On December 19, a working meeting was held with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Community Development and Territories of Ukraine, the UCORD project and Regional Development Agencies.
It is worth noting that such meetings are becoming traditional, as promised by Oleksiy Ryabikin, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development during the previous meeting in November this year.
At this meeting, the participants discussed:
- plans and priorities of the Ministry, which are relevant to the activities of the RDAs and in which the Agencies will be involved;
- support of communities by the Agencies in their project activities and strategic planning;
- challenges faced by the Agencies in their activities;
- possibilities of international financing and increasing the efficiency of RDAs.
According to Oleksiy Ryabykin, Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, for 2025, the budget provides 1 billion UAH from the State Fund for Regional Development and the Program for the Restoration of Ukraine for communities’ investment projects. However, only those communities that have updated development strategies that correspond to regional and national level strategies will be able to receive funds for the implementation of their projects. Oleksiy Ryabikov expressed his hope that the Agencies will actively participate with their consulting and expert support in the process of preparation of planning documents by communities. .
In fact, in 2025, preparations for the future implementation of projects within the framework of the European Ukraine Facility program will continue. And the agencies here should show leadership in order to add to communities the capacity to create high-quality project applications and further implement projects according to EU standards and requirements, – added Oleksiy Ryabykin.
Maryna Bryl, leader of the UCORD project, thanked the directors of RDAs who joined the educational visit to Romania organized by the UCORD project in November of this year, and expressed the hope that every participant of the trip got something useful for himself. She also noted that further meetings between the Ministry of Development, RDAs and UCORD may take place in various formats, which will contribute to further networking of the agencies and fruitful communication between them and the Ministry. In particular, she suggested involving representatives of other countries in these meetings, so that Ukrainian agencies could learn from experience and establish international partnerships, as well as – to hold field meetings in the regions.
In addition, Marina Bryl announced some project activities in 2025:
We plan to continue the good practice of conducting study trips to other countries, and hope for even greater involvement of representatives of all Ukrainian agencies in these visits. In addition, in 2025, the UCORD project will announce a grant program for RDAs in non-pilot regions. Participation in such a program will provide agencies not only with additional funds, but also with the experience of implementing projects that we plan according to the principles of grant programs of European funds.
The meeting also discussed international cooperation and international funding, in particular through the participation of agencies and communities in Interreg Next programs, ways and opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the RDAs, including through relevant changes in legislative acts.
Representatives of regional development agencies shared their successes, challenges they face in their activities, vision for further cooperation with the Ministry.
It is good that the Ministry of Development continues the tradition of communication with agencies, because hearing and understanding each other is always the way to positive changes and development
The Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development “, UCORD is implemented with the support of Switzerland via the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation by NIRAS Sweden AB.