Forging a High-Quality Grassroots Cadre Contingent

At present, grassroots work tasks are arduous and heavy, posing unprecedented challenges to the quality and capability of grassroots cadres. There is an urgent need to further establish a clear orientation of valuing, caring for, and protecting grassroots cadres, and to coordinate efforts from the five "prominent" dimensions to accelerate the forging of a high-quality grassroots cadre contingent.

当前，基层工作任务艰巨而繁重，对基层干部的素质和能力提出了前所未有的挑战，亟须进一步树立重视、关怀、爱护基层干部的鲜明导向，从“五个突出”维度协同发力，加快锻造一支高素质基层干部队伍。

**Prominently focus on guiding the soul and casting the foundation, further enhancing Party spirit cultivation.** Party spirit cultivation is the foundation of grassroots cadres' work. Currently, some grassroots cadres have problems in Party spirit cultivation. To this end, we must continuously deepen political soul-casting and strive to enhance the political judgment, political understanding, and political execution capabilities of grassroots cadres. First, highlight the orientation of selecting and employing people with both moral integrity and professional competence. In the selection and appointment of grassroots cadres, "political reliability" should be emphasized, and the orientation of "valuing both moral integrity and professional competence, with moral integrity taking precedence" should be strengthened, ensuring that "honest people are not disadvantaged," guiding young cadres to temper their political quality, professional ethics, and personal character in the practice of serving villages, communities, and enterprises, so that cadres with genuine moral integrity and professional competence can stand out. Second, carry out Party Spirit Lecture Halls for young cadres. Localities can explore organizing, with counties (cities, districts) as units, Party Spirit Lecture Halls for young cadres, selecting typical young cadres who have achieved remarkable results in Party spirit tempering through grassroots practice to give firsthand accounts of the vivid practice of political soul-casting, effectively enhancing the appeal and effectiveness of Party spirit education. Third, innovate methods for disseminating Party spirit cultivation. Attempts can be made to film micro-videos of the vivid stories of Party spirit tempering among young cadres serving in villages, communities, and enterprises, and widely disseminate them through new media, making Party spirit education "alive" and "dynamic," attracting more cadres to actively participate in learning.

突出领航铸魂，进一步提升党性修养。党性修养是基层干部工作的立身之本。当前，部分基层干部在党性修养方面存在一些问题。为此，我们要持续深化政治铸魂，着力提升广大基层干部政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力。一是突出德才兼备的用人导向。在基层干部选拔任用中，应突出“政治可靠”，强化“德才兼备、以德为先”的选人用人导向，做到“不让老实人吃亏”，引导年轻干部在驻村、驻社、驻企服务实践中锻炼政治品质、职业道德和个人品德，让真正德才兼备的干部脱颖而出。二是开展年轻干部党性大讲堂。各地可以探索以县（市、区）为单位，组织开展年轻干部党性大讲堂，选择在基层实践中涌现出的党性锻炼成效卓著年轻干部典型，现身说法讲好政治铸魂鲜活实践，有效提升党性教育的吸引力和实效性。三是创新党性培养传播方式。可以尝试把驻村、驻社、驻企年轻干部党性锻炼的生动故事拍摄成微视频，通过新媒体广泛传播，让党性教育“活”起来、“动”起来，吸引更多干部主动参与学习。

