Restoration of Governance and Reconciliation in Crisis-Affected Communities of Ukraine / SIDA-SDC funded

About the project 

The “Restoration of Governance and Reconciliation in Crisis-Affected Communities of Ukraine” project is part of the overall Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, supported jointly by the governments of Sweden and the Swiss Confederation (SIDA and SDC). With a total budget of U.S. $3 million, the Project’s aim is to overcome the negative consequences of the armed conflict in the Donbas, reduce the risk of its reoccurrence, and address existing grievances. This Project establishes a reliable monitoring system for conflict-affected areas.  It provides technical and advisory assistance for the reorganization of local governance and the resumption of basic services. The Project also promotes reconciliation and social cohesion.

Project goals:

  • enable the development of local governance structures, in cooperation with the central authorities, which will address immediate reconstruction and social cohesion needs in conflict-affected communities. Such governance structures will function in partnership with community leaders, civil society (including women’s groups), and other local entities, and ensure that these structures are responsive to citizens’ needs;
  • support the emergence of a reconciliation and peace-building policy through the efforts of the government, civil society, and the private sector, which is to uphold the values of inclusiveness among the citizenry through an ad hoc communication strategy, and to develop formal and informal dialogue and conflict resolution mechanisms to address dividing issues, as well as combat hate speech and other forms of political and cultural intolerance;  
  • promote the building of trust within local communities, between communities and the representatives of central agencies and security structures deployed in their areas, and between communities and local governance structures.  

It should be mentioned that the restoration of governance functions in conflict-affected territories is possible only in the context of complex transformations in the structures and functions of the entire system of public administration, both at the regional and local levels, and a comprehensive decentralization reform. In order for such transformations to take place, several interlinked reforms need to be carried out: territorial, administrative, budgetary, tax and local government.

Target groups:

The Project covers 15 cities and two Regional State Administrations and Civil-Military Administrations in the two crisis-affected regions of Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk regions).

• Local authorities at regional, city and amalgamated hromada (community) levels;

• Hromadas and NGOs, initiative hromada groups, volunteer groups;

• Representatives of Public Councils;

• Representatives of mass media at regional, city and amalgamated hromada levels;

• Educational institutions (schools, colleges/high schools, universities);

• Local women’s leaders, women affected by conflict (IDPs and host communities), women's groups and NGOs;

• Local and regional youth organizations, volunteers’ and community groups.

Activities:

UNDP helped local governments to update the Luhansk and Donetsk Regional Development Strategies and adopt respective implementation plans.

Citizens Advisory Bureaus were set up to help the population to orientate in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, and to fill a capacity gap in the authorities’ ability to respond to specific needs created by the conflict, such as a lack of trust in government and fellow citizens. 1,557 appeals (33% men, 67% women) were addressed within five months.

Six advisors for governors and 30 experts for 15 city administrations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been recruited to strengthen the institutional capacities of their local governments. An assessment of the institutional capacity of local and regional governments was completed with technical assistance from LLC PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Some 300 representatives of civil society, international organizations, local authorities and private enterprises from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions participated in exchange visits, with the aim of finding bottom-up solutions to common challenges in the Donbas region. Some 112 initiative ideas on social cohesion by participants of exchange visits were submitted, of which 23 were financially supported.

The development of Communication Strategies and Action Plans for Donetsk and Luhansk regions are being technically supported. Mass media training sessions are to be held, based on recommendations in the Communication Strategies and Action plans for both regions.

A methodology for Social Management in Schools, as a form of civic engagement at schools in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, was designed and successfully implemented.

Other project-related initiatives: 

Citizens' Advisory Bureaus