During the project presentation in Kyiv. Photo credit: Association of Amalgamated Hromadas
Location: 20 selected hromadas from across the country
Project value: 170 660 PLN
Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
Local partner: “Association of Amalgamated Hromadas” association of self-government bodies
Context
Although the amalgamated hromadas receive new powers in the field of social welfare, they do not possess the necessary experience in regards to provision of social services. Additionally, the feedback and communication between the Ministry of Social Policy and the amalgamated hromadas is suboptimal. The Ministry is not piloting the process of delegation of powers in a methodical manner. All these issues were voiced during the consultations with the hromadas united in the Association of Amalgamated Hromadas and expressed as comments and opinions collected in the process of implementation of the project titled “Citizen participation in decision-making processes in hromadas ”, which was part of the Poland-Canada Democracy Support Program in 2017.
Project
“Social services in hromadas” was a pilot project. Its goal was to clarify the legal status and the methodology of implementing social services in the selected amalgamated hromadas, as well as defining the needs and opportunities for decentralisation of social policy and services. Consultations with experts and surveys allowed to develop model examples (best practices) of available solutions for carrying out social policy in the newly created hromadas that are compliant with the recently changed law. Additionally, recommendations for legislation were elaborated. The Ukrainian participants of the project included 39 amalgamated hromadas and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine. The contribution of Polish experts, a study visit to Poland, and the translations of legal acts allowed the Ukrainian beneficiaries to draw inspiration from Polish experiences and to implement new practices in Ukrainian hromadas. The issue of decentralisation of social services within the framework of the project was also discussed at the 3rd Polish-Ukrainian forum on Local Self-Government, which took place during the experts’ round table of the 3rd Forum of Amalgamated Hromadas in Kyiv.
Informational materials
The Project was co-financed by the Polish development cooperation programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
