Training draws warm response

State Councilor, Secretary-general of State Council, and President of the China National School of Administration Hua Jianmin (right) meets with EU Ambassador Serge Abou at the third China-Europe Senior Forum on Government Management last year. File Photo

"European experts involved in training activities have reported a great degree of participation and interest in the discussion and interactivity of the course from their target group," said EU Ambassador to China Serge Abou.

He pointed out that the program is committed to assisting the process of economic and social reform in China and increasing understanding and knowledge of public administration between China and EU member states.

To his delight, a group of trainers from the China National School of Administration (CNSA), who were the first to receive the training, are now training their colleagues in the provincial-level public administration institutes.

"In this way, a cascade effect has been achieved," he noted.

To Chinese participants used to the traditional lecture style of teaching, they provided an alternative mode of learning that generated a lot of enthusiasm, he commented.

Since it is important that training programs for civil servants not only focus on knowledge but also on the skills necessary to apply the knowledge, Chinese trainers have perceived the advantage of imparting training in skills through interactive methods.

Some institutes in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province and Qingdao in Shandong Province have reported that they have been inspired by such methods and are now working on the future development of training modes suitable for Chinese circumstances.

Highlights

The highlight of the CEPA program is the Executive Development and Strategic Policy Analysis Seminar.

Under this component, Chinese civil servants have conducted research on key policy issues related to government reform in Europe and China.

"The results of this research have provided a basis for presentations and discussions at the annual high-level China Europe senior forum that brings together government officials from China and EU," he said.

"Some of the contributions to the forum have drawn the attention of the State Council leadership and other influential EU and China government officials," he noted. "The forum constitutes an opportunity for Chinese and European experts to exchange experiences and best practices on the themes of government reform."

Meanwhile, it is expected that better knowledge of European public administration will be disseminated due to the increased ability of trainers and deeper understanding will be achieved on European and Chinese public administration systems.

The CEPA project has established a new distance-learning platform with a high potential for disseminating new content across China and plans to facilitate access to this for all provincial institutes of public administration.

The project has also assisted the Chinese government in developing a model of institutional performance assessment and a model of staff assessment, which take their inspiration from European performance assessment approaches.

"The response from the Chinese side has been very positive," the ambassador asserted.

The model has been adapted to the Chinese context and its implementation has been tested in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province and Xiamen, Fujian Province, and is to be introduced in nine pilot institutions in China.

Expectation

"The successful implementation of the CEPA project and relevance of its overall objective to the priorities of the Chinese government and to EU-China relations have paved the way for considering follow-up action in the same field. The EU delegation is currently in the process of identifying future activities," the ambassador said.

In a bid to help the CEPA project create a stronger impact, the ambassador expects to strengthen dialogue between relevant counterparts in the EU and China and establish long-term networks for better understanding of the functioning of the two systems.

"Advancement can also be attained by further developing the distance-learning tools and the consolidation of Chinese ownership of the new methods of institutional performance and staff assessment," Ambassador Abou said.

(China Daily 11/13/2007 page19)