Introduction. The professional development system for Russian civil servants and municipal employees has largely exhausted its potential for extensive growth. Employees’ preparedness to address the increasingly complex challenges facing public authorities and their motivation for professional development are inadequate. A fundamental overhaul of its philosophy is required: a shift from managing learning processes to supporting employees’ careers and developing human potential within the public administration system.
Aim: To identify trends in the evolution of the system of professional development of public authorities in Russia and to determine the main contradictions in its activities in order to formulate a relevant agenda for empirical research.
Methods: secondary data analysis, including generalization, systematization, comparison, synthesis, and interpretation of information from open sources published over the past 5 years (2020–2025, more than 100 sources) and covering global practices in the professional development of public authorities, its theoretical justification, and expert discussion within the framework of professional communications.
Results. The following organizational and managerial trends have been identified in the evolution of the professional development system for civil servants in Russia: centralization, integration, and unification; a transition from a bureaucratic model to a client-centric and human-centered one; expanding the scope of application of the proactivity principle; and the introduction of individual ecosystem parameters into the departmental system of professional development for civil servants. Systemic contradictions and gaps in the functioning of the professional development system for public officials have been identified: an imbalance in the client-centered approach of the government in relation to external and internal clients; gaps between formal and actual content, and between the “ecosystem” potential and the “departmental” logic of professional development for civil servants.
Scientific novelty. Current trends and contradictions in the development of the professional development system for public administration personnel in Russia are identified. A conceptual and technological transition to a system of support for the professional development of public servants is substantiated.
Practical significance. The obtained data allow us to develop a relevant methodological framework for conducting the empirical stage of the study of the effectiveness of various organizational formats for the professional development of employees.