ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

WITH DETAILED INFORMATION FOR JULY – SEPTEMBER, 2019 AND GENERALISED INFORMATION FOR PROJECT YEAR FOUR ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Table of contents

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5

Introduction 6

Chapter 1. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE REPORTING PERIOD 14

Chapter 2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 17

Expected Result 1: Decentralisation enabling legislation reflects local government input 16

Activity 1.1. Local government officials participate in sectoral legislation drafting grounded on the European sectoral legislative principles

1.1.1. Preparation and approval of strategies for sectoral reforms 20

1.1.2. Preparation of sectoral legislation 32

1.1.3. Legislation monitoring 36

1.1.4. Resolving problem issues and promotion of sectoral reforms 38

1.2. Local governments and all interested parties are actively engaged and use participatory tool to work on legislation and advocating for its approval

1.2.1 Support for approval of drafted legislation in the parliament: tools for interaction with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VRU) 39

1.2.2 Support to approval of resolutions and directives of the Cabinet of Ministers: tools to interact with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 44

1.3. Local governments improved their practice and quality of services because of the sound decentralised legislative basis for local governments

1.3.1. Legal and technical assistance 54

1.3.2. Web-tools to increase the efficiency of local government activities 54

1.3.3. Feedback: receiving and disseminating 56

Expected Result 2: Resources under local self-governance authority increased 58

Activity 2.1. Local self-government resources are increased ensuring local government financial autonomy

2.1.1. Tools to increase own resources of local governments 59 2.1.2. Dissemination of best practices and replication of experience 63

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Activity 2.2. Tool for local government to access additional financial resources are in place and utilised

2.2.1. Capacity building for local government officials 64

2.2.2. Promotion of access to resources 64

Expected Result 3: Capacity of stakeholders increased 67

Activity 3.1. Local governments and stakeholders are informed and capable of carrying out new roles and responsibilities flowing from decentralisation reform

3.1.1. Capacity building for local officials at the local level 68

3.1.2. Capacity building for local officials at the oblast and rayon level 71

3.1.3. Training librarians and communicators of reforms (in cooperation with IREX) 73

3.1.4. Capacity building of non-government stakeholders (in partnership with IREX) 76

Activity 3.2. Communication and outreach of decentralisation reform is enhanced

3.2.1. Creating communication channels for central authorities outreach and messaging on decentralisation reform progress in various sectors 77

3.2.2. Strategic messaging through different media 79

Activity 3.3. Increased public awareness of reform successes and trust in local governments

3.3.1. Supporting Offices for Reform Implementation Support 88

3.3.2. Spotting Reform Successes 92

3.3.3. Promotion of reform successes 92

3.3.4. Attracting Youth and Teenagers to Decentralisation 94

Chapter 3. IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS AND BARRIERS 95

Chapter 4. SUCCESS STORIES 98

Chapter 5. COOPERATION WITH OTHER PROJECTS 110

Chapter 6. ESTIMATED SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT QUARTER 114

ANNEXES: 115

List of Annexes:

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Annex А. Activities PULSE Project conducted in Project Quarter Four of project Year Four. Annex В. Detailed information of events conducted under the "Itinerary of Successes" nation- wide exchange study tour Project component. Annex С. List of Cabinet of Ministers regulatory and legal documents supported by PULSE Project experts with significant impact on the decentralisation reform. Annex D. List of sub-agreements concluded by AUC and PULSE Project sub-partners. Annex E. Detailed information about legislation application laboratories conducted in AUC Regional Offices. Annex F. Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. Annex F.1. List of communities receiving consultant assistance from the PULSE Project in 2019. Annex F.2. Number of Projects implemented in Ukrainian cities in 2019. Annex F.3. Distribution of certain indicators by regions.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AUC – Association of Ukrainian Cities AUC RO – Regional Office of the Association of Ukrainian Cities AUNGO – All-Ukraine non-governmental organisation CAS – Center for Administrative Services CEC – Central Elections Commission CMU – Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine CSEA – central state executive authorities CTC – consolidated territorial community HCC – housing construction cooperatives HCE – health care establishments IRC – inclusive resource center LGS – local governments MCTD – Ministry of Community and Territorial development of Ukraine MCU – Ministry of Culture of Ukraine MESU – Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine MFU – Ministry of Finance of Ukraine MHCU – Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine MIAU – Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine MIU – Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine MLSPU – Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine MOTIDPU – Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally-Displaced Persons of Ukraine NASU – National Audit Service of Ukraine NEURC – National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine NFS – National Fiscal Service of Ukraine NGO – non-governmental organisation NRDF – National Regional Development Fund NSS – National Social Standards NSSN – National Social Standards and Norms OPU – Office of the President of Ukraine PIT – personal income tax RLD – regulatory and legal document SMCA –State Military and Civilian Administration STSU – State Treasury Service of Ukraine TCU – Tax Code of Ukraine UTG – Unified Tariff Grid UWLGA – Ukraine-Wide Local Government Associations SEA – state executive authorities

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5 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

INTRODUCTION

The local government reform in Ukraine and the decentralisation reform started on April 01, 2014. It has been almost four years now, since the PULSE Project started in mid-December, 2015 and continues to work shaping the proper legislative framework for decentralisation reform in Ukraine, making sure local governments provide their input to the preparation and implementation of decentralisation policies, increasing resources of local governments and enhancing their capacity to effectively manage them, as well as improving the professional level of all stakeholder groups involved in the reform.

One can judge about the achievements and the level of activity of the PULSE Project can be judged in part by the data provided in Section 1 of this report and by the list of activities performed in Quarter 3 of 2019 only (Annex A).

The situation in local self-governance and its key sectors can be characterised by the following trends:

● The last quarter of 2018 and the nearly three quarters of the 2019 calendar year were marked by high degree of fierce political struggle. During this period, the presidential and parliamentary elections took place. There was a complete reboot of government elites and institutions. These processes have practically hindered the implementation of the reform. Both the previous and the newly elected (in July 2019) convocations of the parliament did not approve any legislation aimed at promoting the reform during the reporting period. Fortunately, these violent political turbulences did not prevent the new CTCs from organising initial elections (although there were numerous attempts to disrupt the CTC elections) and did not stop community consolidation around cities of oblast significance.

● The project implementation in the reporting period took place under two national governments (the 19th Cabinet of Ministers of V. Groisman and the 20th under O. Honcharuk). The Groisman government tried to actively demonstrate the success of the reform, but these attempts were a complete fiasco without the support from the parliament. However, in the reporting year, the number of new CTCs slightly increased, but this was exclusively due to the "carryover" tendency of the previous period. The Verkhovna Rada did not approve new acts that would introduce qualitative changes in the reform and activate it, although at the beginning of December, 2018, there was an event with the participation of President of Ukraine P. Poroshenko, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada A. Parubiy, and Prime Minister V. Groisman, which declared the phase of active continuation of the decentralisation reform under the slogan "600 Day Action Plan", and although in February, 2019 the Cabinet of Ministers issued Directive # 77-p and outlined the steps needed to continue the reform. In fact, nothing happened. None of the "New 600 Day Action Plan" items were accomplished. In the opinion of PULSE Project experts, the reason for this was political intrigues and battles on the common electoral field between then-incumbent President Poroshenko and then Prime Minister Groisman during the 2019 elections. In addition, all other politicians being aware that Groisman was running during the parliamentary elections with his own political force decided not to let him use the success of this reform as a "trump card" to bring his political party to the new Parliament. Thus, the huge managerial and PR efforts of the Groisman government aimed at promoting the image of the "father of the successful decentralisation reform" were blocked by political opponents, while the implementation of the 600 Day Action Plan was completely thwarted and, ultimately, the Groisman political party did not overcome the 5% elections threshold and did not qualify into the Verkhovna Rada. Nevertheless, the Groisman government tried to demonstrate its commitment to the reform and local governments in general by endorsing numerous resolutions (some of them, a priori, were hardly realistic being of political nature) prior to the appointment of the new Cabinet of Ministers by the new Verkhovna Rada.

● During Project Year Four, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not approve any law aimed at continuing the decentralisation reform. The reason for this was the chronic incapacity of the

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parliamentary majority and political intrigues associated with the 2019 presidential and parliamentary election campaigns. However, despite the explicit negativism specifically towards the decentralisation reform, the parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers nevertheless made their appropriate contribution to solutions of a number of permanent problems in the local government legislative framework. Below we will provide details on this. These achievements were also facilitated by the systematic work of the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the PULSE Project.

● Following some pause, the new parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers declared active continuation of the reform, but this was not reflected in the legislative acts. The parliament has not yet approved any law aimed at promoting the reform.

● Following the change of the government, the approval of the long-term perspective plan of the Zakarpattya oblast, was the only significant event for the decentralisation reform (this was the only and the only remaining oblast that did not approve it), which became possible only after the dismissal of Head of the Zakarpattya OSA H. Moskal. He was an adamant opponent of the reform in the Zakarpattya region in 2015 - 2019 arguing that the reform would worsen the electoral results of former President Poroshenko during the elections in the region. However, in fact, the overwhelming result of the elected President Zelenskyi as compared with Poroshenko in the Zakarpattya region showed that probably this was the other way around: the lack of reforms produced exactly the actual electoral result.

● The reform of the administrative and territorial system, without which the decentralisation reform is not complete, finds it very difficult to begin event under the new President, parliament and Cabinet of Ministers, despite their assurance that this reform is needed. Probably policy makers and spin doctors of the "new government" began (due to pressure from individual groups of oligarchs) to fear the completion of the voluntary community consolidation phase and the beginning of the forced consolidation and to consider it to be risky from the elections point of view. The situation with the incomplete began a challenge for the new government immediately after the elections, as it may become a certain point of bifurcation of public sentiment in the coming year. The hesitant actions of the "new government" about the continuation of the reform may indeed become quite risky for their political future, because apparently there is no longer any chance for the completion of the voluntary community consolidation before the start of the local election campaign (in July, 2020). The situation resembles a well-known term in the theory of games called "Zugzwang", when each delay with the next move increases the chances for the defeat, because the closer to the local elections the faster the reform implementation should be. This situation constantly decreases the reform timeframe, while the number of tasks that must be accomplished before the closing date remains unchanged. The option of the full stop of the reform is a defeat, because, in fact, conducting local elections at local level having two parallel administrative and financial systems at the local level (different financial and tax requirements for consolidated and non-consolidated communities) is even more politically dangerous and improper from the managerial standpoint. Therefore, the completion of the voluntary consolidation phase and transition to the administrative (forced) phase is perhaps the only option to get rid of the political problem with “two parallel and different fiscal systems for communities in one country” for the next 4 - 5 years. Moreover, the striking difference in the development of consolidated and non-consolidated communities will become even more apparent in the next 3 - 4 years after the elections (if elections take place both to CTCs and "old communities" at the same time) and may become a major political problem for the "new government" in the next presidential and parliamentary elections in 4 years. On the other hand, the reform has not become irreversible and its return to the 2014 status quo will be more politically dangerous for the central government, because 40% of the population would not understand why they would be deprived of what they gained through hard work and effort. Unfortunately, there remains an overwhelming resistance to reform on the part of rayon-level elites who fear they may lose political and financial influence, as well as their jobs in rayon-level government authorities. The state has not yet established any compensation for this category of local government officials.

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● Sectoral health care and education reforms, which are closely linked to the decentralisation reform, also did not progressed significantly over the reporting year, yet the atonements secured in 2015 - 2018 and the related "inertia trend" still helped not to halt them completely. There is already no painless way to revert these reforms, but their continuation is unlikely if the decentralisation reform begins toe become curtailed. ● There are all reasons for us to expect that the 2020 budget process will be extremely difficult for local governments, with an increasing tendency to delegate additional expenditure categories to local governments while reducing their financial resources and reducing the local tax base. ● We have provided the details for potential threats that could significantly affect the progress of the decentralisation reform and project implementation in Section 3 of this document|.

Next year will be critical for the future of the decentralisation reform. Given the fact that according to the constitution, the regular local elections are to take place on last Sunday of October, 2020 with the elections campaign beginning in July, there is very little time left. The timeframe for the reform rapidly decreasing. The approval by the parliament of a number of legislative acts on administrative and territorial reform will serve as an indicator of the irreversibility of the reform. These acts should also become the basis for completing the main phase of the decentralisation reform.

In the next Project Year PULSE will support: ✔ Conducing the initial local elections in December, 2019 in 95 newly established consolidated territorial communities. ✔ Establishing CTCs around cities of oblast significance. ✔ Approving relevant changes to legislation, in particular: o “On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Management of Land Resources Located within the Boundaries of Territories of Consolidated Territorial Communities”. The approval of the law will extend the powers of local governments in the sphere of land relations by delegating powers to dispose of state-owned lands located within the boundaries of the respective territorial communities to village, town and city councils of the consolidated territorial communities. o «On Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Regulation of Urban Development Activities»». The approval of the law will regulate the issues of planning and development of territories. Also, it will regulate the relations in the course of the preparation and approval of spatial planning documentation. o «On the Foundations of Administrative and Territorial Arrangement of Ukraine» and «On the Administrative and Territorial Arrangement of Ukraine». o In addition to this, the draft law «On Service in Local Governments» needs to be approved, which extends the powers and opportunities to train professional staff at the local government level. o Approval of the law or amendments to the Electoral Code that would change the pretty unfair local elections system, which was introduced in 2015 and which did not prove to be effective and actually deprived a significant number of citizens to have representatives of their constituencies in local councils. o Final approval of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine with regard to decentralisation and administrative and territorial reform.

The dynamics of the reform process through the prism of community consolidation in 2015 - 2019 is presented below in Figure 1.2.

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Crosscutting issues Anti-corruption PULSE Project promoted the reduction of corruption at the local level by providing technical and methodological support and recommendations on how to avoid conflicts of interest in local government entities; training on the application of new legislation including electronic declarations; and transparent government procurement mechanisms. PULSE experts participated in the development of the legislation on the implementation of e-government, e-services and administrative centers, as well as preparation of other tools to reduce corruption risks in local government entities. A representative of the project became a member of the new National Council on Anti-Corruption Policy at the Office of the President of Ukraine. He provided his suggestions to the new Anti-Corruption Strategy regarding institutional tools to prevent corruption in local governments. PULSE Project was engaged in drafting and facilitated the approval of a Cabinet of Ministers act that increased the salaries for local government officials, which has a direct effect of reducing motivations for corruption. With the assistance of the PULSE Project, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed acts to promote e-services, digital development, and increase the list of open data to be published by local governments, all of these having organisational impact on preventing corruption.

Thus, by influencing some of the factors that reduce corruption, namely: increasing accountability and openness of local government activities, as well as strengthening control, reducing possibilities for local government officials to make biased decisions, increasing the level of salaries of local government officials, and by changing the mentality about the public perception of corruption, the PULSE Project managed to do the following:

The mechanism for local governments to provide the financial support municipal utility companies has been simplified Thanks to the persistent work the PULSE Project has been performing for a long time, on December 27, 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 1141 “ On Introducing Amendments to the List of Services Representing Common Economic Interests”. This Resolution included municipal utility services in the list of services representing common economic interest. Thus, utility companies that provide utility services to consumers were taken out of the technical area regulated by the Law of Ukraine “On State Support to Economic Entities”. As a result, the Project managed to eliminate the need to go through a time consuming and complicated procedure for local governments to get concurrence from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to provide support to municipal utility companies providing services. This means that some potential corruption risks in this area have been minimised.

The political component was excluded from the mechanism to provide bonuses to local government officials Thanks to close cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy and to the endorsement of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution # 791 "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine", the Project managed to resolve the problem of political components in the mechanism of awarding secretaries of village, town and city councils, deputy village, town and city mayors, chief executives (secretaries) of executive committees, starostas, and providing them allowances or financial assistance upon decisions of local councils. Now, in accordance with the new provision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution # 268 of March 09, 2006, awards and other bonuses to the local government officials mentioned above will be made upon the decision of the village, town and city mayor within the limits of the salary fund, rather than according to the vote of local council members. This will help minimise potential political corruption.

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Curtailment of local government powers in the sphere of architectural and construction control prevented Thanks the PULSE Project initiative, the VRU Committee on Construction, Urban Development and Housing and Municipal Utility Services changed its opinion with regard to the draft Law of Ukraine "On Regulation of Urban Development Activities" (Registration # 7266-1 of November 20, 2017) and made a decision in favour of local governments. In particular, the Committee agreed to exclude those provisions of the draft law that provided for the suspension of local government powers in the sphere of state architectural and construction control upon the initiative of State Architectural and Construction Inspectorates. The current is to keep the provisions, whereby local governments can given up the functions mentioned above only upon their own initiative. The parliament approved this draft law in the first reading on November 20, 2018 in the version that reflects the interests of local governments. In other words, some political risks will be minimised through decentralisation of powers.

Thank to AUC assistance, the government streamlined the issue State Fiscal Service submission of tax reports on paid taxes and fees by source of income to local governments The parliament approved Law of Ukraine "On Introducing Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Certain Other Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Improvements of Administering and Revisiting Rates of Certain Taxes and Fees" # 2628-VIII of November 23, 2018, which mandates the State Fiscal Service to submit tax reports on paid taxes and fees by source of income to local governments. These requirements were prepared by PULSE Project experts. This information sorted by the tax payer will be provided upon the request of local councils. This will facilitate more reliable, transparent and better informed planning and analysis of local budget implementation.

The capacity of local governments in multi-year budget planning increased According to amendments introduced to the Budget Code of Ukraine, the government introduced multi- year (three year) budget planning in Ukraine. To provide hands-on assistance to local government financial departments in preparation of draft decisions on the local budgets for 2020 and local budget forecasts for 2021 - 2022, the Association of Ukrainian Cities in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine prepared Methodological Recommendations for drawing up local budgets for the medium term in 2019. According to the results of the joint work of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, on March 29, the government endorsed these Methodological Recommendations, which will help to strengthen the capacity of local state administrations and local government executive bodies in multi-year budget planning. This will help to increase efficiency of budget spending and minimise cases of potential corruption that took place at the end of each fiscal year when funds had to be "just spent".

Local governments received 60.5 million UAH from the National Budget for opening of “Transparent Offices” On February 27, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine disbursed 60.5 million UAH of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for opening of local “Transparent Offices”. According to the Ukrainian legislation, such disbursements are to be approved by the Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee. The Committee twice considered this decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, since the first time the Cabinet of Ministers representatives were unable to substantiate their decision on the distribution of the funds. Aiming at safeguarding community interests, the PULSE Project prepared and distributed to members of the Committee justifications for the distribution of the subvention funds in the amount specified by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. As a result, on February 20, 2019, the Committee approved the disbursement of the subvention as proposed by the Cabinet of Ministers. This will help improve transparency, accountability and minimise cases of corruption by government officials driven by biased decision making.

Thanks to the PULSE Project, the Cabinet of Ministers specified in the legislation the mechanisms to assess living and household conditions in consolidated territorial communities and expanded the powers of the relevant executive body

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On January 16, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 18, which vested executive bodies of the local councils of consolidated territorial communities with the powers assess living and household conditions of families to assign the various types of state benefits and privileges. A PULSE Project expert participated in the preparation of the resolution. According to the resolution, any local government official including the starosta may perform such assessment. Also, thanks to the PULSE Project, executive bodies of CTC councils will perform the assessment only in cases provided for by law, rather than upon the decision of rayon state administrations. By doing so, the PULSE Project has minimised opportunities for officials of rayon state administrations for corruption-sensitive decisions when they make decisions on individual citizens.

PULSE Project suggestions on optimising the process of borrowings by utility companies taken into account The Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 561 of June 05, 2019 “On Approving the Regulations and Conditions for License Holders Engaged in Commercial Activities of Generation of Heat for Transportation of Heating Energy by Backbone and Local (Distribution) Networks and Supply of Heating Energy Whose Commercial Activities Are Licensed by Oblast State Administrations and Kyiv City State Administration to Concur with Local Governments Borrowings from Foreign Countries, Banks and International Financial Organisations for Implementation of Investment Programs”. The resolution takes into account AUC proposals prepared by a PULSE Project expert to optimise the process for utility companies to borrow funds. The Resolution provides for a simplified procedure for conducting public hearings. This decision will help to avoid potential delays in decision making and will increase their transparency.

PULSE Project prevented excessive increase of state financial control of local governments The parliament received Draft Law # 9086, which provided for excessive strengthening of state financial control of local government, for consideration. The provisions of this draft law implied high corruption risks because to the lack of clear and transparent criteria for evaluating the performance of local governments. Thanks to the active position of PULSE Project experts and their negative expert opinion, the parliamentary committee returned the draft law to the Cabinet of Ministers on April 24 for further elaboration. The excessive public financial control of the local government activities has often been one of the elements of political corruption and dismissal of “inconvenient” community mayors.

Local government received additional instruments for collecting land tax debts The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 522 of June 05, 2019, “ On Introducing Amendments to the Regulations for Determining and Compensating Loses for Land Owners and Land Users”, which provided local government with additional instruments to land tax debts. The Resolution was prepared with the participation of the PULSE Project. This move will help reduce the shadow economy, which is one of the sources of corruption.

The Cabinet of Ministers updated salaries in local governments Given the delays in approving the new version of the Law “On Service in Local Governments”, local governments remain dependent on the Cabinet of Ministers on remuneration issues. Back in January, 2019, the parliament changed the level of the minimum salary and the Cabinet of Ministers revised the salaries of civil servants. However, only in June, the relevant issues were resolved with regard to local governments.

PULSE Project representatives actively participated in correcting the errors in the draft resolution and accelerated its endorsement. Resolving this issue has removed the social tension of local government employees about unfair pay conditions. It will also help to reduce potential corruption with regard to low level local government employees caused by the critically low salary level (below the subsistence level for the employee and his or her family), which could potentially provoke corruption.

PULSE Project promotes competence development of local governments in multi-year budget planning The Association of Ukrainian Cities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, has elaborated Methodological Recommendations for the preparation and e endorsement of the Budget Regulations on 11

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the budget process at the local level. According to the results of the joint work together with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on 31 May, the Methodological Recommendations mentioned above were endorsed. This will help to increase the competence of local self-government bodies in matters of medium-term budget planning. Also, this will help to avoid violations in the local government public sector, as well as will improve transparency of the budget process.

The procedure for appointing directors health care establishments streamlined The Association of Ukrainian Cities, acting as an implementer of the PULSE Project, sent to the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine a list of health issues to be raised during discussions on the Dialogue Day, which included contradiction in current legislation regarding the appointment of managers state-owned and communally-owned health care establishments, which, from the organisational point of view, as state- owned or communally-owned non-profit entities. The Cabinet of Ministers resolved this issue and endorsed CMU Resolution # 792 of August 21, 2019, which stipulated that the oblast or rayon council and the village, town and city mayor are the only entity to appoint the manager of the health care establishments, depending, accordingly, on the type of ownership. Having the proper and well-enforced legislative framework in place will effectively prevent potential corruption caused by biased approaches of certain officials, thus avoiding potentially dangerous corruption related consequences.

Disabilities PULSE Project supports mainstreaming of inclusive processes and equal access to services at the local level for persons with disabilities through the following types of activities: participation in drafting of the relevant legislative and Cabinet of Ministers acts; conducting trainings events, exercises, disseminating best practices and success stories. In particular: ● the formula for the distribution of the education subvention has envisioned funding for remuneration of teachers and employees of inclusive and resource centers, as well as increased the number of positions of teacher assistants to support proper inclusive education; ● local governments received 60.5 million UAH from the National Budget for the setting up “Transparent Offices”, which are supposed to be most inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities; ● about 70 smaller cities will be able to get cars to transport persons with disabilities; and, ● the list of staple services provided by local governments has been expanded: provision of inclusive services to persons with disabilities; support in the course of inclusive education; physical support for persons with disabilities; and sign language translation. These services will be available starting of January 01, 2020 in local communities. The Cabinet of Ministers government plans to allocate funds from the National Budget for the development of these services in communities.

Participation in the Open Government Initiative The PULSE Project cooperated with the State Agency for Electronic Governance during the phases of developing, concurrences, discussions in parliamentary committees, and approving at Cabinet of Ministers meetings of its acts on electronic services, digital development and increasing the list of open data to be published by local governments. This resulted in the endorsement of Resolutions # 56 of January 30, 2019, # 329 of April 10, 2019, # 409 of April 17, 2019, and Directives # 37 of January 30, 2019 and # 405-p of June 12, 2019.

Dues to the substantial increase of list of the data to be prepared and entered by local governments, these acts significantly increase transparency and thus becoming a sort of medicine to help prevent corruption. The Action Plan of the new Cabinet of Ministers has substantially incorporated the PULSE Project sectoral strategy in the sector of e-Governance and Administrative Services.

Gender component

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The activities of the PULSE Project focused on comprehensive equal participation of males and females in legislation drafting, policy dialogue and public awareness activities, in particular by launching a distance learning course on gender oriented budgeting.

More than 8,000 subscribers signed up for this course and about 6,000 of them received their certificates. The course combined efforts and synergy of partner international programs and was recommended by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine for all its employees in the regions as a good training manual.

PULSE DCOP participated in a number of GE events wit the help of through partner international programs. The gender aspect was included in the PULSE Project 2018 edition of the “Status of Local Self-Governance in Ukraine”.

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Chapter 1. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

During Project Year Four (for the period from October 01, 2018 till September 30, 2019), project implementation yielded the following results:

x 95 draft legislative were prepared; x The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers approved/endorsed 59 regulatory and legal documents important for local self-governance with the participation of PULSE Project experts; x PULSE Project experts prepared 191 expert opinion for draft regulatory and legal documents sent by central state executive authorities to the AUC for concurrence; x PULSE Project prepared 118 expert opinions on draft regulatory and legal documents, which are under consideration in committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; x PULSE Project experts participated in: 78 meetings of 14 parliamentary committees, 49 meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and 80 meetings of Cabinet of Ministers Committees; x In the course of discussions and preparations of agendas of meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and its Committees, PULSE Project experts monitored 3,337 draft regulatory and legal documents, in particular: 193 draft laws, 112 decrees and directives of the President of Ukraine, 2,688 CMU resolutions and directives, 344 expert opinions on draft legislation and legislation implementation plans, etc. The draft regulatory and legal documents PULSE Project experts and specialists have considered include 1,312 (39.3%) documents dealing with local government issues; x Regional PULSE Project consultants provided 9,936 consultations on legal and financial issues and local economic development, which helped to facilitate the process of consolidation of territorial communities; x 143 CTCs were established and conducted their initial local elections during the Project year; x 26 cities of oblast significance annexed 44 adjacent village and town territorial communities; x PULSE Project conducted 24 meetings of Regional Policy Dialogue Platforms in 19 oblasts with the participation, in particular, of 35 National Deputies of Ukraine; x PULSE Project conducted 13 meetings of AUC Professional Groups (463 participants); x PULSE Project conducted 4 sectoral forums were on 4 technical areas of local government activities with the participation of top officials from the respective central state executive authorities (358 participants); x PULSE Project conducted organised and conducted 95 "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tours within the framework of the Success Routes program, with the participation of 1,969 local government officials; x PULSE Project conducted 90 regional press tours with the participation of 1,374 local government officials; x PULSE Project published 4 editions of best practices collections called the “BOOK OF SUCCESSES”, with one of them under the title” “Youth and the Community: Changes for the Sake of the Future”; x PULSE Project conducted 117 regional legislation application laboratories with the participation of 2,534 local government representatives; x PULSE Project conducted 90 press tours for regional media with the participation of 1,374 local and regional media representatives; x PULSE Project conducted 6 exchange study tours at the national level for local government representatives and 95 study visits to AUC Regional Offices for 1,969 local government officials within the framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component; x PULSE Project prepared and published 5,000 posts on the FB PULSE: Decentralisation Marathon page, with the number of followers having reached 4,800; x PULSE Project helped to broadcast 74 TV programs on central TV Channels and 1,995 programs on local TV Channels; x PULSE Project experts provided 272 consultations through the AUC web site; x During the reporting year, the PULSE Project continued the implementation of three distance learning courses on the Prometheus online platform (www.prometheus.org.ua) and introduced 2 new joint courses with other international technical assistance projects. During the Project year, the 14

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number of course participants increased from 8,962 to 21,013. The number of certificates increased from 1,657 to 8,776. The Gender Budgeting Course was recommended by the Ministry of Social Policy for all its outreach offices in regions; x in September, 2019, the PULSE Project conducted the annual online survey of village, town and city mayors of AUC member communities to spot problems, identify achievements and needs, and collect data to monitor the Project activities and follow the reform progress. Representatives of 308 AUC member communities participated in the survey including 179 representatives from consolidated territorial communities. 265 of them expressed their good attitude towards the implementation of the decentralisation reform. x PULSE Project organised 1 international fair of technical assistance projects for about 400 village, town and city mayors within the framework of the Ukrainian Municipal Forum. Representatives of 16 donor international technical assistance projects and organisations participated in the fair; x PULSE Project conducted 49 expert workshops for 1,150 representatives of rayon and oblast councils (649 males and 501 females); x PULSE Project continued its cooperation with partner international projects and organisations; x PULSE Project participated in meetings of the Decentralisation Donor Board, in partner project activities, as well as invited project representatives to its activities; x PULSE Project participated in promotional activities of USAID projects within the framework of the Mistechko USAID and in other USAID information events; x PULSE Project participated in the implementation of the memorandum between the AUC and a number of ministries, organisations and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) within the framework of the Children and Youth Friendly Community Project; x PULSE Project participated in the organisation of the national competition called the Youth Capital of Ukraine; x PULSE Project offered 64 small grants to competitively selected teams from 70 consolidated territorial communities and communities in the process of consolidation resulting in 298 information campaigns on the decentralisation reform and citizen engagement. 6,415 persons including local residents, activists from reform support groups, central and local government representatives, and 145 media representatives. and 45 AUC regional consultants attended the events; x PULSE Project established 40 new Reform Support Groups (RSGs) in communities in 17 oblasts of Ukraine. They included 452 persons; x PULSE Project conducted 40 coordination meetings with the participation of 452 RSG members in pilot communities and provided them with professional guidance on how to work with local authorities and foster productive relationships; x PULSE Project conducted 8 webinars for participants of RSGs; and, x PULSE Project conducted one training event in each of the 24 oblast library press clubs (573 participants) to strengthen the capacity of libraries as a useful resource in communities in the context of decentralisation. Following the press clubs meetings in libraries, the Project published 246 news articles in media and the Internet about the topic of the local government reform.

