COLOMBO – Citra, in partnership with the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration, recently concluded the fifth Citra Fellowship Executive Program 2026 aimed at strengthening innovation and leadership within Sri Lanka’s public sector.
The program, held from March 22 to 27, brought together senior government officials including Additional Secretaries, Directors General and Senior Assistant Secretaries from a range of ministries. The initiative was designed to equip public sector leaders with the skills, mindset and tools needed to deliver more innovative, efficient and future-ready public services.
Citra was established as a joint initiative between the Prime Minister’s Office and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Sri Lanka.
The week-long program was facilitated by Citra Lab and international experts, with support from UNDP’s Governance and Public Goods and Services team through the FutureGov initiative, funded by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund under the UN Peace and Development Fund.
Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister, noting that the program would contribute towards building a more responsive, innovative and results-oriented public sector, said, “By investing in the continuous development of senior officials, we seek to further strengthen institutional capacity to support national development priorities and improve service delivery to citizens”.
The fellowship program is structured in three stages, beginning with a five-day residential workshop facilitated by Citra Lab, followed by a three-month project implementation phase and concluding with a recap session to share experiences, challenges and lessons learned.
Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative of UNDP in Sri Lanka said UNDP was proud to support Sri Lanka’s public sector transformation through its partnership with Citra Lab. “Equipping public sector leaders with the knowledge, skills and networks is a catalytic investment for driving innovation and sustainable development in times of uncertainty and fast changes,” she added.
P.P.S Rohana De Silva, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Mass Media noting that one of the most valuable aspects of the program was its emphasis on design thinking, said, “In our day-to-day work, we are constantly faced with new problems and are expected to analyze them and find solutions. What stood out to me was how design thinking goes beyond that, helping us unpack the underlying issues behind a problem and prioritize what to address first.”
Organizers said the program is intended not only to build technical skills but also to inspire senior public officials to become champions of innovation as Sri Lanka continues its post-recovery development efforts.
-ENCL
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