The NextGenGov Fellowship Program held an awards ceremony and panel discussion to recognise and inspire the 2019 batch who completed the course.
The Program aims to integrate the use of foresight and innovation for public sector excellence.
Earlier this year, the Program introduced 60 selected public sector officials in Sri Lanka, along with international participants from seven countries, to practical applications of foresight and innovation tools.
The program has been co-developed as a joint initiative by Citra Social Innovation Lab, the Ministry of Provincial Councils, Local Government, and Public Administration, and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA).
Following the initial workshops, an in-depth mentorship program supported these champions of innovation as they used foresight and innovative tools to tackle ongoing issues within their ministries and departments.
The culmination of the program also featured a two-day recap session for the participants to report back on their experiences and learn from each other.
At the panel discussion on ‘Gearing the Public Sector to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals’, State Minister of Foreign Relations, Susil Premajayantha outlined the importance of recognising the gaps in the public sector, the role of innovation in addressing the gaps and building a conducive environment to achieve the 2030 agenda, last week.
Secretary to the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government, and Public Administration, Siripala Hettiarachchi said, “There is a strong need to facilitate innovation within the public sector that gives officials the space to develop creative and efficient processes. We need to work together through programs such as this to empower skilled officials, so they can carry out their work towards the sustainable growth of Sri Lanka.”
UNDP Resident Representative, Robert Juhkam said, “The wide range of projects that strengthen institutions, build capacity and re-engineer processes that have been implemented as a result of this program is a testament to the impact of empowering the right officials with the tools they need to create positive change.”
Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Provincial Councils, and Public Administration Siripala Hettiarachchi, former Secretary, Ministry of Digital Infrastructure Wasantha Deshapriya, and Director of Human Resources at the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, Damayanthi Wijesinghe were the panelists. Gender and Experimentation Lead, Citra Lab, Deshani Senanayake was the moderator.
Citra Social Innovation Lab and its partners will continue to work closely with the growing network of innovation champions to ensure a sustained, long term integration of foresight and innovation for public sector excellence.