Criteria for Selection

Procedural Guidelines and Criteria for Selection

Stage 1. Applications Collection and Review

At this stage, criteria for review of applications and selection of semi-finalists are based on the information applicants submit in their application forms. The applicants are assigned numbers and the Review Commission members in the review process operate exclusively using these assigned numbers (blind review process).

For instance, if there are 300 applications for full time intern positions, 100 applications for part time intern positions, and 10 applications for volunteer intern positions, then numbers assigned will be 1-F through 300-F, 1-P through 100-P, and 1-V through 10-V. Henceforth, the review process is referred to as “blind review”.

The following criteria for blind review will be utilized:

	Criterion	Points
1	GPA (average grade in the higher education institution)[1]	0-5
2	Professional qualifications (work and internship experience including part time, volunteer work, etc.)	0-5
3	Political and civic activism (including membership in political parties and CSOs)	0-6
4	Foreign language(s) proficiency	0-4
5	Computer literacy	0-3
6	Publications and academic activity	0-5
7	Additional information	0-2
8	Statement of purpose	0-6
9	Additional questions	0-6

Thus, an applicant can earn 42 points at maximum. First 100 applications will be selected for interview. After reviewing applications during the blind review, Review Commission members meet to submit scores and discuss selection of semi-finalists using assigned numbers. Commission members agree upon the number and specific candidacies for semi-finalists based on the scores assigned. Each commission member will fill out a special form with score, which will be kept on records by IUPDP.

Only after the selection is done, names of the semi-finalists are identified to notify them of the Review Commission’s decision to invite them for an interview, which represents the second stage of the selection process.

Each application will be reviewed by minimum four Review Commission members who will be provided with copies of applications duly prepared according to the rules of the blind review process.

Announcement about the program and application gathering is done one and half month prior to the application submission deadline on the interns website http://www.interns.org.ua and one and half month prior to the application submission deadline in the Verkhovna Rada newspaper “Holos Ukrayiny” and “Youth Ukraine”.

Stage 2. Selection of Finalists

During the interview, each semi-finalist will be assessed by each Selection Commission member on a 5-point scale according to the following criteria:

Knowledge of the political system of Ukraine, of the parliamentary functions and operations (a list of specific questions will be pre-approved prior to interviews);
Professional qualifications that correspond to needs of parliamentary committees and Rada departments (the needs statement will be prepared prior to the interview process);
Ability of the semi-finalists to formulate his/her own thoughts, his/her experience and desire to contribute to effective and transparent legislative process

On the basis of the above general criteria a special form will be developed wherein each commission member will write down scores for each semifinalist. On the basis of these scores the selection of finalists will be made.

[1] If an applicant graduated from more than one higher education institutions, then an average of GPAs is taken into account by a commission member