16 April, 2008, Voznesensk (Mykolayiv region): 14 representatives of the local communities from Dzhankoy, Shcholkine and Bakhchysaray (AR Crimea) visited Voznesensk municipality to learn its experience on wide involvement of the communities into the local decision-making and establishment of the Quality Management System of municipal services in accordance with the international standards ISO 9001:2000.
Voznesensk City Council established partnership with UNDP-led “Municipal Governance and Community Empowerment Programme” in August 2006. The major purpose of the Programme activities at local level is to help local communities in getting organized for solving their own development problems based on self-help approach. Since then, the department of supporting municipal initiatives and investments of Voznesensk City Council created within the framework of this partnership has successfully worked with the local citizens to motivate them for joining forces with the local authorities and donor agencies to implement the projects and initiatives in a sustainable way.
As the result, 6 community projects were realized worth 556 thousand UAH, where the local communities contributed 10% of the project cost, 45% was shared by UNDP and 45% - by Voznesensk City Council. The projects were initiated by the public organizations of schools and kindergartens to improve the sanitary conditions, sewerage and heating systems for better learning environment, by the public organization “Network of Voznesensk Educational Institutions” for increasing access of the schoolchildren in the city to potable water at schools, and by the associations of co-owners of multi-apartment buildings and bodies of self-organisation of population to construct the water supply and sewerage systems for the citizens of some micro-rayons.
“Most importantly, we did not impose the project implementation on the local communities. At first, we organized a number of meetings for participatory problems’ identification, their prioritesation and planning. Only after the communities went through this process together, they understood their role in solving their problems, owned their projects and actively contributed to their implementation financially and in-kind”, explained Oleksandr ZAYIKA, the Head of Department of Supporting Municipal Initiatives and Investments to the visitors.
Also, in order to enhance the institutional capacities for participatory governance and sustainable development in the municipality, UNDP/MGCEP supported Voznesensk City Council to establish the municipal services’ Quality Management System (QMS) in compliance with the ISO 9000:2001 for improving governance, service delivery and living quality of the citizens. By end of the 1st quarter 2008, the process of trainings and consultation was accomplished, necessary documentation was elaborated, the internal audit was completed, and the municipality applied for certification on the QMS ISO 9000:2001 to a competent vendor. Upon the assessment of its efficiency, this experience of Voznesensk municipality can be replicated to other interested local partners. For the time being, Mr. Vasyl’ Fedorov, Deputy Mayor, presented the achievements of the project and the new mechanisms of providing services to the local citizens to the participants of the exposure visit.
Municipalities of Saky, Dzhankoy and Shcholkine of AR Crimea joined the UNDP/MGCEP in 2007 in context of the sub-project “Promoting Conditions of Participatory Governance and Development in Urban Ukraine” supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The exposure visit for the local communities of these municipalities was organized under support from SDC in order to help them effectively initiate similar activities in their city.
“Communities in our city have many similar problems. We are glad that here in Voznesensk we could see the real examples of how these problems may be solved if all community members come together and do something to improve their own living quality. I think we are the kind of people who want to do something, and now we also have an idea how to do it. Experience of Voznesensk people is the exemplary case to be followed”, said Ayshe RAMAZANOVA, School Director from Dzhankoy.
Knowledge transfer on community-based approach to local development is one of the major objectives of the “Municipal Governance and Community Empowerment Programme” - the III phase of the Programme envisaged for 2008-2010. SDC supports the sub-project within this Programme to promote conditions of participatory governance and development in the cities of Vinnytsya region and AR Crimea. More activities in this context are planned for 2008.
For further details, please contact Mrs. Olena URSU, UNDP/MGCEP Monitoring and Communication Expert, by tel. (067) 290 36 42 or via e-mail: olena.ursu@undp.org.ua.
As the result, 6 community projects were realized worth 556 thousand UAH, where the local communities contributed 10% of the project cost, 45% was shared by UNDP and 45% - by Voznesensk City Council. The projects were initiated by the public organizations of schools and kindergartens to improve the sanitary conditions, sewerage and heating systems for better learning environment, by the public organization “Network of Voznesensk Educational Institutions” for increasing access of the schoolchildren in the city to potable water at schools, and by the associations of co-owners of multi-apartment buildings and bodies of self-organisation of population to construct the water supply and sewerage systems for the citizens of some micro-rayons.
“Most importantly, we did not impose the project implementation on the local communities. At first, we organized a number of meetings for participatory problems’ identification, their prioritesation and planning. Only after the communities went through this process together, they understood their role in solving their problems, owned their projects and actively contributed to their implementation financially and in-kind”, explained Oleksandr ZAYIKA, the Head of Department of Supporting Municipal Initiatives and Investments to the visitors.
Also, in order to enhance the institutional capacities for participatory governance and sustainable development in the municipality, UNDP/MGCEP supported Voznesensk City Council to establish the municipal services’ Quality Management System (QMS) in compliance with the ISO 9000:2001 for improving governance, service delivery and living quality of the citizens. By end of the 1st quarter 2008, the process of trainings and consultation was accomplished, necessary documentation was elaborated, the internal audit was completed, and the municipality applied for certification on the QMS ISO 9000:2001 to a competent vendor. Upon the assessment of its efficiency, this experience of Voznesensk municipality can be replicated to other interested local partners. For the time being, Mr. Vasyl’ Fedorov, Deputy Mayor, presented the achievements of the project and the new mechanisms of providing services to the local citizens to the participants of the exposure visit.
Municipalities of Saky, Dzhankoy and Shcholkine of AR Crimea joined the UNDP/MGCEP in 2007 in context of the sub-project “Promoting Conditions of Participatory Governance and Development in Urban Ukraine” supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The exposure visit for the local communities of these municipalities was organized under support from SDC in order to help them effectively initiate similar activities in their city.
“Communities in our city have many similar problems. We are glad that here in Voznesensk we could see the real examples of how these problems may be solved if all community members come together and do something to improve their own living quality. I think we are the kind of people who want to do something, and now we also have an idea how to do it. Experience of Voznesensk people is the exemplary case to be followed”, said Ayshe RAMAZANOVA, School Director from Dzhankoy.
Knowledge transfer on community-based approach to local development is one of the major objectives of the “Municipal Governance and Community Empowerment Programme” - the III phase of the Programme envisaged for 2008-2010. SDC supports the sub-project within this Programme to promote conditions of participatory governance and development in the cities of Vinnytsya region and AR Crimea. More activities in this context are planned for 2008.
For further details, please contact Mrs. Olena URSU, UNDP/MGCEP Monitoring and Communication Expert, by tel. (067) 290 36 42 or via e-mail: olena.ursu@undp.org.ua.
