More than 60 municipalities of the Cherkasy Oblast took part in dialogue meetings dedicated to inter-municipal cooperation (IMC), and its advantages and jointly developed 50 ideas for potential agreements. These documents are focused on different directions, from security and joint maintenance of utility companies to cooperation in the social protection of the population, combating domestic violence, etc.
The events were organised by the local Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe together with the Department of Regional Development of the Cherkasy Regional State Administration, district state administrations and the Cherkasy Regional Development Agency. The meetings were held in four districts of the oblast, Zvenyhorodka, Zolotonosha, Cherkasy and Uman. This was reported by Serhii Slynko, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Cherkasy Oblast.
The dialogue events aimed to introduce senior municipal officials to the features, formats and tools of inter-municipal cooperation and to outline the role and opportunities of stakeholders in the development of inter-municipal cooperation.
According to Serhii Slynko, the IMC is an important municipal development tool. Its first advantage is a more efficient use of resources, since the IMC allows municipalities to combine them to implement collaborative initiatives that may be too large or complex for one municipality. This applies to both financial and human resources, which contributes to more cost-effective and productive use of them.
Secondly, it improves the quality of services. It is about cooperation between the municipalities that facilitates the improvement of the quality of municipal services, e.g., in health care, education, transport and social support. Through IMC, municipalities can collectively provide access to high-quality services that would not be available within a single municipality.
Thirdly, it strengthens the infrastructure. Working together on infrastructure development projects, such as roads, utilities, public transport or environmental programmes, enables municipalities to strengthen the capacity of their infrastructure, which improves the quality of life of the population.
IMC is also about increasing economic potential (the fourth advantage), as it promotes economic development by enabling municipalities to join forces to attract investment, develop businesses and create new jobs.
“We can also highlight improving governance and development of the municipality. After all, IMC promotes cooperation and helps municipalities share their experiences, knowledge and best governance practices. It also promotes social cohesion. IMC is about strengthening social ties between municipalities, increasing the level of trust and cooperation between different regions,” said Serhii Slynko.
Oleksandr Zaborovets, Mayor of Vatutine, shared his plans for concluding IMC agreements. He stated that following the dialogue meeting of the municipalities, he planned to enter into IMC agreements with the Zolotonosha, Zvenyhorodka and Uman municipalities. The cooperation will focus on the provision of social services for military personnel and their families (rehabilitation, inclusive services, etc.).
According to Iryna Pletniova, head of the municipality of Uman, the Uman City Council already had IMC agreements in place, but they were not officially registered with the Ministry of Infrastructure. The dialogue event cleared the advantages of registering these documents, and the work has started.
She also noted that the Uman municipality agreements negotiated at the event would apply to education, social protection (rehabilitation centres for children and adults), as well as the grant policy for businesses. As for the latter, the municipality has created a designated municipal enterprise specialising in investment and international aid issues:
“Many municipalities are interested in our municipal enterprise and would also like to receive its support. We are open to cooperation.”
To sum up, the dialogue event covered the basic components of municipal cooperation (stages, forms, directions), the situation with inter-municipal cooperation in Ukraine and the Cherkasy Oblast, cooperation in the public security sector, the experience of Cherkasy municipalities, as well as various methods and tools.