The Policy Fellows Program: In-Service Training in Public Policy for Russian Local Government Officials

occasionalThe Occasional Papers are pub-lished quarterly by NISPAcee and dis-tributed together with the NISPAcee Newsletter. The series launches academic publications that discuss results of policy research in differ-ent fields of public administration. It provides a forum for the analysis and discussion of contemporary problems and possible solutions, models and methods of public ad-ministration and public policy with assessments of empirical evidence from regional experience in public sector reform.The main goal is to enhance the quality and quantity of intellectual exchange among researchers, educators, scholars and practitio-ners dealing with major issues of public administration and public policy in the Central and East Euro-pean regions.Volume IVNo 4 • Autumn 2003ContentKristin Morse,Raymond StruykThe Policy Fellows Program:In-Service Training in Public Policy for Russian Local Government Officials /p. 3Karine AstvatsaturovaArmenian Labor Market Dynamics During The Last Two Decades /p. 22papers Volume IV • No 4 • Autumn 2003NISPAceeoccasional papers3Copyright © 2003 by NISPAceeEditorBohdan Krawchenko, Ukrainian Academy of Public Administration, Office of the President of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine Deputy EditorJuraj Sklenar, NISPAcee Secretariat, Bratislava, SlovakiaEditorial Board MembersIngrid Shikova, Information Centre of the European Union, Bulgaria Ivan Maly, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Michal Illner, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic Wolfgang Drechsler, University of Tartu, Estonia Mzia Mikeladze, Georgian Technical University, Georgia Gyorgy Jenei, Budapest University of Economic Sciences, Hungary Golam Mostafa, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Planning, Kazakhstan Salih Murzaev, Academy of Management, Kyrghyzstan Vladislav Domarkas, Kaunas Technological University, Lithuania Pawel Swianiewicz, University of Warsaw, Poland Agnieszka Pawlowska, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland Gabriela Cecilia Stanciulescu, Academy of Economic Studies, Romania Sergei Pushkarev, Ural State University, Russia Milan Bucek, University of Economics, Slovak Republic Stanka Setnikar-Cankar, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Dragoljub Kavran, Government of Serbia, YugoslaviaEnglish Language EditorTodd G. Williams, Acme Anvil Language Services, HungarySubmissionsPapers should be written on relevant public administration and public policy issues based on empirical research carried out in Central and East European countries. The papers should not exceed forty pages in length. If a paper is written in a language other than English, a three-page English summary should be submitted with a bibliography and a description of the length of the entire document. Each author may propose two reviewers for their submission, but the final selection of reviewers is at the discretion of the editor. Those authors whose papers are selected for publication will receive a modest honorarium.Editorial correspondence, including manuscripts for submission, should be addressed to Mr. Juraj Sklenar, deputy editor, NISPAcee Secretariat, Hanulova 5/B, P.O.Box 163, 840 02 Bratislava 42, Slovak Republic, phone/fax: +421-2-6428 5557, e-mail: juraj@nispa.sk. Manuscripts should be sent in electronic form.SubscriptionsSubscriptions and limited additional copies are available without charge. Requests to be placed on the mailing list or for additional copies should be addressed to the deputy editor. Change of address notifications should be sent to the publisher at least four weeks in advance, including both the old and new addresses.NISPAcee Occasional Papers are published with the support of the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (affiliated with the Open Society Institute), Nador ut. 11, 1525 Budapest, Hungary.ISSN 1335-5945 Volume IV • No 4 • Autumn 2003NISPAceeoccasional papers3The Policy Fellows Program: In-Service Training in Public Policy for Russian Local Government OfficialsKristin Morse, Raymond Struyk *of government officials and NGO analysts work together on exercises that are a core part of the course. Participants are introduced to analyti-cal decision-making methods and taught how to monitor and evaluate programs. The course also covers key concepts in policy making, such as considering the distributional aspects of policies (who benefits/pays), developing explicit decision-making criteria, balancing political and technical factors, defining public goods and services, and introducing competi-tion to the public sector. In evaluation forms completed during the course, participants reported that the course provided them with new and valuable information that would assist them in their current and future work. Follow on interviews were conducted with a random sample of 25 graduates approximately five months after completion of the course to further evaluate the impact of the course on professional performance produced similar results. The results of the evaluation of the Policy Fell