Vitalii Dorokh heads the civil society organization \u201cPravo\u201d in the city of Khmilnyk, Vinnytsia Oblast. His organization was one of the first to join the Network; for decades, it has provided legal support to anyone in need and has helped communities establish effective cooperation between local government bodies and the public \u2014 and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nataliia Kostyshyn is the chair of the board of another member organization \u2014 the \u201cYouth Initiative Center\u201d (Mits) in Sheptytsky, Lviv Oblast. In addition to providing legal and psychological assistance and legal education, the NGO \u201cMits\u201d works to foster dialogue within and between communities, engage residents in decision-making processes, and support communities in developing charters and strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iryna Chaika is a facilitator and the director of organizational development at the LDN. The trainers\u2019 task was to help frontline communities set priorities and unite their communities\u2019 efforts to bring about change. In this interview, we asked the Network\u2019s experts about the conclusions drawn after working with the communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four Levels of Engagement and Practical Legal Education \u2014 The Focus of Our Work <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 What topics did the training program cover? What specific aspects of community life did you set out to strengthen?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vitalii Dorokh:<\/strong> My topic is the interaction between local government bodies and the public. We examined four levels \u2014 information sharing, consultation, dialogue, and partnership \u2014 using specific examples, success stories, and common mistakes at each stage. I illustrated all of this using my own community in Khmilnyk as an example, where we had previously assessed our engagement using an adapted methodology and developed an improvement plan based on those findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nataliia Kostyshyn:<\/strong> Irina and I built on what Vitalii had taught the participants during the first day of training and translated it into the realm of legal education \u2014 information that is both useful and practical specifically for communities. For me, the most striking issue was the problem of communication within communities \u2014 between different sectors that are actually working on the same thing but often fail to hear one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 What challenges have you observed among community representatives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vitalii Dorokh:<\/strong> Right now, all communities in Ukraine, regardless of their geographic location, face a common challenge: to comply with the requirements of the Law \u201cOn People\u2019s Power\u201d* at the local self-government level and to bring their charters \u2014 the primary local documents \u2014 into compliance by January 1, 2027. New mechanisms for participation are emerging: public evaluation and the right of young people aged 14 and older to be involved in decision-making processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iryna Chaika:<\/strong> A common problem we\u2019ve observed among most participants is that people have been performing their duties according to job descriptions for years, losing sight of why they\u2019re actually doing it. This applies to both officials and civil society organizations, which often hold events just to meet metrics rather than to achieve real results for people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nataliia Kostyshyn: <\/strong>I\u2019d like to add that there are often differing interpretations of regulatory documents, even regarding basic terms. For example, officials and the public understand the term \u201cconsultations\u201d differently in the context of the aforementioned law. For the former, it means \u201cproviding information,\u201d whereas the legislature has specified that it means seeking feedback on a particular decision \u2014 for example, gathering suggestions from the community during the discussion of a draft document. And these differences in interpretation can be quite striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 What experience from the training sessions stood out the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nataliia Kostyshyn: <\/strong>The work of the group of representatives from the Zlatopil community in Kharkiv Oblast was particularly noteworthy. The group was diverse \u2014 it included the deputy mayor, representatives from the social protection department, the veterans\u2019 community, a shelter for internally displaced persons, and volunteer initiatives. And they all agreed to focus not on individual problems, but on a single issue: flooding in residential areas during heavy rains. And not a single participant from districts where this problem is less pressing insisted on starting with something else. This is a sign that the community truly shares common priorities, rather than merely maintaining a formal unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s another example: one of the representatives from the public sector approached me and began asking why Vitalii Dorokh constantly cited examples from his own community \u2014 Khmilnytska in the Vinnytsia Oblast. I explained to her that the trainer was sharing his own, step-by-step, hands-on experience, not abstract theory. After that, the participant became noticeably more open and later began sharing her own community\u2019s practices. This shows why a trainer\u2019s personal, \u201clived\u201d experience works better than general recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iryna Chaika: <\/strong>I was reminded of how, after Vitalii\u2019s training session, one of the participants stood up and said, \u201cI finally understand how to resolve my issue within the community.\u201d This example proves once again that there is a specific tool for solving every problem \u2014 one that the community hadn\u2019t considered or wasn\u2019t aware of. There\u2019s no need to spend years writing petitions or poring over stacks of regulations, because all the tools are actually already in place, and you can take a completely different approach. No one knows this until someone comes along and shares a ready-made tool and explains how it works in practice \u2014 just as Vitalii Dorokh and Nataliia Kostyshyn did using their own communities as examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 In your opinion, what do communities lack most after the training is over?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Iryna Chaika:<\/strong> Training cannot be the final measure of a project \u2014 it\u2019s just one way to influence the target audience. After the training, people need support: the tools they can take back to their communities to organize their own events. Next comes mentoring support, which is essential when practical questions and hidden challenges arise in their day-to-day work \u2014 issues that were perhaps only briefly touched upon during the training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nataliia Kostyshyn:<\/strong> Indeed, based on the training results, mentoring support is what\u2019s most lacking. Many very practical questions arise, especially where changes are new to the community and not every sector \u2014 particularly the public sector \u2014 can adapt to them quickly and flexibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vitalii Dorokh: <\/strong>That\u2019s why our recommended approach is a step-by-step process. First, assess the current state of collaboration; then, identify specific gaps; and finally, develop an improvement plan. At the same time, training should be provided for specific individuals in charge within each department. This is exactly how we implemented it in our own Khmilnytskyi community. Based on the results of the assessment, the executive committee approved a plan to improve engagement with the public, and in each department, a person responsible for this area was appointed by order of the mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 How has working with communities in the Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts influenced you as experts, and how does this experience align with the Network\u2019s overall approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vitalii Dorokh:<\/strong> I was curious to see how processes are organized in other communities. And I was once again convinced that in this very area \u2014 which I\u2019m promoting \u2014 namely, effective interaction between local self-government bodies and the public\u2014we need to apply a methodical approach, one that may not seem obvious at first glance. Positive changes only happen when they\u2019re based on prior analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nataliia Kostyshyn:<\/strong> I saw potential in creating permanent platforms for dialogue within communities\u2014ranging from physical spaces for meetings to specialists skilled at moderating them\u2014with the involvement of all stakeholders: residents, businesses, the civil society sector, and government agencies. Once again, I was convinced that a single training session can only kickstart the process, but it\u2019s not enough to achieve real results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iryna Chaika: <\/strong>Meaningful change in a community is only possible when the civil society sector, local government bodies, and the public \u2014 including the business community \u2014 work together. Without collaboration, when everyone continues to act independently, it is unlikely that the desired results or positive changes will occur in the community. That is precisely why the Legal Development Network shares its best practices not only in communities where our member organizations are represented. We deliberately share practices that have proven effective in one community with those that need them right now. This sharing is the very essence of our work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This interview was prepared with the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the \u201cLegal Development Network\u201d Public Association.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Author: Yuliia Bilyk, Communications Manager at the Legal Development Network Ukrainian communities are diverse, but they have more in common than they have differences. 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Compliance with bylaws, a focus on results, and a shared understanding \u2014 these are the challenges facing communities <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
*For reference<\/em>
Law of Ukraine No. 3703-IX \u201cOn Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding People\u2019s Sovereignty at the Local Self-Government Level\u201d entered into force on January 8, 2025. The law expands residents\u2019 opportunities to influence local government decisions, specifies the mechanisms of direct democracy in communities, and increases the transparency of council operations.<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\nShared Priorities and Meaningful Experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The recommended approach is a step-by-step process <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Analysis, dialogue, and cooperation \u2014 the drivers of positive change <\/h3>\n\n\n\n