UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Olivier Adam held a conference ‘EU/ UNDP Community Based Approach to Local Development Project in Donetsk region: Result, Perspectives, Innovations’, on 25 February to mark the closure of the first phase of the CBA Project in the region, and to outline the perspectives of further region development.
Mykola Zagorujko, Head of Association of local self-governance in the Donetsk region, was among the participants of the conference. Heads of the RSA of pilot rayons and heads of pilot COs presented the results of their cooperation with the Projects. Heads of non-pilot rayons, towns and villages learned from the experiences of their colleagues about the possible ways of establishing cooperation with the Project.
Furthermore, participants discussed perspectives of continuing cooperation with the CBA and presented a pilot project on developing small towns in the Donetsk region. A key factor of the initiative’s success is the opportunity and possible participation it enables of socially responsible business through the use of the proved effective CBA methodology in development of local communities.
One of the important components of the CBA-II is its cooperation with academia. In the Donetsk region the UNDP cooperates with Donetsk State University of Management. At the conference Rector of DSUM Mr. Oleksandr Povazhnyy presented his vision of cooperation between the University and CBA.
The conference was preceded by a meeting between UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Olivier Adam and Governor of the Donetsk region, Mr. A. Blyznyuk. The partners discussed the results of the cooperation and outlined their vision of further partnership. During the meeting a letter of intent between Donetsk OSA, OC and UN Development Programme, was signed, outlining priorities such as promoting the community based approach and creative effective participatory governance, building local and regional capacity for decentralized development etc.
Mr. Blyznyuk noted that the activity and effectiveness of local communities enabled them to complete their 51 MPs faster than any of the COs in other regions. As one of priorities is dissemination of CBA positive experience, the results of the project seem convincingly effective.
Mr. Adam expressed his gratitude for the support of Donetsk authorities for favoring development of local communities, and assistance of the CBA Project implementation at all stages. He also expressed his hope that many new innovative projects will be realized within the CBA-II.
Community Based Approach to Local Development Project is funded by the European Commission within the framework of the technical assistance Programme and is co-financed and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project supports communities in all regions of Ukraine to cover the most urgent developmental needs through self-organization, capacity building, and implementation of small-scale community initiatives.
The Project was launched in the Donetsk region on 18 December 2008. Since then 40 self-governed community organizations have been formed by rural communities in partnership with local authorities and the CBA Project. They strive to improve their living conditions through complex renovation, effective use, and systemic management of local facilities. 51 community micro-projects have been implemented. The total cost of these MPs is more than UAH 7.4 million, with UAH 3.5 million allocated by the CBA Project, about UAH 3 million – by the village, town and city councils, UAH 407,000 – by district authorities, UAH 40,000 – by private sector and UAH 405,000 – by local communities.
