Strategic thinking is a key to success
The global financial and economic crisis limited chances for funding of the projects selected for Zaporizhzhia Regional Development Strategy implementation. Under these circumstances it was necessary for the regional authorities to be more accurate in identifying the priority tasks for Regional Strategy implementation in 2009-2010. On April 9, 2009, the Regional Working (RWG) Group on Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Zaporizhzhia Regional Strategy presented the revised and prioritized operational plans for Environmental, Innovative-Investment and Cultural and Tourism Development priorities, requiring close to 10 million hryvnias in funding. According to M. Drazdovych, First Deputy Head of the Main Department of Economy, Zaporizhzhia Oblast State Administration (OSA), approximately half of the tasks identified in these plans already have funding allocated for their implementation, while the remainder of the projects will require additional fundraising and resources.
Oleksandr Sin, Deputy Head of Zaporizhzhia OSA, while reviewing the document prepared by the RWG, emphasized that each priority and each task should specify the concrete positive social and economic impact that it will have on the community. This is required to ensure that the document is transparent and comprehensive and is ready for review by Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council. This can allow putting the issue of funding from the last year oblast budget at the regular oblast council session. Moreover, 21 mln. UAH remaining in the oblast budget is quite sufficient for funding the rest of the selected priority tasks. It was agreed to thoroughly review and finalize operational plans and submit them for consideration at the next meeting of the Regional Council on Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Zaporizhzhia Regional Strategy.
Another important issue discussed at the meeting of the Regional Council on Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Regional Development Strategy until 2015 was the information obtained during the in-Ukraine learning exchange visits to the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) in Rivne, Vinnytsia and Slavutch by the Zaporizhzhia delegation. RDA establishment is one of the Innovative-Investment priority tasks of Zaporizhzhia Regional Strategy. Moreover, a RDA could significantly contribute to sustaining RGD project results achieved in Zaporizhzhia oblast by the end of the project. Special attention was paid to the organizational structure and legal status of the RDAs. All three RDAs visited were established and have successfully operated as non-governmental or civil society organizations.
Hence, after ongoing consultations it was decided that a RDA in Zaporizhzhia should also be established and function as an NGO or an NGO Association. Representatives of the oblast state authorities may, however, be the members of the RDA Steering Committee. The RGD Project experts in cooperation with Zaporizhzhia OSA commenced preparing a statute (legal decree) for the establishment of the RDA in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
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