With the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, the municipalities of the Rivne and Volyn Oblasts joined a study visit to learn about best practices and innovative solutions in rural development using local self-government bodies of the Lviv Oblast as an example.
In the course of three days, the participants saw the achievements and experiences of the municipalities of Kamianka-Buzka, Mostyska and Bibrka, Lviv Oblast. Vitalii Biruk, head of the village of Ratne, shared that he had brought the idea of engaging local businesses and the public in the development of territories from the visit:
“This visit showed me the experience of cooperation between the local self-government of the Lviv Oblast and the local business community. These are co-financing projects involving the municipality, businesses and local residents. This type of cooperation is about attracting internal resources for the development of the municipality. I believe that this is a good practice to follow. Our municipality has already started discussing possible options for similar cooperation at home.”
According to him, the idea of introducing a public budget in the municipality was also born after the study visit:
“People have ideas, and our task is to hear them out, develop a mechanism for participation, find resources and create opportunities to implement these ideas.”
Anatolii Doroshuk, head of the village of Tsuman, also talked about his experience at the study trip:
“We saw entrepreneurs at different levels in the municipalities of the Lviv region: from startups to developed businesses. We also learned about the tourism business and the mechanisms of increasing budget revenues with the help of the tourism industry. With the experiences of the municipalities of the Lviv Oblast as a springboard, we will work out ways to attract and support businesses in our own municipality.”
The Volyn Oblast was represented in the study visit by eight municipalities: Kamin-Kashyrskyi, Lyuboml, Manevychi, Olyka, Pavlivka, Ratne, Ustyluh and Tsuman. Anatolii Parkhomiuk, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Volyn Oblast, told more about this.
He believes that study visits that allow officials of different municipalities and regions to visit each other and share experiences are becoming increasingly important in the current conditions:
“First of all, the visits promote the exchange of innovations and best practices between municipalities. They enable representatives of different regions to study the most effective methods of management, economic development, social services and much more. For instance, in the case of the Volyn Oblast, the study visit to the Lviv Oblast allowed municipalities to work out how to better cooperate with businesses to ensure economic development.”
In addition, according to Anatolii Parkhomiuk, such visits contribute to the strengthening of interregional ties and cooperation. They create opportunities for establishing partnerships between municipalities that can further lead to joint projects and initiatives.