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15 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

During Quarter III, 2019:

• PULSE Project experts and specialists prepared 19 draft regulatory and legal documents; • the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers approved and endorsed 13 regulatory and legal documents of importance for local self-governance, which were prepared with the participation of PULSE Project experts; • PULSE Project expert and specialists prepared 58 expert opinions to draft regulatory and legal documents the AUC received for concurrence from central state executive authorities; • PULSE Project expert and specialists prepared 30 expert opinions on draft regulatory and legal documents, which are being considered by committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; • PULSE Project expert and specialists participated in 24 meetings of 10 parliamentary committees; • PULSE Project expert and specialists participated in 13 meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and 9 meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers Committees; • In the course of the discussion of draft agendas of the Cabinet of Ministers and its committees PULSE Project experts and specialists monitored 569 draft regulatory and legal documents, in particular: 7 draft legislation, 22 presidential decrees and directives, 486 decrees and decrees of the CMU, 54 expert opinions on draft legislation, legislation implementation plans, etc. The draft regulatory and legal documents PULSE Project experts and analysts worked with included 203 (35.7%) dealing with local government issues; • PULSE Project organised and conducted 2 working sessions of AUC Professional Groups (68 participants); • PULSE Project organised and conducted 2 meetings of Regional Policy Dialogue Platforms in 2 oblasts with the participation of 4 National Deputies of Ukraine; • PULSE Project regional consultants provided 2,474 legal and financial consultations and on local economic development, which facilitated the process of consolidation of territorial communities; • PULSE Project facilitated the establishment of 47 CTCs comprising 215 former territorial communities; • PULSE Project facilitated community consolidation around 4 communities of cities of oblast significance of 5 village territorial communities; • Working within the framework of the Incubator of Sustainable Communities Initiative PULSE Project prepared a guide on Local Economic Development Models: Best Practices • PULSE Project published a collection of BOOK OF SUCCESSES describing approximately 100 short stories about how decentralisation changes lives in communities; • PULSE Project conducted 20 regional legislation application laboratories with the participation of 420 local government representatives; • PULSE Project conducted 30 press tours for regional media with the participation of 396 local and regional media representatives; and, • working within the framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component, the PULSE Project conducted 2 national study tours with the participation of representatives of local governments and 31 study tours to AUC Regional Offices AUC for 678 local government representatives.

A list of events conducted by the PULSE Project in the reporting quarter is provided in Appendix A.

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Chapter 2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Expected Result 1: Decentralisation enabling legislation reflects local government input

Impact of this Project component on local self-governance. Overview of the overall context of implementation of the local government reform and reform of the territorial arrangement of government institutions

During July – September, 2019, there were significant changes in the "political landscape" in the relationships between local governments and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which took place following the presidential and parliamentary elections. These changes were very essential. In particular, there was an almost complete reboot of the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers with considerable changes in organisational aspects of working meetings and calendar plans. The changes have also affected the information and technical aspects of the work of government institutions. It should be reminded that the 19th Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (the Groisman government) resigned on August 29, 2019. On the same day, the parliamentary majority (Servant of the People Party) approved a new composition of the 20th Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine headed by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. One of the first decisions the newly appointed Government endorsed was consolidation of ministries: the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Veterans and Temporarily Occupied Territories and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information Policy, Youth and Sports. The Ministry of Regional Development was reorganised into the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development. A new Ministry of Digital Transformation was set up. The informational and technical component of CMU interaction with the public also became complicated. In particular, the CMU cancelled live broadcasts of its working meetings, which were replaced by Prime Minister briefings after the Cabinet of Ministers meetings. In addition to this, the electronic document turnover system became unstable. This is why non-governmental organisations including the AUC began to receive agendas of the Cabinet of Ministers meetings with significant delays or stopped receiving them at all. At the end of September, the new Government had endorsed its Action Plan. It is important to note that the strategic goals continued to focus on the policy of establishing capable communities, as well as on decentralisation, which implied the transfer of resources, powers and responsibilities to the local level. The Cabinet of Ministers Action Plan also defined a strategic goal: criteria of accessibility to services of the population. The Cabinet of Ministers declared that these criteria would serve as the basis for the establishment of a new administrative and territorial arrangement. During this period, the parliament gave a preliminary approval of draft amendments to the Constitution, which abolished the lawyer monopoly and restored the right of local government officials to represent territorial communities in courts. Currently, the draft of these amendments to the Constitution is under consideration in the Constitutional Court. In general, one can observe a certain decrease in the transparency of the CMU work during the third quarter and complications in direct communication between the Cabinet of Ministers and stakeholders including local government representatives. It is also worth mentioning one more important event for local self-governance, which took place during the reporting period: in August, the Groisman government returned the right to monitor compliance with labour legislation to local governments. The PULSE Project supported this important decision as it had a positive impact on bringing economic activities out of shadow, this increasing local budgets and, consequently, promoting local economic development.

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17 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

In general, the overview of progress of reforms and their assessment during the reporting year requires broader perspective to have a better understanding of what has been achieved both during the previous and the reporting quarter.

The results of consolidation/annexation of territorial communities for the period of 2015 - 2019 (Project years): ● 848 territorial communities where the initial local elections (CTCs) took place, their population being 7,262,057 (17.2% of the population of Ukraine: 42,188,000); ● 37 territorial communities of cities of oblast significance annexed other territorial communities, their population being 2,685,906 (6.36% of the population of Ukraine: 42,188,000). All in all, 9,947,963 persons were involved in consolidation/annexation of territorial communities, which constitutes up to 23.56% of the population of Ukraine, covering 36.66% of the territory of Ukraine (204,852.53 sq.km of the unoccupied area of Ukraine 557,500 sq.km).

Figure 1.1. CTCs on the map of Ukraine (as of September 30, 2019)

Legend: 848 CTC where initial local elections took place are marked in blue; 37 CTCs established around cities of oblast significance are marked in green; 93 CTCs waiting for elections in December, 2019 are marked in yellow.

The dynamics (ascending) of processes of establishment of CTCs in different time intervals is presented below: Oct. Dec. Mar. Apr. Jul. Aug. Oct. Dec. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jun. year / month 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2019 number of 159 341 351 354 359 366 567 618 665 705 782 848 communities

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Figure. 1.2. Dynamics of the establishment of CTCs as a result of initial local elections in different time intervals

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Activity 1.1. Local government officials participate in sectoral legislation drafting grounded on the European sectoral legislative principles

1.1.1. Preparation and approval of strategies for sectoral reforms

The Project monitors the situation in each of the 9 key sectors and one mainstream sphere (decentralisation reform). Each sector has a responsible Project expert to follow up on the sectoral profile: Each sectoral profile includes: - a list of regulatory and legal documents regulating the sector, - a long-term sector development strategy (for the next 7 - 10 years) and legislative map of its implementation, - a list of problem issues of sector which is regularly updated, and, - a list of ways to solve certain problems, which is also updated on a regular basis. The sectoral profile will serve as the basis for the preparation the relevant legislation both for the implementation of the sectoral development strategy and for resolving specific problem issues.

Progress in sectoral strategy implementation: In the reporting quarter, we succeeded in the following operational goals: Regarding the Housing and Municipal Utilities Strategy Operational Goal 2.1 "Set up and provide financial support to state and local energy efficiency funds through which energy efficiency projects will be implemented" was achieved by launching programs support energy efficiency activities at the national and regional levels. Until recently, energy efficiency projects in condominium associations and residential complexes were financed mainly from local budgets. Starting from September, 2019, such projects may also be funded from the National Energy Efficiency Fund, which has launched the EnerhoDim [energy house] Support Program. Regarding the Land Resources and Communally-Owned Property Strategy - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.3. «Introduce additional mechanisms to transfer communally-owned property or rights to such property through tenders for the best investment project», on October 03, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the Law of Ukraine «On Renting State- Owned and Communally-Owned Property». The law provides for a completely new approach to leasing communally-owned property through electronic services.

Regarding the Social Protection Strategy - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.2. "To set up local electronic registers of persons who need of social services and assistance and to integrate them into the National Register", the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 676 of July 17, 2019, whereby all databases and social protection systems are combined into one Unified informational and analytical system for managing the provision of social support to the population. The government plans to provide an opportunity for departments of social protection of local governments to use the unified system of the Ministry of Social Policy starting with October 01, 2019. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.3. «To simplify information sharing between the existing databases; set up a unified social register of citizens (with a social passport of a citizen)», the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 676 of July 17, 2019, whereby starting with October 01, 2019, the government will start the Unified informational and analytical system for managing the provision of social support to the population, which will integrate the information about a citizen (need for social assistance, right to benefits, etc.) into one system. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 2.3. “To develop the system for registration of social welfare or information through the Internet”, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 691 of July 10, 2019 "On the Implementation of the Experimental Project Regarding the Promotion of a 20

20 July – September, 2019

Conductive Environment for Development of the Child", whereby starting with January 01, 2020, the parents of the newborn child will be able to receive 10 services related to childbirth by submitting only one application with the possibility of doing it online. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 5.2. “To introduce an effective institution of inspection offices in the sector of social protection”, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 823 of August 21, 2019 "On Certain Issues of Implementation of State Oversight and Control of Compliance with the Labour Legislation", whereby local governments were given the right to monitor compliance with the labour legislation.

Regarding the Public Education Strategy - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.2. "to upgrade the education content", the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 688 of July 24, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the National Standard for Primary Education". The document, in particular, spelled out the requirements for the studying the Ukrainian language and literature for indigenous peoples and national minorities, a list of core values of primary education, and the description of ways to evaluate the academic performance of primary education schoolchildren. Also, the document has distributed the education load in the basic curriculum of primary education for classes (groups) with the Ukrainian language of tuition; changed the requirements for mandatory standards of academic performance of students. The implementation of the document will help to promote the conditions for learning the Ukrainian language by representatives of indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine; preparation of educational and training programs, educational materials for elementary schools; and, training of primary school teachers. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.4. "To promote the training environment that would contribute to the success of students", the government endorsed a number of legislative documents aimed at promoting the conditions for children with special educational needs for education. For example, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 636 of July 10, 2019 "On endorsing the Regulations for Organising Inclusive Training in Vocational (Professional) Educational Establishments". The document regulates organisational aspects of the education process for students with special educational needs in vocational (professional) educational establishments. At the moment, this act applies to the powers of oblast center cities, which provide funding for vocational training institutions. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 773 of August 21, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 585 of April 23, 2003" regulates the duration of training for students with special needs in comprehensive secondary educational establishments, while Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 779 August 21, 2019 "On Organisation of Inclusive Education in Out-of- School Educational Establishments" endorses the procedure for organising inclusive education in out-of- school educational establishments. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.5. “To upgrade the staff of teachers”, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine issued Directive # 998 of July 17, 2019 "On Endorsing the Regulations for Conducting Competition to Fill the Vacancy of the Director of the State-Owned Professional (Vocational) Educational Establishment". These Regulations defines the procedure to fill the vacant position of the director of the state-owned vocational (professional) educational establishment. The document, in particular, spell out the requirements for the composition of the selection committee, professional level of applicants for the position, as well as the requirements for the applicant documents. This will provide opportunities to have an unbiased approach for the selection of candidates for the position of the director of the vocational educational establishment. The Cabinet of Ministers took a number of steps to provide financial incentives for teachers. For example, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 695 of July 10, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 22 of January 11, 2018" to increase salaries (salary rates) by 10 percent as of September 01, 2019 for teachers, who receive their salaries from local budgets and who did not have their salary increase in 2018, specifically: teachers of pre-school, out-of-school, and vocational (professional) educational establishments. Also, the government resolved the issue of the duration of leave for certain categories of teachers. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 694 of July 24, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 346 of April 14, 1997", whereby 21

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certain categories of teachers got the increased the duration of their vacations starting of January 01, 2020. For example, tutors and assistant tutors of pre-school educational establishments and heads of amateur groups will be entitled to an annual leave with the duration of 56 calendar days. In addition to this, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 822 of July 10, 2019 "On the Remuneration of Work of Teachers and Scientific and Research Workers of Educational and Scientific Establishments", which promoted the conditions for a significant increase of remuneration of pedagogical, scientific and research staff of educational and scientific establishments, since the Law "On Education" has the requirement for a gradual (up to 2023) annual increase in the amount of salaries of teachers. At the same time, as one can see from the draft Law of Ukraine “On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020” (Registration # 2000 of September 15, 2019), the funds to raise these salaries have not been included in the education subvention. In order to provide quality training for teachers, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers # 800 of August 21, 2019 "On Certain Issues Related to Competence Development of Teachers and Research Workers". The document endorsed the Procedure for competence development and on-the-job training of teachers and research workers. The endorsement of this resolution will provide opportunities to streamlining the annual professional development of teachers. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 2.1. "To clearly outline the powers of the state and municipalities in the sphere of management of educational establishments", the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers # 619-p of 14 August 2019 “On Transferring Integral Property Items into the Ownership of the Territorial Communities of the City of Kyiv and into Joint Ownership of the Cherkasy and Kirovohrad oblasts”. In accordance with the document, 4 communally- owned vocational educational establishments will be transferred city of Kyiv, 3 establishments will be transferred to joint territorial ownership of communities of the Cherkasy oblast (1 establishment is located on the territory of the city), and one establishment will be transferred to the joint territorial ownership of the Kirovohrad oblast. At the same time, the issue of transferring the funding for these institutions exclusively to the oblast level has not been resolved. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 2.2. "Ensure Physical Access to High Quality Educational Services" the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine published its Decree # 955 of July 10, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the Directive of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 8 of January 12, 2016". The document has endorsed a new version of the wording of the Regulations on the individual form of education, which determines the procedure for the organizational aspects of the individual form of comprehensive secondary education provided by comprehensive secondary educational establishments and other educational institutions offering completed secondary education at a certain level of education, or by parents, or by other legal representatives of students. The document regulates It is about externship education, family (home) education, and pedagogical patronage. This will provide opportunities to quickly respond to the needs of children in various forms of education. In addition to this, on September 06, 2019, the government enforced Directive of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 873 of June 21, 2019 “On Approving the Model List of Special Means of Corrective Psychological and Physical Development of Persons with Special Educational Needs, Who Study in Inclusive and Specialised Classes (Groups) in Educational establishments”. According to the above list mentioned above, it will be possible for pre-school and comprehensive secondary educational establishments and vocational (professional) training institutions to purchase equipment at the expense of the subvention for children with special educational needs. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 2.3. “To Promote the comfortable conditions for the provision of high quality educational services”, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Directive # 496-p of July 10, 2019 "On the Redistribution of the Amount of the Education Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets in 2019". The approval of the document is associated with the shortage of funds of the education subvention in six communities of the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson and Cherkasy oblasts. All in all, the government distributed 12 million UAH for these CTCs. By doing so, the government prevented delays in paying salaries of teacher of comprehensive secondary educational establishments. The resources of rayon budgets and the reserve balance funds of the education subvention were identified as the source of funds to cover the expenditures for these purposes. Also, the government reduced the 22

22 July – September, 2019

amount of the education subvention in the budget of the Mykolaivska Village Consolidated Community by 714.7 thousand UAH. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 2.4. "To upgrade the material and technical base of educational establishments", the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Directive # 493-p of July 05, 2019 "On Endorsing the Distribution of the Amount of the Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets for Opening and Repairs of the Available Sport Facilities and Comprehensive Educational Establishments of All Grades in 2019”. The document endorsed the distribution of the funds of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for the opening and repairs of existing sports facilities at secondary schools of all levels in 2019. All in all, the government distributed 150 million UAH including 113.3 million UAH, which were channelled to city and CTC budgets. This represents 76% of the total amount of the subvention (the remaining 24% of the subvention were directed to oblast and rayon budgets).

Regarding the Health Care Strategy - Operational Goal 1.2. “To provide funding for the sector according to provided medical services” implies the departure from financing health care establishments on the basis of line budget items (maintenance of the infrastructure) and transition to financing primary health care on a per capita basis, or to financing cases of treatment using the diagnostic related groups. In accordance with Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers # 1117 of December 18, 2018 "On Endorsement the Procedure for the Implementation of State Guarantees for Public Health Care under the Program of Medical Guarantees for Primary Health Care for 2019" (as amended), the government states that communally-owned health care establishments will conclude contracts for health care services to the population under the program of medical guarantees. As of October 01, 2019, there were 1,389 health care establishments, which worked with the National Health Service of Ukraine including 154 private clinics and 195 private doctors providing family doctor, paediatrician and therapist services to patients. - Operational Goal 1.3 “To introduce a mechanism for reimbursement for medicine at the national (state programs) and local (local programs) levels” envisages the introduction of targeted allowances for getting medicine for socially vulnerable categories of the population or to categories of persons suffering from diseases requiring continued use of certain drugs. The purpose is to help these people avoiding significant spending on medicine or refusal of treatment due to the lack of funds. Directive of the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine # 1805 of August 15, 2019 updated the Register of medicine to be reimbursed under the Government Affordable Medicine Program. The new version of the Register increased the number of medicine patients with cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and bronchial asthma can get for free by 14 positions from 64 to 78. The new version of the Register offers 254 types of medicine subject to the reimbursement. These, according to nosology, include: 195 drugs - for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, 45 - type II diabetes, and 14 - bronchial asthma. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 3.2. "To introduce intersectoral cooperation in health care at the primary level" provides for the introduction of primary health care services, palliative care, consultative and diagnostic services, etc. Directives of the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine Orders # 1556 of 08.07.2019, # 1606 of July 12, 2019, # 1681 of July 23, 2019 provided for HIV prevention services for high-risk groups of HIV infection, endorsed the Methodology for determining tariff limits for HIV prevention services for representatives of high-risk groups of HIV infection tariff limits for providing HIV-related services. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 3.5 “To switch over to the remuneration of employees in the sector depending on the workload, work intensity and results, and introduce a system of motivations”, which provides for the introduction of a system of motivations and incentives to improve work performance, in particular; introduction of salaries being depended on the workload, work intensity and results; and solution of housing issues to attract highly-skilled specialists, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of # 792 August 21, 2019 endorsed the typical format of the contract with managers of the state-owned and communally-owned health care establishments, which work within the organisational and legal framework of a state-owned or communally-owned non-profit company, which, in

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particular, provides for the calculation of salaries of managers within the limits of the payroll based on the official salary. Also, the contract would stipulate how premium pays, allowances, guarantees and compensatory payments envisioned by the legislation will be provided.

Regarding the Sustainable Economic Development Strategy In the reporting quarter, the PULSE Project succeeded in achieving the following operational goals: - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.2 “Increasing the institutional capacity local government representatives and municipal community development institutions in the sphere of strategic planning of community development”, regional local economic development consultants provided 252 consultations concerning, in particular: preparation of territorial community development strategies and preparation action plans for their implementation; assisting in the development of project proposals for the competition of projects that can be implemented both at the expense of public funds and at the expense of international organisations, preparation of investment promotion proposals; and development of models of local economic development of pilot CTCs; - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.4 "Dissemination of practices of introduction of community resource profiles", the AUC collected investment proposals of territorial communities, some of which will be presented at the Investment Forum in Mariupol; - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.6 "Increasing the capacity of local governments to prepare and implement projects within the framework of cross-border cooperation" and due to the work of the LED consultant, the Nyzhnya Apsha Village Council (Zakarpattya oblast) will increase its potential in the sphere of public response to natural disasters of technological and natural character, thanks to the participation in the EU cross-border project called “CROSS-COOP: Cross-Border Cooperation of Municipal and Volunteer Rapid Response Brigades”. The project is financed by the European Hungary-Slovakia- Romania-Ukraine Neighbourhood Instrument of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program for 2014 - 2020. The total budget of the project constitutes 610.4 thousand Euros including grant funds in the amount of 549.3 thousand Euros. The village of Lower Apsha is expecting to have the budget of 83.5 thousand Euros including a grant from the European Union of 75 thousand Euros. - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.10 “Promoting special conditions for investors in communities” 3 industrial parks were registered during the reporting quarter: Bizness Prime (Trostyanetska CTC, Lviv oblast), Chortkiv-West (city of Chortkiv, Ternopil Oblast), WINTER SPORT (city of Vinnytsya). A PULSE Project expert is a member of the Inter-Governmental Committee for the preparation of recommendations for the inclusion of industrial (manufacturing) parks in the Register of industrial (manufacturing) parks established under the Ministry.

Regarding the e-Governance and Public Services Strategy - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goals 2.2 “Optimising the current public services to reduce the number of appeals”, 2.4 “Simplification of procedures for the provision of public services (application, processing, obtaining the result)”, 2.5 “ Automation of public services”, and 3.1 “ Ensuring 100% feeding and constant update of public registers and databases”, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed an action plan that sets out goals that are consistent with the AUC goals, namely: accessibility of all public services on line, opportunity to use high-speed Internet on all international highways and in all populated areas; - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 2.4 “ Simplification of procedures for the provision of public services (application, processing, obtaining the result)”, on September 17, 2019, the Open Health Care Reform tool started to work using open data. The data on the first stage of health care reform were visualised. The system provides an opportunity to analyse the workload of health care specialists at any health care establishment by physician surname, address, or the name of the health care establishment. The system provides information about the number of signed declarations by each physician of the health care establishment. Also, the tool provides an opportunity to assess the financial condition of the outpatient clinic: what funds it receives according to the number of declarations for each doctor and what it spends;

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- with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 3.1 “Ensuring 100% data entry into registers and permanent updating of public registers and databases”, the Ministry of Infrastructure updated the Transparent Infrastructure web portal. The portal provides an opportunity to monitor the efficiency of spending public funds in the course of the implementation of infrastructure improvements projects and to identify risks of corruption. The module was designed based on open data on construction and repair of public highways. The data are updated on a daily basis, with some of them (40%) being automatically downloaded from the Prozorro public procurement portal, while other data being entered by public fund spending units and OSAs on their own.

Regarding Organisational Aspects of Local Government Activities and Professional Development Strategy - with regard to the achievement of Operational Goal 1.3 "Finalisation of the local government reform and reform of territorial arrangement of government institutions", the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine submitted Draft Law # 2189 of September 30, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Voluntary Consolidation of Territorial Communities"" (regarding simplification of the procedure for endorsement of long-term perspective plans for the formation of territories of communities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and oblasts). The purpose of the draft law is to simplify the procedures for endorsement long-term perspective plans for the formation of community territories.

The information about the implementation of sectoral development strategies is presented in Table 1.1. Table 1.1. Information on the current status of implementation of sectoral development strategies during Project Year Four

Operational goals in strategic areas Total Of these, 1 2 3 4 5 6 operational resolved Sector goals or partially resolved Land and property 3 4 3 х х х 10 2 Local finance 5 6 4 4 4 х 23 8 Organisational aspects of local 4 4 4 3 х х 15 3 government activities and professional development Education 5 5 2 х х х 12 9 Health care 4 4 4 х х х 12 6 Sustainable economic 11 6 3 3 х х 23 4 development Social protection 3 3 2 4 4 х 16 10 e-Governance and Public 3 8 3 х х х 14 7 Services Housing and municipal utilities 11 4 4 6 5 6 31 3

The Project updated the Current Legislative Framework sections of the following sectoral profiles (see Table 1.2).

Table 1.2. Updates to the current legislative framework for sectoral profiles

Technical area Titles of regulatory and legal documents Titles of regulatory and legal documents added excluded Decrees of Decrees of the CMU CMU Instructions the CMU CMU Instructions Laws Laws President resolutions directives of ministries President resolutions directives of ministries of Ukraine of Ukraine

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Local finance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Public 0 0 11 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 education Social 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 protection Organisational 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 aspects and professional development Housing and 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 municipal utilities E-governance 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 and public services Land relations 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Health care 0 0 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 Sustainable 0 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 economic development TOTAL 0 4 32 5 10 0 0 2 0 0

Of the problem issues, which were resolved during the reporting period, one should mention the following: In the sector of social protection: The Project managed to resolve the problem with the lack of possibility for local governments to control compliance with the labour legislation with the help of the ruling of the Court of Appeal. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed Resolution # 823 of August 21, 2019 "On Certain Issues of Implementation of the State Oversight and Control of Compliance with the Labour Legislation", whereby local governments were vested with the right to control compliance with the labour legislation.

The problem of the lack of funds in the National Budget (until the end of 2019 and in 2020) for local government social protection departments to mail registered letters about granting/non-granting subsidies was partially resolved. National Budget of Ukraine has allocated funds for this purpose by the end of 2019.

In the sector of education: Completely resolved: • the problem with the absence of mechanisms to implement the right of teachers to freely choose a place for professional development training was resolved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers # 800 of August 21, 2019 "On Certain Issues Related to Competence Development of Teachers and Research Workers", which endorsed the Procedure for professional development of teachers, educations and research workers. According to this Procedure, it will be the teacher himself/herself who will choose a place for competence development training. • the problem of discrepancies between remunerations of pre-school, out-of-school and other educational establishments and the amount of salaries of regular teachers was resolved with the help of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 695 of July 10, 2019 “On Introducing Amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 22 of January 11, 2018”. Starting with September 01, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine provided a 10 percent increase of salaries (official salary rates) for the teachers whose remuneration is paid from local budgets, and who did not receive increased salaries in 2018, namely: teachers of pre-school, out-of-school, and vocational (professional) training educational establishments. Also, aiming at improving the social image of trainers of children and youth sport schools, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 755 of August 08, 2019 "On Certain Issues Related to the Remuneration of Employees of Children and Youth Sport Schools" introduced an additional rate for 26

26 July – September, 2019

their salary increase. For example, the official salary rates of selected teachers will increase up to 42% in 2020. In addition to this, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers # 694 of July 24, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 346 of April 14, 1997" increased, starting from January 01, 2020, the duration of vacations for certain categories of teachers. For example, a tutor and an assistant tutor of a pre-school. • the problem with the absence of by-laws regulating education according the family (home) types of training was resolved by the publication of Directive of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 955 of July 10, 2019 “On Introducing Amendments to the Directive of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 8 of January 12, 2016”. The document endorsed the new version of the Regulations on the individual form of education, which determines the procedure for the organisation of comprehensive secondary education according to the individual form, which offered by comprehensive secondary educational institutions and other educational establishments offering completes secondary education at a certain level of education, or by parents, or other legal representatives students. The document deals with the externship (externship) education, family (home) education, and pedagogical patronage.

