Partnerships between NGOs and local self-government bodies in the Poltava Oblast go way back and have already become a good practice. The non-governmental sector helps implement projects to improve municipal services for the public and even attract investments into the local economy.
Viktor Dubovych, head of Nekhvoroshcha municipality, spoke about their successful experience of partnering up with other Ukrainian and foreign municipalities and cooperation with NGOs. He underlined the importance of partnerships with the non-governmental sector to attract additional resources and overcome the challenges of the war:
“During the four years of my term, we have faced challenges that our predecessors had not. The war has significantly limited our capabilities, so I would like to extend my gratitude to every NGO that meaningfully helped us overcome various problems. Thanks to the many programmes we have joined, we managed to implement useful projects, provide municipal facilities with electricity generators, accept IDPs and even create new jobs.”
Partnerships and cooperation between the municipality and NGOs, as was pointed out by the deputy head of the Nekhvoroshcha municipality, Olha Khomenko, facilitated attraction of extensive funding for development over the past few years. Through various projects involving international, charitable, and other institutions, they were able to attract about UAH 60 million since 2020.
Here are some of the most interesting projects:
- Non-formal education: “Education for educators of the Poltava Oblast: Improving Media Literacy of Rural Municipalities of the Region”;
- Rehabilitation: “Creation of a Rehabilitation Space for People Affected by War and People with Disabilities in the Nekhvoroshcha Municipality of the Poltava Oblast”;
- Job creation: “Creation of 4 Mini-Shops for Processing and Packaging Vegetables, Fruits and Berries in the Nekhvoroshcha Municipality”.
The participants visited Sonechko, a newly built kindergarten, a newly created sports facility in the Children’s and Youth Creativity Centre and a residential building for IDPs — all results of partnership projects in the Nekhvoroshcha municipality.
“The experience of the Nekhvoroshcha municipality truly needs to be studied and scaled up. Starting from 2020, they have been actively using European development tools. Their cooperation with U-LEAD is a great case of effectively utilising opportunities for the development of local self-government and improving the lives of residents. In addition to being highly motivated for positive change, the municipality shows the ability to work strategically, attract resources write high-quality projects and implement them in practice. This is a significant contribution to the development of the Poltava Oblast and the strengthening of local self-government,” said Iryna Balybina, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Poltava Oblast.
The Novoselivka municipality also shared its experience of cooperating with NGOs. To attract resources for development, they cooperate with the Regional Development Agency. Yuliia Popova, Director of the Regional Development Agency of the Novoselivka Village Council, spoke about practical cases of partnerships with the municipality and setting priorities together. The Agency already has more than a dozen successfully implemented projects in its portfolio. These are both projects involving funds from the regional budget for local municipalities and projects with international partners such as USAID/DOBRE.
