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Agency for Legislative Initiatives

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Kyiv

Agency for Legislative Initiatives

The Agency for Legislative Initiatives is an independent Ukrainian think tank that has been working on the development of democracy and strong state institutions since 2000. For over 20 years, the organisation has been analysing the work of the Ukrainian Parliament and the implementation of reforms, strengthening state institutions and civil society, and developing civic education.

40+

people in the team

20+years of experience

100+successfully implemented projects

40+people in the team

1500+participants in educational programmes

Mission and areas of activity

The activities of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI) are aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the Parliament and the government, continuing European and Euro-Atlantic integration, supporting the stabilisation and reconstruction of Ukraine to overcome the consequences of Russian aggression, monitoring and supporting reforms in the justice and security sectors, and political and civic education.

Main areas of work👇

Parliamentarism. The Agency for Legislative Initiatives monitors the work of the Parliament as an institution, analyses legislative initiatives, participates in the law-drafting, and studies Ukrainian parliamentary practice cases.

Good governance. ALI evaluates the results of reforms, assists in developing sound public policies, and looks after the European and Euro-Atlantic agenda and the fulfilment of requirements for Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

Democratisation. The Agency analyses the political process, monitors how well-balanced, open, and transparent authorities are at various levels, strengthens the interaction between the government and society, and develops tools for citizens’ participation.
Political education. ALI runs training for MPs, civil servants, and representatives of local self-governments, and, together with the Council of Europe, implements the biggest educational and networking project of civic education in the country – the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

ALI established

In 2000, graduates of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy founded the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, one of the first independent think tanks in Ukraine. For more than 20 years, the Agency’s professionals have co-drafted many laws and conducted monitoring studies of state policies in various areas. For instance, ALI started publishing the first periodical about the Ukrainian Parliament, i.e., Parliament Journal, developed the first law in Ukraine on the financing of political parties, created the Regulations for TV debates, co-authored a draft law on the Code of Ethics for MPs, etc.

In 2005, the Agency started to engage more actively in civic education. ALI and the Council of Europe launched the Ukrainian School of Political Studies (USPS). It emerged as a democratic achievement of the Orange Revolution and was timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe. The School is an educational project launched to improve the culture of public policy in Ukraine based on the principles of justice, trust, and dialogue.

For more than 18 years of USPS existence, ALI has implemented projects for local government representatives, MPs, journalists, and the military in addition to the School's main programme. Nowadays, the USPS has more than 500 alumni in the community and 18+ years of experience creating educational programmes.

Since 2022, the organisation has been actively working on overcoming the consequences of the war. It also continues working towards European integration, exploring the experience of restoring public institutions and providing social services on the de-occupied territories. In 2024, the organisation started to work in-depth on the topic of justice.

People have always been the biggest value of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives. It was the case 15 years ago when I first came to work here, and it is the same now. The people who work here are interesting. It is a pleasure to do business with them. They are not only united by their professionalism but values they share. These values are essential for implementing changes for the better in our country.

Oleksandr Zaslavskyy,
Director of Analytical Department

Values

Respect for human rights. The Agency advocates the need to enshrine fundamental human rights and freedoms in Ukraine as a basis for the democratic development of the state.
Systemic approach. ALI implements systemic changes rather than offering piecemeal measures to address large-scale problems.
Consistency. ALI has been working with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government for over 20 years.
Independence. The Agency determines its activities independently and works without the influence of political actors, civic movements, entities, or donors.
Non-partisanship. ALI works with institutions. It does not favour any political force and works with all convocations of the Parliament (except pro-Russian parties).
Transparency. The Agency has transparent processes for operations and governance and acts in line with the Istanbul CSO Development Effectiveness Principles and the OECD Guiding Principles.
Accountability. Annually, the organisation conducts external and internal audits of its activities.
Unity in diversity. First and foremost, ALI unites different people united by their values and desire to work for the development of Ukraine as a strong and independent state.

The Agency for Legislative Initiatives does not employ random people. Our team is made up of professionals who have decided that they care about Ukraine as a state. Our entire team is located in Ukraine. We work to ensure that Ukraine survives this war, preserves its democratic processes and institutions, and continues the necessary reforms on its way to the EU. Here is what unites us — shared values, a sense of personal responsibility, and a desire to contribute to change.

People are the highest value for ALI and me personally. As a team, we support each other. We celebrate victories and go through complicated issues together. Neither during the COVID-19 pandemic nor after the start of the full-scale invasion we have cut any positions. On the contrary, creating opportunities for employee development and scaling ALI as an organisation is a priority, regardless of any external circumstances.

Svitlana Matviienko,
Executive Director

How does ALI operate?