**Prominently focus on the original aspiration and founding mission, further enhancing mass consciousness.** In grassroots work, some cadres, when visiting the masses, engage in "flower-gazing on horseback" style visits [1]1 "Flower-gazing on horseback" (走马观花) is a Chinese idiom meaning to gain a superficial understanding through cursory observation., failing to truly enter the hearts of the masses, leading to a shallow and incomplete understanding of the masses' needs. In response to these problems, various regions can explore and promote the system of regular visits by village-based指导员 [2]2 "指导员" (zhidaoyuan) refers to a designated instructor or guide, often a cadre sent from higher levels to assist and guide work in a specific grassroots unit like a village. and the "People's Sentiment Diary" system, improve and perfect the "Four Musts" and "Five Musts" mechanisms for cadre visits [3]3 "Four Musts" and "Five Musts" (四必到、五必访) are internal Party work mechanisms specifying situations where cadres must be present (e.g., at major events, funerals) and groups they must visit (e.g., elderly, poor households), ensuring comprehensive contact with the masses., ensuring that cadres can not only "knock on the doors of the masses' homes" but also "walk into the hearts of the masses," truly keeping the masses' warmth and cold in mind. At the same time, we should explore and promote the system of weekly, monthly, and quarterly people's sentiment analysis meetings at the village, township (street), and county (city, district) levels, inviting representatives of village-based instructors to participate in township-level and county-level people's sentiment analysis meetings, effectively integrating information, and strengthening the cultivation of cadres' mass sentiment, mass concepts, and mass work methods, enabling cadres to respond more accurately to the concerns of the masses. In specific work, with townships (streets) as the basic unit, we should explore the establishment of a monthly mass service week system, with counties (cities, districts) concentrating on carrying out a mass service activity quarterly, forming a scale effect and sustained impact of services, allowing cadres to better practice their original aspiration and founding mission in concentrated services, enhancing the masses' sense of gain and happiness.

突出初心使命，进一步增强群众意识。在基层工作中，部分干部走访群众时，存在“走马观花”式走访，未能真正走进群众心里，导致对群众需求了解不深不透。针对这些问题，各地区可探索推广驻村指导员定期走访和“民情日记”制度，健全完善干部走访“四必到”“五必访”机制，确保干部不仅能“敲得开群众家门”，更能“走得进群众心门”，真正把群众的冷暖放在心上。同时，要探索推广村、乡镇（街道）、县（市、区）层级每周、每月、每季度民情分析例会制度，邀请驻村指导员代表参加乡域和县域民情分析例会，有效整合信息，强化培养干部的群众感情、群众观念和群众工作方法，让干部更精准地回应群众关切。在具体工作中，应以乡镇（街道）为基本单元，探索建立月度群众服务周制度，县（市、区）层级每季度集中开展一次服务群众活动，形成服务的规模效应和持续影响，让干部在集中服务中更好地践行初心使命，提升群众的获得感幸福感。

**Prominently focus on actual needs, further grasping the demands of the times.** Currently, some regions train cadres using "one mold for all," without considering regional differences. In some places, cadre training ignores practical problems, resulting in cadres having shortcomings in key issues such as reform, development, and people's livelihood, making it difficult to meet the expectations of the masses. We should accurately grasp the needs of innovation and development, closely follow the development of new quality productive forces, and carry out a "Major Survey of Development Needs" based on the industrial foundation, development plans, and resource endowments of each locality, to discover which links require technological innovation and which fields urgently need talent support, thereby clarifying the direction for cultivating the grassroots cadre contingent and letting cadres know where to focus their efforts. At the same time, we must accurately grasp the needs of reform and tackling tough issues, closely follow the goal of governance modernization, and carry out a "Major Survey of Reform Needs" around the needs of institutional reform, resolving accumulated petition cases, and mass participation in governance. Through in-depth investigation, we can identify the specific needs of each locality for the cadre contingent in terms of reform and tackling tough issues, enabling cadres to become experts in reform. Grassroots work, in the final analysis, is about serving the people. In specific work, we need to carry out a "Major Survey of People's and Enterprise Sentiment" around the issues of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens at the grassroots level, truly listening to the voices of enterprises and the masses, identifying their expectations for the cadre contingent's services, enabling cadres to accurately meet needs and improve service quality.