Partially resolved: • the problem with the shortage of the education subvention was partially solved by Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers # 496-p of July 10, 2019 "On the Redistribution of the Amount of the Education Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets in 2019". The purpose of the document is to covering the shortage of the education subvention in six communities of the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson and Cherkasy oblasts and to prevent violations of the timeframe of payment of salaries to teachers of comprehensive secondary educational establishments. The total amount of 12 million UAH was redistributed to CTCs. • the problem with the maintenance educational establishments and developing their material and technical base at the expense of the National Budget was partially resolved by Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 493-p of July 05, 2019 "On Endorsing the Distribution of the Amount of the Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets for Opening and Repairs of the Available Sports Facilities and Comprehensive Educational Establishments of All Grades in 2019". The document endorsed the distribution of the amount of the subvention from the National Budget to the local budgets for the opening and repairs of the existing sport facilities at secondary schools of all grades in 2019. All in all, 150 million UAH were distributed including 113.3 million UAH going to city and CTC budgets, which constitutes 76% of the total amount of the subvention (the remaining 24% of the subvention funds were directed to oblast and rayon budgets). For example, the following entities received the subvention funds: 6 oblast center cities in the amount of 29.4 million UAH (20% of the total amount of the subvention); 14 cities in the amount of 33.4 million UAH (22% of the total amount of the subvention); and, 30 CTCs in the amount of 50.5 million UAH (34% of the total amount of the subvention). Thanks to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, local governments will be able to open and repair 59 sports facilities at comprehensive secondary educational establishments in cities and CTCs. • the problem of low level of salaries of teachers was partially resolved through the endorsement of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of # 822 10.07.2019 "On the Remuneration of Work of Teachers and Scientific and Research Workers of Educational and Scientific Establishments", which introduced the conditions for a significant increase in the amount of remuneration of teachers and scientific and research workers of educational establishments and institutions. According to the Law of Ukraine "On Education", the government will provide for a gradual (up to 2023) annual increase in the salaries of teachers of the lowest qualification category up to the level of four minimum subsistence levels for work able persons, with the smallest official salary of a scientific and research worker of the lowest qualification category is set at 25% higher than the official salary of the teacher of the lowest qualification category. Pursuant to this law, the government prepared a resolution. At the same time, as the draft Law of Ukraine “On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020” (Registration # 2000 of September 15, 2019) has shown, the funds for such increase of the remuneration are not envisioned in the funds of the education subvention.

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• the problem with the fair approach to the selection of managers of educational establishments was partially resolved through Directive of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 998 of July 17, 2019 “On Endorsing the Regulations for Conducting Competition to Fill the Vacancy of the Director of the State-Owned Professional (Vocational) Educational Establishment”. These Regulations define the procedure for replacing the head of a state-owned vocational (professional) educational establishment. The document, in particular, provides the requirements for the composition of the selection committee, professional level of the applicant for the position, as well as the requirements for the documents of the applicant for the position. Thus, managers of state-owned vocational (professional) educational establishments, as well as directors of comprehensive secondary educational establishment will be selected on a competitive basis.

In the health care sector: The problem with concluding contracts with the manages of the state-owned or communally-owned health care establishment working within the framework of the organisational and legal form of the state-owned or communally-owned non-profit organization was resolved. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of # 792 August 21, 2019 “On Endorsing the Regulation of Concluding the Contract with the Manager of State-Owned or Communally-Owned Health Care Establishment and Model Forms of the Contract with the Manager of State-Owned or Communally-Owned Health Care Establishment”. Partially resolved: - problem issue with the implementation of state guarantees of public health care services under the program of medical guarantees for secondary (outpatient and specialised) health care, (absence of the guaranteed scope of free health care services at the secondary level and tariffs). Directive of the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine “On Endorsing the Regulations of the Preparation of the Program of State Guarantees of Medical Services to the Population” # 1709 of July 26, 2019 outlined the mechanism from the preparation of the program of state guarantees of health care for the population; - the problem with the insufficient list of medicines in the Available Medicine program. Directive of the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine # 1805 of August 15, 2019 updated the Register of Medicine to be reimbursed according to the Cabinet of Ministers Affordable Medicine program. The new version of the Register increased the number of medicine patients with cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and bronchial asthma can get for free by 14 positions from 64 to 78. The new version of the Register offers 254 types of medicine subject to the reimbursement. These, according to nosology, include: 195 drugs - for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, 45 - type II diabetes, and 14 - bronchial asthma.

In the sector of local finance: Partially resolved: - the problem with the biased distribution of the additional subsidy to cover the expenditure categories for maintenance of educational and health care establishments for local budgets of the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd and Chernihiv oblasts. During July – September, 2019, the government performed the redistribution of the additional in favour of local government budgets of the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd and Chernihiv oblasts. The amount of subsidy increased: in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast by 78.3 million UAH for CTC budgets (CMU Directive # 2497-2019 of July 24, 2019); in the Kirovohrad oblast by 3.0 million UAH for budgets of cities of oblast significance (CMU Directive # 613-р of August 14, 2019); in the Chernihiv oblast by 0.1 million UAH for budgets of cities of oblast significance (125.8 thousand UAH) and for budgets of CTCs by 2.5 million UAH (CMU decree Directive # 614-p of August 14, 2019). - the problem with channelling to local budgets the funds of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for social and economic development of certain territories envisioned by CMU Directive # 500-p. Following appeals from local governments to the President and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, municipalities won the first intermediate victory. On August 30, 2019, the State Treasury Service transferred 250.7 million UAH to community budgets and on September 03, it transferred 564.1 million UAH of the subvention funds. However, the second disbursement was withdrawn by the State Treasury Service of Ukraine upon the directive of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. Thus, 250.7 million UAH of the

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subvention funds was directed to local government budgets for social and economic development of selected territories, which represents 10% of the total amount of the subvention obligated by CMU Directive # 500-p of July 10, 2019.

In the sector of housing and municipal utilities: The problem with the debt to service providers associated with benefits and subsidies was resolved. For example, the government introduced monetisation of subsidies, recipients of the subsidies were verified, the National Budget earmarked the funds in the amount necessary to pay service providers, and the mechanism of recalculation of funds to service providers for benefits and subsidies was gradually improved. Ultimately, this has led to the situation when there is virtually no state debt for benefits and subsidies. In some cases, the delay in compensation can amount for approximately a month, which is not so critical.

In the sector of land relations: Partially resolved: The problem with local governments exercising their powers in villages, towns and consolidated communities through the endorsement of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 522 of June 19, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to CMU Resolution # 284 of April 19, 1993", which increased the list of powers of local governments to monitor compliance with the land and tax legislation.

Table 1.3. Status of Passport Issues Resolution by Reporting Quarterly

Resolved or removed As of the As of the end of due to optimisation of Sectoral profile beginning of the Added the reporting previously identified reporting period period problems Local budgets and 23 0 0 23 financial foundations of local self- governance Housing and 45 2 1 46 municipal utilities Land relations 25 2 1 26 Organisational 26 0 0 26 aspects and capacity building Social protection 20 0 4 16 Health care 30 0 1 29 Public education 32 0 3 29 Local economic 15 6 21 development E-governance and 19 0 8 11 public services

Meetings of AUC Professional Groups AUC Housing and Municipal Utilities Professional Group, September 19 – 20, 2019, city of Rivne. The event brought together 38 representatives of local governments from 13 oblasts of Ukraine (mainly deputy city mayors, directors and deputy directors of departments of housing and municipal utilities) and directors of municipal utility companies of the city of Rivne and the Rivne oblast.

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In the course of the meeting of the Professional Group, the participants discussed the following draft laws: Draft Law "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Exercising State Control (Oversight) in the Sphere of Housing and Municipal Utilities"; Draft Law "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Improvements of the Mechanisms to Set Tariffs for Heating Energy and Centralised Water Supply Services" (Registration # 2099 of September 09, 2019); and, the draft Directive of the Ministry of Natural Preservation and Environmental Protection “On the Regulations for Preparation and Endorsing Regional Solid Waste Management Plans”. Following As the discussions, the event participants came with a decision not to support the draft law prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regulating Exercising State Control (Oversight) in the Sphere of Housing and Municipal Utilities", which provides for the establishment of the State Housing and Municipal Utility Inspection. In addition to this, the event participants discussed: - absence of a clear national policy and support in the sphere of solid waste management; - absence of a cost-effective model for the provision of solid waste management services that would maximise the reduction of waste taken to landfills; - necessity of improving the Law of Ukraine “On Housing and Municipal Utility Services” and the related regulatory framework; - ways to resolve problems local governments and municipal utility companies face following the introduction of the retail and wholesale electricity market; - necessity of the setting on an annual basis tariffs for municipal utility services (with the possibility of adjusting them during the year) and setting them exclusively on the economically justified basis; - increasing consumer debts for housing and municipal utility services and ways to reduce such debts; - impact of monetisation of subsidies on the increase of consumer debt; and, - ability of municipal utility companies and local governments to attract loan funds for restoration of capital assets in the sector of housing and municipal utilities. At the end of the Professional Group meeting, representatives of executive bodies of the Rivne City Council and directors of housing and municipal utility companies familiarised the participants of the Professional Group with specific projects being implemented in the city at the expense of city own funds and loan funds. In particular, the meeting participants learned about the solid waste management projects implemented in Rivne. Following the discussions at the meeting of the Professional Group, the representatives of cities and the PULSE Project expert came up with specific proposals aimed at resolving urgent problems in the sector of housing and municipal utilities.

AUC Land Relations Professional Group, September 26 - 27, 2019 city of Youzhne, Odesa oblast. The event brought together 30 representatives from 30 cities from 17 oblasts of Ukraine (directors of structural sub departments of city councils on land resources, communal property and urban development) and of the Odesa AUC Regional Office. The Head of the Directorate of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in charge of cultural heritage preservation participated in the meeting. The meeting agenda focused on the procedures for registration of land parcels located under cultural heritage monuments and of the historical and cultural land plots. The Professional Group participants discussed technical materials and guidance on how to work in CTCs (the procedure for maintaining the State Register of Monuments, entering and excluding monuments, powers at the level of municipalities, etc.) developed by the PULSE Project in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture. In the course of the discussions, the participants of the Professional Group meeting discussed a number of problem issues and ways of resolving them, specifically: - transferring powers to local governments to perform the state registration of land plots and providing the related administrative services including issuance of excerpts from extracts on normative pecuniary valuation of lands;

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30 July – September, 2019

- determining the status of historical and architectural plans in cities, eliminating the mandatory requirement to prepare such plans at the CTC level; preparing them at the expense of National Budget funds at the national level; - necessity of approving a regulation governing the procedure of registration of the territories adjoining condominium associations; and, - delegating powers to local governments and strengthening their influence on the exercising control at the local level, conducting inspections, exercising control of the use and protection of lands, preparation of acts and protocols, etc.

1.1.2. Preparation of sectoral legislation

During the reporting year, PULSE Project experts prepared 95 draft regulatory and legal documents including: ● 6 draft regulatory and legal documents prepared exclusively by PULSE Project experts; ● 68 draft regulatory and legal documents, with comments and proposals to them submitted in the course of the concurrence of these documents in the manner specified by the Law of Ukraine “On Local Government Associations”, or as expert opinions; and, ● 21 draft regulatory and legal documents, which were prepared within the framework of working group at central state executive authorities

During the reporting quarter, PULSE Project experts participated in the preparation of 19 draft regulatory and legal documents including: ● 18 draft regulatory and legal documents, with comments and proposals to them submitted in the course of the concurrence of these documents in the manner specified by the Law of Ukraine “On Local Government Associations”, or as expert opinions; ● 1 draft regulatory and legal document, which was prepared within the framework of working group at central state executive authorities

During the reporting year, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers approved and endorsed 59 regulatory and legal documents, which are important for local self-governance. PULSE Project experts participated in the preparation of these documents.

During the reporting quarter, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers, and other central state executive authorities approved and endorsed 13 regulatory and legal documents, which are important for local self-governance. PULSE Project experts participated in the preparation of these documents: 1. Law of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Incentives for Investment Activities in Ukraine” (in the part dealing with the continuation of the requirement to pay the const share participation) # 132-IX of September 20, 2019; 2. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 690 of July 05, 2019 "On Endorsing the Rules for the Provision of Centralised Water Supply and Centralised Sewerage Services and Model Agreements for the Provision of Centralised Water Supply and Centralised Sewerage Services". The document mentioned above introduces clear and detailed rules for the provision of water supply and sewerage services, as well as endorses a number of model documents; 3. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution # 793 of August 21, 2019 “On Introducing Amendments to Paragraph 4 of the Regulations for the Provision of the Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets for Implementation of Activities Aimed at Suspecting the Territories with Negative Consequences of the Armed Conflict in the East of Ukraine”; 4. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 800 of August 08, 2019 "On Certain Issues Related to Competence Development of Teachers and Research Workers". The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed the Procedure for competence development of teachers and scientific and research. We would like to draw the attention to the fact that during the public discussion of the document, the Association of Ukrainian Cities sent its Letter # 5-240 of May 05, 2019 with proposals to the draft document, which were taken into account by its authors. For

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example, in particular, the latest version of the document takes into account the following suggestions of the PULSE Project expert: the powers of the founder of the organisation providing competence development of teachers were identified; the requirement allowing non-competitive advantages for certain postgraduate institutions in providing education services to teachers was removed; the requirement for the pedagogical council to recognise some forms of competence development including participation in training events, seminars, workshops, master classes, etc. was eliminated; and, introduced the requirement to coordinate suggestions from teachers regarding competence development with the amount of available funds for training. The endorsement of the resolution will provide an opportunity allow to ensure annual competence development of teachers; 5. Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 809 of August 21, 2019 " On Introducing Amendments to the Regulations for Removing Trees, Bushes, Lawns and Flower Beds in Populated Areas" clarifies the procedure for obtaining permission to remove green plantation, as well as provides for the possibility of reducing the cost of compensation for the removed greens plantations for the amount of landscaping works planned in the future; 6. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 817 of August 21, 2019 “On Endorsing the Regulations for the Ombudsman for the Protection of the State Language to Exercise Control of the Application of the State Language by State Authorities, Government Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Governments; 7. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution # 819 of August 21. 2019 “On Endorsing the Regulations for the Interaction of the Ombudsman for the Protection of the State Language with State Authorities, Government Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Governments; 8. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 823 of August 21, 2019 "On Certain Issues of the Implementation of State Oversight and Control of Compliance with the Labour Legislation". In accordance with this resolution, local governments were vested with the right to monitor compliance with the labour legislation. A PULSE expert participated in the working groups to draft and elaborate a draft version of the resolution; 9. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine resolution # 824 of August 21, 2019 “On Introducing Model Provisions on the Day Time Center for Social and Psychological Assistance to the Persons Who Have Suffered from Domestic Violence and/or Gender Based Violence and on Specialised Service for Primary Social and Psychological Consultations for the Persons Who Have Suffered from Domestic and/or Gender Based Violence”. The resolution takes into account the position of the AUC with regard to ensuring independence of local governments on issues related to introducing specialised services; 10. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution # 830 of August 21, 2019 “On Endorsing the Rules for the Provision of the Heat Energy Supply Service and Model Agreements for the Provision of Heat Energy Supply Service” established detailed rules for the provision of the heat supply service and endorses a number of model documents; 11. Ministry of Regional Development Directive # 169 of July 26, 2019 "On Endorsing the Regulations for Cutting off Consumers from District Heating and Hot Water Supply Systems" defines the mechanism, whereby individual consumers are able to disconnect from district heating and hot water supply systems; 12. Directive of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine # 1106 of July 17, 2019 "On Introducing Amendments to the Instruction for the Mechanism to Register and Maintain Personal Files of Recipients of All Types of Social Assistance". The PULSE Project expert submitted a number of suggestions taken by the Ministry of Social Policy into account, in particular: the period of keeping logs of registrations of applications/personal files in local governments was reduced to 5 - 10 years (earlier, they were to be stored permanently). Some registers may be stored exclusively in the electronic form (not in paper form as was the case earlier). 13. Directive of the Ministry of Regional Development of # 170 August 01, 2019 " On Introducing Amendments to the Mechanism to Select Projects Aimed at Implementation of Tasks and Activities Aimed at Implementation of the Nation-Wide Targeted Potable Water of Ukraine Program for 2011 – 2020" improves the selection mechanism in terms of providing guarantees to local governments

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to participate in co-financing, as well as gives the right to elaborate documents in case they are returned.

Table 1.4. Distribution of draft regulatory and legal documents by sector

Number of Number of draft draft documents documents Sector prepared since prepared in the the beginning of reporting the Project quarter Local finance 3 79 Housing and municipal utilities 3 26 Land and communally-owned property 1 15 Organisational aspects of local government activities and capacity 2 55 building for their officials Social protection 3 57 Health care 0 8 Public education 3 45 Administrative services and e-governance 1 4 Sustainable economic development and urban development 3 29 TOTAL 19 318

The list of draft regulatory and legal documents prepared by the PULSE Project experts during the last quarter of Project Year Four is presented below.

Draft regulatory and legal documents, to which corrections and proposals were submitted, in the course of their approval in the manner prescribed by the Law of Ukraine "On Local Government Associations", or when expert opinions were provided: 1. Draft Law of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Pre-School Education”” prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science; 2. Draft Law of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Incentives for Investment Activities in Ukraine” (Registration # 1059 of August 29, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Committee on Economic Development); 3. Draft Law of Ukraine "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Strengthening the Requirements of Laws of Ukraine Aimed at Promoting Barrier-Free Access to Buildings and Edifices for Persons with Disabilities" (Registration # 0961 of August 29, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Committee on Social Policy and Veteran Rights); 4. Law of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to Article 65 of the Law of Ukraine "On Status and Social Protection of Persons Who Have Suffered from Chornobyl Disaster"” (Registration # 1163 of August 29, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veteran Rights); 5. Draft Law of Ukraine "On Introducing Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine Regarding the Introduction of Multi-Year Planning for Development and Maintenance of General Purpose Automobile Roads" (Registration # 1064 of August 29, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Budget Committee; 6. Draft Law of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Sources of Funding for Road Infrastructure of Ukraine» (Regarding the Introduction of Multi-Year Planning for the Development and Maintenance of General Purpose Roads)” (Registration # 1041 of August 29, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Budget Committee; 7. Draft Law of Ukraine On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020 (Registration # 2000 of September 15, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Budget Committee);

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8. Draft Law of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine” (Registration # 2144 of September 16, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Budget Committee); 9. Draft Law “On Renting State-Owned and Communally-Owned Property” (Registration # 1055-1 of August 29, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Committee on Economic Development); 10. Draft Law “On Introducing Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding Improvements of the Tax Administration and Removing Technical and Logical Mismatches in the Tax Legislation” (Registration # 1210 of August 30, 2019, currently under consideration in the VRU Budget Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy); 11. Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Endorsing the Regulations for the Intervention of the Ombudsman for the Protection of the State Language with State Authorities, Government Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Governments”, prepared by the Ministry of Culture; 12. Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Endorsing the Regulations for the Ombudsman for the Protection of the State Language to Exercise Control of the Application of the State Language by State Authorities, Government Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Governments", developed by the Ministry of Culture; 13. Draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Introducing Amendments to Paragraph 11 of the Regulations on Placing Special Obligations on Entities of the Natural Gas Market to Meet Common Interests in the Process of Functioning of the Natural Gas Market” prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development; 14. Draft Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Endorsing Model Regulations on the Regional Board for Vocational (Professional) Education” prepared developed by the Ministry of Education and Science; 15. Draft Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Approving the National Strategy for the Development of Inclusive Education for 2020 - 2030" prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science; 16. Draft Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “Certain Issues of the 2019 - 2020 Heating Season” currently being prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development; 17. Draft Directive of the Ministry of Regional Development "On Endorsing Regulations to Determine the Details for the Address of the Construction Site or the Immovable Property Item" prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development; and, 18. Draft Directive of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine "On Endorsing Amendments to the National Home Care Standard" currently being prepared by the Ministry of Social Policy.

PULSE Project experts provided the following comments and edits to the following draft legislation in the course of its preparation in various working groups set up at government authorities: 1. Draft Law “On Introducing Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Regulation of Certain Issues in the Sector of Housing and Municipal Utilities” currently being prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development

In addition to this, the Project continued to work (by providing expert opinions and participating in working groups) on 3 draft laws whose preparation started in the previous periods: 1. Draft Law of Ukraine "On Completed Comprehensive Secondary Education" (Registration # 0901 of August 29, 2019 elaborated in the working group of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation for the second reading); 2. Draft National Strategy for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyle of Children and Youth for the Period up to 2025 prepared by the Ministry of Youth and Sport; and, 3. Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Endorsing the List of Paid Services to be Provided by State-Owned and Communally-Owned Youth Centers” currently being prepared by the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

1.1.3. Legislation monitoring

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During Project Year Four, the AUC received 191 draft regulatory and legal documents submitted by central agencies of the state executive for concurrence including:

Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine/Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine 77 Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine 39 Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine 14 Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine 9 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 8 Ministry of Culture of Ukraine 7 National Civil Service Agency 4 National Emergency Service of Ukraine 3 National Agency on Labour of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Justice of Ukraine 2 Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine 2 State Property Fund of Ukraine 2 Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine 1 State Fiscal Service 1 National Agency for Electronic Governance of Ukraine 1 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration 1 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 1 Verkhovna Rada Committee on Science and Education 1 Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pensions Support 1 Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources 1 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources 1 Ministry of Economic Development and Trade 1 Ministry of Justice 1

105 of these draft regulatory and legal documents were concurred with without reservations, 80 were concurred with reservations, and 6 - not concurred with.

During the reporting quarter, central state executive authorities sent 58 draft regulatory and legal documents to the AUC for concurrence including:

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Culture of Ukraine 2 Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Education 5 The Ministry of Health Care 1 Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine/Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine 31 Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine 9 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 3

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The Ministry of Justice 1 National Civil Service Agency 1

35 of these draft regulatory and legal documents were concurred with without reservations, 14 were concurred with reservations, and 1 - not concurred with.

During the reporting year, PULSE Project experts prepared and submitted 118 expert opinions to the draft legislation under consideration in Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committees and central agencies of the state executive including: ● positive opinions – 41; ● expert opinions with comments and proposals – 77 including 27 negative expert opinions with a suggestion to reject the draft regulatory and legal document.

VRU Budget Committee 14 VRU Committee on Tax and Customs Policy/VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy 14 VRU Committee on Science and Education/VRU Committee on Education, Science and Innovations 12 VRU Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veteran Rights/VRU Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pensions Support 12 Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Governance/VRU Committee on State Power, Local Self-Governance, Regional Development and Urban Planning 9 Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine 9 Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine 6 VRU Committee on Construction, Urban Planning and Housing and Municipal Utilities 5 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 4 VRU Rada Committee on Economic Development/VRU Committee on Economic Policy 4 VRU Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety 4 Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine/Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 3 Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine 2 VRU Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations 2 VRU Committee on Health Care/VRU Committee on National Health, Health Care Assistance and Medical Insurance 2 Ministry of Culture of Ukraine 2 Ministry of Justice of Ukraine 2 Committee on Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship 1 VRU Committee on Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship 1 VRU Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sport and Tourism 1 VRU Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sport and Tourism 1 Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine 1 NEURC 1

During the reporting quarter, PULSE Project experts prepared and submitted 30 expert opinions on draft regulatory and legal documents currently under consideration in committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the central state executive bodies including: ● positive opinions - 10; ● expert opinions with comments and proposals – 20 including 4 negative expert opinions with a suggestion to reject the draft regulatory and legal document. 36

36 July – September, 2019

The expert opinions were sent to:

VRU Committee on Economic Development 3 VRU Budget Committee 6 Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Governance/VRU Committee on State Power, Local Self-Governance, Regional Development and Urban Planning 1 VRU Committee on Science and Education/VRU Committee on Education, Science and Innovations 3 VRU Committee on Health Care/VRU Committee on National Health, Health Care Assistance and Medical Insurance 1 VRU Committee on Tax and Customs Policy/VRU Committee on Finance and Tax and Customs Policy 2 VRU on Social Policy and Protection of Veteran Rights 9 Ministry of Culture 1 Ministry of Education 1 Ministry of Health Care 1 Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine/Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 1

1.1.4. Resolving local government problem issues and promotion of sectoral reforms

Reforms in the sector of education During the reporting period, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed its Action Plan, which offers, in particular, the Cabinet of Ministers vision for the continuation of reforms in the sector of education. The individual provisions of the Plan are in line with the goals and objectives of the Sectoral Education Strategy prepared by the PULSE Project, namely:

Cabinet of Ministers Action Plan AUC Sectoral Education Strategy Goal 1.1. Programs. Every child has access to high Operational Goal 2.2. "To ensure physical quality pre-school education accessibility to high quality educational services" Goal 1.2. Programs. School graduates are self- Operational Goal 3.1. "To develop a sustainable sufficient and creative personalities who possess interest in studying through the “play and learn” sound knowledge and competencies needed in the principle and linking studying with to life" present world Goal 1.3. Programs. School graduates have a wide Operational Goal 1.4. "To promote a learning choice of institutions for high quality vocational environment that will contribute to the success of training with further employment opportunities students"

The Annexes to the Program also provide the definition of the Standard for the accessibility to public services that provides criteria for measuring the accessibility of educational establishments that meets Operational Goal 2.4. "To upgrade material, technical and education base of educational establishments" of the Sectoral Education Strategy prepared by the PULSE Project. Local government reform and reform of the administrative and territorial arrangement During Project Year Four, the PULSE Project assistance ensured the following results of territorial community consolidation/annexation (see Table 1.5.):

Table 1.5. Results of the reform of the administrative and territorial arrangement 37

37 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Quarter Quarter Quarter 2, Quarter 3, Quantitative indicator Total 4, 2018 1, 2019 2019 2019 Established CTCs 38 35 30 47 150 Territorial communities that have 171 75 246 215 707 consolidated into CTCs Initial local elections in CTCs 77 0 66 0 143 Communities annexed to territorial 14 1 7 4 26 communities of cities of oblast significance

Activity 1.2. Local governments and all interested parties are actively engaged and use participatory tool to work on legislation and advocating for its approval

1.2.1 Support for approval of drafted legislation in the parliament: tools for interaction with the VRU

During the reporting period, the PULSE Project utilised the tool to interact with the parliament including supporting the work of the Inter-Faction Local Government Support Group (local government caucus), participation in the work of parliamentary committees, preparation of expert opinions on draft laws, and conducting Regional Policy Dialogue Platforms.

Participation in the work of parliamentary committees During the reporting year, PULSE Project experts participated in 78 meetings of 14 parliamentary committees including:

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Economic Development 2 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations 7 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Municipal Utilities 6 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Budget Committee 15 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self- Governance 8 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Youth and Sport 1 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Science and Education 12 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Health Care 12 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Tax and Customs Policy/Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy 4 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sport and Tourism 2 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veteran Rights 2 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pensions Support 5 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Transportation 1 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Veterans, Participants of Military Activities, Anti- Terrorist Operation and Persons with Disabilities 1

During the reporting quarter, PULSE Project experts participated in 24 meetings of 10 parliamentary committees:

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Health Care – 6; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Governance - 3; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Science and Education - 1; 38

38 July – September, 2019

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations - 1; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Budget Committee - 7; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Tax and Customs Policy - 1; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Municipal Utilities - 1; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sport and Tourism - 1; Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pensions Support - 2; and, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Transportation – 1.

During the reporting period (Quarter 4 of Project Year Four), thanks to the participation of PULSE Project experts, the following results were achieved in cooperation with parliamentary committees, specifically:

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Budget Committee

On September 30, 2019, the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine together with the Association of Ukrainian Cities conducted consultations on the relationships of the National Budget with local budgets for the next year. In particular, the participants discussed AUC proposals for the draft National Budget for 2020 (draft law "On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020" # 2000 of September 15, 2019), as well as comments on draft amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine ("On Introducing Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine" Draft Law # 2144 of September 16, 2019). PULSE representatives raised the problem issue of budget sufficiency of territorial communities that arose in 2019 and the need to be resolved in 2020. In particular, these include local budgets losses from the reduction of revenues sources, under-financed local government mandate in the sectors of education and health care, biased allocation by oblast authorities to territorial community budgets of the funds additional subventions to cover the expenditure categories for maintenance of educational establishments and health care establishments and the subvention for financial support for construction, reconstruction, repairs and maintenance of automobile roads specifically: with regard to the funds directed to communally-owned street and roads in populated areas, lack of funds for privileged urban public transportation services for certain categories of citizens, telecommunications services and other benefits, as well as for the repayment of the difference in tariffs. In addition to this, PULSE Project experts emphasised the need to increase the amount of funding for infrastructure improvements in consolidated territorial communities, as well as for streamlining the issue of debt repayment on medium-term loans accumulated in 2009 - 2014 and for the compensation to local budgets for the losses due to the benefits provided by the state for to mining companies on land fees, etc. Following the consultations, National Deputies will introduce amendments to the respective draft laws.

