Last week, the final info session was held so that the participants of the educational cycle “Steps for Specialists. Designing a Municipal Development Strategy” could discuss the lessons learned and prospects for the development of the document. They also touched upon the issue of the implementation of its main goals and tasks.
“U-LEAD experts worked with 70 selected municipalities from all corners of Ukraine for seven months!” said Oleh Yaremenko, Head of the Regional Office in the Kirovohrad Oblast where the event took place.
During the training, the participants went through all the stages of designing a development strategy step by step, studied the theory and immediately applied the acquired knowledge in practice. In total, the training course consisted of six seminars, consultations and mentoring support.
According to experts, when working on strategies, participants most often chose a realistic or optimistic scenario of municipal development.
The development strategy should be aimed at changing living conditions in the municipality, be people-oriented and ensure sustainable development. It is critical to keep in mind that at least one strategic goal must be related to economic development.
Nataliia Onishchuk, Chair of the Working Group on the Development of the Development Strategy and Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Ternopil Oblast, stated the following:
“I firmly believe that by the end of this year, the participating municipalities will finalise the Strategy and the Action Plan for its implementation and will submit them to the councils for consideration. Pursuant to the law, the Strategy must be approved by 27 January 2024.”
She added that the work on the strategy brought together a large, diverse group of people, including locals, the public, the business community, youth, children and activists.
“Participants learned to justify their decisions, to negotiate. They will be able to use most of the work and analytical materials for other programme documents, as well as when writing project applications.”
Representatives of the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblasts shared their achievements and observations with their colleagues:
“We really wanted to write a strategy with the support of U-LEAD. When we found out that we had passed the competitive selection, it motivated and inspired us a lot. We are finalising work on project ideas and planning to bring them up for discussion in January and approve them at the council meeting,” said Larysa Kolisniova, Deputy Head of the Devladove Village Council.
According to Victoriia Perepiolkina, Head of the Economic Analysis and Development Office of the Department of Economic Development and Investments of the Zmiiv City Council, it is also important to understand how public benefit will be achieved when working on the strategy.
Halyna Yashan, Head of the Department of Economic Development, Communal Economy, Transport, Agricultural Sector Support and Investments of the Horodenka City Council stated the following:
“It is important to set aside one day to work on each goal. To have a high-quality discussion, to involve the broadest possible variety of participants. The composition of the working group is essential, as it should include experts from various fields.”
To the participants wondering how to determine whether they are acting correctly or whether they have developed a perfect document, U-LEAD expert Mariia Palchuk answered as follows:
“The right strategy is the one implemented step by step by the municipality’s team. Pay attention to the structure of the strategy and make sure that all the necessary sections, all the necessary appendices are there as required by the methodology approved by the Ministry of Regional Development. Conclusions and ideas should be logical and consistent. The development strategy will be exactly what the municipality needs if it is written by representatives of government, the business community, public activists, youth and children as a group. You should not think that an external or foreign expert will do a better job writing it better than the municipality.”
In addition to the strategy being a signpost for development and allowing for systemic work towards changes by implementing projects and initiatives, it also helps unite the municipality, promotes public engagement and increases its participation.
Summing up the event, Oleh Yaremenko told the participants about the possibilities of the U-LEARN platform, where they could find relevant documents necessary for creating a strategy at the local level. He also reminded that participants who pass the tests would receive certificates of participation in the training.