U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme
“Travel to Know – Travel to Change”
“Establishing a multilevel governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population.”
The need for the decentralisation of public administration has been on Ukraine’s agenda since the first days of its independence. On 1 April 2014, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the “Concept of the reform of local self-government and the territorial organisation of power in Ukraine”. The main objective of the reform is to create the right conditions for the development of communities and bring services closer to the public.
The multi-donor action U-LEAD of the European Union and its Member States Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden was established. U-LEAD with Europe contributes to the establishment of multilevel governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine. U-LEAD with Europe is supporting the Ukrainian Government, represented by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine (MinRegion) as a key political partner, in the coordination and implementation of the decentralisation and regional policy reforms.
The Programme carries out demand-driven and targeted trainings for officials at the national, regional and local level.
The main aim of the training is to enhance communication and management competencies of public officials at different levels, but in particular on the level of newly amalgamated local self-government communities (amalgamated hromadas, AH) in all 24 regions (oblasts) of Ukraine. In addition, U-LEAD with Europe supports trainings for the staff of Administrative Service Centers and involving citizens in decision-making process at the local level.
Centre for European Perspective provided a comprehensive programme of study visits titled “Travel to Know – Travel to Change” in order to show good practices from Slovenia and its neighbours and motivate partners.
Study visits were an important tool helping public officials to learn and understand topics which they are not able to explore in their own working environment, but want to improve.
Study visits encompassed:
- political (mayor and/or deputies discuss the possibilities of future cooperation, peer-to-peer exchange, internships, MoU signing, etc.)
- technical (AH’s/OSA/OCA sectoral experts dealing with public investments, culture, social services etc.)
- business (business men, farmers, business associations, development agencies, accelerators etc.)
- social/cultural (representatives of libraries, museums, schools, employment/social care centers, youth centers, tourism centers etc.)
A series of study visits in 2018-2019 included the following topics:
| Sectors | Topics |
|
Environment, Energy Efficiency, Infrastructure development |
Water management, waste management, energy efficiency, communal utilities, … |
| Public Safety | Community guards/police, fire-fighting brigades, fire volunteers, … |
| Local Economic Development (LED) | Local and regional business opportunities, competitiveness of communities, cooperatives, SME, investment attractiveness, … |
| National Minorities | Policies of National minority groups with focus to their inclusion in the life of communities. |
| Mobility | Roads and transportation-related services. |
| Social services | Organization of social services in communities, social policy and actions. |
| Policy | Strategic planning and implementation, National coordination mechanisms within decentralization process and evidence-based practices. |
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