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Science and Education

On July 10, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Science and Education came up with a decision to give a recommendation for the Parliament to approve the draft Law of Ukraine “On Completed Comprehensive Secondary Education” (Registration # 10204 of April 05, 2019) developed with the participation of a PULSE Project expert in the second reading. The draft document regulates the accessibility and equal access of children for obtaining completed comprehensive secondary education, in particular: accessibility for persons with special educational needs, as well as territorial accessibility of comprehensive secondary educational establishments, responsibility of government authorities to ensure the appropriate accessibility; ensuring high quality of comprehensive secondary education and academic integrity in the sector of comprehensive secondary education; ensuring proper use of tuition languages in comprehensive secondary educational establishments; certification of teachers; resource (information, scientific, methodological, material, and technical) support of educational establishments; principles of institutional audit and self-governance in educational establishments, in particular student and parent self- governance; rights and responsibilities of participants of the education process; separation of powers of state executive authorities and local governments in the sector of comprehensive secondary education, etc. The participation of the PULSE Project expert helped to: - expand the list of different types of student support; 39

39 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

- exclude a representative of the relevant local state administration or a territorial outreach department of a central executive authority in charge of the quality of education from the membership of selection committees to elect managers of educational establishments, thereby ensuring that central government authorities do not interfere with self-governing activities of local governments; - prevent vesting the manager of the educational establishment with additional powers, which are not inherent to his managerial work (control of mandatory preventive vaccinations of students and teachers) - keep the wording of the first reading of Article 5 regarding the tuition language and to prevent relieving of the manager of the educational from his/her responsibility for ensuring compliance with the language rules in the educational establishment; and, - clarify certain aspects for keeping work time, teaching load, and remuneration of teachers, in particular, with regard to meeting performance standards of their pedagogical, educational, methodical and organisational work according to their positions. At the same time, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the previous convocation failed to approve this law in the second reading, and, therefore, it was re-registered on August 29, 2019 under Registration # 0901. The Committee of Education, Science and Innovation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine set up a working group wit the participation of the PULSE Project expert to prepare the draft Law of Ukraine "On Completed Comprehensive Secondary Education" (Registration # 0901 of August 29, 2019) for the second reading. During the reporting period, the first working group conducted its first meeting.

Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Municipal Utility Services

The Committee set up a working group to develop a draft law that improves the procedures for concluding contracts for the provision of municipal utility services. A PULSE Project expert became a member of the working group. The Committee continued its work using the draft law that was prepared with the participation of the PULSE Project and was registered in the Verkhovna Rada of the previsions convocation (Registration # 10228) as the basic document. In the course of the preparation of the document, the Committee and the PULSE Project expert came up with a suggestion that public service to conclude public contracts for the provision of municipal utility services. Such provisions will reduce the time for concluding such contracts and the cost utility companies to register them. Currently, the absence of the consensus between representatives of gas supply companies, managers of residential buildings, condominium associations regarding the how to service in-house gas distribution networks precludes the successful accomplishment of the work on the draft law. Work on the draft law continues.

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans Rights On September 30, the Parliamentary Committee considered the Draft Law “On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020”. A PULSE Project expert submitted and presented comments of the Association of Ukrainian Cities to the draft law on social protection. Following the discussion of the draft law, the Committee came up with a decision to submit the AUC proposals to the Budget Committee.

Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Economic Development

The VRU Committee considered the draft Law of Ukraine "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Incentives for Investment Activities in Ukraine" (Registration # 1059 of August 29, 2019). The document envisaged, in particular, abolishment of the cost share participation of developers in infrastructure improvements of populated areas. The AUC, during the reporting period, submitted its letters to the Chairman of the Committee with requests not to abolish cost share contributions. In this context, the AUC prepared amendments to the draft law for the second reading. In the course of the consideration of the draft law for the second reading in the committee, AUC Executive Director, Director of the AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting, and a PULSE Project expert presented their position about retaining cost share contributions for communities. A certain compromise 40

40 July – September, 2019

was reached. Thus, following the discussion, the Committee approved the amendments to the draft law, which retained the mechanism for cost share contributions and a new mechanism to calculate and pay them. On September 20, 2019, the VRU approved Draft Law # 1059 with the amendments mentioned above.

Meeting of Regional Policy Dialogue Platforms A regional policy dialogue platform is a joint meeting of mayors of AUC Regional Office member municipalities, oblast leadership, and National Deputies who were elected from the given region, which are conducted with the purpose of supporting the approval in the parliament of the legislation including the draft laws prepared by AUC experts aimed at resolving local government problem issues in selected regions. The Project conducts two meetings of regional policy dialogue platforms every year.

During the reporting period, the Project conducted 2 working sessions of regional policy dialogue platforms in 2 oblasts, namely: the Volyn and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts. 4 National Deputies of Ukraine participated in the meetings.

Table 1.6. Information about meetings of regional platforms Date, venue, topic, and Brief description of the event participants of the event Meeting of the Ivano-Frankivsk The event participants discussed the problem issues with the Regional Policy Dialogue legislative framework for the local government reform and reform Platform, territorial arrangement of government institutions, as well as the September 24, 2019, city of main aspects of the preparation of the National Budget of Ukraine for Ivano-Frankivsk 2020. Following the discussions, the participants came up with the following Topic: Legislative framework for suggestions to the National Deputies: the local government reform and - to introduce in the National Budget a compensatory mechanism for reform of the territorial local budgets in the amount of 10% of the personal income tax given arrangement of government the fact that in 2020 the excise tax on the retail sale of petroleum institutions. Main aspects of the products will be abolished; preparation of the National - to include the extended school day groups and inclusive training Budget for 2020 in the context of groups to the formula for the calculation of the education subvention; decentralisation. - to envision in the National Budget for 2020 a subvention for infrastructure improvements in CTCs in the amount of 5 billion UAH; Participants: village, town and - to direct 20% the subvention for construction, reconstruction, city mayors, CTC mayors, repairs and maintenance of communally-owned streets and roads in representatives of the Oblast populated areas and divide it between budgets of cities of oblast State Administration and Oblast significance and CTCs depending on the length of communally-owned Council, PULSE Project regional streets and roads in populated areas; and, consultants, and National - take into account the fact that the unsecured amount of the health Deputies of Ukraine Z. care subvention in the oblast constitutes 94.5 million UAH, for Andriyovych, O. Savchuk, and I. education subvention this is 91.7 million UAH, with the overall Fris. amount of the additional subvention having been from 674.3 million UAH to 353.5 million UAH, which will have a very negative impact on the functioning of public sector institutions in communities. Also, based on the discussions at the meeting of the Regional Policy Dialogue Platform, the participants appealed to the National Deputies who were present at the event with a request to consider and approve the following draft laws of Ukraine as top priority: - “On Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine Aiming at Specifying the Irreversibility of Achievements in Local Self- Governance (Decentralisation) and Local Democracy” (Registration # 2217); 41

41 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

- “On the Principles of Administrative and Territorial Arrangement of Ukraine” (Registration # 8051); - “On Service in Local Governments” (Registration # 1223); - “On Metropolitan Areas” (Registration # 6743). Meeting of the Volyn Regional In the course of the meeting of the Regional Policy Dialogue Platform, Policy Dialogue Platform, the participants discussed financial sufficiency of communities in 2020 September 27, 2019, city of Lutsk and local budget implementation issues in 2019. Following the discussions, the participants submitted to the National Deputy who Topic: Risks and problems of was present at the event their proposals to the main indicators of the local governments associated draft Law of Ukraine “On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020” with the draft Law of Ukraine "On related to the oblast and Ukraine as a whole, namely: the National Budget of Ukraine - according to the AUC calculations, direct losses local budgets will for 2020”. Preliminary results and incur from the decreased state support and reduction of sources of problems with the revenues will amount to 13.1 billion UAH; the unfunded delegated implementation of local budgets mandate (in the sectors of education and health care) will amount to in the Volyn oblast during the 71.5 billion UAH; and, local government losses associated with 2019 fiscal year. decisions of central government will amount to 55.6 billion UAH. Local budgets of the Volyn oblast will under collect 2.5 billion UAH. Participants: village, town and In particular: city mayors, CTC mayors, - expenditures for the maintenance of educational and health care representatives of the Oblast establishments in 2020 will amount to 317.4 million UAH, whereas in State Administration and Oblast 2019 they constituted 576.9 million UAH, with the expected actual Council, PULSE Project regional expenditures exceeding 1 billion UAH. The local budget losses of consultants, and National Deputy Ukraine will amount to 7.0 billion UAH. of Ukraine V. Rublyov. - with the expected suspension of crediting some part (13.44%) of collections from the excise tax on fuel produced in Ukraine and imported into the customs territory of Ukraine to local budgets, the revenue losses in the oblast will amount to 210 million UAH. Local budget losses in of Ukraine will amount to 7.7 billion UAH; - due to the failure to apply the projected inflation index in 2020 of 7.4% to the indexation of the normative pecuniary valuation of lands, local budget losses in the oblast will constitute 40.0 million UAH. The losses of the local budgets in Ukraine will amount to 2.2 billion UAH; - changing in the rules for the calculation of cost share participation of developers in infrastructure improvements and suspending it starting from 2021 will lead to local budget losses in the oblast in 2020 in the amount of 25 million UAH; and, - despite the 322.1 million UAH increase of the education subvention in 2020 for the oblast, the government failed to take into account the expenditures for the implementation of the provisions of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 822 of June 10, 2019 “On the Remuneration of Work of Teachers and Scientific and Research Workers of Educational and Scientific Establishments”, which requires additional resources in the amount of approximately 1.6 billion UAH. The amount of such ignored local budget expenditures in Ukraine will amount to 27.5 billion UAH.

1.2.2 Support to approval of resolutions and directives of the Cabinet of Ministers: tools to interact with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

The PULSE Project continued to use various tools to interact with the Cabinet of Ministers. They included: the Dialogue Day, participation in meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and Cabinet of Ministers Committees, sectoral forums, cooperation with line ministries, and drafting of expert conclusions and drafts regulatory and legal documents. 42

42 July – September, 2019

Interaction with the Cabinet of Ministers Participation in meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and Cabinet of Ministers Committees During the reporting quarter, the Association of Ukrainian Cities continued its cooperation with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine representing the interests of 833 territorial community members of the Association including cities, towns, villages, CTCs. AUC Executive Director O. Slobozhan served as the official representative of the AUC. It should be kept in mind that the 19th Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (the Groisman Government) resigned on August 29, 2019. On the same day, the parliamentary majority (the Servant of the People Party) approved a new membership of the 20th Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine headed by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. One of the first decisions the newly appointed Cabinet of Ministers was to endorse consolidation of line ministries: the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Veterans and Temporarily Occupied Territories and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information Policy, Youth and Sports. The Ministry of Regional Development was reorganised into the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development. A new Ministry of Digital Transformation was set up. From the organisational perspective, the procedure for holding meetings of the new Cabinet of Ministers has undergone significant changes. In particular, during the first month of its work, contrary to its Regulations, the CMU did not conduct a single meeting of its committees to discuss regulatory and legal documents in advance. The draft laws submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers, draft resolutions and directives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine were submitted to the CMU without prior public discussion with the participation of interested parties, in particular, representatives of local governments. The meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers often were held behind the closed doors, without inviting community representatives and media representatives. For example, of seven Cabinet of Ministers meetings conducted in September, 2019, the AUC representative was invited to only four. The information and technical component of interaction of the CMU with the public also became complicated. In particular, live broadcasts of Cabinet of Ministers meetings were cancelled and were replaced by briefings of the PPM1 following the meetings. In addition to this, the system of electronic document turnover did not work properly, which made the AUC receive documents with agendas of the Cabinet of Ministers with significant delays or not to receive them at all. In general, one could observe the decrease in the transparency of the CMU activities during the Quarter 3, and complications in the direct communication between the Cabinet of Ministers and stakeholders including local government representatives. In these difficult circumstances, PULSE Project experts ensured the constant monitoring of draft Cabinet of Ministers regulatory and legal documents, which were submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers Committees and the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration. PULSE Project experts also provided comments, proposals and conclusions on draft laws, decrees, directive, and national programs on issues related to local self- governance. All in all, during the reporting project year, AUC representatives participated in 49 meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and 80 Cabinet of Ministers Committee, in particular, Committee on Economic Policy Issues - 39; Committee on Social and Humanitarian Policy - 25; and Committee on Regional Development - 15 (see Table 1.7.). Table 1.7. Participation in the meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and its Committees (October, 2018 – September, 2019)

Period Cabinet of Ministers Committee Cabinet Meetings, on Economic on social on regional total of total: Policy policy development Ministers 43

43 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Quarter 4, 2018 14 7 4 25 13 38 Quarter 1, 2019 11 8 5 24 12 36 Quarter, 2 2019 10 7 4 22 11 33 Quarter, 3 2019 4 3 2 9 13 22 Total: 39 25 15 80 49 129

In particular, during the third quarter of 2019, PULSE Project experts were involved in 22 Cabinet of Ministers meetings including: 13 meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and 9 Cabinet of Ministers committees (4 meetings of the Committee on Economic Policy, 3 meetings of the Committee on Social Policy, and 2 meetings of the Committee on Regional Development (see Table 1). During the Project Year Four, the PULSE Project monitored 3,337 regulatory and legal documents and analysed impact on local self-governance of 1,312 draft regulatory and legal documents, in particular, 193 draft laws submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers, 112 draft decrees and directives of the President of Ukraine, 1,605 draft resolutions and 1,083 draft directives of the CMU, 202 plans for implementation of legislative acts and 142 expert opinions to other draft laws (see Table 1.8.). Table 1.8. PULSE monitoring of draft regulatory and legal documents of the Cabinet of Ministers (October, 2018 – September, 2019)

Period Laws Decrees or Resolution Cabinet of Plans for he Conclusions Total: Instructions of s of the Ministers implementa to draft the President Cabinet of Directives tion of legislation Ministers legislation of Ukraine Quarter 4, 76 40 543 452 60 42 1,213 2018 Quarter 1, 51 21 333 166 33 48 652 2019 Quarter, 2 59 29 440 268 60 47 903 2019 Quarter, 3 7 22 289 197 49 5 569 2019 Total: 193 112 1,605 1,083 202 142 3,337

The 569 regulatory and legal documents the PULSE Project monitored during the reporting quarter included 7 draft laws submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers, 22 decrees (directives) of the President, 289 CMU resolutions and 197 CMU directives, 5 expert opinions to other draft laws, as well as 49 plans for the implementation of laws (directives) (see Table 2.). The 3,337 draft regulatory and legal documents the PULSE Project considered in 2018 – 2019 included 39.3% (or 1,312 draft documents) dealing with local government issues. Of these, PULSE Project experts supported 93.1% (or 1,221) draft regulatory and legal documents, and did not support 6.9% (or 91) draft regulatory and legal documents (Table 1.9.). Table 1.9. PULSE Project expert support for drafting Cabinet of Ministers regulations (October, 2018 – September, 2019)

Period Cabinet of Ministers regulations Draft Cabinet of Ministers regulations on local PULSE Project worked on government issues Total Including those on local Supported by PULSE Not supported by PULSE government issues experts experts Quarter 4, 1213 441 415 26 2018 Quarter 1, 652 356 330 26

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44 July – September, 2019

2019 Quarter, 2 903 312 279 33 2019 Quarter, 3 569 203 197 6 2019 Total: 3337 1312 1221 91

In particular, during the reporting quarter, PULSE Project experts reviewed 203 draft regulatory and legal documents related to local government development in Ukraine (or 35.7% of the total number of regulatory and legal documents), supported 197 (97.0%) of them, and did not support 6 (or 3.0%,) (see Table 3). Currently, the cooperation of the Ministry of Communities and Territories of Ukraine with regions takes place through oblast state administrations and the Association of Ukrainian Cities.

“In the course of the meeting of the AUC Board, I heard from the mayors of both smaller and large cities a message that they lack systemic communication with the Ministry of Regional Development on their problems. Therefore, we will introduce a system to set up a “hot line” for communications with the regions for the Ministry to receive requests from cities and respond to them on-line.”

The systematic advocacy work, as well as the persistent actions of the AUC in cooperation with the Cabinet of Ministers during Project Year Four yielded, in general, the following achievements: retaining the Cabinet of Ministers commitment towards the completion of the decentralisation reform, further improvement of the legislative framework for local governments and strengthening the resource capacity of territorial communities. During the reporting year, thanks to the involvement of local governments in decision making process in the Cabinet of Ministers, PULSE Project and AUC representatives provided support for the endorsement of 172 regulatory and legal documents that promoted the decentralisation reform and local self-governance.

In the third calendar quarter of 2019 (Quarter 4 of the Project Year) the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed 51 documents, which had a significant influence on the implementation of the decentralisation reform, strengthening community capacity, and financial foundations of local governments.

The list of the most important Cabinet of Ministers draft regulatory and legal documents PULSE Project experts were involved in is presented in Annex C.

Complications in interaction with Cabinet of Ministers committees due to the limitations on access to the information on meeting agendas by the CMU Secretariat, late promulgation of documents or absence of published draft Cabinet of Ministers documents had a negative impact on the legislation improvement process.

It should also be noted some of the negative aspects related the situations when central state executive authorities ignore the procedures of discussions and obtaining from local government representatives and Ukraine-wide local government associations of draft regulatory and legal documents, or when central state executive authorities evade cooperation with the interested parties, or limit access of citizens to public information, draft Cabinet of Ministers acts on local self-governance, its meeting agendas, etc. These actions have led to the endorsement by the Cabinet of Ministers, despite strong opposition from the AUC, of several regulatory documents that would negatively affect the financial status of communities, well-being of citizens, and local social and economic development, in particular:

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45 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

1. On July 10, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 695 "On Introducing Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 22 of January 11, 2018" prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science, which increases salaries of teachers by 10% starting from September 01, 2019 whose salaries are paid at the expense of local budgets and who did not have a salary increase raised in 2018, namely: teachers of pre-school, out-of-school, vocational educational establishments and others, except for those whose salaries are funded through the education subvention. At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers did not propose any compensatory mechanisms for the reimbursement of additional expenditures of local budgets for the implementation of this resolution, which may lead to imbalances in local budgets starting from Quarter 4, 2019. 2. On July 10, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers also endorsed Resolution # 822 “On the Remuneration of Work of Teachers and Scientific and Research Workers of Educational and Scientific Establishments” prepared by the Ministry of Education, which envisions, starting from 2020 and up to 2023, an annual incremental increase of the amount of officials salaries of teachers up to 4 minimum subsistence levels for work able persons. According to estimates of PULSE Project experts, the increase of teacher salaries will increase the local government needs in 2020 for the education subvention funds up to 105 billion UAH (Resolution # 822). At the same time, local budgets will need to allocate additional 14 billion UAH for raising salaries of teachers of pre-school, out-of-school and vocational educational establishments (Resolution # 695). It should be noted that the draft National Budget for 2020 does not include a mechanism to compensate local governments for the additional expenditures the incur in the amount of approximately 120 billion UAH while increasing teacher salaries to educators. Local governments will have to compensate most of this amount by reducing their development expenditures. 3. On August 14, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 755 “On Certain Issues Related to Remuneration of Employees of Children and Youth Sports Schools”, without prior discussion and without concurrence from local governments. The document was prepared by the Ministry of Youth and Sport and introduces an increase in the salary rates of coaches and teachers of children and youth sport schools. In particular, the salary rates for certain employees will increase by 42% in 2020 and local budgets will need to earmark additional UAH 677 million for these purposes. In the course of discussions of the draft regulatory and legal document at the Cabinet of Ministers meeting, PULSE Project experts pointed for the Ministry of Finance to reimburse such additional expenditures of local governments from the National Budget. The Prime Minister of Ukraine supported this proposal and came up with a suggestion to elaborate the draft resolution. However, the final version of the document did not include the AUC proposals and this may lead to greater imbalances of local budgets in 2020. 4. On August 14, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 714 "On Introducing Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 118 of February 20, 2013 and # 588 of August 01, 2013" amending the Model Regulations on the Center for Administrative Services and the Model Provisions for the Center for Administrative Services. In particular, the documents envision the mandatory requirement to equip CASs with information terminals, ATMs, and payment and information terminals. PULSE Project experts provided their objections to the necessity of financial and economic calculations of additional local governments with the indication of the sources of funding. The objections were not taken into account in the resolution. Taking into consideration the increasing complications with the local government reform, increasing financial problems of local budgets and their potential negative consequences for community residents, such as: curtailment of investment activity, deterioration of accessibility and quality of public services, increasing fiscal pressure, and threats to social harmony and citizen, the AUC will continue the policy of the formation of the sustainable and effective system of lobbying (advocacy) of local government interests at the level of the national government and will actively involve in this activity the network of its regional offices and PULSE Project consultants, as well as will disseminate best practices through media and social networks.

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46 July – September, 2019

Sectoral forums Sectoral forums represent a new practice in sectoral policy dialogue. This is a platform to approve the strategy for the development of the sector together with the follow-up monitoring of its implementation and necessary adjustments. In addition to this, this is an opportunity for sectoral specialists to communicate with the line ministry and technical parliamentary committee, National Deputies of Ukraine, other sectoral experts, and representatives of NGOs active in the sector, as well as to exchange of experience in resolving practical issues. The sectoral forum is a platform for the consolidation of positions of state executive authorities and local governments, outlining the common direction for the future development and reforming of the respective sector. The PULSE Project did not conduct sectoral forums in the reporting quarter.

Cooperation with line ministries PULSE experts continued to cooperate with ministries and other central executive authorities. Below are the main achievements in this area in the reporting period.

Ministry of Finance of Ukraine On September 12, 2019, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Local Government Associations”, the ministry conducted budget consultations to take into account local government interests in the draft National Budget of Ukraine for 2020. PULSE Project representatives raised problem issues with budget sufficiency of territorial communities that emerged in 2019 and needed to be resolved in 2020. In particular, thee include local budget losses from the reduction of revenue sources; under-funded powers delegated by the state in the sectors of education and health care; biased distribution by oblast authorities of funds to territorial community budgets of the additional subvention to cover the cost of maintenance of educational and health care establishments and the subvention for finance construction, reconstruction, repairs and maintenance of highways in the context of directing the funds to communally-owned streets and roads in populated areas, lack of funds for preferential urban public transportation services for certain categories of citizens, telecommunications services and other privileges; as well as lack of funds to repay the difference in tariffs. In addition to this, local government representatives emphasised the need to increase funding for infrastructure improvements in consolidated territorial communities, as well as resolving the issue of debt repayment on mid-term loans accumulated over 2009 - 2014 and compensating local budgets for the losses they have due to privileges on land tax payment for mining companies granted by the state, etc. Following the consultations, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine will resolve the issue of changing the approaches for distributing funds for maintenance of educational and health care establishments and will find legislative ways to repay of debts on mid-term loans and amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine.

Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine A PULSE Project expert became a member of the MRD Committee for endorsing district heating mechanisms in populated areas with more than 20 thousand inhabitants and endorsed the district heating mechanisms of the cities of Pershotravensk, Netishyn and Mykolaiv. Such mechanisms facilitate planning and the provision of district heating services in these cities. During the reporting period, PULSE Project experts continued to participate in committee meetings on a regular basis: - committee to assess and select regional development investment programs and projects, which can be implemented at the expense of the National Regional Development Fund; - committee to consideration of projects that can be implemented at the expense of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for infrastructure improvements in CTCs. A PULSE Project experts contributed to the impartial and unbiased selection of projects submitted to the commission by CTCs and ensured local governments interests were observed. The Committee met on a weekly basis, which provided the opportunity for prompt review and approval of submitted

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projects, as well as to provide funding on a timely basis. According to the results of Quarter 3 of 2019, 1,481 projects were approved of the total amount of 1.0 billion UAH. On July 26, a PULSE Project expert participated in a roundtable discussion on the role of the Master Plan of Ukraine in the preparation and implementation of the national regional organised by the U-LEAD with Europe Program. The event brought together the following participants: heads of structural sub departments of oblast state administrations in chare of urban planning, regional development, economic development and trade, scientists, experts, and teachers of higher educational establishments. The roundtable participants discussed the following issues: repartition of national spatial planning documents taking into account international experience; monitoring and updating of the Master Outline Map of the Territory of Ukraine, its relationships with decentralisation and interrelation with other documents; preparation of the new Regional Development Strategy of Ukraine until 2027; necessity of updating the Law of Ukraine "The Master Plan of the Territory of Ukraine" # 3059-III February 02, 2002.

State Service for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre On July 10, the Association of Ukrainian Cities in cooperation with the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre conducted a meeting to resolve the settle of preventing the reduction of land payments in 2019. The events participants included representatives of local councils and the management of Research and Design Institute of Land Management. The meeting participants discussed the provisions of the National Normative Pecuniary Valuation of Agricultural Lands, which came into force on January 01, 2019. This document is the basis for the land tax. The rate of this valuation has a direct influence on local budget revenues coming from land payments. The AUC conducted a survey in outreach departments of the State Cadastre Agency in different oblasts, which showed a significant decrease of the of normative pecuniary valuation of agricultural lands located outside the boundaries of populated areas settlements after the introduction of the National Normative Pecuniary Valuation of Lands. In some cases, the difference in the collections before and after its endorsement was up to 5 or more times. In cooperation with the State Cadastre Agency the AUC came to a mutual agreement on actions to prevent the reduction of local budget revenues, in particular: ● to give a directive to outreach offices of the State Cadastre Agency not to reduce the land fee according to the concluded land lease agreements and to revise it to increase it; ● to work with farmers and other land leaseholders with regard to supporting local communities; ● to transfer in a timely manner registers by each land plot entered in the State Land Cadastre to State Fiscal Service offices for taxation.

Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine prepared the Standard Regulations for the specialised service on primary social and psychological counselling for persons affected by domestic and/or gender-based violence (specialised service). According to the Standard Regulations, the Ministry was supposed to set up a specialised service in each administrative and territorial unit. In May 2019, the Ministry of Social Policy conducted a meeting of the working group with the Ministry of Regional Development and a PULSE expert to coordinate the final version of the Standard Regulations. In the course of discussions of the Standard Regulations, representatives of ministries supported the position of the PULSE Project expert and removed the Provision with the requirement to set up a specialised service in each administrative and territorial unit, thus ensuring the independence of local governments in making such decisions. Since there are more than 20 thousand rural, town and city populated areas in Ukraine, the expenditures for maintenance of specialised services workers (at the rate of one worker with the minimum wage) would have amounted up to 1 billion UAH. The relevant regulatory and legal document was endorsed through Cabinet of Ministers Resolution # 824 of August 08, 2019 # 824. The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine prepared amendments to the Directive on the procedure for registration and maintenance of personal files of recipients of all types of social assistance. The PULSE 48

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Project expert provided a number of comments and suggestions to the Directive regarding the functioning of local governments. In July 2019, the Ministry conducted a meeting with the PULSE expert to consider his comments and suggestions. Following the meeting, the Ministry took into account the main comments and suggestions of the PULSE Project expert: the period for storing logs of registrations of applications/personal files in local governments was reduced to 5-10 years (previously they were kept permanently); some registers may be stored exclusively in the electronic form (not in paper form as before). Changes to the Instruction were endorsed by Directive of the Ministry of Social Policy # 1106 of July 17, 2019. The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine prepared a draft National Standard for Sign Language Translation. Taking into consideration the fact that the PULSE Project Expert had a number of comments to the draft document, the Ministry conducted a workshop with the AUC and NGOs in September, 2019. The main comments of the PULSE Project dealt with shifting the responsibilities to local governments the latter were not in a position to fulfill. Following the meeting, the Ministry of Social Policy will elaborate the draft standard and will define local government responsibilities according to their capacity. The ministry is planning to elaborate the draft standard in Quarter 4, 2019.

Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine The Ministry continues its cooperation with the Association of Ukrainian Cities within the framework of the Youth Capital of Ukraine all-Ukrainian contest. The Association of Ukrainian Cities serves a key partner of the Ministry in the competition in term of cooperation with local governments. The purpose of the competition is to strengthen and improve cooperation of young people with local authorities and to develop the youth environment in cities. Taking into consideration the upcoming start of the Youth Capital of Ukraine 202 competition, the PULSE Project came to an agreement with the Ministry of Youth about conducting information meetings in each oblast with the participation of local governments and young people. In September, 2019, Regional Offices of the Association of Ukrainian Cities in cooperation with the regional coordinators of the Youth Capital of Ukraine competition conducted meetings for local governments and young people about participation in the Youth Capital of Ukraine 2020 competition. These actions will provide an opportunity for local governments to establish cooperation with young people and better develop local youth policies. These meetings will continue in October. In August, the PULSE Project expert together with representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, and Ministry of Finance participated in a working meeting on paid services that may be provided by communally-owned youth centers. The Ministry of Youth came up with a recommendation to endorse a list of such paid services by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers. The PULSE analyst and the Ministry of Finance came up with a suggestion to give the right to youth centers to determine on their own what paid services they will provide. The Ministry of Youth Sports agreed to this proposal. In the near future, the Ministry will develop a legal act that will make it possible for youth centers to independently determine paid services. The PULSE Project expert joined the work to select best practices of young people work in 2018 within the framework of the competition organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sport. One of the goals of the competition is to promote the work of young people in local governments. On July 02, 2019, a PULSE Project expert participated in a working group of the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine on the preparation of the Strategy for Healthy and Safe Lifestyles of Children and Youth endorsed by Directive of the Ministry of Youth and Sport # 727 of February 12, 2019 “On Setting up a Working Group to Develop the Strategy for the Promotion of the Healthy and Safe Lifestyle of Children and Youth”. The PULSE Project expert came up with additional suggestions for the National Strategy for promoting healthy lifestyles for children and youth for the Period up to 2025. The suggestions were taken into account.

