During the final event of the support programme, the Deputy Director of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, Olena Tomniuk, spoke about further cooperation with municipalities participating in the network.
First of all, one representative from each of the 10 municipalities participating in the programme will have a chance to intern in a municipality in Poland.
“Every finish line is essentially a start line. We would like to continue working with you on this programme for a little bit longer. Until the end of September, one participant from each municipality, having passed the selection process, will be able to learn from the experience in Polish municipalities that are similar to yours. You will be able to witness some great project work cases. After all, Poland is currently a leader in the use of European Union funds on a project basis. None of the EU member states has been able to beat their record yet,” said the Deputy Director of the Programme.
Seeing Polish municipalities, which have extensive project experience in attracting funds from European programmes, will allow programme participants to closely observe successful project teams, as well as the results of their work.
“You will have a unique opportunity to find out how small municipalities in Poland managed such a great feat. On the one hand, they were able to bolster their sustainability by attracting resources, while on the other, they steadied their situation through the great economic upheavals of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening the state,” said Olena Tomniuk.
As part of the international visit, programme participants will visit Lublin and several municipalities from its agglomeration. In particular, they will see the Regional Development Agency in Lublin, as well as project offices and development institutions at the municipal level along with their cooperation mechanisms.
“This visit is not only for studying successful project experiences. This is also an opportunity to establish cooperation and find a partner municipality, institution, or organisation to cooperate with in the future. Therefore, some informational materials about your municipalities will be welcome,” said Oleh Demchuk, an expert at U-LEAD.
In addition, each participating municipality team will receive equipment for the project manager’s workplace within a few months. Among other things, it will include a laptop with software that will help the official to work with project proposals, and write and implement them. Support programme participants will be offered training on how to use this software.
Furthermore, as part of the event, four participating municipalities that had decided on the model of their project offices presented their further plans for their development. These models included a working group model of the project office in the Kulykivka municipality of the Chernihiv Oblast, a standalone unit in the structure of the executive committee in the Hirske municipality of the Kyiv Oblast, a separate structural subdivision with the additional creation of a working group in the Mahdalynivka municipality of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and a standalone unit in the Shepetivka municipality of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast.