Potential and ‘bottlenecks’ in the development of affected communities in the Mykolaiv oblast

Publication date: January 9, 2025

Author: Halyna Kolesnyk, Head of the Communication Cluster of the Legal Development Network

During August-November, a team of experts conducted comprehensive research in the Bashtanka, Bereznehuvate, and Halytsynive communities of Mykolaiv region, and Kolomyia, Tlumach, and Kalush communities of Ivano-Frankivsk region. The research focused on community resources and potential for strategic planning, including the involvement of advisory bodies and civil society organizations in this process.

Data collection and analysis is just one of six components for strengthening communities being implemented by the Legal Development Network within the “Recovery” project, in cooperation with the humanitarian organization “People in Need” and with financial support from the Czech Development Agency.

We will discuss some of the important findings from this research in this article.

About the Research

“Through this research, we identify problem areas and potential of local self-government bodies, civil society organizations, and advisory bodies regarding the formation and implementation of community development strategies. The main tasks in the research process were to analyze key gaps that limit the effectiveness of strategic planning, and to identify opportunities that can be used to strengthen community resilience,” notes the Program Director of the Legal Development Network, Project Manager Timur Kanataiev.

In total, to collect information, the researchers made 29 visits to communities and conducted 56 online meetings, 69 interviews, and 16 focus groups. The study covered 230 people.

“Based on the results of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, we saw that communities work very intensively with business representatives and civil society organizations to take their needs into account. However, there are still certain groups that are less actively involved for various reasons – for example, men and youth. We need to try to work with this, use different participation tools to consider the interests of as many stakeholders as possible for future implementation of initiatives or projects,” notes the representative of the research team, expert in capacity and competency development research Tetiana Terletska.

Based on the data obtained, the experts provided recommendations on addressing gaps and competencies that need to be acquired by representatives of local self-government, civil society organizations, and advisory bodies (ABs) to create effective strategies and implement them in practice.

“This research opens up not a narrow path, but a wide road to 2025. Together with communities, we are planning how we can be strong and successful. We must have a clear plan on how to build recovery and restoration measures,” says the Executive Director of the Legal Development Network Olha Nastina.

The interim results were first presented to communities at participation workshops, and then at an online presentation on November 21. In this article, we discuss some of the experts’ conclusions concerning the three communities of the Mykolaiv oblast.

Bashtanka Community

The local self-government body (hereinafter LSG) involved international experts in developing the strategic plan. The document covers post-war recovery and development strategies. It takes into account priority projects at the community level that are aimed at strengthening community cohesion and improving safety in the community.

Advisory bodies were also involved in strategic planning, particularly the Youth Council and the Council for Internally Displaced Persons, and they inform about the progress of strategic documents development through social networks and media. 

However, experts recommend further deepening the integration of youth and internally displaced persons into strategic planning processes to ensure inclusivity and long-term stability.

“We are considering developing a youth development plan. Among our ideas are providing jobs for youth within age categories so they can earn money for their work and gain skills in managing resources. Organizing joint trips from schools and organizations. Restoring joint competitions in safer cities. Restoration of playgrounds and parks. There are many skateboarders in the city who lack specially equipped space for them.

“Personally, we can inform youth about opportunities, involve them in events, and coordinate the implementation of their ideas. Also, as an idea, we can enhance the city’s image if we transform the local vocational school into a college, which will help some young people stay in the city. Set up dormitories for the college. Implement a system of motivations for youth at the local policy level, for example, educational trips, receiving resources for implementing ideas or initiatives. It’s also important that the head of the youth council receives compensation for their work,” notes the representative of the Media Department of Bashtanka City Council Yevheniia Onofriichuk.

The LSG has key competencies in strategic planning, financial management, communication with partners, and project management. At the same time, they express a need for strategic planning, project management, financial planning and resource management, communications and partnership, monitoring and evaluation.

Local self-government lacks skills in data collection and analysis, knowledge in legislation and strategic planning. They also need digital skills and modern tools for data management, monitoring, and communication. This limits their ability to effectively implement projects and quickly respond to challenges, especially during post-war recovery.

In the Bashtanka community, there are several active councils: a youth public council, a council for internally displaced persons, a coordination council for gender equality, and a working group on public safety, social cohesion, and recovery. Both large organizations and small initiative groups are operating.

Areas of activity of civil society organizations:

• social support and assistance to displaced persons,
• community cohesion and safety,
• support for veterans and military families,
• environmental awareness and sustainable development,
• youth initiatives and cultural development.

Civil society organizations cooperate with local authorities, provide recommendations, and help determine priorities for strategic initiatives, particularly in matters of supporting displaced persons and veterans. 

Most civil society organizations participate in strategic processes at the discussion or consultation stage, but their influence on final decisions needs strengthening. They have high potential for supporting the community’s strategic goals, especially in social sphere, environmental sustainability, and integration of vulnerable groups. According to experts’ assessments, expanding cooperation with local self-government can strengthen their role in implementing strategies and achieving the community’s long-term goals.

Bereznehuvate

The community development strategy was developed just before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, so it needs updating. Experts from the Community-Led Inclusive Recovery (CLIR) Initiative of the Government of Canada’s Support to Ukraine’s Reforms for Governance (SURGe) project are helping with this. Civil society organizations and entrepreneurs are being involved in this process.

