On 8 December, the Programme "Forming the Regional Innovation Policy" was successfully concluded at Lviv Regional Institute of Public Administration (LRIPA) NAPA. The Programme has become a component of advanced training for employees of the Main Department of Economy and Industrial Policy of Lviv Oblast State Administration and of the economic departments of Rayon State Administrations in Lviv oblast.
It was a pilot programme aimed at building capacity of civil service at a regional level to involve stakeholders in developing the public policy on decentralization of innovation system of Ukraine. The Programme was implemented with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralization Support to Ukraine Project (DESPRO) and NGO Ukrainian Distance Learning System. E-course "Knowledge Management through stakeholders’ engagement", designed by the team of trainers of LRIPA NAPA during their participation in the Workshop on development of training modules for eLearning (DESPRO Project) in August this year, was integrated in the Programme.
The Programme was implemented in a blended (F2F and eLearning) mode. Distance (electronic) component of the course lasted for three weeks - between two phases of advanced training for the selected category of civil servants. Learning at a distance aroused extraordinary interest among the participants and demonstrated the relevance of the chosen topic. As a result of eLearning, the participants analyzed stakeholders of the Regional Innovation Development Programme in Lviv oblast, interviewed them and developed own proposals to the Regional Programme. On 8 December, on the final day of the Programme, 4 groups (in which participants worked in the e-course) presented their proposals, certificates of successful completion of advanced training were given, and the most active participants of the electronic component of the Programme were rewarded.
The representatives of the Lviv Oblast State Administration, DESPRO Project experts and specialists of LRIPA NAPA have marked the high level and practical significance of the developed and submitted proposals, and they will ensure their consideration during the development of Regional Innovation Development Programme in Lviv oblast, which is scheduled to be adopted at a session of the Lviv Oblast Council in February 2012. Besides, in early 2012, LRIPA NAPA with the support of DESPRO Project is planning to publish guidelines on teaching the course "Forming the Regional Innovation Policy".
