28 through 29 May 2012 Swiss-Ukrainian project’s “Decentralization Support in Ukraine” (DESPRO) funded by Swiss Confederation planning workshop for the next three years took place in Yalta. During the workshop intermediate progress results within 3 areas were summarized: improving the services’ quality and communities participation in decision making processes, effective knowledge management and decentralization support in Ukraine.  

Analyses made it possible to identify the objectives and priorities for the next years of project operation.

DESPRO partners from target project regions (Vinnytsya and Sumy Oblasts and AR Crimea), which represented village communities, local self-governing bodies and state power as well as national experts on knowledge management and reforms took part in the workshop. Their views and experiences became the ground, while discussing project progress, achievements and challenges related to project operation.

Among Project achievements, the participants highlighted the improvement of rural inhabitants’ life quality,   enhancement of population self-estimation, creation of positive practices and examples for other communities and establishment of cooperation between power and communities.  

While commenting the other project results, Oksana Garnets, Project Senior Coordinator in Ukraine, stressed:

“DESPRO ensured mutual collaboration and launched knowledge and experience exchange in the system of relations between state, community, education system and local self-governing bodies. Further Project objective is to ensure sustainable development and institutionalization of mentioned relations, to disseminate newly created models and experience”.  

The Project had also achievements on national level. Due to DESPRO support state concepts in the sphere of regional policy reforms, administrative and territorial structure and local self-government were developed. They were included into the Program on economic reforms for the period 2010 – 2014 and defined as reference points in the annual message of President of Ukraine.

During the group work DESPRO partners presented their own view on further cooperation and provided a series of proposals, which the Project will take into account and formalize. For example, it was proposed to develop and disseminate the approaches related to decentralized approaches to services provision as well as further implementation of knowledge management system.

Approach that takes into account the views of partners and beneficiaries serves for DESPRO success while fulfilling the tasks and objectives, creating of sustainable mechanisms on all levels – from village community to national institutions.