National Service of Ukraine for Labour In connection with the endorsement by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Procedure for local government control of compliance with the labour legislation (new version), a PULSE Project expert came to an agreement with the National Labour Service to conduct the relevant training for local governments in each oblast. In September – November, 2019, Regional Offices of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, in 49

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cooperation with outreach offices of the National Labour Service will conduct training for local governments on innovations in monitoring compliance with labour legislation. These activities will help local governments to better deal with shadow employment in communities and fill the local budget through tax payments.

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine On August 19, 2019, the AUC Executive Director and a PULSE Project expert attended the August conference of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine under the title New Ukrainian School: Issues and Prospects for the Educational Reform". approximately 650 persons attended the event including Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groisman, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugh Mingarelli, community mayors, local government representatives, experts, academics and teachers from Ukrainian communities, as well as international partners. During the event, the AUC representatives participated in discussions on continuing reforms in the sector of education and its financial support.

During the reporting period, the PULSE Project expert participated in two meetings of the Organisation Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for conducting the WORLDSKILLS UKRAINE All-Ukrainian Professional Competition (September 16 - 30, 2019). The competition is conducted to promote blue-collar professions, provide professional orientation for young people, and integration of vocational education into the global education space. The involvement of the PULSE Project to the informational and organisational work for the competition will facilitate the dialogue between employers, local governments and vocational training institutions to support the labour market including public utilities with skilled workers.

According to the decree of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 1243 of September 26, 2019 "On Endorsing the Composition of the Colleguim of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine", the PULSE Project expert became a member of the MES Board to represent the position of village, town and city councils with regard to their powers in the sector of education. According to the Regulations on the Collegium of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine endorsed by the Directive of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine # 522, the collegium is a consultative and advisory entity and is in charge of preparing recommendations for the implementation by the Ministry of Education and Science of its tasks, coordinated solutions of issues within the Ministry competence, and for collective and free to discussion of important areas of its activity.

Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of Ukraine On September 09, 2019, a PULSE Project expert made a presentation under the title “Primary art education as a prerequisite for community development” at the final conference of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine Step into the Future pilot project on the implementation of educational programs in art schools. In her speech she spoke about the current status and prospects for the development of primary art educational institutions, as well as on the position of local government bodies in ensuring reforms in this sector. In her report, the PULSE Project expert used the findings of city and CTC survey on issues in primary arts education. Approximately 200 representatives of Ukrainian arts educational establishments participated in the event.

On September 30, 2019, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine conducted a meeting of the working group to prepare the Concept of inclusive art education in the premises of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve. The meeting was chaired by Director of the Department of Art Culture Tetyana Kolos. Representatives of art educational establishments, trade unions and technical experts participated in the meeting. The PULSE Project expert from the Association of Ukrainian Cities joined the work to prepare the draft Concept of inclusive art education. The participants of the working group came to an agreement on the structure of the Concept, discussed the main content, as well as the model for ensuring inclusive art education. In addition to this, they expressed their views on the prospects of cooperation with the Inclusive Resource Centers regarding the psychological support of students of the out-of-school institution. Thanks to the involvement of the PULSE Project expert the working group managed to avoid using complicated terminology and overlapping provisions with clarification of certain wording. In addition to this, the text of 50

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the draft Concept is now in line with the Laws of Ukraine “On Education” and “On Local Self-Governance in Ukraine”. The working group managed to avoid setting up individual departments for inclusive arts education at the level of local governments. Everyone agreed this is the sphere of work of already established Inclusive Resource Centers, as this would provide an opportunity to save significant community resources and to direct them to other important needs. In addition to this, students of arts educational establishments are usually part of students of inclusive classes of already established comprehensive secondary educational establishments, which will provide opportunities for comprehensive coverage of these children with the services of Inclusive Resource Centers. At the moment, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine is considering the proposals of the working group members and will present them in the form of the draft Concept for public discussion.

Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture A PULSE Project expert is a member part of the Intergovernmental Commission for the preparation of recommendations for the inclusion of industrial (manufacturing) parks in the Register of industrial (manufacturing) parks. The Commission was established under the Ministry of Economy. During the reporting quarter, the PULSE Project expert participated in meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission. The PULSE Project expert reviewed the materials on industrial parks, put together a list of questions to these materials, and participated in discussions during the meeting. Achievements: in the reporting quarter the Register of the Ministry of Economy included the Bizes-prime (Trostyanetska CTC, Lviv oblast), Chortkiv-West (city of Chortkiv, Ternopil oblast) and VINTER SPORT (city of Vinnytsya).

Vinnytsya Oblast State Administration In July, 2019, a PULSE Project expert participated in the all-Ukrainian event under the title “Youth policy in Ukraine: partnership and development prospects” organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine and the Vinnytsya Oblast State Administration. The purpose of the event was to coordinate cooperation, share experience and best practices of working with young people between executive authorities and local governments to improve the quality and effectiveness of youth policy in the regions of Ukraine. The PULSE Project expert made a presentation during the panel discussion on interaction between young people and government authorities and discussed the mechanisms for implementing local youth policy with the representatives of young people and central and local governments.

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Activity 1.3. Local governments improved their practice and quality of services because of the sound decentralised legislative basis for local governments

1.3.1. Legal and technical assistance

During the reporting quarter, the Project continued supporting its network of Reform Offices at AUC Regional Offices consisting of regional consultants on legal and budget issues. Also, the Project supported the work of six regional local economic development consultants to focus on rendering priority assistance on local economic development issues in 30 territorial communities from all oblasts. The activities of all these consultants were supported by regional communications consultants.

During the reporting quarter, the network of consultants provided, in general, 2,474 consultations for local government officials, local council members and other persons, with the total number consultations provided since the beginning of the project being 33,399.

During the reporting year, PULSE Project consultants provided:

Table 1.10. Consultations provided to communities by PULSE Project regional consultants

Quarter 4, Quarter 1, Quarter 2, Quarter 3, Technical area Total 2018 2019 2019 2019 on budget issues 1,264 1,255 1,302 1,277 5,098 on legal issues 1,024 937 968 945 3,874 on local economic development 254 249 209 252 964 Total 2,542 2,441 2,479 2,474 9,936

With the assistance of AUC reform offices, the following results with regard to community consolidation/annexation were achieved during the reporting year:

1.3.2. Web-tools to increase the efficiency of local government activities

The web-tools prepared by the PULSE Project during Project Year One were integrated into the AUC web site. The main page of the web site provides access to the following tools: − Electronic Law Creator; − Consultations; − e-petitions; and, − Fair of Ideas.

The Decentralisation Section provides links to the Sectoral Dialogue page where users may choose to go to 10 Sectoral Platforms. In the Consultations Section, PULSE Project experts published 36 consultations in Quarter 4 in the following sectors: land and communally-owned property – 12, local finance – one, education - 20, and health care - three. Inquiries of local nature received from the site through the Consultations Section receive their answers from experts through emails.

During Project Year Four - PULSE Project experts published 272 consultations in the Consultations Section of the AUC web site in the following technical areas: public education -70, human resources - 24, communally-owned land and property - 15, health care - 15, social protection - 8, and local finance – 4, - 3 webinars were conducted for local government specialists on land management, education reform, and health care reform, 52

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Health care reform in Ukraine – PULSE Project webinar at the America House in Kyiv On May 28, the Project organised and conducted a webinar on health care in CTCs. Svitlana Ostashko, expert of the Association of Ukrainian Cities on health care, answered questions from the audience. She made a presentation under the title: "The Health Care System." During the webinar, the audience put the following interactive questions to the PULSE Project expert: − problems with the implementation of the health care reform in CTCs including a lack of funding for the health care sector; − increasing the state delegated mandate to local governments without providing the necessary resources for its implementation; − treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus and renal failure; − ensuring remuneration for health care staff, etc. The event was conducted by the PULSE Project in collaboration with the America House Kyiv together the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). The webinar video is available at: https://youtu.be/ep54n52yrnI

Education Reform in Ukraine - PULSE webinar in the America House in Kyiv On March 26, the Project organised and conducted a webinar under the title: " Decentralisation reform in the sector of education in Ukraine: education in CTCs". Lyudmyla Mozhova, expert of the Association of Ukrainian Cities on education, answered questions from the audience. She described the main directions of reforms in the education system in Ukraine, in particular, spoke in detail about the reform in line with the concept of the New Ukrainian School and about the local government tasks for its implementation at the local level. During the webinar, the audience put the following interactive questions to the PULSE Project expert: − problems of schools with low number of schoolchildren and future prospects for optimisation of the network of educational establishments; − transfer of children and teachers to hub schools and the right of primary school children to obtain education at the place closest to their place of residence; − attracting young specialists to work in rural areas; − areas of state financial support to schools; − social protection of teachers who will be laid off during the school network optimisation; and, − remuneration of teachers. The webinar was organised following the All-Ukrainian Training for PULSE Grantors "RELEASE 3.0" (February 27, 2019, Kyiv) whose participants expressed their desire to receive more clarifications from the expert on various aspects of reform in the sector of education in the context of decentralisation. The event was conducted by the PULSE Project in collaboration with the America House Kyiv together the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). The webinar video is available at: https://youtu.be/BM5q9ZvF-R4

PULSE webinar on CTC land management On December 11, the AUC organised and conducted a webinar on land resources management within the framework of the PULSE Project and in cooperation with the National Cadastre Agency on management of land resources in CTCs. The main purpose of the event was to provide CTC representatives with the opportunity to obtain explanations and technical recommendation on land resource management directly and from the specialists of the government office. As one probably remembers, in February this year, the process of transferring lands located beyond the boundaries of populated areas to communal ownership started. Local managers do not have sufficient experience in managing large land plots. Moreover, thanks to the fiscal decentralisation, land is one of the key local government resources, so local budget revenuers and

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attraction of investments in community development largely depend on effective management of this resource. The webinar was broadcast online on the AUC Facebook page. Heads of CTC land management departments were present in the audience. The speakers were heads of technical departments of the National Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre. Ya. Raboshuk, Director of the AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting, moderated the event. 1.9 persons joined the webinar audience. Both the audience in the hall and network users in the comments below the video could put their questions. There were approximately 200 questions. The video is on the AUC Facebook account will continue to serve as a "training guide", because the representatives of the State Cadastre Agency announced that the land transfer to newly established CTCs will continue next year. The webinar is gaining in popularity, with more than 4,600 views and 113 “shares” were recorded at the end of December. As one probably remembers, in February, 2018, the AUC upon the instruction of the Cabinet of Ministers together with the State Cadastre Agency prepare a practical guide for CTCs on the transfer of lands o communal ownership. The manual was distributed to communities across Ukraine.

During the reporting quarter, the AUC website posted 12 explanations from the central state executive authorities including those received upon appeals from the AUC or local governments: ● in the sphere of land relations and communally-owned property – 4; ● in the sphere of education (including financial support) – 4; ● in the sphere of health care (including financial support) – 2; and, ● in the sphere of local finance – 2;

The information on webinars conducted by IREX, PULSE subcontractor, is described in more detail below in 3.1.3 and 3.1.4.

1.3.3. Feedback: receiving and disseminating

Annual survey of AUC member municipalities In September, 2019, the PULSE Project conducted an annual online survey of village, town and city mayors of AUC member communities to identify problems, spot achievements and needs, and to collect data to monitor project activity and track the reform progress. The survey covered representatives of 308 AUC member communities including 179 consolidated territorial communities. 265 interviewees expressed their positive attitude towards the implementation of the decentralisation reform. Selected findings of the survey were included in the PULSE Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. More detailed information on the survey findings will be provided in the next quarterly report.

Data collection from regional consultants or from communities During the reporting period, PULSE Project experts conducted a survey of local governments: - on the consequences of endorsing the National normative pecuniary valuation of agricultural lands in different oblasts of Ukraine. The survey findings showed a significant decrease in the normative pecuniary valuation of agricultural lands beyond the boundaries of populated areas after it took effect. In some cases, the difference in collections before and after its endorsement has reached five or more times. The results of the survey were used as arguments for lobbying community interests during the meeting with the State Cadastre Agency; - In July, the AUC conducted a of its members regarding the choice of the algorithm of steps to safeguard their interests in the context of the endorsement of CMU Resolution # 560 of June 26, 2019. 37 AUC member cities provided answers about what they will do with regard to the introduction by the CMU of cap tariffs for heat supply. In accordance with the proposed options suggested by the AUC, most often the cities chose the options of demanding compensations from the National Budget and appealing the

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resolution. Aiming at providing follow-up assistance to cities in appealing CMU Resolution # 560, AUC experts drafted the text of a lawsuit and disseminated it to cities; - in pursuance of the Letter of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine # 3515/33/13-19 of June 27, 2019, a PULSE Project expert conducted a survey of cities of oblast significance in oblasts of Ukraine on problem issues in the sector of art education. The AUC received 33 letters from local governments, which are founders of art educational establishments. The expert overview of problem issues was sent to the Ministry of Culture; - on the current status of the purchase during 7 months of 2019 by local governments (village, town and city councils) of government securities (domestic government bonds): about the volume of deposited temporarily unused local budget funds through the purchase of government securities (internal government bonds) and profit from such transactions.

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Expected Result 2: Resources under local self-governance authority increased

Impact on local government activities

The timeframe of Quarter 4 of Project Year 4 coincided with the work of two Cabinets of Ministers (of V. Groisman and O. Honcharuk), which were quite different from each other due to political circumstances. The actions of the Groisman Government were marked with the apparent desire to "leave a strong footprint" in its interaction with local governments, getting rid of "control of the Presidential Administration of the former President” and, at the same time, first, probably trying to integrate into the "new team" and then (realising the futility of these efforts) to start doing certain "political achievements" that would be inconvenient for the new government to get rid of without raising concerns (and sometimes anger) of local governments. In July, the 19th Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (the Groisman government) endorsed a series of resolutions to raise, on average, 40% of social standards, such as wages for teachers starting with 2020. However, such decisions were made without the proper financial support. Already in September, the newly appointed Honcharuk government noted the lack of local and National Budget funds for such an increase, which caused some dissatisfaction of local governments. In calendar Quarter 3 of 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers continued the habit of "manual" distribution of National Budget to territorial communities and endorsed a number of directives on redistribution of additional subventions for the maintenance of educational and health care establishments and the education subvention: - 83.9 million UAH of the additional subvention was redistributed for cities and CTCs of the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Chernihiv oblasts; - selected communities of the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson and Cherkasy oblasts additionally received 12 million UAH of the education subvention. For the first time, the Cabinet of Ministers (the Groisman government) decided to support social and economic development of smaller towns and cities and allocated 2.5 billion hryvnyas for this purpose. However, the Office of the President decides to suspend the transfer of these funds to local budgets. Along with these funds, the government also blocked the transfer of funds from the National Regional Development Fund. At the end of the reporting quarter, not without taking into consideration the negative reaction of local governments on the situation mentioned above, the central government unblocked 6.7 billion UAH of the National Regional Development Fund and these funds were directed to local budgets. On August 29, 2019, the parliament voted for the new government headed by O. Honcharuk and the new Cabinet of Ministers introduced the draft National Budget for 2020 on September 15. In general, the draft document implies negative scenarios for local governments: - direct loss of local budgets from the reduction of state support and reduction of revenue sources - 13.1 billion UAH; - failure to support the delegated mandate (sectors of education and health care) with the proper funding - 71.5 billion UAH; and, - losses local governments incurred due to the decisions of central government authorities - 55.6 billion UAH. According to the State Treasury, local budget revenues (excluding intergovernmental transfers) will amount to 286.9 billion UAH in 2019 (the adjusted forecast for October 01, 2019), which is 8.8% more than in 2018 (263.5 billion UAH).

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The overall political context of the last month of the reporting year gives reasons to assume that the new Cabinet of Ministers does its best to minimise the fiscal autonomy of local governments and to slow down fiscal decentralisation in 2020. This observation is described in more detail in Section 3.

Activity 2.1. Local self-government resources are increased ensuring local government financial autonomy

2.1.1. Tools to increase own resources of local governments

Municipal Fiscal Register (MFR) Currently, of 21 CTCs that have applied for connection to the Municipal Fiscal Register software, 5 CTCs are active users of this product: Bibrska CTC (Lviv oblast), Oleksandrivska CTC (Donetsk oblast), Khodorivska CTC (Lviv oblast), Bilopilska CTC (Sumy oblast), and city of Brody (Lviv oblast). According to MFR developers, these communities initiated the preparation of additional modules: military draft roster, entry of information on property owners, outcoming and registry documentation, improvement of land information processing, unification of the reference system, etc. At the moment, MFR developers are working on the preparation of these modules. The current reasons why only few communities are covered by the software (5 CTCs out of 21 CTCs) include: the issue of personal data security has not been properly defined; expensive server installation; unwillingness to introduce a new position for filling and maintaining databases in the payroll. In addition to this, today, the Innovation Center within the framework of the U-LEAD project has launched a URBIO (E-Solution for Community Development) platform for the 30 CTCs, whose purpose is to introduce the URBIO Communally-Owned Property communal property accounting program, URBIO Address Book address accounting, and the Register of Territorial Communities computer program. In fact, the U-LEAD project duplicated the initiative implemented by the AUC and its preparation of the Municipal Fiscal Register software package. The software developers working within the framework of the U-LEAD project offer the following: • constantly updated licensed products; • secured data in a special DATA center, CISS (comprehensive information security system); • unified technical support and a window to experts; • integration with state registers; and, • product that was successfully tested at the test site – city of Kyiv. Thanks to systematic training and training using registers, the selected communities are better informed about the opportunities and their benefits. The Municipal Fiscal Register is a piece of software that offers information on real estate, communally- owned property, and land plots and ensures processing of these data, preservation and access to information for each individual local budget, as well as offers information on students, pre-school children, and citizens served by health care establishments, citizens who need of social assistance, and registers of privileged persons. The MFR provides an opportunity to optimise the expenditure part of local budgets and ensure better revenue flow to them, analyse the amount of benefits and the justification to provide them, and forecast the necessary amount of funds for complete implementation of the delegated mandate. The introduction of the MFR has become even more important in the context of the transition to monetisation of benefits and privileges.

Formation of the system of national social standards and norms During January – August, 2019, the period of the 19th Cabinet of Ministers (the Groisman government) did not see any fundamentally important changes in the sphere of modernisation of the system of national

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social standards and norms (hereinafter referred to as NSSN). Some changes were episodic and often controversial. In particular, before the snap parliamentary elections, the Cabinet of Ministers utilised "political" means, to pretend to be addressing the problem with the failure to implement (unsecured) state social guarantees in education and health care sectors having, in fact, no real possibilities to implement such guarantees. The start of the new 20th Cabinet of Ministers (the Honcharuk government) in September, 2019 pretended to be the "reboot" of NSSN in the context of the decentralisation reform. The President of Ukraine initiated the next wave of NSSN reform in the sphere of public services (Decree # 647/2019 of September 04, 2019), which looked quite unusual for the Ukrainian politics. The proposals of the President were taken into account in the Action Plan of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers # 849 of September 29, 2019). Given the tight closing dates for consideration and endorsement of the program, it would be too early to label the plans of the President and Cabinet of Ministers as purely declarative. However, there are already reasons to assess how realistic the revisions of individual goals, objectives and indicators for territorial communities are. Of the planned indicators, it is worth mentioning the increase of the basic NSSN and the nominal subsistence minimum, which was increased from 1,921 UAH to 2,007 UAH (for work able persons) as of July 19, 2019 (or by approximately 4.5%). At the same time, the minimum salary remained unchanged – 4,173 UAH. In this case, the actual subsistence minimum almost doubles the nominal figure. For example, the amount of “minimums” paid from the budget ranges from 42.5% (for work able persons) to 50.3% (for children and disabled persons) of the relevant actual minimums subsistence level. In the context of strengthening the financial autonomy of local governments, exacerbating of the funding gap between the declared and the actual cost components of NSSN can be interpreted as the preservation of the central government policy of local government “unfinanced mandate” when the state transfers additional expenditure categories to communities without transferring the necessary financial resources to local budgets. During July – September, 2019, the PULSE Project joined the preparation and endorsement of 8 regulatory and legal documents that significantly impacted the NSSN system. Much of the advocacy work of PULSE Project experts in Quarter 3 of 2019 focused on supporting local government efforts to receive financial resources from the National Budget earmarked for local budgets in the law "On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2019". In particular, thanks to PULSE Project experts achieved: − the government partially resolved the problem with the shortage of the education subvention for CTCs of the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Cherkasy oblasts for timely payment of salaries to teachers by redistributing 12 million UAH of "reserve" funds of the subvention, which was not used up by rayons (CMU Directive # 496-р of July 10, 2019); − CTC budgets of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast received 78.2 million UAH to make timely payment of salaries to employees of educational and health care establishments. This was possible thanks to the redistribution of the remaining balance funds of the additional subvention to cover the expenditure categories transferred from the National Budget (through CMU Directive # 679-р of July 24, 2019); and, − increase by 1 billion UAH in 2019 of funds to local budgets to cover expenditure categories for remuneration of primary care physicians through the redistribution of expenditures for the pilot project for the implementation of state health care guarantees (secondary aid, CMU Directive # 600-p of July 24, 2019); At the same time, the efforts of PULSE (AUC) experts also focused on preventing the risks local governments may face while exercising of their delegated mandate in providing education, health care and social services to residents. They solved the issue retaining the balance of local budgets while preparing or improving regulatory and legal documents related to NSSN. In particular, they removed additional risks of potential failure of local governments to comply with NSSN in 2019 – 2020 due to the decisions the Cabinet

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of Ministers made unilaterally bypassing discussions with Ukraine-wide local government associations, in particular: − On July 10, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed a directive to distribute 2.5 billion UAH of the subvention funds for activities for social and economic development of certain territories between local budgets. However, despite repeated requests by the local governments and the AUC to central state executive authorities, the Ministry of Finance blocked the payment of these funds. This led to a large scale suspension of the implementation of construction, reconstruction and repair projects with regard to social and economic infrastructure in communities; − Resolution # 695 of July 10, 2019 to increase salaries of teachers of pre-school, out-of-school and vocational educational establishments as of September 01, 2019, as well as Resolution # 822, which, starting from 2020, provides for an annual incremental increase of the salaries of teachers, additionally require approximately 120 billion UAH from local budgets; − Resolution # 755 endorsed on August 14, 2019, which increases the salaries of coaches and trainers of Children and Youth Sport School, will require the additional funding in the amount of 677 million UAH in 2020. In the course of discussions of draft regulatory and legal documents, PULSE Project experts emphasised the need to introduce mechanisms for reimbursement from the National Budget of additional expenditures incurred by local governments, as stipulated by Article 142 of the Constitution of Ukraine. In particular, such proposals were made with regard to the above mentioned Cabinet of Ministers draft regulatory and legal documents, as well as to: − Draft Law of Ukraine “On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020” # 2000 of September 15, 2019, to which experts submitted proposals to increase the National Budget funding by 118.2 billion UAH to local budgets for them to cover state guaranteed education, health care and social services in 2020 through increasing the education subvention, funding for state health care guarantees, and compensation for social benefits granted by the state; − Draft Law of Ukraine # 2144 of September 16, 2019, to which experts submitted proposals to introduce a formula for the distribution of the subvention funds to cover the expenditure categories sifted from the National Budget to local budgets for maintenance of educational and health care establishments, which would provide opportunities to resolve problem issues with funding for the local government delegated mandate in 2020. Thus, during Project Year 4, one could observe the emergence of three main tendencies with the NSSN reform. First, a systematic increase of basic NSSN during the budget process, which has an unpredictable effect on the status of local budgets: on the one hand, it strengthens the fiscal base (at the expense of the PIT), but on the other, it increases local government expenditures on the remuneration of employees of public sector institutions. Second, the central government has failed to complete at least the first phase of the NSSN reform due to the lack of political will. In particular, the government did not fulfill the tasks specified in the Budget Code and the Action Plan of the 19th Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to take inventory of the regulatory and legislative framework, preparation and endorsement of NSSN in the narrative and cost formats by each type of powers delegated to local governments. Also, the central government failed to fulfill the tasks envisioned in CMU Directive # 77-р of January 23, 2019 for line ministries to develop NSSN and calculate the cost of providing public services in accordance with NSSN for each type of state delegated powers. Although all of these regulatory and legal documents mentioned above remain in force, the question of their implementation by the new Cabinet of Ministers remains open. As noted, the 20th (new) Cabinet of Ministers has not yet departed from the policy of shifting underfunded expenditure categories to local governments, as well as the dangerous habit of delaying or even reducing funding for investment, social and general expenditures envisioned by the law on the National Budget (Note. O. Markarova, the person who used to serve as the Minister Finance in the previous government continues to work as the Minister of Finance under the 20th Cabinet of Ministers). 59

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Third, in the context of the incomplete NSSN reform and uncertainty about the further status of decisions and regulatory and legal documents already endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers and the parliament, the new government has launched the next wave of the NSSN reform. As noted, in early September, the President of Ukraine launched initiatives to establish a service state and improve public services (Decree # 647/2019 of September 04, 2019). The document outlines a number of tasks and activities to ensure proper implementation of rights of physical and legal entities in the sphere of public service provision including administrative services and establishing the modern infrastructure for providing such services. The Government was instructed to ensure: - defining and implementing uniform requirements for the provision of public services including performance indicators, time limits, satisfaction rates of clients, etc.; - introduction of an effective mechanism to control the provision of public services; - simplification of procedures for providing and receiving services and ensuring their accessibility. The tasks identified by the President were reflected in the Cabinet of Ministers Action Plan (CMU Resolution # 849 of September 29, 2019).

As to the sectoral decentralisation, the Program draws the attention by its provisions on priorities to reform the system of state guarantees and NSSN of public services: 1) in the sector of education regarding: − providing children of 4 - 6 years old with different forms of pre-school education (kindergartens and pre-school educational establishments); − developing new modern national education standards, appropriate assessment methods (number of students, teacher load, accessibility, inclusivity); − setting up a school network capable of providing quality education to all children regardless of their place of residence (hub school, school bus, stadium, additional support for promoting educational space in each school). 2) in the health care sector to ensure: − access of citizens to the guaranteed package of health care services on the principle of "money follows the patient"; − availability and affordability of the state-guaranteed package of drugs for patients in the network of pharmacies affiliated with the Affordable Drugs Program; − free and safe childbirth within the limits of state guaranteed scope of health care services; − 24/7 emergency health care; − veterans receive an additional state-guaranteed medical package. 3) in the sector of social protection and social security concerning: − expansion of the list of services provided according to the "money follows the patient" principle; − implementation of the system of international standards and protocols for service delivery; − continued monetisation of social benefits; − making sure persons with disabilities have access to all administrative buildings. 4) in sector of culture, physical culture and sports regarding accessibility of: − libraries, art education, and arts through centers of culture and youth centers in communities; − physical training and recreational services through the network of stadiums constructed by the state and local governments, parks, and recreational zones for residents of territorial communities. 5) in the security and safety sector, concerning:

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− guaranteeing round-the-clock accessibility to assistance from civil protection services and police for community residents; − timely notification, shelter availability, and assistance in emergency situations (saving lives, health and property). In addition to these objectives, the Cabinet of Ministers Action Plan also sets out some priority goals for improving the quality of the living environment at the level of territorial communities, namely: − preserving and expanding the green tourism economy served by municipal utility companies; − increasing the number of streets and roads with street lighting in populated areas; − introducing of state control of quality of provided local government services in the sphere of urban beautifications; − consistency of policies to establish capable consolidated communities coupled with the transfer of resources and powers to make sure residents receive the minimum necessary set of public services; and, − setting up a new system of service provision within administrative, hospital, security, judicial, inter- municipal districts by streamlining the powers of local governments and local state executive authorities, with the subsequent transfer the majority of sectoral issues to local governments so that the a citizen of any community gets the accessibility standard of public services. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers set a number of new tasks for central state executive authorities in the sphere of NSSN reform, some of which are (logically a continuation of) the tasks of the previous Cabinet of Ministers. Accordingly, PULSE Project experts plan to: 1) monitor the implementation of the NSSN reform initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers; 2) join the process of improving the regulatory framework for NSSN; 3) promote the formation of a unified, common, and strategic vision of the NSSN reform by CSAE, local governments and local offices of the state executive on the basis of AUC sectoral strategies; 4) to provide comments and suggestions to draft regulatory and legal documents on the introduction of uniform quality and efficiency criteria for the provision state guaranteed public services, preparation of methodologies to calculate local government needs and formulas for distributing financial resources between local budgets by delegated state power; harmonisation of types and forms of state oversight and control of local government activities to provide public services to residents of communities. Thus, there are all the needed prerequisites for the practical implementation of the NSSN reform. At the same time, the experience of PULSE Project interaction with state authorities speak about such critical components of this process as the availability of the political will to overcome the administrative resistance of bureaucrats, as well as for openness and transparency of the work of involved CSEA, and their willingness to involve local government experts in the preparation of standards and requirements communities will use. Accordingly, in 2019 - 2020, the cooperation between CSEA and local governments is expected to continue in the sector of the NSSN.