突出实际需要，进一步摸准时代需求。当前，针对部分地区培养干部“一个模子套到底”，不考虑地区差异，有些地方在干部培养中忽略实际问题，致使干部在改革、发展、民生等关键问题上存在短板，难以满足群众期待的问题。我们应当摸准创新发展需求，紧盯新质生产力发展，结合各地产业基础、发展规划、资源禀赋开展“发展需求大摸底”活动，去发现哪些环节需要技术创新，哪些领域急需人才支撑，从而为基层干部队伍的培养明确方向，让干部们知道该往哪儿使劲。同时，还要摸准改革攻坚需求，紧盯治理现代化目标，围绕体制改革、信访积案化解、群众参与治理等方面的需要，开展“改革需求大摸底”活动。通过深入调研，找准各地对干部队伍在改革攻坚方面的具体需求，让干部们能够成为改革的行家里手。基层工作，说到底就是为人民服务，在具体工作中我们需要围绕整治形式主义和基层减负的议题，开展“民情企情大摸底”活动，真正去倾听企业和群众的声音，找准他们在干部队伍服务方面的期待，让干部们能够精准对接需求，提升服务质量。

**Prominently focus on scientific and technological literacy, further cultivating professional competence.** Professional competence is the core competitiveness of grassroots cadres' work. Currently, facing rapidly changing social conditions, some grassroots cadres experience a "capability panic" phenomenon, lacking professional skills and effective solutions when dealing with complex problems. For example, some cadres, when promoting economic development, do not grasp industrial planning and economic trends accurately enough; when serving the masses, they lack necessary communication skills and service awareness; when responding to emergencies, their adaptability is insufficient, making it difficult to solve problems quickly and effectively. In response to these problems, we should focus on the needs of grassroots innovation and development, reform and tackling tough issues, and service improvement, emphasizing the cultivation and enhancement of grassroots cadres' professional competence. To this end, professional rotation training should be carried out. While strengthening Party spirit cultivation, closely following actual needs and capability enhancement, with townships (streets) as units, conduct annual rotation training for grassroots cadres, allowing them to receive systematic and in-depth study and improvement in their professional fields. We should also adhere to the combination of "bringing in" and "going out," innovating education and training methods according to needs. Organizational departments need to make overall arrangements, selecting a group of grassroots cadres each year for temporary posts in economically developed regions to learn and improve through practice. At the same time, regularly invite experts in high-quality development and high-level governance to give lectures at the grassroots level, broadening cadres' horizons and enhancing their professional quality. Units with the conditions should organize a group of outstanding grassroots cadres and Party school teachers from various fields to teach typical experiences in local economic and social development, and film these lectures as teaching videos to be included in relevant online learning platforms, allowing cadres to learn practical experiences and methods more intuitively and enhance their ability to solve practical problems.

突出科技素养，进一步培养专业能力。专业能力是基层干部工作的核心竞争力。当前，面对日新月异的社会变化，部分基层干部在工作中存在“本领恐慌”现象，应对复杂问题时，缺乏专业技能和有效解决方法。比如，有些干部在推动经济发展时，对产业规划和经济形势的把握不够精准；在服务群众时，缺乏必要的沟通技巧和服务意识；在应对突发事件时，应变能力不足，难以迅速有效地解决问题。针对这些问题，要聚焦基层创新发展、改革攻坚、服务提升需求，注重基层干部专业能力的培养和提升。为此，应当开展专业化轮训，在强化党性修养的同时，紧扣实际需要和能力提升，以乡镇（街道）为单位，每年对基层干部进行轮训，让干部们在专业领域得到系统深入的学习和提升；还要坚持“引进来”和“走出去”相结合，根据需求创新教育培训方式。组织部门需统筹安排，每年选拔一批基层干部到经济发达地区挂职锻炼，在实践中学习提升。同时，定期邀请高质量发展和高水平治理方面专家到基层授课，拓宽干部视野，提升其专业素养；有条件的单位，应当组织一批各领域优秀基层干部和党校教师，讲授各地经济社会发展中的典型经验，并拍摄成授课视频收录到相关线上学习平台，让干部们更直观地学习到实用的经验和方法，提升解决实际问题的能力。