About seven civil society organizations are working in the community, and there is a trend towards the emergence of new ones for grant attraction and recovery.

Among all organizations, only one conducts activity planning and has a development strategy, while others lack their own strategic documents and work unsystematically, at the level of informal initiative groups.

The activities of civil society organizations are mainly focused on supporting youth and socially vulnerable categories, educational activities, developing civic engagement, and implementing infrastructure projects with a hard component. The Bereznehuvate Public Recovery Office helps to activate the community in recovery and development.

The initiative to update the strategy is driven more by the need to receive assistance from potential donors rather than the need to develop a shared vision for the future and plan the work of local self-government.

The lack of specialists, funding, and material-technical support limits the possibilities for supporting strategic measures and innovations.

Representation of certain groups, such as youth, entrepreneurs, or vulnerable groups, is limited, and the general public sometimes shows passivity and disillusionment.

“Our problem is restoring the mixed form of general secondary education in the territory of Bereznehuvate settlement. Today in our community, there are 18 general secondary education institutions, 8 with mixed form in rural areas. In Bereznehuvate, we have 3 institutions – and only one of them is intact, but unfortunately, it lacks a shelter. Also, there are about 1,400 schoolchildren in the community, of which more than 600 are in Bereznehuvate. Due to the educational subvention being reduced each year, salaries are paid from the local budget, and the funds that could be directed to restoring educational institutions are going to salaries. Therefore, the priority for 2025 should be optimizing the network of general secondary education institutions, bringing it in line with legal requirements and community capacity. To restore the mixed form of education for middle and high school levels, it would be appropriate to build a shelter at gymnasium №2 and provide transportation for children from these 3 educational institutions, so that children have the opportunity to study offline and attend the educational institution.

“What we can do as community residents is to consolidate parents, educators, and other community residents so that they speak at all levels of public life about the need for this shelter. There is a working group on educational institution transformation at the settlement council, and we can raise these issues there. We can also monitor what projects are available, search for donors, and prepare project proposals,” notes the methodologist of the Children’s Creativity House of Bereznehuvate settlement, Hanna Khyzhniak. 

The community lacks advisory bodies. To actively engage youth in community development, experts recommend creating a youth council.

Among the key learning needs that experts have identified for civil society organizations and LSG are training in project management and fundraising skills, communications, preparation in digital technologies and data analytics.

Halytsynove

During the strategic plan development, the community conducted careful collection and analysis of a large volume of data, which is well-structured and covers key areas of community development. External experts were involved in strategic planning in the community within the DOBRE program. 

The main areas supported by civil society organizations are social policy, psychological assistance; youth policy; eco-tourism, sports, and active recreation.

Most of these organizations are not located within the Halytsynove community territory but have connections with the LSG. Experts note that organizations generally lack awareness about the community development strategy (development, implementation, opportunities for involvement, etc.) and legal competency.

CSOs do not use the community development strategy in their activities. Most of the surveyed organizations are ready to participate in updating the strategy. Therefore, experts recommend considering the creation of a mechanism that will ensure the involvement of organizations in local targeted programs defined by the current strategy.

The community has a youth council, which lacks autonomy in its activities, a clearly defined structure, material-technical and documentary base. The council lacks awareness about the community development strategy (development stages, implementation, opportunities for involvement, etc.).

The community shows a lack of effective interaction mechanisms between local self-government, civil society organizations, and advisory bodies. Interaction between these institutions is often formal and insufficiently effective, which weakens the community’s influence on decision-making and reduces the level of public trust in local authorities.

Low level of citizen participation in local self-government processes, weak culture of civic activity, as well as insufficient information about rights and participation opportunities lead to reduced community control over LSG actions.

One of the problems for which workshop participants formulated solutions through their involvement was opening an inclusive center in Halytsynove village.

“In our community, there are about 20 children who have hearing, speech, and movement limitations, and we don’t have such a center. We can find premises and we have educators. We need funding and technology implementation. We can discuss the problem among parents and then move forward regarding creating a solution and finding funding,” says Hanna Bukova, who helps distribute humanitarian aid in the community.

Experts note the need to create conditions for community residents’ participation in decision-making processes and, in particular, involvement in developing strategic plans. In current conditions, the advisory body has limited ability to actually influence strategy development. The community also lacks transparent procedures for accessing information.

When updating strategies for 2024-2027, attention should be focused on socio-economic analysis, community potential for post-war development, and risks.

Experts recommend increasing the level of integration of civil society organizations and advisory bodies in strategic planning processes by involving them in the stages of discussion and development of strategic documents. This includes regular meetings, consultations, round tables where civil society organizations, youth councils, and advisory bodies can make proposals and share ideas.

Among the skills that experts suggest strengthening for representatives of local self-government bodies, civil society organizations, and advisory bodies are training in project management and strategic planning. This may include training in project management, budgeting, and communication skills.

They also recommend implementing educational programs and workshops on communication management and community engagement.

An important part is also including youth in strategic processes through training in leadership skills, team organization, and advocacy practices.

“We are preparing a fundamental report for each community that can be worked with for a year or more. Speaking about 2025, it’s about the actual use of this data – during policy formation and next steps. 2025 is about implementation, focusing on resource mobilization and investor search. We want to take care and give community representatives the opportunity to do everything in a way that would be useful not only for communities within the project but also set the pace at the national level.”

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