2.1.2. Dissemination of best practices and replication of experience

Collections of successes and best practices In Project Year Four, three BOOKS OF SUCCESSES and the YOUTH AND COMMUNITY BOOK: CHANGES FOR SAKE OF THE FUTURE were published. These are short stories about how decentralisation affects the lives of communities. All in all, the Project published such compilations with 333 success stories. The achievements of the communities presented in the books have become a reality thanks to decentralisation. This reform has been recognised as the most successful one in Ukraine. To date, 848 consolidated territorial communities have been established, 782 of which having direct relations with the National Budget. On December 22, 2019, the initial local elections will take place in 86 consolidated territorial communities, with snap elections taking place in 32 CTCs. Also, 40 CTCs have been established with administrative centers in cities of oblast significance. Communities receive more powers and resources, and, therefore, 61

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more opportunities for growth and development. Community residents feel how their daily lives change: children go to new kindergartens and schools, first aid stations provide high quality health care services, and CASs issue biometric passports. Local governments are introducing a lot of innovations to attract investment, improve their tourism potential and develop local infrastructure. Also, digitisation as a tool to strengthen the relationship between the community, local government and businesses is a great success of communities. And this is thanks to new resources and powers to manage them independently that local governments are able to make changes and implement projects aimed at improving the social sector, improve the quality of services, build infrastructure, activate local economic development, etc. The purpose of the BOOK OF SUCCESSES is to demonstrate these positive developments in lives of villages, towns, and cities. Obviously, the financial powers communities receive promote new opportunities for development and moving forward to improve the quality of life of Ukrainians. The publication will be distributed to AUC member communities and will be presented to partners and government authorities. The AUC official web site offers the electronic version of this document.

"Itinerary of Successes. Best local government practices”

During Project Year Four, the Project continued the implementation of the national program for success replication study tours for local government officials, which is aimed at dissemination of best practices and successful experience in resolving local problems and innovations, particularly through the growth of local budgets in the context of fiscal decentralisation and new powers in the process of sectoral decentralisation. In Project Year Four, PULSE organised 6 study tours with the participation of 202 local government and mass media.

The details of the study tours are provided in Annex B.

2.1.3. Dissemination of best practices and replication of experience

During the reporting quarter, the Project did not conduct any activities under this component.

Activity 2.2. Tools for local government to access additional financial resources are in place and utilised

2.2.1. Training for local government officials

During the reporting quarter, the Project did not conduct any activities under this component.

2.2.2. Promotion of access to resources

Subvention for infrastructure improvements in consolidated territorial communities. A PULSE Project expert serves on a permanent basis as a member of the Ministry of Regional Development committee for selection of projects for infrastructure improvements in CTCs to be financed through the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets. The PULSE Project expert contributed to the unbiased and impartial selection of projects submitted to the committee by CTCs. Based on the results of 2018, the committee approved 2,717 infrastructure projects from 664 consolidated communities of the total value of 1,897 billion UAH, which is 99.8% of the annual amount of the subvention. As of the end of Quarter 3, 2019, the committee approved 2,720 projects of the total value of 2.1 billion UAH.

National Regional Development Fund The PULSE Project expert serves on a permanent basis as a member of the committee to evaluate and select of investment promotion programs and regional development projects, which can be implemented at the expense of the National Regional Development Fund. These funds provide opportunities for local governments to implement projects that contribute to their local economic development. All Cabinet of

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Ministers regulations and approvals of investment programs and regional development projects received concurrence from the AUC. In 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed a list of more than 800 projects worth of approximately 6 billion UAH. The Cabinet of Ministers Directive # 351-р of May 15, 2019 to endorse a list of 336 investment programs and regional development projects of the total value of 3.3 billion UAH. The PULSE Project expert concurred with the draft document. Thanks to the PULSE Project expert, the committee members while considering projects resolved disagreements with regard to four local government projects, thus directing additional 30 million UAH to local economic development. Given the formation of the new Cabinet of Ministers, the government blocked the disbursement of funds to local budgets. The AUC launched and together with local governments conducted a flash mob to unblock the funds. In addition to this, thanks to the participation of the PULSE Project expert in the MRD committee, it was possible to identify problems and in cooperation with AUC Regional Offices to collect the necessary information and pass it on to the MRD to address the risks. The AUC has succeeded in unblocking the NRDF funds. On October 09, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed a directive that actually unblocked the NRDF funds to communities. Thus, thanks to the consistent actions of the PULSE Project, local budgets managed to raise 6.7 billion UAH as co-funding from the National Budget for the implementation of 691 projects, which will contribute to the local economic development of territorial communities.

The Small Cities - Great Impressions cultural and art project competition The Government approved the list of winners of the Small Cities - Great Impressions cultural and art project competition, which are implemented in 2019 according to Directive # 535-p of July 10, 2019. The Small Cities – Great Impressions Project is a competition of cultural and art projects of communities with the under 50,000. Its purpose is to develop the cultural and economic potential of the territories by supporting start-ups on cultural heritage of communities. The Cabinet of Ministers has allocated 50 million UAH for the implementation of such initiatives in 2019. This year, 74 projects became the winners of the competition. The expert selection took place in two phases: first, the open selected the content of the projects, and then, the projects had to be defended in the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. Representatives of the PULSE Project were actively involved in the competition.

Increased number of registered industrial parks The PULSE Project Expert is a member of the Intergovernmental Committee on Preparation of Recommendations for the Inclusion of Industrial (Manufacturing) Parks in the Register of Industrial (Manufacturing) Parks set up under the Ministry of Economy. During the reporting quarter, the PULSE Project expert participated in meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee: she prepared the materials on industrial parks, formed up a list of questions to these materials, participated in the discussion during meetings. As a result, in the reporting quarter the following industrial parks were included in the Register of the Ministry of Economy mentioned above: Bizness Prime (Trostyanetska CTC, Lviv oblast), Chortkiv- West (city of Chortkiv, Ternopil Oblast), WINTER SPORT (city of Vinnytsya).

Preservation of cost share contributions of developers for the development of infrastructure in populated areas Thanks to the active position of the AUC, local budgets managed to retain collections from cost share contributions of developers for infrastructure improvements in populated areas till 2021. Representatives of the PULSE Project succeeded in: preparation of amendments for the second reading of the draft law "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Legislation Regarding Incentives for Investment Activities in Ukraine" (Registration # 1059 of August 29, 2019); participating in the meetings of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development; cooperation with interested National Deputies; and involved active mayors. All these actions helped to defend the position of local governments to retain collections from cost share contributions to ensure the social and economic development of territorial communities. The next step will ensure the preparation of an effective compensation mechanism in 2020, to make up for the losses of local budget revenues after the abolishment (as of 2021) of cost share contributions. 63

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Assistance in sharing information about resources.

The PULSE Project organised the Resources for Communities fair as part of the Day of Dialogue with the Government Authorities during the Ukrainian Municipal Forum on June 18, 2019 in Odessa. 16 projects/organisations participated in the event. Namely:

1. The Council of Europe Strengthening Democracy and Trust in the Local Level in Ukraine Project 2. The Council of Europe Promoting Citizen Participation in the Democratic Decision-Making Process in Ukraine Project 3. The Council of Europe Decentralisation and Local Self-Government Reform in Ukraine Project 4. Canadian Government PLEDDG Project 5. USAID DOBRE Project 6. Swedish Supporting Decentralisation in Ukraine Project 7. EU U-LEAD with Europe Project 8. DESPRO Project (Switzerland) 9. Project of the International Organisation for Migration for Implementation of the National Mechanism for the Interaction of Entities Conducting Activities to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Including Children, in the Odessa Oblast 10. UNICEF Vaccination Project 11. EGAP project 12. United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine 13. UNDP Project 14. USAID Competitive Economy of Ukraine Project 15. USAID Policy for Ukraine’s Local Self-Governance Project (PULSE) 16. Also, the materials of the USAID Citizens in Action project were distributed.

The event was attended by more than 400 participants of the Ukrainian Municipal Forum.

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Expected Result 3: Capacity of stakeholders increased Impact of local government activities. Context Reforms, including decentralised and sectoral reforms continue. In 2019, 782 consolidated territorial communities have direct inter-budget relations with the National Budget, in other words, they make use of the "benefits" of the decentralisation reform. On June 30, the initial local elections took place in 66 communities in 18 oblasts. The mayors and local council chairmen and members were elected in seven city, 14 town and 45 village CTCs. These 66 CTCs will have direct inter-budget relations in 2020. Currently, in Ukraine there are already 848 consolidated territorial communities. In addition to this, in 2018, 25 cities of oblast significance have established consolidated communities by annexing the surrounding communities. In 2019, this process continues, and as of the end of September, 37 more cities have completed community consolidation procedures (now they are 33 such communities, with nine cities being in the middle of this process. Hence, communities have received increased resources and expanded functions and powers, and now it is extremely important to learn how to use them for the benefit of their inhabitants: how to promote comfortable living conditions, improve service quality, effectively plan development and develop strategies that will increase their own revenues and attract investments. Therefore, the task of PULSE Project to train local officials, in both new small and large communities is still relevant. The goal is to increase the ability to perform new powers and functions, to provide public services. The project implements a set of various educational and professional activities for local governments, teaches how to work in the new conditions of decentralisation. It is important for both small and large communities to learn from real cases of transformations and improvements of living conditions thanks to community consolidation. The work of the PULSE Project to identify and disseminate community successes becomes even more important with the change of the government in the country. The presidential majority has come to parliament to appoint a new Cabinet of Ministers. The new country leadership proclaim its commitment to support further decentralisation and announce their intention to complete this reform. The positive examples of community life after consolidation and increased community resources serve as a good motivational factor in supporting reforms in the society. PULSE activities cover by direct reform participants, stakeholders, and sectoral reforms at all levels. These include: high level government officials, local government officials including those from consolidated territorial communities, media representatives, and the general public. PULSE has established cooperation with the new parliamentary Committees and received government acts from the new Cabinet of Ministers for concurrence. For state officials and parliamentarians, conclusions are drawn up for draft regulatory and legal documents, the problems of local governments are summarized and proposals for their solutions are provided. At the same time, PULSE provides central state executive authorities with information channels to disseminate messages on national reform policies both through communication with the audience during AUC events, and through the dissemination of their statements and speeches. For media, the communications component of the Project prepares and distributes press-releases and hot- press releases, and holds press events at the regional level. Numerous messages for the general public are distributed through various media, printed and online media, and social networks. The Project continues its activities to form a favourable environment for decentralisation reforms in the regions. All AUC Regional Offices in all oblasts work together with PULSE regional consultants in four areas, such as local finance, legal issues, and communications. There are LED consultants working in six local development hubs and cover all oblasts. AUC Regional Offices work as think tanks for reforms in regions implementing activities to promote decentralisation reform and disseminate promote its achievements through study visits under the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component to successful communities in its own or neighbouring regions, press tours for regional media, consultations and meetings.

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To provide the communications support of this activity, the Project continued the Decentralisation Marathon account in the Facebook networks, which now has almost 4.8 thousand likes. This resource serves as a reliable source of information about the life of consolidated communities and the status of implementation of the local government reform at the level of local self-governance. This is the resource where communications consultants post information about community events, best practices, press tours, regional “Itinerary of Successes” tours, as well as about events taking place in communities. The PULSE Project has been active in promoting decentralisation successes and community consolidation in the AUC web site Successes section and the Videoteque of Successes on the AUC YouTube channel.

Activity 3.1. Local governments and stakeholders are informed and capable of carrying out new roles and responsibilities flowing from decentralisation reform

3.1.1. Capacity building for local officials at the local level

Sectoral legislation drafting and advocacy laboratories

The PULSE Project in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat holds a series of two-day practical trainings for local self-governance officials on drafting legislation. The key purpose of this activity is to give the participants practical knowledge and skills necessary for drafting legislation and the accompanying documentation, to study the principles of the legislative work and legislative process, to familiarize with the work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Parliamentary Committees. The participants are selected at the competitive basis from among the local officials of the communities-AUC members; after completing the course, they receive certificates.

During Project Year Four, PULSE organised four workshops for 142 local government officials.

On May 23 - 24, the Project conducted the sectoral legislation drafting and advocacy laboratory for local government specialists in the sector of education. The event brought together the following participants: representatives of Association of Ukrainian Cities member communities who work in the sector of education management. L. Mozhova, AUC education expert, moderated the meeting. H. Skopenko, Head of the Department for Relations with Local Authorities and Local Governments of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, opened the event. The staff of the Main Legal Department of the VRU Secretariat familiarised the participants with the legislative procedure and the rules of drafting legal acts. Specialists of the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat spoke about the peculiarities of expert evaluation of draft laws. Representatives of the Protection of the Right to Information Law Center introduced the topic on open data as a toolkit for legislative initiatives. The framework of the workshop included a round table on education management with the participation of representatives of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Education, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities, and Association of Ukrainian Cities. At the end of the first day of the workshop the participants went on a tour of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine building. On the second day, the representatives of the AUC member communities became familiar with the work of the Inclusive Resource Center of the Darnytskyi District of the city of Kyiv. Ihor Parasyuk, Director of the PULSE Project, in the premises of the AUC handed out certificates to the participants on successful completion of the workshop.

On April 18 - 19, the Project organised and conducted a sectoral legislation drafting laboratory for local government specialists to discuss staffing and organisational aspects of local councils. In the course of the

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first session, Ya. Raboshuk, Director of the AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting, and O. Mikryukova, Director of the Department for Technical Support of the Directorate for Interaction with Local State Executive Authorities and Local Governments of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, made their presentations to the audience. V. Parkhomenko, expert of the AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting, served as the moderator of the workshop. The staff of the Main Legal Department of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine familiarised the participants with the legislative procedure and rules for drafting regulatory and legal documents. Specialists of the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine spoke about the peculiarities of expert evaluation of draft laws. Representatives of the Protecting Right to Information legal and information center presented made a presentation about open data as a tool of legislative initiatives. The second part of the round table took place with the participation of representatives of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Governance, Ministry of Regional Development and the National Agency for Civil Service. The participants discussed key aspects of reforms in the system of professional training of civil servants, local government officials and local council members, as well as the legislative framework for various forms of direct participation of citizens in resolving issues of local importance and drafting community charters. At the end of the first day of the training, the participants went on a sightseeing tour of the premises of the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. On the second day of the event, the participants learned about the work of the Secretariat of the Kyiv City Council and paid a visit to the Association of Ukrainian Cities. They also received certificates on successful completion of the training.

On April 04 - 05, the PULSE Project organised and conducted a legislation drafting and advocacy laboratory to provide training for local government officials who work in the sector of health care. H. Skopenko, Head of the Department for Communications with Local Authorities and Local Governments of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat, and Ya. Raboshuk, Deputy Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities addressed the participants during the first session of the event. S. Ostashko, AUC expert on health care, served as the workshop moderator. The city representatives became familiar with the legislation drafting procedure and rules for the preparation of legal acts, as well as about the peculiarities of expert examination of draft laws, which were introduced by representatives of the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Representatives of the Protection of the Right to Information Law Center introduced the topic on open data as a toolkit for legislative initiatives. The second part of the event was dedicated to the round table with the participation of representatives of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Committee on Health Care, Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine, Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Utilities of Ukraine, as well as Kyiv Center for Primary Health Care # 1. After the training event, the participants went on a tour of the building of the Verkhovna Rada. On the second day of the workshop, the participants visited Center for Primary Health Care # 1 and became familiar with its work. The representatives of communities continued the discussion of problem issues in the sector of health care in the premises of AUC Executive Board. Executive Director of the Association O. Slobozhan presented the participants the Certificates on successful completion of the workshop.

On March 28 - 29, the PULSE Project organised and conducted a legislation drafting and advocacy laboratory to provide training for local government officials who work in the sector of social protection. H. Skopnenko, Head of the Department for Communication with Local Authorities and Local Governments of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Ya. Raboshuk, Deputy Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, addressed the participants during the first sessions of the event. N. Mykolyuk, PULSE experts on social protection served as the moderator of the workshop.

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M. Savruk, Chief Advisor of the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat, familiarised the participants with the legislative procedure and the rules for preparing regulatory and legal document acts. L. Demchuk, Chief Advisor of the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine presented the peculiarities of expert evaluation of draft legislation. O. Lashko, head of the Information and Legal Center for the Protection of Rights to Information NGO, spoke about open data as an instrument of legislative initiatives. The second part of the event was dedicated to the round table with the participation of representatives of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pensions, Secretariat of the Committee on Veterans, Participants of Military Activities, Participants of Anti-Terrorist Operation and Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine, and the AUC. The participants discussed the urgent issues of regulatory and legislative framework for the work of local governments in the sphere of social protection of the population and exchanged experience in resolving problems at the local level. After the training event, the participants went on a tour of the building of the Verkhovna Rada. On the second day of the workshop, the participants continued their work in the premises of the AUC. The community representatives discussed problem issues of social protection of the population and ways to resolve them. Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, handed out certificates to the participants about successful completion of the workshop.

Regional legislation application laboratories in AUC ROs

Regional legislation application laboratories are one-day training events for local government officials conducted by PULSE in AUC Regional Offices. The purpose of these events is to study and receive clarifications on new provisions in laws and current legislation, their hands-on application, as well as to provide opportunities for experience exchange. The list of topics was put together based on the findings of the monitoring of the training needs conducted by AUC ROs in 2018. In Quarter 4, the Project conducted 20 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 420 local government officials.

In Project Year Four, PULSE organised 117 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 2,534 local government representatives (1,005 males and 1,529 females).

The of the legislation application laboratories with their description is provided in Annex D to this report.

Distance learning courses

During the reporting year, the PULSE Project continued the implementation of three distance learning courses on the Prometheus online platform (www.prometheus.org.ua) and introduced 2 new courses prepared jointly with other projects.

During the Project year, the number of course participants increased from 8,962 to 21,013. The number of certificates increased from 1,657 to 8,776.

In the reporting quarter, the PULSE Project continued the implementation of five distance learning courses prepared in previous years on the Prometheus platform (www.prometheus.org.ua). The training materials and the opportunity to receive a certificate are constantly available, so the number of students has increased.

The Gender Based Budgeting for Community Development course Total number of users: 8,011 (as of July 2019 – 7,809). Certificates generated: 5,976 (74.60%) (as of July 2019 – 5,916 (75.8%)).

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The Training of Local Council Members of Consolidated Territorial Communities course Total number of users: 1,454 (as of July 2019 – 1,106). Certificates generated: 208 (14.31%) (as of July 2019 - 153 (13.8%).

The Preparation and Implementation of Community Development Projects course Total number of users: 5,322 (as of July 2019 - 5094). Certificates generated: 860 (16.16%) (as of July 2019 - 815 (16.0%)).

The Effective Budget Process in Local Governments course Total number of users: 3,884 (as of July 2019 – 3,183). Certificates generated: 1,445 (37.2%) (as of July 2019 - 923 (29.0%).

The Establishing Local Economic Development Institutions course Total number of users: 2,342 (as of July 2019 – 2,253). Certificates generated: 287 (12.25%) (as of July 2019 - 264 (11.7%)).

The statistics show a very high rate of certification, especially the gender budgeting course. Indeed, globally, a good indicator of the effectiveness of on-line courses is considered to be 7% of students who received their certificates of the total number of those who registered for the course.

As planned, the PULSE Project pilot libraries IREX worked with joined the work to promote PULSE training courses. Community residents had an opportunity to learn the course on the computers in libraries.

The Barska Community (Vinnytsya oblast) had advantages after completing the PROMETHEUS online course within the framework of the PULSE Project. After the completion of the “Preparation and Implementation of Community Development Projects course, which was attended by 23 local residents and 4 local government representatives, some citizens from the Barska community managed to raise additional funds in the budget of their CTC. The winning projects included the following: - The Art of Making Dreams Come True, a social project by Roman Mocharny (budget: 14,993 UAH); - BarNews.City – online platform of Iryna Rudyk; - One Hundred Thousand of Karpenko-Karyi: Rehabilitation of ATO Participants with the Help of the Theatre” by Roman Hryhoryev (budget: 340,070 UAH).

3.1.2. Training of local government officials of the oblast and rayon levels

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During the reporting period, the Project conducted 49 expert workshops for representatives of rayon and oblast councils on the following topics:

"Innovative opportunities for economic growth of regions" - 13 expert workshops “Business planning of activities of public health care establishments belonging to the local government ownership" - 15 expert workshops “Local government reform and formation of effective territorial arrangement of government institutions in Ukraine" - 17 expert workshops "Informing the public about the activities local councils – as a way to understanding and openness” - 5 expert workshops "Vision for the development of the sector of public education in the context of reforms of the system of government" - 5 expert workshops

1,150 persons including 649 males and 501 females participated in these events

Also, the PULSE Project conducted two Ukraine-wide expert workshops, one of which included two topics: “Business planning of activities of public health care establishments belonging to the local government ownership" and “Local government reform and establishment of an effective territorial arrangement of government institutions in Ukraine”. At the same time, the budget for conducting these expert workshops was not exceeded.

In the reporting quarter, working within the framework of the sub-agreement between the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils (UAROC) and the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC), UAROC organised and conducted 4 expert workshops for the representatives of rayon and oblast councils, on the following topics: ● “Business planning of activities of public health care establishments belonging to the local government ownership (July 04, 2019, city of Kyiv); ● "Innovative opportunities for economic growth of regions" (July 03, 2019, city of Zaporizzhya); ● “Local government reform and establishment of an effective territorial arrangement of government institutions in Ukraine” (August 21, 2019, city of Lutsk); and, ● "Informing the public about the activities local councils – as a way to understanding and openness” (September 25, 2019, city of Odesa). 88 persons including 56 males and 32 females attended these workshops.

These one-day professional workshops were organised for representatives of rayon and oblast councils and interested local government officials. The purpose of these events is to promote decentralisation and sectoral reforms. In the course of the workshops, the participants discussed the regulatory and legislative framework and specific issues related to local government technical areas, and reviewed the dynamics of the establishment of consolidated territorial communities in Ukraine, as well as the issues and peculiarities of the implementation of reforms in Ukraine.

Of problem issues that need to be resolve, the participants mentioned the following:

Topic: "Business planning of activities of public health care establishments belonging to the local government ownership” ● most of health care establishments at the primary and secondary level currently do not have the necessary material and technical base including the equipment that would fully meet the requirements that customers (health care establishments) have for the manufacturers; ● own local government resources are considerably limited, as because of poor budget local governments received unjustified additional expenditure categories;

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● insufficient funding from the health care subvention to cover such expenditures as salaries for employees in the health care sector, cost of drugs, and medical treatment.

Topic: "Local government reform and formation of effective territorial arrangement of government institutions in Ukraine” ● approaches to determe the territorial basis for the formation of state executive authorities on the oblast territory; ● ability to move at the government proposed pace (600 days); ● pre-term parliamentary elections have a negative effect on the feasibility of the proposed plans and may discredit the reform; ● accountability of newly formed local government bodies; ● there are no solutions for optimal distribution of powers between local government bodies and state executive authorities, as well as on each local government level; and, ● the legislation does not specify the entity to establish and liquidate rayon state administrations.

Topic: "Informing the public about the activities local councils – as a way to understanding and openness” ● difficulties in ensuring public awareness about local government activities; ● citizens are slow in following new ideas; ● lack of proper Internet coverage on certain territories; ● insufficient level of interaction between government authorities and citizens; ● feeding information to sites; and, ● failure to take into account various categories of population (elderly people, young people, etc.), each requiring a separate approach.

Topic: "Innovative opportunities for economic growth of regions” ● inactive oblast level authorities in ensuring the economic development of the region; ● tourism potential is not used sufficiently; ● poorly developed business support infrastructure; ● lack of incentives to a business by young people, and obtain professional experience; ● the system of certification of agricultural products for market participants in accordance with the EU requirements is not properly introduced; ● no system for the comprehensive promotion of a tourist product and information network for tourists; ● low level of business co-operation; ● insufficient level of foreign direct investment and lack of active promotion of investment proposals of the Kherson region; ● significant degree of depreciation of fixed assets of companies with insufficient investments for their renovation and modernisation; and, ● insufficient level of in-depth processing of agricultural products, dominance of the raw material component in the structure of exports of companies in the oblast.

The expert workshops once again confirmed the urgent need for establishing communication and connections between local government representatives and leading experts with regard to the implementation of the local government reform and reform of the territorial arrangement of government institutions in Ukraine. The information and knowledge obtained during these expert workshops will help the participants make their daily work more professional and efficient, as well as will contribute to the proper understanding and interpretation of decentralisation processes taking place in Ukraine.

3.1.3. Training librarians as communicators of reforms (in cooperation with IREX)

While implementing P. 3.1.1 of the PULSE Project, the IREX team continued to support public awareness activities to engage citizens in the decentralisation processes in partnership with the Library + non- 71

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governmental organisation (NGO) teams. By engaging reform support activists, central government and local government representatives, as well as AUC regional consultants to the event conducted by regional media, IREX has managed to conduct the public awareness campaign about the benefits and consequences of the reform. During the reporting year, the PULSE Project provided funding to 64 library + NGO teams from 70 consolidated communities and communities as they embark on community consolidation for informational public engagement events.

New channels of communication: ● IREX set up a YouTube channel dedicated to the PULSE activity called “My Community - My Welfare” to inform communities and distribute video training materials to all project participants; ● IREX provided weekly updates of events (digests) to members of the Reform Support Groups (RSGs), representatives of library press clubs, NGO grantees and all cohort libraries (1,087 recipients) through the online platform. As a result of these updates and information received, community residents shared the latest decentralisation news, participated in training events, forums, and sent applications to other organisations to seek support for their communities; ● The IREX-PULSE Facebook group, which includes 796 participants including librarians, NGO representatives, RSG activists, was updated on a permanent basis throughout the reporting period. Currently, it serves as a platform for information sharing, disseminating of news about legislation amendments, and collecting materials that may be useful in the process of decentralisation in Ukraine.

Training and support for pilot communities: ● IREX prepared a new training program for pilot communities, which was useful both for the current partners and new partners who were involved this year; ● IREX prepared a set of informational materials for the participants of the PULSE training with the participation representatives from 711 communities in Ukraine; ● On February 19, 2019, the IREX team conducted a webinar for 64 participants to discuss the conditions for the implementation of the project in communities before conducting training for pilot communities in Kyiv; and, ● On February 27 - 28, 2019, IREX conducted training for pilot communities in Kyiv for 71 selected communities (total number of participants - 135);

Financing of events ● IREX provided funding to selected partner libraries/NGOs from 70 consolidated communities or communities in the process consolidation for conducting public awareness events, monitored the implementation of the phases of the grant agreement to issue new tranches (the implementation completed in the reporting quarter); ● During the reporting year and quarter, the IREX team provided continuous technical support to local communities throughout the program activities. For example, the IREX team provided consultations on how to conduct events and assisted with the preparation of documents and establishing contacts with AUC regional consultants, local government authorities and media.

Activities for citizen participation ● All in all, 6,415 participants (72% - females and 28% males, 40% - young people (up to 29 years old), belonging to different layers of the population and representing a variety of institutions attended 298 citizen awareness events organised in pilot communities. These events also brought together 45 AUC consultants who shared their expertise on the progress of decentralisation reform and provided answers to questions from community residents; ● 145 media representatives participated in public awareness activities; ● the IREX team monitored 23 information events on public participation. These monitoring visits provided an opportunity to identify candidates for the Reform Support Group (RSG); and; ● the team prepared, produced and sent out sets of most essential information materials consisting of the “most necessary” materials and selected through consultation with project participants. The team

1 The number of participants in the training. However, one team stopped its participation in the Project due to the lack of capacity to implement the PULSE Project (see the Section “Implementation Problems and Barriers” for more detailed information) 72

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assembled kits with information materials and handouts and sent them to pilot communities. They used and disseminated these materials during citizen engagement and decentralisation activities. The list of information materials included in the information set is as follows:

- A folded leaflet with the title: “Structure and powers of government entities of the consolidated territorial community”; - An A5 format Public Budget Information Card; - An information card with the title: “Administrative services in CTCs; - An A5 format Information card with the title: "Highlights of organisational aspects of the community life”; - An A5 format Information card with the title: “Decentralisation”; - 2 A3 format event posters; - An A6 format Information card with the title: “Who the starosta is?"; - An eco-bag with participation budget infographics; - A My Community - My Well-Being Information corner, Zvanivka, (Donetsk oblast) July 07, banner, 85X200 cm; 2019 - An A3 crossword puzzle; - A folded leaflet with the title: "Youth Council"; - A poster with general information on all aspects of decentralisation in the A1 format; - A notebook of the Ambassador on Decentralisation; and, - Stickers, 8 types

Also, the information set included the information materials prepared by IREX partners: - the “Book of Successes”: 1st edition, 2nd edition, 3rd edition, provided by the AUC; - «Child Friendly Cities», provided by the AUC; - Leaflets prepared by the USAID «Citizens in Action project» project with the title “How to register an NGO”; - Brochures provided by the USAID «ВзаємоДія» Project with the title: “Charge against Corruption” and the «Toolkit to work with young people”; - An A5 format card prepared in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine with the title: “The system for providing the population with cultural services. Phases of the reform”

3.1.4. Training of NGO representatives (in cooperation with IREX)

While implementing PULSE P. 3.1.4 during the reporting year, the IREX team engaged non-governmental organisations (NGOs, advocacy groups, youth councils, professional cooperatives, media and other community leaders) to strengthen the capacity and support of 40 Reform Support Groups (RSGs). The members of each Group were selected from within one single community. The IREX team performed careful capacity-building and needs assessment work with each RSG, which provided an opportunity for IREX to develop tailored activities, resources and training events for them.

