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Description
The Project will be beneficial in the context of applying the principles of good governance, improved public integrity, and education process at the partner universities. The project will aim at an exchange of knowledge and raising awareness among the public and students. Students will later be able to use the most up-to-date knowledge and skills they can then apply in governance and the public sector. Skills and knowledge will comprehend transparency, integrity, and accountability reflecting local realities in Slovakia and Ukraine.
Implementation of the project is planned to mainly focus on the transfer of good practices between public administration experts, creation of the study subject and study material that will be taught at both universities, exchanges/secondments between cooperating institutions, held conferences, workshops, seminars, and publication outputs. The objective is to apply the principles of good governance and to improve public integrity, transparency, openness, accountability, rules of ethical and anti-corruption behavior in the government sector, in order to de-escalate today´s differences. Increased public confidence in public institutions in the future is subsequently expected.
Bilateral cooperation: partners will participate in the all project activities, organization of a conference, and workshops.
Summary of project results
The poor application of good governance principles has significant negative consequences, including low public trust in institutions, weak motivation for public service, and limited engagement of young people in public affairs. To address these challenges, the FoPA project partners focused on measures to improve the quality of higher education. Collaborating universities identified the need to tackle these issues by strengthening institutional cooperation.
The project activities addressed shortcomings in integrity standards, accountability, and transparency within current democratic states. By acknowledging diverse approaches to promoting integrity and accountability across Europe, the project targeted recognized challenges related to maintaining high standards of public integrity and transparency.
Key activities were distributed among the FoPA project partners. Slovak-Ukrainian institutional cooperation yielded tangible outcomes, such as conferences, workshops, staff exchanges, and the development of a unique course titled “Competences and Capacities in Public Institutions.”
The Slovak-Ukrainian institutional cooperation under the FoPA project was strengthened through a series of interconnected measures designed to build awareness, enhance education, and foster collaboration on the principles of good governance, accountability, and public integrity. The activities seamlessly aligned to achieve the project''s overarching goals, each contributing to meaningful outcomes.
The project began with dissemination and awareness-raising activities, highlighted by two significant conferences. The conference “Ukraine towards EU Values: Open Door,” hosted by V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, explored the values of the European Union in governance, focusing on Ukraine''s current challenges and opportunities. The project concluded with the final conference “Evaluation of Best Practices: Final Conference of the FoPA Project” at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, which showcased successful practices in good governance across participating institutions.
Building on this foundation, a key achievement was the development of the innovative course “Competences of Capacities in Public Institutions,” designed to educate youth on good governance principles. Experts from Pavol Jozef Šafárik University created the course content, which was integrated into the curriculum at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The course was supported by comprehensive educational materials, including the “Good Governance Manual for Future Experts in Public Sector Institutions,” a casebook on European best practices in governance, and another casebook reflecting Ukraine''s transformation toward good governance.
To deepen institutional cooperation and exchange expertise, secondments between Slovakia, Ukraine, and Norway enabled educators and students to collaborate on pressing governance issues and share insights on European trends and challenges. These exchanges facilitated a dynamic environment for knowledge transfer and professional growth.
Workshops further enhanced the project’s impact by engaging students directly in discussions on governance and public integrity. The series “Towards Higher Standards of Integrity and Accountability in Public Administration” covered essential topics such as democratic governance tools, transparency, and openness in public institutions, as well as practical adaptation and employment opportunities for Ukrainian students in Slovakia. These workshops bridged theoretical knowledge with practical application, fostering greater interest in transparency, accountability, and public sector integrity.
Through these integrated efforts, the FoPA project not only improved educational quality but also cultivated a deeper understanding of good governance principles among students and institutions, setting a strong foundation for future collaboration and reform.
The benefits of the project results had different positive impacts that can be perceived across different target groups, mainly:
▪ building future capacities of public institutions - developing and managing skilled, committed and trusted future experts for public institutions;
▪ facilitating student´s knowledge in terms of public integrity, accountability, honesty and achieving greater interest in public sector transparency and open access to information;
▪ enriching of the current state of knowledge in the field of good governance, public administration, public integrity, and policymaking;
▪ promoting respect for high standards of integrity and personal accountability, which can improve the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to reduce corruption and other types of anti-social behaviour (non-discrimination, conflict of interest, ...);
▪ strengthening institutional collaboration of participating universities. The main target groups of the project were teachers and students of both countries who were directly involved in the creation of the course and subsequently its implementation on the collaborating HEIs. The involvement of these groups in the implementation of the main activities deepened the knowledge, experience, and development of personal qualities, and raised awareness in the field of public integrity, transparency, good governance, and Ukraine''s EU accession process.