP at a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York on June 23rd 2009 (UN Public Service Day). The Secretary-General and other senior UN figures are to be present, as are leading public-service experts and practitioners.
For more information, see: http://www.unpan.org/DPADM
Seminar on ”Queen Jadwiga and the beginnings of a multinational Poland”
On April 29th a seminar of the above title was held to reflect upon the life and times of the selected patron of KSAP’s 19th Year Class (Jadwiga of Anjou who reigned in Poland between 1384 and 1399, and is the patron saint of Queens and of a United Europe). Prof. Henryk Samsonowicz presided, describing to participants the geopolitical situation of Poland and Central Europe at a crossroads in history when the dominance of Poland’s ruling Piast dynasty was coming to an end, and the Jagiellonian era beginning to take shape. The fact that leading Cracovians of the period had swung behind the candidacy of Jadwiga of Anjou for the Polish throne was considered to have heralded the emergence of a multinational Poland that would go on to become a quite unique structure by the standards of those times.
"The Reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the light of other states’ experiences"
In the course of this seminar held at KSAP on April 22nd, Director-General of the Diplomatic Service Rafał Wiśniewski addressed the planned reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as regards the operations of the DS. He noted that the reform in question had been necessitated by changed expectations of the state’s role in the international arena. While the primary task up to the end of the 1990s had been to ensure “hard” security by way of international relations, the new circumstances meant that the securing of economic security for society as a whole was becoming ever more important. That in turn denoted promotion of Poland’s economic interests, the safeguarding of energy security, and so on. In Mr Wiśniewski’s view, the instruments necessary in achieving such goals included development assistance, consular care and lobbying, as well as a fuller recognition of the new approach to DS operations ushered in by Poland’s EU accession – most of all the inevitable blurring of the once-rigid division between matters internal and external. In regard to the latter, Mr Wiśniewski noted that the necessary change in mentality had already been achieved, so it was only now a matter of pursuing the necessary organisational and remit-related adjustments.
Chinese delegation visits KSAP
On April 21st, KSAP played host to a 5-person delegation representing the People’s Republic of China, and more specifically the People’s Political Consultative Conference and People’s Government of Guangxi. The activities of the National School were discussed during the visit, and there was an exchange of experiences as regards the training of public-administration personnel.
Seminar on Polish higher education policy
A seminar on the reform of Poland’s national policy in the area of tertiary education was held at KSAP on April 8th. It was led by Prof. Grażyna Prawelska-Skrzypek, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, who presented for discussion both the key elements of national policy in this area and the proposals now being drawn up for its reform. Among changes potentially in the pipeline are a new procedure for obtaining doctoral and doktor habilitowany titles, as well as more wide-ranging modifications in the way the institutions operating in higher education are administered. Photo
Success for soccer squad in Sixth French Ambassador’s Cup Tournament
March 28th saw a KSAP football team comprising Krzysztof Czajkowski, Grzegorz Gmyrek, Damian Jakubik, Sławomir Mosór, Daniel Pławiński, Tomasz Rejment, Robert Senger, Tomasz Smoleń and Paweł Wnuk give their all at the Sixth Annual Tournament for the Cup awarded by the French Ambassador, in a 24-team competition perfectly organized by the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française in Poland. The squad made it into the so-called “Final B” Competition, in which they won 3 matches and lost 3, in this way finishing in a creditable second place. An invitation to take part next time has already been extended. Photo
“The Civil Service in Poland – History, Current Situation and Prospects”
On Tuesday March 24th 2009, from 14.00 onwards, the National School played host to a panel debate with the above title. Participants were Minister Adam Leszkiewicz, Deputy Head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery; KSAP’s Director Prof. Jacek Czaputowicz; Władysław Stasiak in his capacity as Deputy Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland; Robert Bartold, Director-General at the Ministry of National Education; Dagmir Długosz as Director at the Department for the Civil Service and the National Personnel Reserve of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Angelina Sarota as Director at the Legal Department of the PM’s Chancellery and Rafał Siemianowski in his capacity as Chair of the KSAP Graduates’ Association. Photo
“Lobbying as a Sector of Economic Activity in Poland and Europe”