The team works in an office in Podil. The business center, where the office is located, has all the amenities, including a generator, so there is always electricity and internet connection, and therefore the ability to work without interruption.

The organisation encourages employees to work in the office. There is an option for a hybrid work schedule, but it all depends on the arrangements within the team. Fully remote work is not encouraged. Working hours are usually standard from 09:00 to 18:00 or 10:00 to 19:00. However, an individual work schedule can be created in consultation with your manager.

The organisation has several departments: analytical, educational, financial, and communication. All these departments are autonomous. Every week, each department holds meetings to discuss current plans and objectives. The Comms department is invited to meetings of analysts or the education department to keep them informed of everything that happens in the organisation. All tasks are set within the team by the head of the department. Everyone within the team is usually open to help if needed. The initiatives are encouraged, and all opportunities are created to enable employees to fulfil their professional ambitions.

The organisation holds general offline meetings for the team to discuss important news and challenges, celebrate victories, or support each other. The analytical department also holds internal presentations of its research for all ALI employees.

ALI offers market-based salaries and reviews them regularly in line with market changes and inflationary fluctuations.

Employee development and social initiatives

The organisation values and is interested in the professional and personal development of the employees. A lot of managers started at entry-level positions and worked their way up. The most prominent examples are the organisation's executive director and the director of the analytical department. They started working as an assistant and junior analyst right after graduation respectively.

ALI encourages employees to take additional training at the organisation's expense. Everyone can find interesting and helpful courses for themselves. Furthermore, all ALI employees have access to closed educational events within the Ukrainian School of Political Studies. Sweden, as an institutional partner of the Agency, helps to organise educational activities and facilitates courses and training at the team's request.

I am pleased that personal development is not about coercion at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives but about initiative and desire. We do not have mandatory boring training. Every employee can choose the courses that he or she needs most. For instance, I chose and took a course on marketing strategy thanks to ALI. However, the most helpful for me was the first-aid training conducted for our team by Masha Nazarova. These are the skills that every Ukrainian needs nowadays. I am sincerely grateful to ALI for this opportunity because it would have taken me a long time to take part in such training.

We also share our experience with the team. In particular, we organise internal presentations of analytical research. It is cool because it allows you to immerse yourself in a topic and understand better what analysts have been working on for so long.

Mariia Hereles,
Director of Communications

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the ALI team has been making great efforts to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces and speed up Ukraine's victory. The Agency is a partner of the Come Back Alive charity foundation, and all registration fees for participation in the main USPS programme are donated to the foundation. In addition, they have run free educational programmes to support the military and launched a charity project with the Guzema Fine Jewelry brand. The profits from this collaboration are used to provide mentorship to participants of the You Are Important programme for servicewomen and women veterans.

Candidate selection and adaptation to the team

The main criterion for joining the ALI team is a value fit. A candidate has to share the same core beliefs, principles, and goals as the organisation, and implement qualitative changes in the country. Other qualities and skills differ depending on the area of work and are always specified in the job description. For instance, the ability to work with large amounts of information, and be focused and attentive is essential for analysts; creativity and multitasking are important for comms.

Stages of candidate selection:

CV reviewing;
test task;
interview with the head of the department;
second interview if needed;
job offer.

I got a response the same day I sent my CV and motivation letter. Taking into account my previous experience, they offered me a totally different job position. However, I decided to try to do a test task for the position I had chosen at that time. Based on the test results, I was invited for an interview. I was inspired and motivated. I packed my backpack and left Mykolaiv for Kyiv the next day. I didn't even want to offer an online interview because I was sure that everything would go much better in person. The trip took me 8 hours. Perhaps it was the most difficult stage of the recruitment process 🙂.

The meeting was very positive, so I left the office with a feeling that I had found exactly what I had been looking for. I was invited for another interview later. The next day, I received a job offer. It took almost a month from the moment I submitted my CV to the job offer. However, I believe that it is not a disadvantage but an indicator that ALI is responsible for selecting people. That's why all the team members are incredibly cool and complement each other perfectly. I am sincerely glad that I came across the advert on Facebook and was not afraid to spend time travelling halfway across the country.

Tetiana Goshko,
Assistant of the educational department of ALI

The first two months are a paid probationary period under a civil law contract. At this time, newcomers adapt, get to know people and the office, and master working tools. At the same time, they are in constant contact with their supervisor, who helps them with adaptation, the first work tasks, and provides detailed feedback.

After the probation period, a decision is made on further cooperation.

Would you like to join the team that implements quality changes in the country?

Send your CV for the vacancies to the Agency for Legislative Initiatives!

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