Inclusive Green Economy in Practice for Senior Civil Servants and Policy Makers

Background and Objecitves

This program strengthens national capacity to create an Inclusive Green Economy (IGE), which is one of the prerequisites for achieving Agenda 2030. The program covers all the themes of Agenda 2030, with a particular focus on Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent working conditions and sustainable economic growth. The program is aimed at officials, primarily economists, in government institutions central to IGE. The organizers are the University of Gothenburg, via Environment for Development (EfD), together with EfD centers and partners in the targeted countries.  

The main objective of the program is to strengthen low-income countries’ capacity for transformation to an inclusive green economy through increased knowledge and application of economic and environmental policy instruments, organizational change, and strengthened national systems for inclusive and sustainable economic development. All participants enrolled in the program are given the title IGE Fellow. As an IGE Fellow, you will get a greater understanding, knowledge, and ability to critically review and analyze current economic policies and conditions, and identify opportunities for transformation toward a greener economy. This will strengthen you in your role as a change agent within your organization.

Learning Objectives

Individual level: i) Peer to peer-learning and increased understanding of IGE and its usefulness, risks, and opportunities for applying economic instru­ments for sustainable development; ii) Increased knowledge of organizational changes; iii) Expanded international, regional, and national networks.

Organizational level: i) Increased knowledge and skills on IGE and economic policy instruments in the participating organizations (government mi­nistries and agencies); ii) Increased organizational capacity on how to apply economic instruments in practice; iii) A stronger Community of Practice on IGE and evidence-based policymaking in partner countries and regionally; iv) Improved collaboration between government organizations (ministries/agencies) and sector stakeholders and academia in the region/ country.

System level: A strengthened national system for an inclusive green economy, with a focus on developing the capacity for effective and useful research-policy interaction and enhanced use of evidence-based policymaking.

Content and Structure

The program is an advanced training with direct applicability in the participants’ daily work, andis built around the IGE Fellows’ Transformation Initiatives. The aim of the transformation Initiative is to build on, strengthen, or improve already ongoing IGE work that is within the mandate of the organization. The focus of the Transformation Initiatives depends on the needs, plans, and work of the organization, to be determined through dialogue with the IGE Fellows and her/his colleagues and supervisor and IGE Support team.

Phase 1

In Phase 1 (Recruitment and Planning Phase) IGE Fellows are selected and assigned an IGE Support team. A two-day online course will be given on two occasions where IGE Fellows will get a basic understanding of the program objectives and components of an IGE, and will begin to initiate the Transformation initiative process.

Phase 2 

During phase 2, IGE Fellows will participate in regional training, with a large emphasis on learning from practical examples from government agencies and other key actors involved in transformational IGE work. Practical examples also offer concrete opportunities to understand and learn skills to enhance change processes to achieve IGE, and adapt them to the local circumstances.

Analytical perspectives guiding the teaching highlight issues such as: What do we want to achieve by building our capacity on IGE? How do we work today, and how can we use our skills to better promote IGE? How can our organization achieve our goals for IGE through inclusive change processes? In phase 2, IGE Fellows continue the implementation of the IGE Transformation Initiative with support from the IGE Support teams.

Phase 3  

In phase 3, IGE Fellows will work closely with their IGE Fellow team and Support team to ensure an Action Learning process in the development of their Transformation Initiative. IGE Fellows will also seek support from their organization to progress with the Transformation Initiative. IGE Fellows will have regular monthly coaching meetings with the Support teams, structured around sharing reflections on the results of the actions taken thus far and then defining the next actions.

Phase 4 

In phase 4, all IGE Fellows will meet again in a regional peer learning event. The event will be conducted across national borders where one country’s group of civil servants conducts a “friendly audit”/an analytical review of a neighboring country’s work on IGE by using the Transformation initiatives as a point of departure. Arguably, this offers all involved parties a growing professional network, new insights, and recommendations as to how IGE work is conducted and can be improved and adapted to the local context, in different countries.

Phase 5 

In the final phase, IGE Fellows will be trained to teach others and organize an internal training event at their own organization. Through expert guidance, IGE Fellows will have the opportunity to elaborate collaboratively on information on relevant and research-based theories and lessons learned. The Transformation initiative process will continue and at the end of the program IGE Fellows will jointly with their organizations arrange a national seminar, at which the results of the Transformation initiative will be presented to your organization and other stakeholders. Dissemination of key findings will be made by making them visible on the program website and via continued dialogue and collaboration with key stakeholders.

At the end of the program’s action learning, IGE Fellows become a part of the IGE Alumni network and receive a certificate. The IGE Fellow and its organization will now be part of the program’s community of practice, and both national and regional IGE in practice forums will be arranged. This is also an opportunity to receive continuous support from the IGE Support team and build a stronger community with the researchers and experts within the field of IGE.

Targeted Audience

Application Process