Lessons Learned from Other Regions of Ukraine Inform the Establishment of a Regional Development Agency in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Aiming to foster sustainable regional development in the oblast, Zaporizhzhia’s regional authorities are planning to establish a Regional Development Agency. The main task of the new agency will be to support the participatory regional strategic planning process and the implementation of the Regional Development Strategies. The agency would be the only one of its kind in the region. From March 2 to 4, 2009, Canada-Ukraine Partnership Project for Regional Governance and Development (RGD) organized a working visit to Rivne, Vynnytsya and Chernihiv Oblasts for a delegation from Zaporizhzhia in order to learn from the experiences of the Regional Development Agencies operating in these oblasts. The delegation included Svitlana Krugliak, Deputy Head of the Main Economic Department, Zaporizhzhia Oblast State Administration, Iryna Lekh, Regional Manager of the RGD Project in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Volodymyr Nazarenko, RGD Project Expert.
The establishment of a Regional Development Agency is one of the objectives of Zaporizhzhia Regional Development Strategy until 2015, which was approved by the Oblast Council in June 2008. Zaporizhzhia oblast authorities see the establishment of such an agency to be crucial for the long term success of the Regional Strategy. In September 2008, Zaporizhzhia authorities learned about similar institution currently operating in Ukraine and abroad from a feasibility study prepared by the RGD Project. The working visit was organized in order to assist the oblast authorities in addressing a few issues requiring follow-up based on the recommendations of the feasibility study, namely in further defining the organizational structure and the legal status for such an agency in Zaporizhzhia.
During the three-day mission, the delegation visited Regional Development Agencies in three other oblasts. These agencies shared a similar mandate, to support the development of the region, however each of them had a unique organizational structure and legal status, and were formed through different mechanisms. Each of the agencies enjoyed a certain level of success and has achieved certain results.
In the city of Rivne, the delegation visited Investment Agency “Rivne-Invest.” It was established by the Oblast State Administration, the executive committee of the City Council, Trade and Industry Committee and the OSCE Project Co-coordinator in Ukraine. This agency has been successful in attracting investments into the oblast.
In Vinnytsia oblast, the delegation saw the “Podil Regional Development Agency,” which has the status of a civil society organization. The main tasks of this agency are tourism development, implementation of energy saving projects, and local community development. The delegation also met with the Head of Severyanivka Village Council and learned about a few approaches for attracting non-state funds for implementation of projects, through which the village was able to co-finance the establishment of an efficient and diverse network of energy supply and a new sports facility. The delegates also visited a village homestead called “Podil Family” that was established by the Association of Rural Tourism in the village of Hayove in the same rayon.
The third institution visited was the Agency for Business Development in the City of Slavutych, Chernihiv Oblast. This agency is a state-owned (public) company. The agency brings together a network of organizations in coordinating the development of the city, including the city authorities, civil society organizations and the Foundation for Entrepreneurship Support.
The visits helped representatives from Zaporizhzhia to better understand three different organizational and legal forms that could be used for establishing and operating a Regional Development Agency. The knowledge gained will inform the development of the decree to establish such an agency in Zaporizhzhia by April 2009.
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