Supporting and conducting RSG coordination meetings ● The IREX held 40 coordination meetings facilitated by the most successful pilot teams of librarians and PULSE NGOs. The main tasks of the meetings were: capacity building and development of plans for the future for each RSG and motivating active citizens. During the reporting year, 452 members of the RSGs joined the PULSE Project.

Webinars

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● The members of RSGs were involved in seven PULSE Project webinars on the following topics: 1. “Where and how to seek active community residents”; 2. “Preparation of projects that can be implemented at the expense of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for infrastructure improvements in consolidated territorial communities and priorities of state support of communities”; 3. "Ways to involve citizens in the decentralisation reform”; 4. “Education in the community”; 5. "Health care in CTCs (Consolidated Territorial Communities)"; 6. “Culture in CTCs (Consolidated Territorial Communities)” (in the reporting quarter); and, 7. “Impact of Citizens on the Sustainable Development of Their Communities” (in the reporting quarter);

Online training modules In the reporting quarter, the IREX team started the preparation of the online Lecture on Decentralisation Academy (LDA) in cooperation with AUC and the Ostroh Academy. The course graduates will receive official certificates from the Ostroh Academy. Following the approval of a pilot video script on the topic: "Private entrepreneurship development in CTCs (Consolidated Territorial Communities)", which was identified as a "priority" topic during last year RSG coordination meetings, the IREX team filmed a training video module to be placed on the MOODLE platform with the technical support from the Ostroh Academy. To this Film shooting, Kyiv (Kyiv oblast), July 30, 2019 end, Dmitry Vasylenko, a regional consultant of the AUC, and Jan Ostrovsky, a private entrepreneur, were invited as experts to cover the practical and theoretical part of the module about how to start a business. The IREX staff are now working on the final edits to see whether everything they are ready to start the course for active citizens who want to develop their private businesses in their communities.

Communications ● the IREX team provided RSG members with up-to-date information on the local government reform. They received answers to their questions through the Facebook messenger, as well as through emails and in the Facebook group.

Surveys ● In the reporting quarter, the IREX team prepared, disseminated, collected, and reviewed the findings of the survey of last year target participants (librarians and NGOs) to obtain feedback on the impact of the PULSE Project on raising additional funds for community development. The pilot teams had to answer the following question: “Please put down whether the knowledge and skills you have received within the framework of the PULSE Project have helped you attract money or non-monetary resources to your community.”

With the help of the survey findings, IREX determined that the total amount of funds communities received constituted 10.8 million UAH (approximately 430,000 USD). These included: o from local authorities - 43.4%; o from international organisations and funds - 37.5%; o from private entrepreneurs and businesses - 19%; and, o from other sources - 0.08%.

Activity 3.2. Communication and outreach of decentralisation reform is enhanced

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3.2.1. Creating communication channels for central authorities outreach and messaging on decentralisation reform progress in various sectors

The PULSE Project offers for representatives of central government agencies communication channels to deliver important messages about the position, plans and intentions of the government in implementation of the decentralisation reform and sectoral reforms. In the current context, when the country is strengthening its new government, it is very important to have this position delivered to various target audiences: local governments, citizens and media. Representatives of central government authorities who are at the head of the management structure set the tone and direction of reforms in the country. At the same time, they do not always actively use the available dialogue tools to ensure citizen participation in decision making. To fill this gap, the PULSE Project provided representatives of central government authorities with communication channels to disseminate important messages about the reform. To disseminate information about decentralisation and Project activities, PULSE uses a traditional tool - news feeds on the site. The PULSE communication group continuously monitors the information space and publishes on the site important information about the activities of state authorities, state decisions in the areas of reform targeted by the Project. PULSE distributes strategic messages, quotes and video comments from high-level government officials through a site that traditionally serves as a source of unbiased and up- to-date information on local self-government in Ukraine. In addition to this, the AUC broadcasts the position of communities to have the central government, media and the public to learn about current local government developments, as well as about the issues and problems communities face on their journey to being capable communities. Various events conducted by the PULSE Project with the participation of the government authorities serve as communications channels to deliver ‘firsthand’ massages about the government policy. At the time when the Ukrainian politics faces significant changes, it is very important to establish and enhance the dialogue between central and local authorities, as well as to broadcast it in media. This helps to steer the reform vector in the right direction, as well as to strengthen the mutual accountability of the dialogue participants for its outcomes. The Project activities are open for the public and media representatives and invited to them. Thus, high level government officials have a good opportunity to talk to journalists, provide comments to the media, and explain the position of a government agency and government policy. In addition to this, the materials about PULSE events that were prepared by media representatives and PULSE informational products were used to further disseminate messages from central state executive authorities. During the reporting year, the following PULSE Project events became effective channels of public policy communication in the ‘firsthand’ format.

The Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Local Government Policy Dialogue Platform on the topic: “Legislative framework for the local government reform and reform of territorial arrangement of government organisations. The main aspects of the preparation of the National Budget for 2020 in the context of decentralisation”. The event, which took place on September 24, 2019, brought together National Deputies the new (9th) convocation who were elected from the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast: O. Savchuk, Z. Andriyovych, and I. Frisa. The National Deputies and community mayors discussed AUC proposals for the 2020 draft National Budget.

The Day of Dialogue with Government Authorities conducted within the framework of the XV Ukrainian Municipal Forum, held in Odessa, on June 18 - 20, 2019. Prime Minister V. Groisman had the opportunity to speak to the audience of approximately 400 community leaders and representatives of local government and AUC international partners, and to present his views on decentralisation achievements and the future of this reform, as well as on the necessary steps to ensure the irreversibility of the reform. Representatives of line ministries and government agencies also spoke with community mayors. The media actively covered the Forum and, as a result, the general public was informed about the common position of the central 75

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government and local governments regarding the local government reform and reform of the territorial arrangement of government institutions, improvement in the legislative framework, as well as solutions to certain problems with supporting every-day activities of territorial communities.

A roundtable within the framework of the VII Local Government Forum in Lviv, conducted by PULSE on March 16, 2019 in cooperation with the parliamentary Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Governance. The topic of the event was: “Establishment of urban metropolitan areas as a future for urban development in Ukraine. Ways and opportunities for legislative support. Experience of European countries”. National Deputies of Ukraine L. Zubach and O. Dekhtyarchuk participated in the roundtable and informed representatives of Ukrainian communities and mass media about the meaning of the draft law on metropolitan areas, as well as about the ways and advantages of establishing metropolitan areas.

A round table on the topic: “Development of territories. Key Issues of Urban Planning” conducted by the PULSE Project on March 20, 2019 in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Municipal Utilities. The event brought together National Deputies D Andriyevskyi, A. Babak, O. Kodola, A. Halchenko, and representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development who, together with directors of oblast and city departments and directorates for urban planning and architecture from all over Ukraine, worked on the preparation of the draft law "On Regulation of Urban Development Activities” for the second reading.

The National Press Club of Reforms, which brought together more than 100 regional media representatives. The event took place in Kyiv on November 26 - 27, 2018. Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine P. Kovtonyuk had an opportunity to directly inform the media about news about the health care reform and the current status of its implementation in communities, while the journalists, in their turn, were able to receive answers to their questions.

3.2.2. Strategic messaging through different media

One of the key aspects in strategic message delivery is the coverage of all spectrum of media outlets, because they are targeted a various types of audiences. The PULSE Project, being aware of modern communication trends, makes good use of social networks, which are popular, first of all, with young people. It is of critical importance to explain to young people the benefits of decentralisation, because it is them who use the benefits of the local government reform brings. Also, the PULSE Project communications experts focus their efforts on disseminating messages through Internet-based media currently on the rise in Ukraine with their target audiences of all age groups constantly growing. Currently, as of 2019, 26 million of Ukrainians use the Internet. In addition to this, on- line resources remain the most responsive and interactive media tool. At the same time, television enjoys the widest coverage and, as a rule, remains the most effective tool in disseminating the needed information. PULSE having taken this fact into consideration ensures the participation of Project experts in the air of a wide spectrum of TV Channels delivering the messages representing the core Project ideas to their audiences (first of all, medium-aged citizens). Thanks to the printed media, PULSE has an opportunity to draw the attention of elderly persons to the necessity of implementing the local government reform. The Project focuses the attention on the irreversible nature and necessity of such changes and progressive impact of the reform on the life of country residents. To ensure the permanent access of media representatives to the most up-to-date information about the implementation of the decentralisation reform, the Project web-site offers news headlines, which are updated on a daily basis. This is a so-called information bank, which serves very often as a source of information for journalists and local government representatives. In addition, The Project web-site offers press releases and press announcements for media.

At the central level:

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Events and products for media

The Fifth National Press Club for 100 regional media representatives On November 26 - 27, 2018, the PULSE Project conducted held the National Press Club of Reforms under the title: "Decentralisation: Results, Issues and Future Prospects" in Kyiv. This is a traditional event, which serves as a platform for communication with the media about the outcomes of the reforms over the last year and identifying future tasks, took place for the fifth time. The event brought together representatives of 100 media outlets (TV, radio, and print and Internet media) from all regions of Ukraine and AUC regional communications consultants. Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, opened the Press Club. In view of the political situation due to the results of increased Russian aggression and the introduction of the martial law, he started his presentation with an overview of certain peculiarities of the legal framework for the work of state executive authorities, military command, military administrations, and local governments within the framework of the martial law. Also, he spoke about how the introduction of the martial law may affect lives in communities. Then O. Slobozhan delivered a presentation under the title: "The 2019 National Budget. Will communities have development resources?” He highlighted the participation of the AUC in the preparation of the draft National Budget for 2019 starting from the preparation of the first proposals to budget consultations. The AUC managed to safeguard the following achievements for local governments: - inclusion into budgets of oblast significance cities and CTCs of 37% of collections from the rent payment for the special use of forest resources, in particular the timber harvested through prime cutting; - inclusion into local budgets collections from administrative fines and other penalties for violations of labour legislation; and, - abolishment of land payment privileges for the railway company for the use of lands within strips of landing. Earlier, the privileges introduced by the state for the railway company on the land tax payment made local budgets lose 1.2 billion UAH in 2018. The AUC Executive Director emphasised that the main goal of decentralisation is to provide high quality services to the population, while community consolidation is a tool to achieve this goal. Therefore, communities should take stock of all services, standardise them, determine the exact cost, and make them as accessible as possible to community residents. Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine P. Kovtonyuk presented the results and areas of the future directions of the health care reform. In particular, he said that Ukrainians continue to conclude contracts with their family doctors and currently 22 million people have already chosen their family doctor. 76% of patients are satisfied with the doctors who have been chosen. In 2019, electronic medical documents will be introduced, such as: the patient card, referral to a specialist, recipe, and the disability record. PULSE Project experts and specialists spoke to journalists about sectoral reforms and the process of establishment of capable communities. Following the meeting of the National Press Club for Decentralisation, regional media prepared approximately 200 publications and 35 TV stories on regional TV channels.

Press News The Project prepares and disseminates regular press news to media representatives and, in case this is needed, does the express information delivery within the framework of the “Hot Topic” component. The mailing list put together during the previous years and is being constantly updated and verified. Therefore, as of today, the total number of items in PULSE mailing lists constitutes 200 items. During Quarter 4, the Project disseminated 13 press news releases and 7 “hot news” updates: July 04 - the Association of Ukrainian Cities appeals to the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to immediately disburse 1.4 billion UAH to support smaller towns.

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August 08 - the AUC appeals to the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to accelerate the transfer of the subvention funds to communities for social and economic development. August 14 - the Association of Ukrainian Cities appealed to the President of Ukraine with a request to preserve local self-governance in the city of Kyiv. August 16 - the Chairman of the Association of Cities of Ukraine addressed the President and the Cabinet of Ministers with the request not to deprive the cities of the promised funding. September 20 – National Deputy Zinoviy Andriyovych: “We have retains cost share contributions for Ukrainian communities!” September 24 - the AUC submitted to the Parliament its proposals for the National Budget for 2020 and comments on the Draft Law on amendments to the Budget Code. September 25 - the AUC Board appealed to the President of Ukraine with a request to protect local self- governance and to prevent the approval of drat legislation that could pose threats to communities.

All in all, during Project Year Four, PULSE sent out 48 newsletters and 31 "hot news” releases.

Coverage of the AUC position and PULSE activities in media

TV coverage During Quarter 4, AUC and PULSE Project activities were covered by 15 TV programs on the following TV channels: July 01 – Ya. Raboshuk, Director of the AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting, participated in the On the Skype Time program on the Avers TV Channel where he spoke about new provisions of the legislation on the electricity market and their impact on local governments and the population. July 04 - AUC Executive Director O. Slobozhan participated in the live studio of the UA:Суспільне TV Channel, which covered the work of the Ukraine Reform Conference in Canada and spoke about the problems of the local government reform and his impressions form the Conference. July 10 – the «Дитинець» TV Channel featured a story about a the exchange study tour to Chernihiv on the preservation of cultural heritage and promoting the conditions for enhancing tourist attractiveness as a factor of economic development of the city, conducted within the framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component. July 11 – Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, provided is comments to the Channel 34 TV Channel (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) about the need to support condominium associations and to increase energy efficiency in communities. July 17 – PULSE Project expert on housing and municipal utilities O. Harnyk participated in the recording of the Mean House program on the ZiK TV Channel where he talked with the program anchors about the need for renovation of the housing stock in cities and the future prospects of implementing a unified strategy for housing renovation. July 24 - PULSE Project expert on housing and municipal utilities O. Harnyk provided two comments for the Facts program on the ICTV TV Channel, where he spoke about the current status of housing in cities and tools for housing renovation. July 25 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, participated in a press conference in the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. The main issues of the discussion included: the possibility of conducting pre- term local elections, the necessary legislative changes for local self-governance, and the future of decentralisation. August 05 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, provided video comments for the Channel 24 TV Channel about the expectations from the cooperation between AUC and the newly established Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine. August 05 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, participated in a press conference in the UKRINFORM News Agency about the problems of water utilities that arose due to the introduction of the wholesale electricity market. August 08 – the FACTS program of the ICTV TV Channel featured the material where AUC Executive Director O. Slobozhan provided his comments on the legal grounds for combining the positions of the Kyiv Mayor and the KCSA Head.

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August 13 – the «Погляд» [view] TV Channel featured a video with a speech of Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, during the approval of the Buchanska CTC 10 Year Development Strategy. August 16 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, provided his online video comments on the Channel 5 TV Channel regarding delays in transferring the funds of the subvention for social and economic development to communities. August 16 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, provided his audio comments on the Channel 4 TV Channel where he emphasised the need to transfer the funds of the subvention to communities for social and economic development. September 15 – the “Україна” TV Channel Ukraine featured a story with comments of O. Harnyk, AUC expert on housing and municipal utilities, on the tools for compensation of losses to tenants in case of destruction of residential buildings. September 17 – the web site of the Channel 24 TV Channel published the materials about the outcomes of the Ukraine of the Future Human Capital Forum with comments of AUC education expert L. Mozhova.

Radio coverage 3 radio programs featured PULSE Project activities: August 05 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, participated in a live broadcast of the Voice of the Capital Radio Station. The program was dedicated to a number of issues, in particular, funding for repairs and construction of municipal roads, as well as future prospects for decentralisation and local government. August 16 - Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the AUC, participated in a live broadcast of the Voice of the Capital Radio Station. The program was dedicated to discussing the necessity of accelerating the disbursement of the funds of the subvention to communities for social and economic development. August 20 – V. Myaghkokhod, Director of the AUC Central Office for the Decentralisation Reform, participated in the live broadcast of Voice of the Capital Radio Station. The program was dedicated to discussing the draft law introducing amendments to the law on the capital city.

Print and electronic media Interviews and comments of PULSE experts on decentralisation reforms were published in more than 27 publications in printed media and Internet resources. Media provided a wide coverage of the press conference in the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center with the participation of O. Slobozhan Executive Director of the AUC, National Deputy of the 9th convocation V. Bezhin and other experts in the sector of the local government reform. The participants of this event discussed the possibility of conducting pre-term local elections, the needed changes in local government legislation, and the future of decentralisation. Oleksandr Slobozhan emphasised that conducting local elections is possible only if the local government reform is completed and stressed the need to discuss not decentralisation, but rather the reform of local self-governance. The materials were presented in such media outlets as Ukrinform, UNIAN, Decentralisation, “Лівий берег” [left bank], ”Голос України” [voice of Ukraine], etc. Also, AUC Executive Director O. Slobozhan provided his comments to the «Економічна правда» [economic truth] publication about the need to pay the funds of the subvention for social and economic development to communities blocked by the Office of the President of Ukraine. This material was distributed in the following media: “Лівий берег”, “Дзеркало тижня” [mirror weekly], UNIAN, Ukrinform, Zik, Захід.net, web sites of the Channel 5 and Channel 24 TV Channels, etc. The article with comments of PULSE Project expert on housing and municipal utilities O. Harnyk about ways of preventing collapses of residential houses in cities, in particular, legalisation of planning of residential and non-residential premises of houses draw a lot of interests. This topic was also covered by the “Експрес” and Zik newspapers. All in all, during the reporting quarter, there were more than 379 mentioning of the AUC in media and on web sites of central government authorities and city councils. Those who wrote about the PULSE Project included such authoritative media as “Лівий берег”, Ukrinform, UNIAN, “Дзеркало тижня”, “Економічна правда”, UA:Суспільне, Decentralisation, “Голос України”, ZIK, Correspondent, BuildPortal, etc.

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All in all, during Project Year Four, AUC and PULSE activities were covered by 74 TV programs and 9 radio programs. There were 122 interviews and comments from PULSE experts in media. They were mentioned 1,419 times on web sites of central government and local councils.

Website and social networks

AUC web site The AUC web-site www.auc.org.ua is an important instrument to disseminate information to the public at large about the activities of the AUC and, in particular, about PULSE. This Internet resource has become a recognised source of trustworthy information about the current status of local self-governance and professional and specialised expert information in the sphere of local self-governance, decentralisation reforms and consolidation of territorial communities. The AUC web page, which was completely upgraded and modernised in September, 2016, is being regularly updated with new content. According to the feedback from users, it is convenient and informative. In particular, they say that the user interface of the site by intuition is easy to understand, consistent and logical. While going to the main page a visitor sees the news highlights (10 publications), 5 top news, and interactive sections including the Decentralisation: Sectoral Dialogue section, and the tools that, which reflect the multi-faceted activities of the Project. The Top News section catches the eye at once. It places most important, “hot” and significant news of the Project. The news highlights on the main page publish information about the following: - preparation of draft laws by PULSE experts and support for their approval in the parliament; - cooperation with parliamentary Committees (providing recommendations, proposals, comments, support or lack of support for draft legislation); - appeals to high level central government authorities on key problem issues local governments face and support to decentralisation reforms; - participation of PULSE experts in public events and comments to media; - coverage of PULSE activities and events; - coverage of activities and events conducted by PULSE regional consultants; - news from consolidated territorial communities and their success stories; - providing clarifications to local governments prepared by AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting; - coverage of main news and developments in the sphere of local self-governance and decentralisation, opportunities for development and capacity building of city representatives, etc.

The site offers one important section called “Decentralisation”, which offers a link to one of the 10 thematic platforms. The platforms are dedicated to the areas of sectoral reforms where the PULSE Project works. With the help of the platforms users can learn about the details of the sectoral reforms, provide an opportunity for an interactive dialogue (the “Discuss with a Colleague” tool) and get expert assistance and consultations (the “Put a Question to the Expert” tool). Visitors can submit a proposal to the current legislation or suggest a new draft law in the “Laws” section. The interactive “Fair of Ideas” and “E-Petitions” sections are also available on the web site. The special section "Successes" tells the visitor about the achievements and achievements that the community has received as a result of fiscal decentralisation and community consolidation. The publications are placed in the section of the library. The site also keeps video and photo galleries. The AUC web-site is a recognised professional, analytical and impartial source of information about local self-governance in Ukraine, decentralisation and sectoral reforms, problems and achievements of cities. The Project web-site also offers links to social media pages (Face book and YouTube), which are also used by the Project to disseminate information about decentralisation and local government reform and important Project news.

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The Facebook account The Face book account of the Association serves as a powerful tool to popularise the topic of the local government reform and progress in decentralisation and to inform about AUC and PULSE activities. Social network pages are one of important information dissemination channels allowing not only to present events, products, materials, expert information and news, but also to receive feedback from the Internet audience and to disseminate “hot news”. There is also a growing interest in the AUC Facebook account. The growth in the number of new “readers” was particularly active after Project events and publication of its new products. Over the reporting period, the number of Facebook page subscribers increased from 7,864 to 8,600. An important indicator of AUC activity on the FB network is the average coverage of posts per calendar day, which ranged from 4.5 thousand users. The biggest coverage was given to the publications dedicated to presenting AUC position during public events and in media; appeals to safeguard interests of communities; AUC participation in the preparation of the National Budget for 2020; cooperation of the AUC with central state executive authorities, as well as presentations of new AUC publications and expert opinions of AUC specialists. The highest indicators for the audience reach during the reporting period were recorded for the following publications: July 04 – 6,215 users, the Project published the post under the title: "Supporting smaller towns and villages - priorities of the Association of Ukrainian Cities". July 25 – 5,425 users, the Project published the post under the title: "O. Slobozhan stressed that conducting local elections is possible only on the condition of completion of the local government reform and emphasised the need to discuss not decentralisation, but the local government reform”. August 05 – 5,994 users, the Project published the post under the title: “O. Slobozhan: the main purpose of the reform is to establish the local governments capable of providing high quality public services on their territory”. August 22 - 33,452 users, the post dedicated to launching AUC Give Money Back to Communities flash mob aimed at unblocking the funds for social and economic development of communities blocked by the Office of the President. September 02 - 18,969 users, the Project published the post under the title: “AUC urges all communities expecting unblocking of payments for social and economic development to join the Give Money Back to Communities flash mob”, - O. Slobozhan”. September 11 - 4,039 users, the Project published the post under the title: «AUC chairman appealed to the Prime Minister to direct the funds of the subvention for social and economic development to communities”. September 25 - 4,017 users, the Project published the post under the title: "AUC Board appealed to the President of Ukraine to protect the interests of local governments and prevent the approval of draft legislation that imply threats to communities". In general, the overall coverage of AUC posts in Facebook over the reporting quarter constituted 156.5 thousand, which speaks about both the increasing audience trust to the activities and news of the AUC and PULSE and to their live interest to topics related to decentralisation in general. On average, during the reporting period, the posts of the Association were re-published 105 times.

During Project Year Four, the number of AUC Facebook subscribers increased by 1,500 and constitutes 8,600.

The YouTube account The AUC YouTube account has become a widely used source of news and information about the status of local self-governance and about the progress of decentralisation reforms. Over the reporting period, the Project provided regular updates to the “Association in Media” and “AUC Activities” sections offering important videos from media. PULSE communications experts monitor information, organise meetings of PULSE experts and TV journalists, involve experts to thematic programs, and upload the corresponding videos in the “Decentralisation and Reform Successes” and “Comments of AUC Experts” sections.

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During the reporting period, the Decentralisation and Reform Successes library received new video materials. Thanks to regional communications and reform success replication consultants who monitor local media, this section receives collections of video news about decentralisation and best practices in communities on a weekly basis. On one hand, such a collection of videos is a good and continuously updated source of information about the progress of reforms, and serves as an incentive for communities to use the experience of their peers, join reforms in the country, and enter into community consolidation to receive more resources and powers, on the other. In addition to this, the Project constantly updated the "Comments of AUC Experts" section. This collection of videos contains comments from PULSE Project experts and consultants on key issues of decentralisation and implementation of sectoral reforms. The video library provides an opportunity to see how the position of the AUC is reflected in regional and national mass media. The visitors can also receive explanations on issues of the implementation of the reform. Also, on the AUC YouTube Channel, the Project set up a new video library called "Itinerary of Successes". This is a series of videos on the about study visits organised within the framework of the “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component, which is being implemented within PULSE. In this section, the visitors can see how the community's successful experience is disseminated and how "Itinerary of Successes" local government best practices are replicated. The AUC YouTube account has 10 video sections: “PULSE of Reforms TV Project” (a video library of the PULSE of Reforms Project component with more than 200 video stories about successes communities have achieved thanks to decentralisation and PULSE Project activities), “Decentralisation and Reform Successes” (a collections of videos sorted by oblast), “Comments of AUC Experts”, “AUC Activities”, “Association in the Media”, "Itinerary of Successes", as well as previous collections of videos, such as “Decentralisation Marathon”, “Social Videos”, “Your Government” (selection of programs within the framework of the joint Project with the Channel 5 TV Channel), and “CITY-minded Ukraine” (selection of programs within the framework of the joint Project with the TONIS and UT-1 TV Channels). Approximately 300 network users have subscribed to AUC video news.

PULSE Project publications Table 3.1. Project publications

Publication title Targeted audience Description The “AUC Herald” printed AUC member The sections of this publication inform monthly publication communities, AUC communities about the AUC activities including partner organisations the implementation of the PULSE Project. The publication is distributed to AUC members, presented to partners and event participants, and is published electronically on the AUC web site. During Project Year Four, 10 issues of the AUC Herald were published. The “Pulse of Reforms” International This is a bi-lingual weekly publication electronic digest organisations, presenting PULSE activities over the past week international technical and featuring Project and local government assistance Projects, and news. This publication consists of two main Project partners chapters: “PULSE in action” and “Decentralisation and Sectoral Reforms: News and Developments”. The materials for this publication are prepared on Fridays, with the mailing taking place early next week. The mailing list is constantly updated. For example, the Ukrainian version is sent to AUC partners,

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representatives of the state executive and parliamentary Committees AUC experts work with, while the English version is sent to more than 90 emails of international organisations. During Project Year Four, PULSE prepared 48 e- digests. BOOK OF SUCCESSES AUC member- The quarterly compilation offers about 100 communities and AUC short stories about how decentralisation partner organisations affects lives in communities. The publication will be useful for local government practitioners, media and anyone who is interested in the topic of decentralisation. This collection is disseminated during various PULSE Project events and is posted on the AUC website. In Project Year Four, PULSE published 4 BOOKS OF SUCCESSES. ITINERARY OF SUCCESSES AUC member- This is an annual compilation based on the Best local government communities and AUC "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange practices partner organisations study tour Project component. The publication offers 8 articles about cities where the study tours took place during 2018. The collection is distributed to participants of study tours and presented to AUC partners. The electronic version is available on the AUC web site. Local Self-Governance in AUC member- This is an annual publication that highlights the Ukraine in 2018 communities, experts, current status of the local government reform and government and problems local governments face in authorities various sectors and spheres. The publication was distributed to participants of the Dialogue Day and presented to AUC partners. An electronic version of the publication is available on the AUC web site.