**Prominently focus on a performance-oriented approach, further strengthening scientific incentives.** Scientific incentives are the driving force guarantee for grassroots cadres' work. In the construction of the grassroots cadre contingent, there are problems such as cadre selection not emphasizing grassroots experience and actual performance, and poor channels for cadre exchange, affecting the optimal allocation and effectiveness of cadre resources. In response to these problems, we should further highlight the orientation of selecting talent based on actual performance and selecting cadres from the grassroots, guiding young cadres to "take root downward and grow upward," creating a "catfish effect" [4]4 "Catfish effect" (鲶鱼效应) is a metaphor used in management, referring to introducing a competitive or stimulating element (like a catfish among sardines) to energize a stagnant group or system.. First, increase the intensity of selecting and using grassroots cadres. Various regions can explore implementing a special action of "selecting and reusing grassroots cadres," annually taking a number of division-level posts from provincial departments and a number of section-level posts from prefectural and municipal departments for merit-based selection and appointment from grassroots cadres, enterprises and institutions, and experts in key fields, further broadening the promotion channels for grassroots cadres and motivating them to take root at the grassroots and strive for achievements. Second, optimize the temporary post system. Each year, select a group of grassroots cadres for temporary posts in prefectural, municipal, and provincial departments, while also selecting cadres from provincial departments and experts and scholars for temporary posts at the grassroots level. Through this two-way temporary post method, grassroots cadres can access higher-level work platforms and richer management experience, while cadres from higher-level departments can gain an in-depth understanding of actual grassroots conditions, achieving complementary advantages and mutual improvement. Third, increase the intensity of cadre exchange. Following the principles of provincial overall planning, organizational arrangement, and career needs, carry out annual planned exchanges of division-level cadres across the province and section-level cadres across the city. Especially within prefectures and cities, strengthen vertical exchanges, horizontal exchanges, and cross-county exchanges. Explore breaking the "regional barriers" to cadre growth, allowing them to accept new challenges in different positions, accumulate rich work experience, and at the same time inject new vitality into the grassroots cadre contingent.

突出实绩导向，进一步强化科学激励。科学激励是基层干部工作的动力保障。在基层干部队伍建设中，存在干部选拔不重基层经历与实绩、干部交流渠道不畅等问题，影响了干部资源的优化配置和效能发挥。针对这些问题，要进一步突出凭实绩选才、从基层选干部的用人导向，引导年轻干部“向下扎根、向上生长”，制造“鲶鱼效应”。一是加大基层干部选用力度。各地区可以探索实施“选拔重用基层干部”专项行动，每年从省直部门拿出一批处级岗位、从地市各部门拿出一批科级岗位面向基层干部、企事业单位、重点领域专家择优选拔任用，进一步拓宽基层干部的晋升渠道，激励他们扎根基层、干事创业。二是优化挂职锻炼制度。每年选拔一批基层干部到地市和省直部门挂职锻炼，同时选拔省直部门和专家学者到基层挂职锻炼。通过这种双向挂职的方式，让基层干部接触到更高层次的工作平台和更丰富的管理经验，也能让上级部门的干部深入了解基层实际情况，实现优势互补、共同提升。三是加大干部交流力度。按照全省统筹、组织安排、事业需要原则，每年度按照计划开展处级干部全省交流、科级干部全市交流。特别是在地市范围内，强化纵向交流、横向交流和跨县交流。探索打破干部成长的“地域壁垒”，让他们在不同岗位上接受新挑战，积累丰富的工作经验，同时也为基层干部队伍注入新的活力。

(The author is a researcher at the Zhejiang Provincial "Double-Eight Strategy" Innovation and Development Research Institute [5]5 The "Double-Eight Strategy" (八八战略) is a provincial development strategy for Zhejiang, proposed by Xi Jinping in 2003 when he was Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province, outlining eight strengths and eight major measures for development..)

（作者系浙江省“八八战略”创新发展研究院研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心