Successful reconstruction of municipalities is impossible without active public engagement. This was the spotlight of the final part of the training programme “Steps for Specialists: Management of Reconstruction Projects in Municipalities” organised by the U-LEAD with Europe Programme. The event aimed to show the importance of engaging the public in the reconstruction process, provide tools for communication and help local authorities work openly and transparently.
According to Yuliia Polishchuk, Training Programme Coordinator and Adviser on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government at the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Cherkasy Oblast, the last event covered several key topics important for successful communication and increasing public trust.
Among the topics discussed is public engagement in the reconstruction process, contributing to the transparency of municipal activities and securing public support. The event also discussed communicating recovery plans to the public. Various communication formats and channels to enable providing residents with the up-to-date information were considered.
Pavlo Pushchenko, U-LEAD’s Public Engagement Expert and Executive Director of the Ukrainian Public Initiatives Association, and Ivanna Kuz, Adviser on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government at the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Kherson Oblast, worked closely with the municipalities.
The DREAM system was also discussed as a comprehensive digital tool for transparent recovery that enables the public to actively participate in the reconstruction processes, as well as practical tools for public engagement, from public hearings to interactive platforms.
According to Yuliia Polishchuk, local self-government bodies play a key role in ensuring transparency and availability of information on the recovery process. This is achieved through systematic coverage of projects and results through various channels and formats. In addition, local authorities actively contribute to public control by joining the DREAM system, which increases the level of openness and transparency of reconstruction processes:
“To facilitate public engagement, the local self-government is implementing a legal framework enabling citizens to monitor the progress of projects and participate in them. The coordinated work of the team, fact-based planning, high-quality project documentation and active involvement of all stakeholders contribute to optimal conditions for the successful recovery of municipalities.”
“Steps for Specialists. Management of Reconstruction Projects in Municipalities” is a programme aimed at preparing competent professionals for high-quality planning and implementation of reconstruction projects in municipalities. With this training, the specialists learn how to effectively commission construction projects as a customer, which will contribute to the successful municipal recovery. Representatives of 30 municipalities with a population of up to 50,000 joined the Programme.
The participants mastered approaches to project planning, worked with financing and reporting system experts, explored the algorithm for developing project and estimate documentation, conducting engineering and designer’s supervision, as well as the procedure for holding architectural competitions. The Programme put a spotlight on public procurement procedures and customer tools for monitoring the performance of construction contracts. This will help municipalities implement construction projects, ensuring transparency, reliability and accountability at every step.
“We attempted to introduce programme participants to a comprehensive perspective on reconstruction processes in municipalities and offer effective construction project management approaches and tools. The Programme focused on the importance of teamwork in local self-government bodies and the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders in these processes. We believe that our participants will be able to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in practice and successfully implement projects that are important for municipalities,” said Yuliia Polishchuk.
