This year, at the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a series of partnership meetings will be held for representatives of the oblast’s ASC network to help establish cooperation with international programmes and improve the quality of administrative services. The first one took place in March and focused on the interaction of the ASC of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with funding and technical assistance projects to implement the “I am a Veteran” Programme.
“Since 2017, U-LEAD has contributed to the development of the network of Administrative Services Centres and helped create them in 35 municipalities of the oblast. Our experts have developed the training programme “Steps for specialists. Administrative Procedure”, which brought together 11 ASCs of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The Law “On Administrative Procedure” stipulates the client-oriented approach of the local self-government bodies, so we have worked on improving the quality of services. Now, moving forward, we would like to create a circle of partners around ASCs that would support them in the implementation of important projects and initiatives,” said Olena Tertyshna, Head of the local Regional Office of U-LEAD.
In 2023, the oblast set up a network of 89 ASCs in 86 municipalities, 23 branches, 126 remote workplaces and 3 mobile offices. Services under the “I am a Veteran” Programme are provided at 241 “access points” throughout the oblast. In each municipality, veterans and their families can receive the full scope of services provided as part of this programme.
“We were the first in Ukraine. The “I am a Veteran” initiative began in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Since the outbreak of the full-scale war, we have been working and funding the network of ASCs in the oblast mainly at the expense of international partners,” said Yuliia Krymchak, Deputy Head of the Department of Digital Transformation, Information Technology and E-Governance of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
More than 4000 services were provided under the “I am a Veteran” Programme over the past year. The most popular ones included the verification of the status of a participant in hostilities, issuance of certificates; granting financial assistance; granting benefits and subsidies for housing and utilities; rehabilitation assistance; provision of micro-grants for the creation or development of the recipient’s own business; professional training, retraining and advanced training.
2024 will see the creation of barrier-free spaces in ASCs, setting up remote workplaces for administrators in each village council, the development of a mobile application “I am a Veteran” and expanding the scope of services for veterans.
“Applying to an ASC, veterans and their families can spend their time with loved ones and friends instead of waiting in queues for government offices. This project is a case that is being piloted throughout Ukraine,” said Ms Krymchak.
Yuliia Dmytrova, Director of TAPS International in Ukraine, spoke about the charitable foundation’s activities and outlined the main tasks and directions of work:
“TAPS supports families who have experienced a war-related loss as well as soldiers at the front lines. We offer help to freed POWs and veterans as well. Our charitable foundation is currently implementing various projects, and we would love for the ASC network and the “I am a Veteran” Programme to spread the word about the possibilities of receiving psychological help, participating in initiatives and other activities of the foundation.
Yuliia Dmytrova also noted that TARS can provide grants for updating office equipment and physical infrastructure. To receive it, fill out an application, provide a justification and outline the expected result.