Earlier, U-LEAD held a final meeting of the training cycle “Steps for Specialists. Project Cycle Management” where its participants shared their achievements and feedback.
60 municipal officials representing 20 oblasts took part in the training, 34 of whom completed all the tasks and received certificates. The course combined an online format, a three-day offline module in Kyiv and an internship for those most motivated.
“Feedback from our participants received at the event and via the survey is a valuable tool for improving future programmes,” said Tetiana Tatarchuk, Deputy Head of the Regional Affairs Department of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.
Management Dimension
According to the participants, the training contributed not only to the preparation and implementation of projects, but also to horizontal networking and the creation of new departments and municipal institutions, as well as boosted the cooperation with local civil society organisations. Professionals in some municipalities started to coach colleagues on writing projects, updated charters of civil society organisations, developed international partnerships and expanded their capabilities to attract resources.
“This signal significant managerial progress and the strengthening of the project ecosystem,” said Ms Tatarchuk.
Svitlana Panchyshyna, Chief Specialist of the Socio-Economic Development and Investment Sector, spoke about the changes that the training had brought in the attitudes towards project activities in the Berezanka municipality of the Mykolaiv Oblast. The municipality has provided shelter to many IDPs, attracted additional resources for the implementation of initiatives and works with a number of foundations.
“In 2024, we raised over UAH 73 million, which allowed us to implement numerous projects with the support of international partners. It 2022–2024, we got a modular hospital, a social taxi, a medical lab, a water treatment plant, a veterans’ hub, a rehabilitation centre and other facilities that significantly improved the infrastructure. Over the year, together with a local NGO, we prepared 18 grant applications, of which we won four (22%),” Svitlana said. She further stated that she had received plenty of positive feedback from donors regarding the project applications they had prepared.
“The training programme ‘Steps for Specialists’ gave us confidence in our abilities and encouraged us to participate in competitions. We are committed to participating in grant competitions. We are currently preparing to apply for a grant from Kusanone, a programme by the Government of Japan. Having analysed last year’s application with the newly garnered knowledge, I can see our last-year shortcomings. I am proud to have become a participant in the training course,” Svitlana said.
Project Dimension
The second dimension is project one, showcasing the internal growth of the course participants: many use the knowledge gained to design planning documents and analyse and systematize the bank of needs, which is an important basis for project activities. This indicates a systematic approach to the development of municipalities and the effective implementation of the knowledge gained.
Project management lifestyle is also gaining momentum in the Berezivka municipality in the Sumy Oblast, which has implemented a number of projects aimed at developing local infrastructure, engaging residents and supporting internally displaced persons over the past six months.
Among the most important initiatives are the creation of a biodiversity space, an educational waste sorting station, updating the youth council and implementing the project “Food Fresh from the Oven to Support the Armed Forces”. According to Inna Hulakova, Project Manager of the Berezivka municipality, these activities foster social cohesion, provide moral support to the locals and IDPs alike, as well as help the Armed Forces.
Despite the proximity to the border and numerous challenges, the municipality not only implements social and environmental initiatives, but also actively writes new grant applications and is preparing to update its development strategy and design its own brand.
“Exactly a year ago, I was offered to do project management. The U-LEAD training programme made me realise that we were able to implement ideas, attract resources and unite the municipality around important initiatives. The knowledge we gained empowered us and spurred our development, even in conditions as difficult as in our border municipality,” the participant said.
Communication Dimension
The third dimension is communication. It shows a significant expansion of horizontal and interregional ties, as well as increased awareness of communication issues. After all, a high-quality communication campaign of the project is one of the factors of its success and public participation in it.
In the survey, the participants noted that they stayed in contact with each other (programme alumni), creating a knowledge exchange network. They also expressed their desire for further education, especially in the field of recovery programmes, highlighting the importance of networking and contacts for professional growth.
The experience of participating in the “100% Municipal Efficiency” (Hromada Na Vsi Sto) competition of the Vatutine municipality of the Cherkasy Oblast was enlightening, as told by Oleksandra Stavenko, Chief Specialist of Vatutine’s Economic Development and Investment Sector. “This is a case of learning and perseverance helping transform challenges into opportunities,” said Tetiana Tatarchuk.
“We decided to join “100% Municipal Efficiency” and compete for a mobile crane for the municipality. At that time, I didn’t even have a Facebook page, but the terms of the competition called for active online communication. I set up an account, started networking with colleagues, municipal institutions and opinion leaders and communicating with the public. Although our project did not reach the final, I gained invaluable experience,” the specialist said. She added that the most important thing in project communication was to learn how to talk about it in simple language that is clear to the public. It is also important to plan out a communication campaign about its implementation.
According to Oleksandra, training and the internship gave her ideas, and she initiated a number of changes in the municipality’s approach to project management. She convinced her superiors to create a structural unit for project work, began to establish cooperation with other councils and successfully advocated for the development of the municipality’s brand.
Conclusions and Recommendations
In total, as programme alumni noted having managed to prepare more than 30 project applications and win 21 external funding projects from various donors during and after the training period. According to Tetiana Tatarchuk, this is a fairly successful outcome for beginners in the field of project management. Among the key problems in managing projects in the municipality, the participants pointed towards difficulties in forming teams and partnerships, inconsistent support from senior officials and local council members and the lack of public awareness of the opportunities that projects create in municipalities.
They also talked about the mentoring possibilities for the first project, the need to devote more time to registering applicants on various donor platforms and deeper immersion in the development of a logical and structural matrix of the project in future similar training programmes.