A seminar titled as above was held at KSAP on March 18th 2009, with the participation of Gilles Teisseyre and Grzegorz Ziemniak representing the world of lobbying, Dagmir Długosz of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, and Małgorzata Molęda-Zdziech as moderator of the discussion. Since lobbying remains at an earlier stage of development in Poland than in other EU Member States, there remain to be resolved here certain dilemmas of both a legal and conceptual nature that are of great relevance in shaping the way lobbying goes on to develop. Photo
Conference entitled: “Modernisation of the Governmental Administration within European Social Fund Projects”
A Conference on the above theme and with the above title was held at the National School on March 12th 2009. It provided for a preliminary analysis of the most important challenges facing Poland’s public sector where human resources management is concerned. As Deputy Minister for Regional Development Jarosław Pawłowski emphasised, HRM is a crucial factor conditioning the competitiveness of the Polish economy. Photo
“Security in the Baltic Sea Region – Polish Interests”
March 11th 2009 brought the latest in a series of sessions held at KSAP and devoted to key national policies. This time, experts from the Natolin European Centre, Drs. Marek Cichocki and Adam Osica presented results from a project concerning the consolidation versus the disintegration of the security situation in the Baltic Sea Region, as well as the areas in which this touched upon Polish national interests. Photo
KSAP prepares Report on Management in the Health Service
In November 2008, the Director of KSAP, Prof. Jacek Czaputowicz signed a contract with the World Health Organization that provided inter alia for the drawing up and publication of a report presenting HRM mechanisms at the level of higher managerial staff in the main Health Service institutions. The Report is to lead to a Ministry of Health assessment of administrative capacity, as well as providing for comparisons in practice between Polish solutions and those arrived at elsewhere. An October 2009 Conference at the National School sought to summarise the results of the Project, and the now-published Report forms an integral part of a larger international undertaking coordinated by the WHO and striving to increase the efficiency of Poland’s Health Service.
New Publications from KSAP Students and Lecturers
KSAP has brought out three new publications. Unia Europejska wobec współczesnych problemów polityki (“The European Union and Contemporary Policy Issues”) comprises 10 studies on key aspects of EU operations (e.g. the Community method of decisionmaking, the administration of regional development, information policy, lobbying and the functioning of the Presidency). Strategiczne programowanie rozwoju – doświadczeń europejskie (”The Strategic Programming of Development – European Experiences”) in turn offers some 11 analyses showing how selected countries (France, Germany, Ireland and the UK / Scotland) – or else the European Union as a whole – are building strategic potential. Finally, Wspóldziałanie administracji rządowej z administracją samorządową (”Joint Action between the Governmental and Local Governmental Administrations”) concerns itself with the relationships between the centre and the various other tiers of administration. All three books are available at the National School of Public Administration, at present in Polish only.
Cooperation between KSAP and its Partner from Ukraine
On March 4th, KSAP hosted a 19-strong group of students from the Office of the President of Ukraine’s National Academy of Public Administration (UAPA) and the Higher School of Public Administration in Szczecin, Poland. The very welcome guests took part in a lecture entitled “The System of Public Administration in Poland” led by Krzysztof Banaś, Head of Division at the Department for the Civil Service and National Personnel Reserve of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, as well as KSAP’s Deputy Director, Dr. Marek Haliniak. The visit represents a further stage in the long-term cooperation ongoing between KSAP and UAPA. Photo
Graduation Ceremony for the 17th “Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski” Year-Class and Inauguration of Studies for the new 19th Year-Class
The Ceremony held on February 27th 2009 featured the Inaugural Lecture given by former Prime Minister of Poland and now Member of the European Parliament, Prof. Jerzy Buzek, with the title: “The Functioning of the EU and the Challenges facing the Polish Public Administration”. Photo
“The Problem of Existence from the Viewpoints of Philosophy and Physics”
On February 25th 2009. Prof. Jerzy Janik of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, gave a lecture with the above title in which it was inter alia emphasised how many scientific disciplines had been generating concepts for which there is no place in everyday language. Photo
“European Experience with the Cooperation between Governmental and Decentralised Administrations”
Students of the “Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski” Year-Class hosted their Graduates’ Conference on February 18th 2009, the title being as given above. In his inaugural paper to the Conference, Prof. Michał Kulesza stressed the enormous importance of cooperation between the centre and the other tiers of administration, since this might do nothing less than determine the success of the public administration system as a whole. Photo