Component 200: Capacity Development
The objective of this component is to enhance the management, operational and planning capabilities of the Oblast State Administration and regional self-government bodies in the two pilot oblasts and their ability to involve civil society in regional government affairs. Support would be provided to the pilot units towards establishing an institutional framework that would better enable them to achieve the goals set out in the Concept of State and Regional Policy and to undertake new responsibilities.
The objective of this component is also to increase the professional capacity of Ministerial staff on issues related to regional development, including how to implement advice given by the RGD Project on regional governance and development policy and reforms.
201 – Conduct capacity development needs assessment and plan: Baseline studies on the current status of and prospects for strengthening regional governance, gender/youth issues, environmental issues, and civil society issues have been conducted at the national-level. Similar reports will be developed for each of the pilot oblasts in addition to a participatory baseline assessment of the current management, administration, planning, development strategy, and service delivery practices. These assessments will serve as the benchmark against which to measure the progress of the Project.
These baseline reports will inform the national-level and regional-level capacity development plans, which in turn will inform the Annual Work Plans. These plans will prioritize needs and determine Project targets to be measured against the baseline assessments. These plans will also include civil society baseline circumstances and identify mechanisms for civil society involvement in oblast affairs and Ministry affairs. These plans will also identify Project activities to be undertaken to meet these needs and targets, accompanied by detailed Terms of Reference of all activities and expert engagements.
Finally, through a participatory process, the policies, programs and business processes of each pilot Oblast State Administration will be reviewed. Following the completion of these organizational reviews, improvement strategies and plans will be developed. These plans will identify areas of improvement or new policies, programs and processes and will identify the capacity development mechanisms to be used by the Project to meet these needs and to assist in the implementation of these new policies, programs and processes.
202 – Deliver capacity development and institutional strengthening activities in Ukraine: Capacity development activities in Ukraine will focus on priority areas identified in the national-level and regional-level capacity development plans and further detailed in the relevant Terms of Reference (TOR) and Annual Work Plans (AWPs). These will be achieved through the delivery of structured training programs by Canadian and CEE experts, on-site job coaching and mentoring (either individually or in group workshops), action learning through process-related activities, and educational and case study materials. Participants in these capacity development activities may include Oblast State Administration officials, Oblast Council officials, Regional Development Agency representatives, partner representatives (such as NARDA), civil society organization representatives, members of the media, Ministry of Economy officials, and Department of Regional Policy officials, among others.
The Project will also conduct similar capacity development and institutional strengthening activities to assist in the implementation of new policies, programs and processes and to meet improvement needs at the pilot Oblast State Administrations, as identified in the organizational reviews and improvement strategies and plans. Participants in these activities will largely include Oblast State Administration officials.
The specific capacity development and institutional strengthening needs and activities will be confirmed through a participatory process with all major stakeholders and will be further detailed in the capacity development plans, Annual Work Plans, and Terms of Reference.
203 – Organize study tours, research missions, and learning exchanges to Canada and CEE countries: Regional and national stakeholders will be invited to attend study tours and learning exchanges to allow participants to explore Canadian and CEE countries experiences in dealing with sub-national government challenges while simultaneously learning from their peers and building institutional linkages. Participants will share their experiences with other stakeholders in follow-up sessions in Ukraine. Internships in Canada and CEE countries may also be organized for Ukrainian stakeholders to further develop their understanding of relevant Canadian and CEE experiences. Finally, the Project may support Ukrainian stakeholders’ participation in third party conferences and workshops and Ukrainian experts’ and officials’ participation in research trips.
204 – Conduct and share best practice research: The Project will share lessons learned, best practices, and case study research from other places and projects with Project partners and stakeholders at the regional and national levels. Best practices, lessons learned, and case studies from the RGD Project will be disseminated to the larger stakeholder community. This will be done through Project newsletters, annual bulletins, and forums. Case studies, reports, and training materials will also be made available through the Project website.
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