Ukraine, January 2023 to December 2024

 Context

The project builds on the best practices and achievements of the Council of Europe’s previous Action Plans for Ukraine, notably the results of projects implemented in the civic participation area in Ukraine between 2017 and 2022. It is designed to support the implementation of the objectives set out in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) to help strengthen the democratic processes and address the challenges public authorities are facing in the time of war and post-war context through active and effective civic participation on local and regional levels. The project will support public authorities in establishing decision-making processes, based on wider participation and engagement of all stakeholders, ensuring transparency and inclusiveness in decision-making, starting with disclosure and access to information to concrete deliberation on specific policy areas. The implementation of the project in Ukraine is supervised by the Elections and Participatory Democracy Division of the Council of Europe.

 

 Objectives

  • Improvement of existing or development of new legislature and policies related to civic participation, creation of the enabling environment for the development of civil society, voluntarism and volunteer activities
  • Supporting authorities at the local and regional levels in establishing the decision-making processes to resolve the most pressing problems and responding to the needs of citizens, particularly those affected by war, based on broad participation and involvement of all stakeholders, including the marginalized groups
  • Increasing citizens' awareness of participatory mechanisms and opportunities to influence the development and implementation of decisions and policies on local, regional and national levels and strengthening their role in the civic oversight of the activities of public authorities
  • Supporting the implementation of inclusive and transparent practices of public consultations, involvement of CSOs in the formation of the reform agenda, development, implementation and monitoring of reforms under martial law and in the post-war period
  • Support in strengthening the role of volunteering, civic and volunteer initiatives in the resilience and reconstruction of communities and regions affected by the war

The project offers a platform for representatives of public authorities, CSOs, experts, including from across the Council of Europe member States to exchange experience and best practices, promoting peer-to-peer partnerships and fostering innovations in participatory decision-making. In the framework of the project implementation, the Council will deploy tested methodologies and provide tools for stakeholders to help ensure that citizens and CSOs are better engaged and can influence decision-making process.

The project supports partners from public authorities and civil society through different interventions:

  • Legal assistance at central, regional and local levels to install regular civic engagement practices and innovative participation mechanisms
  • Technical support to introduce regular practices for participatory processes
  • Raising awareness and knowledge of citizens about mechanisms and tools which allow them to influence and participate in solutions for local problems and decision-making
  • Support in strengthening the role of volunteers and volunteer initiatives in the recovery and reconstruction of communities and regions affected by the war
  • Capacity building of CSOs; encouraging their active participation in the formulation of reforms, practical development, recovery and reconstruction of their communities and regions
  • Capacity-building of public officials in the implementation of the civic participation regulatory framework and application of engagement methodologies.
  • Support to CSOs, volunteer and community-based initiatives in building their capacity to work together and engage with local authorities, IDPs, youth, and vulnerable groups in the recovery and reconstruction of war affected communities and regions
  • Mentoring programmes to assist active citizens, CSOs, and representatives of public authorities

 

 Project materials:

  • CivicLab methodology toolkit
  • UChange methodology toolkit
  • “Rebooting democracy through citizen participation” toolbox
  • School participatory budgeting toolkit

 

 Who are our beneficiaries?

 Citizens of Ukraine

 

 Who are our target groups?

Local elected representatives, local self-government officials, civil servants, citizens of pilot municipalities and regions, citizens of Ukraine, civil society organisations

 

 Who are our partners?

Central, regional and local authorities, civil society organisations

 

 What is the length of the project ?

24 months from January 2023 to December 2024