Estonia has a total of 96 top-level civil service executives. Applicants for these positions must speak several languages fluently and must possess the skills defined in the Estonian Top Civil Service Competency Framework.

To help them achieve this skill level, the Newton programme was created by the Top Civil Service Excellence Centre, which reports to the Prime Minister’s Office. The Newton programme is carried out in collaboration with the Praxis research centre and the Estonian Design Centre. It targets managers and specialists who are applying for these top-level executive jobs, preparing them to meet the challenges faced by the civil service in an international context.

The programme lasts a calendar year, with sessions in Tallinn and Helsinki (Finland and Estonia, whose languages are closely related, launched a joint executive training programme in 2015: “Innovation Boot Camp for Public Sector Leaders, as well as in London.

It combines theoretical, academic and practical approaches. Speakers come from both the public and private sectors, as well as from civil society. Special emphasis is placed on interactive learning and teamwork. Participants benefit from one-on-one support throughout the course.

The designers of this innovative course have set the following goals: bolstering creativity to accelerate and steer non-stop innovation; improving participants' ability to take on complexity; providing forward-looking tools to meet today's global challenges; and designing organisations that adequately match society's needs.

The training course includes four modules and lasts 160 hours:

• Defining the major global trends for the decades ahead, and seeking suitable responses within the Estonian context.

• Transform these trends into processes that are adapted to the public sector in terms of legal framework, resources and management procedures.

• Implement the plans prepared in the first two modules through self-management, HR and process management.

• Cooperation and communication.

For more information: cocops.eu