The Association has provided assistance for local democracy building and community development to the authorities and CSOs in 46 cities, towns and villages in Ukraine.- Association together with partner organizations in the regions provides the public support for local government reform to ensure that it occurred in compliance with the rights and interests of citizens and maximize the opportunities and takes into account the needs of the territories.
- It manages the popular multiblog portal SAMOORG https://samoorg.com.ua on public participation and community development.
- Association established a network of regional Resource Centers for Local Democracy (RC) in 2013. They act in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lutsk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. RC promote public participation in local governance, ensure the establishment and work of community groups, promote the dialogue between NGOs and authorities, advocate the interests of the public, analyse local policy and reform implementation and promoting changes. The Association provides support for RC through regular trainings, methodological support, networking, advisory visits, meetings with officials, mentoring.
- The Association holds regular seminars and trainings for activists on various aspects of public participation
- We enhances the capacity of CSOs to establish dialogue between communities and local authorities, strengthens public control and accountability, and increases the contribution of citizens in local development.
- The Association annually holds Conferences that are focused on issues of public participation in governance.
- Development of two drafts: “On the self-organization bodies” and “On general meetings (conferences) of members of communities according to the residence”. On behalf a group of members of Parliament, they have been submitted to the Parliament and successfully passed consideration on Committee. Now, the bills are on the priority list in the Reanimation Reform Package that was proposed for the Ukrainian Parliament by a community of leading voluntary experts.
The studies have been carried out:
- Analysis of new legislation and local regulations, which has to ensure providing local government reform in Ukraine.
- Monitoring and the first rating of 30 most popular governmental telephone «hot lines».
- Analysis of national and regional policies on public involvement in activity related to unification of communities during reform.
- Analysis of the implementation of Law “On cooperation of local communities”.
- Analysis of problems in the regulations of the united community functioning after the first local elections in 2015 and recommendations for their solution.
- Monitoring of the state and local legislation and policy in the sphere of local democracy and oversight ensuring;
- Policy analysis of creation the conditions for development of CSOs and their participation in decision-making processes in 5 cities of Ukraine;
- Policy analysis in the sphere of promotion of neighbourhood organizations and their participation in solving local problems;
- Analysis of the participation of neighbourhood organizations in solving social problems in collaboration with local governments and NGOs.
The results of all studies were discussed with stakeholders and the public. On the basis of the studies there were developed the recommendations or draft regulations and provided for consideration to authorities.
Association promotes the policy changes:
We are trying to prove for public authorities at all levels that it is essential to promote the forms of local democracy. We have supported this by relevant recommendations, drafting regulations and analytical studies.
In 2012, through our efforts such issues as improvement of the regulation concerning neighbourhood organizations and general assemblies (conferences) in community were included in the Strategy for Civil Society Development in Ukraine and the National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership Initiative in Ukraine in 2012-2013.
Together with the Association Board members, there were developed the Guidelines for the Modernization of System of Institutional Support for Local Democracy in Ukraine. This document is a roadmap for amendments to the relevant section of the Ukrainian Constitution, legislation and local legislative framework. Many of the objectives in the document are included in the Concept of the Reform of Local Government and Territorial Organization of Government in Ukraine.