At the local level: Dissemination of successes on local TV and radio stations and through print media Collecting and disseminating success stories of the local government reform and decentralisation is one of the key areas of activities of PULSE. This type of activity, as well as promoting such publications in regional media is supported by PULSE communications consultants. They work in oblasts and have contacts with local media. Thanks to such cooperation, regional print media and local TV channels radio stations prepare and disseminate informational products about reform successes and public expert materials and position of PULSE Project experts. Their main focus is community successes due to fiscal decentralisation, current status and future prospects of reforms in the oblast, and highlighting successes of consolidated territorial communities in implementation of infrastructure improvements and development projects. Regional communications consultants ensure the regular presence of AUC Central Office experts, regional executive directors, budget, legal and local economic development consultants, as well as mayors of consolidated territorial communities in top rating local media (radio, TV, print and Internet media) and often they themselves participate in radio and TV interviews and write articles, short sketches and prepare video stories. Local media widely use analytical materials, reviews, info graphics and comments of PULSE consultants as credible, professional and authoritative views. Based on the results of the PULSE Project activities (meetings of AUC Professional Groups and regional policy dialogue platforms), PULSE regional communications consultants convene press conferences and hold briefings with the participation of local 83

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opinion leaders, experts, CTC mayors, and directors and consultants of AUC Regional Offices to discuss issues of regional importance. PULSE Project regional communications consultants consult local media in regions about good communities in oblasts to visit to make video materials. PULSE regional consultants have learned the skills in making videos and putting them together. Earlier, PULSE purchased a set of video equipment and conducted the professional training for them. Now, the consultants are able to go out to communities, conduct PULSE Project regional events, on-site consultations, informational meetings, take interviews and comments from CTC mayors and sectoral experts and based on this prepare video stories on their own. The topics include: implementation of the decentralisation reform in the oblast, success stories from communities, participation of the AUC and PULSE Project in the implementation of reforms, etc. These stories are branded with the PULSE logo and serve as the handy material for dissemination through local TV channels, which are happy to broadcast them. In the reporting period, communications consultants produced 110 video materials. The reformatted and unified web pages of all AUC Regional Offices in the Facebook social network became an important source of disseminating community successes. These web pages serve as a valuable source of information about regional news, which are used by community mayors, local government officials and local media. Thanks to the active work of its regional communications consultants, PULSE Project has a reliable channel to disseminate in regional media not only the successes, but also specific nuances, roles and positions. During the reporting quarter with the assistance of regional consultants, regional and local TV channels aired 504 TV programs including stories about the community successes and broadcasts with the participation of PULSE Project experts. In addition to this, local print and Internet media prepared 1,964 publications. During Project Year Four, regional consultants helped to prepare 1,995 TV programs broadcast on regional and local TV Channels including community success stories and broadcasts with the participation of PULSE Project experts. In addition to this, 5,238 publications were published in the local print and Internet media.

Press tours for regional media During the reporting quarter, the Project continued to organise press tours to successful communities for local and regional media. The main purpose of the tours is to popularise the experience of successful consolidated territorial communities in local and regional media. During these site-visits, the journalists will have a chance to become familiar and actually see the successful outcomes of the formation consolidated territorial communities and have personal conversations with community leadership and citizens. Following the press tours, the journalists prepare publications in local media about successes of decentralisation. The topics of the regional press tours were selected based on the findings of the monitoring conducted by the AUC Regional Offices. In July – September, 2019, the PULSE Project organised 30 press tours with the participation of 396 representatives of local and regional media.

All in all, during Project Year Four, AUC Regional Offices conducted 90 press tours for the regional media with the participation of 1,374 journalists.

Press clubs and media events in libraries Working within the framework of PULSE Project P. 3.2.2., IREX prepared capacity-building plan for the current library press clubs and facilitated the opening of new press-clubs, thus expanding the project geographical area of influence. This approach provided a wider community audience to be informed about the local government reform and success of local initiatives fostering community development in the context of decentralisation.

Meetings with media ● During the reporting year, IREX developed a program of meetings to improve the work of press clubs. Thanks to this, 24 meetings took place for representatives of four types of media (TV, print

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and Internet media and radio), representatives of local communities, AUC regional consultants and librarians. The number staff trained in media relationships constituted 573.

Mentoring support ● IREX helped 24 press clubs finalise their annual project media plans for the year; ● IREX prepared job descriptions for three trainers/mentors to support pilot teams and press club members for the year; ● IREX engaged a third mentor to better cover the success of communities in media, as well as for better information about meetings between four types of media (TV, Internet and print media and radio), local communities, AUC regional consultants and Project participating librarians. She took 2 pilot trainings facilitated by experienced mentors and, starting with June, 2019, has provided expert support on her own.

Webinars In the reporting quarter, press club representatives were involved in the PULSE Project webinar on the topic: “PULSE Press Club Best Practices: Recipes for the Success”.

Engagement In the reporting quarter, IREX announced a competition for the best media coverage of the process of decentralisation in local communities published by press clubs. At the beginning of next project year, two winners will be selected in two categories: coverage in print media and on TV.

Media coverage of the library press clubs IREX registered 246 cases of media coverage of the process of decentralisation in Ukraine as a result of the work of library press clubs.

Activity 3.3. Increased public awareness of reform successes and trust in local governments

3.3.1. Role of Offices for Reforms: supporting reform implementation and establishment of capable communities

Work of reform offices. Seminars and workshops, work with consultants In the reporting quarter, AUC Reform Offices continued to work in all AUC Regional Offices. They included groups of experts consisting of regional consultants on legal, budget and communications issues. The Project also continued the work of six local economic development consultants, each of them being responsible for three - five oblasts. The main tasks of the regional legal, budget and local economic development consultants included: ● legal assistance to representatives of local governments; ● motivation and support for consolidation of territorial communities; and, ● conducting of information, public awareness, training and consultative activities for local governments, representatives of other interested parties, and informing media about reforms. The priority task for local economic development consultants was to support local economic development in five territorial communities (with the total of 30 territorial communities from all 24 oblasts). The attention of these consultants was focused on the following: - preparation of community development strategies, implementation plan, and monitoring system for implementation of strategies; - preparation of the community profile and investment promotion profiles; - preparation of project applications for participation in the competition to select the projects to be financed at the expense of the National Budget and grants form international technical assistance projects; - introduction of the Municipal Fiscal Register;

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- preparation of tools for supporting small and medium-sized businesses and establishing communication between local governments and the business community; and, - promotion of local business products in foreign markets, presentations of city potential for a wider range of potential partners; The main tasks of the regional communications consultants included: ● gathering success stories and best practices from territorial communities in implementing decentralisation reform and increasing own local budget resources; ● providing comments and interviewing of experts and regional public opinion leaders for media, highlighting activities of AUC Regional Offices and experts who provide AUC services in the relevant oblast, and coverage of the process of the reform in the oblast in open sources; and, ● dissemination of news related to local government and information about the activities of PULSE Project and AUC. The AUC Central Office for Decentralisation Reform provided coordination services to all regional offices, salaries and financial support for events, and provided timely consultative support. During the reporting period, the Central Office, in cooperation with LED consultants, prepared a draft guide under the title: “Local economic development models: best practices” within framework of the Incubator of Sustainable Communities. The guide consists of 2 sections: Section 1. Local Economic Development of Territorial Communities: Theory and Practice; Section 2. Successful Cases of Local Economic Development Models. The purpose of the guide is to familiarise the interested readers with the successful experience in managing social and economic processes at the local level. One of the outcomes of this success is the in-depth and systematic work of LED consultants with the pilot CTCs. This work included assistance in the preparation of strategic documents for community development, preparation of grant applications, preparation of investment proposals, explanatory work in the sphere of economic development, etc.

With the support from Reform Offices, the Project achieved the following results in the reporting quarter/year: ● provided 2,474 (Quarter 3), 9,936 (Project Year) consultations on legal and financial issues, local economic development, which facilitated the process of territorial community consolidation; ● conducted 31 (Quarter 3), 95 (Project Year) exchange study visits within the framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component wit the participation of 678 (Quarter 3), 1969 (Project Year) local government representatives who started the process of consolidation; ● conducted 30 (Quarter 3), 90 (Project Year) press tours in AUC Regional Offices with the participation of 396 (Quarter 3), 1374 (Project Year) representatives of local and regional media contributing to promotion and success of the reform.

All in all, according to the USAID geoinformation system, the consultations of the PULSE Project Reform Offices have almost completely covered the territory of Ukraine. Almost 5,000 communities (4,868) were consulted by PULSE Project experts. The consultations number tens of thousands. The map showing the distribution of consultation density throughout Ukraine is presented below.

Source of information: USAID Ukraine/PCS.

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Fig. 3.1. Density of coverage of the territory of Ukraine (by rayons) receiving consultations from PULSE Project experts reflecting the number of consultations provided to communities of particular rayons.

With the assistance from PULSE Project LED consultants who work within the framework of the Incubator of Sustainable Communities, the PULSE Project achieved the following results in the reporting quarter in the 30 pilot CTCs: ● attracted 130.7 million Euros in investments; ● opened 411 new jobs; ● 6 companies opened; ● 140 private entrepreneurs registered; ● local councils of 26 approved CTC development strategies.

With the assistance from PULSE Project regional legal consultants who work in Regional Reform Offices, the PULSE Project achieved the following results in the reporting year in consolidation/annexation of territorial communities:

Table 3.2. Overall results of the reform

Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter Quantitative indicator Total 4, 2018 1, 2019 2, 2019 3, 2019 Established CTCs 38 35 30 47 150 Territorial communities amalgamated into 171 75 246 215 707 CTCs Initial local elections in CTCs 77 0 66 0 143 Communities annexed to territorial 14 1 7 4 26 communities of cities of oblast significance

Background. The overall results of consolidation/annexation of territorial communities for the period of 2015 - 2019 (4 Project Years since the start of the reform): 87

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● 848 territorial communities where the initial local elections (CTCs) took place with the population of 7,262,057 (or, 17.2% of the total population of Ukraine of 42,188,000); ● 37 territorial communities of cities of oblast significance annexing other territorial communities, with the population of 2,685,906 people (or, 6.36% of the total population of Ukraine of 42,178,000); All in all, 9,947,963 persons are covered by consolidation/annexation of territorial communities, which represents 23.56% of the total population of Ukraine, 36.66% of the total area of Ukraine (204,852.53 sq.km of the total unoccupied territory of Ukraine of 557,500 sq.km).

The graphical representation of these results is presented above in Figure 1.1.

Regional communications consultants work in all regions of Ukraine, in close cooperation with the Central Office for the Decentralisation Reform in the AUC. The Communications Coordinator of the Office and the PULSE Project Communications Group adjust the focus of their activities on a regular basis, communicate key messages, hot news and the position of PULSE and AUC to them. During the reporting period, the consultants received recommendations about marking and branding of PULSE Project products and activities, about how to improve accounts of AUC Regional Offices in the Facebook, and how to share best practices and interesting press initiatives. The Facebook account called “PULSE: Decentralisation Marathon” opened in 2015 when community consolidation processes started became an effective communication tool for supporting PULSE activity at the regional level. This is the place where regional communications consultants post their information about Project event in communities, successful practices, press tours, regional success stories, as well as events and key changes in communities. The consultants are regularly provided with instructions on the preparation of the messages and the formulation of texts of publications on the page. In the reporting period, communications consultants placed posted almost 1,800 publications on the PULSE: Decentralisation Marathon page. Monitoring, collecting and writing success stories and best community practices and feeding them into the national success story database set up within the framework of the Project remains one of the important aspects of the work of communications consultants. During the reporting period, the consultants were also advised how to improve this work, as well as the form and content of such materials. The national success story database serves as a source of information for further preparation of publications about community successes and as a source of information for the "Successes" section on the AUC web site, as well as is used for cooperation with central and regional media. The AUC Central Office for the Implementation of the Decentralisation Reform worked closely with regional communications consultants to disseminate across Ukraine not only successes, but also “hot” messages about new legislation, local government news, and position and role of the Association in these processes. In particular, the following messages were effectively and efficiently disseminated across Ukraine during the reporting period: "The populist decision of the Cabinet of Ministers poses a threat to heat supply in cities”, "The AUC welcomes the position of the Office of the President of Ukraine on conducting local elections only after the completion of the local government reform", "The Prime Minister of Ukraine gave a directive to the Ministry of Finance to accelerate the payment of the funds of the subvention for social and economic development", "AUC: Does the Ministry of Finance assume political responsibility for closing schools and reducing the number of teachers?", "The AUC sent to the parliament its proposals to the Budget for 2020 and comments on the draft law on amendments to the Budget Code”, "AUC urges the parliament not abolish cost share contributions. Such a decision will unbalance local budgets and will block community development projects”. Regional consultants also provided communication support to communities in disseminating the AUC flash mob on FB #give_money_back_to_communities to unblock the payment of 7.6 billion UAH of the subvention from the National Regional Development Fund to communities for social and economic development. As part of a flash mob on the FB network, nearly 80 videos with appeals to the President of Ukraine were circulated with the request to unblock funding for community-based projects.

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During Project Year Four, regional communications consultants published on the PULSE: Decentralisation Marathon Facebook page more than 5,000 posts. 4,800 users follow this page.

"Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component The “Itinerary of Successes” exchange study tour Project component represent one day events to expose local government officials of the communities who have started consolidation processes to best practices of already consolidated territorial communities. The communities to visit within the framework of the program were determined on the basis of the monitoring conducted by AUC Regional Offices. In July – September, 2019, the Project organised 31 study visits. 678 local government representatives participated in these events.

All in all, during Project Year Four, AUC Regional Offices conducted 95 study visits within the framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component.

3.3.2. Spotting and promotion of reform successes

During the reporting period, the Project regularly updated the national base of successes and best practices from communities. This interactive tool provides the opportunity to track the progress of decentralisation reform nationwide, compare different oblasts, and distribute the best initiatives and municipal practices. The materials to the database are provided by regional communications consultants who monitor the communities and provide information by key areas of sectoral decentralisation. The national base is a handy source of information for preparation of materials for other PULSE communication channels, such as the web site, social networks, cooperation with media, TV Project, as well as organisation of Project events to cover success of reforms, namely: “Itinerary of Successes” replication visits and press tours. During the reporting period, the project prepared and entered into the database 136 success stories and 93 best practices. The success stories highlight the benefits and gains of communities they have received due to fiscal decentralisation and consolidation, emphasize the increased financial resources of local budgets through decentralisation reforms, possibilities of attracting National Budget subventions and international donor funds, etc. During the reporting period, there were a large number of success stories dealing with modernisation of infrastructure in the sectors of energy efficiency, housing and municipal utilities, education and health care, implementation of community security instruments, and the development of local economies. Best practices illustrate how communities (those already consolidated and those not yet consolidated) implement mechanisms to effectively use the increased local budget, in particular the implementation of sustainable development projects, organisational aspects of the provision of administrative services, social protection, health care, and education.

3.3.3. Promotion of reform successes

A significant segment of the PULSE communication component, which is now being implemented in cooperation with 24 regional communications consultants, is to increase the PULSE impact on stimulating and motivating further consolidation of territorial communities. The communities, which consolidate receive the resources and authority cities of oblast significance have and can use them for their own needs in order to improve the quality of services at the local level. The most effective tool in this work is to convince all participants in the process, and, most importantly, citizens that decentralisation will have a positive impact on the quality of their lives and to demonstrate the real successful examples of consolidated communities. The web site of the Ministry of Community and Regional Development reports that during the three quarters of this year, local budgets received 199.6 billion UAH, which is 32 billion UAH more as compared with the same indicator last year. All in all, in January – September, 2019 local budgets additionally received 119.3 billion UAH in collections from the personal income tax alone. The increase amounted to 21.2 billion UAH as compared with the last year. Land payments came in the amount of 25 billion UAH, 89

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which is 4.5 billion UAH more as compared with the same period last year. The actual flat tax revenues amounted to 24.6 billion UAH. The increase is 4.5 billion UAH. Real estate tax payment amounted to 3.7 billion UAH, or + 34.5% increase in revenues. In the course of decentralisation communities received resources, finance, powers. All these are significant tools and opportunities to ensure a meaningful local development. The reform provided communities with an opportunity to engage in long-term planning and implement projects that improve the quality of infrastructure and manage their own revenues. Community budget funds budgets consist of mainly go to repairs of roads, public transportation, repair and equipping of educational and health care establishments, opening of centers for administrative services, housing construction, children and sports playgrounds, cultural centers, inclusive resource centers, restoration of the water supply networks, etc. People feel all this in their own lives and this is the best illustration of the success of decentralisation, fiscal decentralisation, and consolidation of territorial communities. PULSE uses real stories to stimulate and motivate territorial communities for further consolidation, promote reform, convince all participants of the decentralisation process, and most importantly citizens, that decentralisation brings high quality of life and better access to services. It is important to inform hesitant communities and the media community of obvious benefits of decentralisation and community consolidation, about the real facts of effectiveness of these reforms for communities and their inhabitants. During the reporting period, PULSE Project disseminated success with its own means involving media and its regional consultants. Every day, in a special Successes section the AUC website publishes news about best practices and successful community achievements thanks to decentralisation within the framework of the information campaign called "No Day without Success". During the reporting period, the Project prepared and published 70 articles in the section. PULSE also monitors and disseminates videos of reform success. A separate channel has been created on the official YouTube channel to view all regionally collected and grouped videos on the success and implementation of the reform in the region. During the reporting period, the video library “Decentralisation and the Successes of Reforms” was supplemented by videos provided by regional communications consultants, as well as through media monitoring. The videos highlight the benefits and positives of the communities that they have received as a result of the merger. It should be noted that the promotion of reform successes is devoted to many activities and products of the Project - "Routes of Success" (regional and national), the television project "PULSE REFORM", the publication of the "SUCCESS BOOK" and best practices, the SUCCESS section of the PULSE website: The Decentralisation Marathon” on the Facebook network, published in local media, with the assistance of regional communications consultants.

PULSE Project also tracks and distributes video materials about the successes of the reform. The official account in the YouTube network has a separate channel where one can view all videos about successes and implementation of the reform in regions collected and grouped by oblast. During the reporting period, the Project consultants provided new materials to the Decentralisation and Successes of Reforms Video Library, as well as collected information with the help of media monitoring. The video stories footage highlights the advantages and benefits of communities they have gained thanks to consolidation. It should be mentioned that many activities and products of the PULSE Project are dedicated to the promotion of successes of the reform, such as “Itinerary of Successes” (regional and national) exchange study tours, the PULSE OF REFORMS TV Project, the “BOOK OF SUCCESS” publication and success stories, the SUCCESSES section on the AUC website, the Decentralisation Marathon Facebook account, as well as publications in local media by PULSE regional communications consultants.

All in all, during Project Year Four, PULSE included 360 best practices and 640 community success stories to the database, and made 320 publications on the AUC web site in the Successes section.

3.3.4 Involvement of young people and teenagers in decentralisation

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Working with young people is an important segment of promoting a supportive environment for the implementation of decentralisation and sectoral reforms. After all, the formation of public support depends, to a large extent, on the level of support from young people, since it is the nowadays young and teenage Ukrainians will have to live in a reformed country. Therefore, they must clearly understand where the state is heading to, what decentralisation means, and what the main principles of innovations are. This topic has always been and remains the top priority. Thus, during the previous years, the Project conducted special events including, for example, the Weekly School of Decentralisation for Young People (2016) and on-line local government tutorials (2016 and 2017, in cooperation with the America House in Kyiv). In 2018, the PULSE Project conducted a competition of best practices and ideas under the title: "Child Friendly City", which led to the publication and distribution of the collection of best practices, while the winners had an opportunity to attend a training event.

In Project Year Four, PULSE published the collection under the title «YOUTH AND COMMUNITY: CHANGES FOR THE SAKE OF THE FUTURE» dedicated to the Youth Day in Ukraine. This thematic compilation of SUCCESS STORIES offers 64 short stories about how decentralisation influences the life of young people in territorial communities. The materials are grouped in four sections: Young People and Government, Youth Initiatives for Community Development, Projects for Children and Youth.

Examples of working with young people published in the compilation will be useful for local governments and inspire young people to participate in the lives of their communities.

The information about experience of communities in working with young people was collected with the assistance of Project regional communications consultants.

The next edition of the BOOK OF SUCCESSES published in late September includes a special section under the title: “Youth and the Community”, which offers successful examples of working with youth and projects for young people and with their participation.

The work of communities in implementing the youth policy in the reporting quarter is also covered in Section 4 of this report in the SUCCESS STORIES.

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Chapter 3. IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS AND BARRIERS

The systemic problems in the local government sectors and relevant legislative and executive bodies that were indicated in the previous (annual report), generally did not significantly change. The latent crisis with the parliamentary majority and the parliament in general, which lasted till the elections in summer, 2019, continues to be a significant problem. Lack of understanding of their responsibility on the part of National Deputies and poor discipline often derails voting does because of a simple lack of National Deputies in the session hall. As a result, starting from April, 2018 till the July 2019 elections, the VRU failed to pass a single law to promote decentralisation and the local government reform.

Challenges for the next year. The coming into power of a new political force and the appointment of a new Cabinet of Ministers in late August, 2019 and its first steps in September, give some reason to be concerned about the consequences of the decentralisation reform (mainly in fiscal terms). The Project anticipates steps of the new Government to slowly centralise the financial resource and somewhat limit the financial autonomy of local governments while preserving the policy for the administrative and administrative and territorial reforms. The likely reason will be the Cabinet of Ministers desire to fulfill the election promises of the new President and the new parliamentary majority, which will require new sources of funds, with local communities being the most likely donors of these resources. Such a trend could also mean a certain decrease in the amount of own local government revenues in the next fiscal year. Obviously, there will be significant changes in the system of subventions and subsidies coming from the National Budget to local budgets. In particular, this will apply to sectors of education and health care. There is also reason to be concerned that the communities that will conduct elections by the end of 2019 will not get the opportunity from the Ministry of Finance to have direct inter-budget relations with the National Budget, which will also have negative effect on the reform. These are the new reform issues that will require some adjustment of the project activity in Project Year Five.

Political voluntarism of certain government entities and officials. He decision to introduce martial law on the territories of several oblasts from the south-eastern part of Ukraine made at the end of 2018 completely halted elections there and, consequently, made it impossible to establish 45 communities. This decision had a negative impact on the public opinion about how sincere the support of top government officials was for the decentralisation reform. These concerns were reinforced by the complete disruption of the 600-day government program, which offered provided a clear algorithm of actions of the parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers starting from February, 2019 until the local elections in the fall of 2020. No item in this plan was been implemented. Such actions reduce the confidence of communities in the irreversibility of the reform course and demonstrate low commitment of the government to these reforms. The “new government”, which was appointed after August 30, 2019 in the last reporting month of the quarter (until September 30, 2019), also did not take any legal action to support the reform.

One should also note some of negative aspects of central state executive authorities ignoring the procedures for discussing and getting concurrences for draft regulatory and legal documents on local self- governance from representatives of local governments and Ukraine-wide local government associations, avoiding cooperation with stakeholders, and limiting of access to public information.

Resistance from some government officials (including the President and the Cabinet of Ministers). For example, Head of the Zakarpattya Oblast State Administration Hennadiy Moskal actually openly sabotaged the reform up to the moment of his dismissal after the 2019 presidential elections.

Resistance to reforms at the rayon level management. The Cabinet of Ministers has not developed clear compensatory mechanisms for rayon level civil servants due to which, for personal reasons, many of them are deliberately blocking decentralisation processes. The

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PULSE Project together with its subcontractor (UAROC) carry out systematic outreach work for this category of officials.

Problems with project activities The remuneration of the PULSE Project staff have lost competitive advantages as compared to other international TA projects working in the similar sphere (the latter are more than 2 times higher). The employees of the new directorates of ministries also have significantly higher salaries (more than 1.6 times). This has already led to the drain of a number of PULSE Project staff and complicated the search for high quality specialists. A number of positions have been taken by specialists three times during the project.

Suggested solutions to new or current issues: Staff turnover and the problem with hiring top level specialists. To resolve this issue, the AUC management increased the salaries of most of its employees by approximately 15% in April, 2018, but even after this move, the PULSE Project remuneration remains substantially lower than in other projects. The AUC policy does not foresee salary increase (after performance evaluation for the year) up to 5% as is the case with other projects, and motivation for its employees.

Implementation of a sub-agreement with IREX ● The IREX team has announced a competition to submit new applications to the PULSE Project. Thus, the number of applications from partner teams increased from 50 to 70. However, during the selection process, IREX faced issues of lack of motivation, low capacity of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), or inability to perform project activities that would slow down the work in the 20 communities just involved. Aiming at ensuring the most effective approach to the team selection, IREX did not insist on the continued involvement of some participants who had low interest in the project or had problems with NGO activities, but made efforts to reach the intended number of involved representatives from at least 70 communities. This is why IREX decided to announce a competition for teams from all willing communities, despite the previous experience of participation in the project. This concept provided additional preferences for the project as it expanded the project geographical scope, increased the total number of informed citizens and involved new teams to support community consolidation across Ukraine. The involvement of new communities provided an opportunity for PULSE to conduct more outreach events, with more communities benefiting from the Project. Due to the larger scale selection process, IREX selected 70 highly motivated communities consisting of 30 old teams and 40 new ones from 17 oblasts of Ukraine including Kyiv and Cherkasy oblasts, which increase the geography of the PULSE Project. The selected partners received comprehensive mentor support and the opportunity to share experience with project colleagues (remotely or in person), as well as participated in the facilitation training in February, 2019. ● As the IREX team started working with 70 communities, the amount of work needed to ensure consistent grant management and community support increased. According to the prior arrangement with the AUC, it was decided that another person would join the IREX\PULSE team. The new program assistant will help to strengthen the professional relationship between the project team and its external participants, assist in the smooth work with grant procedures, monitor the seamless project implementation, and make suggestions for the preparation of informational materials. ● In November, 2019, the President of Ukraine declared temporary martial law in 10 oblasts of Ukraine. The team had to cancel and reschedule 2 media library club press meetings and visits to Reform Support Groups. ● The team of TIME NGO (Zhytomyr oblast) had internal difficulties at the beginning of the grant period of the PULSE Project. It was risky to entrust the simultaneous work with two communities to this NGO. Taking into consideration the fact that they were not ready at that time for this workload due to the lack of staff, IREX revised its previous plans for this organisation and came up wit ha decision to give it only one small grant, as well as to increase its control and support for it. In total, 93

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in Project Year Three, the IREX team supported 70 communities.

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Section 4. SUCCESS STORIES

PULSE PROJECT SUCCESSES

LOCAL BUDGETS

PULSE Project contributed to unblocking of the NRDF funds. Communities received significant financial resources from the National Budget for implementation of their projects In August, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers blocked the funding from the National Regional Development Fund for social projects in communities. PULSE collected information from local governments on projects whose funding was blocked by the Cabinet of Ministers and forwarded it to the special commission at the Ministry of Community and Regional Development. The information conveyed convinced the Ministry of the effectiveness of community-based projects and the targeted use of the funds. On October 09, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed a directive that effectively unblocked NRDF funding for communities. Local budgets managed to receive 6.7 billion UAH from the National Budget for implementation of 691 projects, which will contribute to local economic development of territorial communities.

PULSE Project helped the Ministry of Community and Regional Development to approve 1,481 projects for the total amount of 1.0 billion UAH An AUC representative is a member of the selection committee of the Ministry of Community and Regional Development for the projects that can be implemented at the expense of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for infrastructure improvements in CTCs. The PULSE expert represents the AUC position, promotes an unbiased and impartial selection of projects submitted to the committee by local governments, and safeguards the interests of local governments. The committee meets on a weekly basis, which provides opportunities for prompt review and approval of submitted projects, as well as timely funding. According to the results of Quarter 3 of 2019, 1,481 projects were approved for funding of the total amount of 1.0 billion UAH.

PULSE Project prevented the elimination of a local government revenue source The parliament received Draft Law # 10154-1 for consideration, which envisaged the abolition of the excise tax on retail sales of tobacco products. The implementation of such a rule would result in the losses of local budgets from collections from excise taxes on tobacco products of at least 3.0 billion UAH. The absence of a compensatory mechanism for such budget revenues would lead to budget cuts and imbalances. Due to the active position of PULSE experts and their negative conclusion, the draft law was withdrawn from consideration. Thus, the Project prevented the removal of the revenue source of local budgets.

PULSE Project enhanced local government capacity to support the territories affected by the armed conflict and facilitated access to the National Budget resources The Cabinet of Ministers considered a draft resolution to reduce the local budget share in co-financing of activities to support territories affected by armed conflict. Thanks to the active support of these initiatives by PULSE experts during meetings in the relevant Cabinet of Ministers Committee and the conciliation meetings, the Cabinet of Ministers on August 21, 2019 endorsed the Procedure and conditions for the provision of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for the activities to support the territories affected by the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. The improvements of the mechanism for the provision of such a subvention provides more territorial communities with the opportunity to obtain resources from the National Budget and to provide internally-displaced persons with temporary residence housing and to facilitate access to administrative services for the population living in the territories of the populated areas on the demarcation line and temporarily occupied territories.

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The AUC has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers to the biased and unjust distribution of additional subsidy from the National Budget to cover the expenditure categories of maintenance of educational and health care establishments between local budgets. During Quarter 3, the Cabinet of Ministers redistributed additional 83.9 million UAH to cities and CTCs of the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd and Chernihiv oblasts.

With the assistance of PULSE Project, cities and CTCs received a subvention for opening and repairs of existing sports facilities in schools On July 07, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed the CMU Directive # 493-p «On Endorsing the Distribution of the Amount of Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets for Opening and Repairs of Available Sports Facilities and Comprehensive Educational Establishments of All Grades in 2019». The act offers a list of facilities that will be funded through a subvention from the National Budget to the local budgets for opening and repairs of existing sports facilities in secondary schools of all grades in 2019. All in all, 150 million UAH has been distributed including 113.3 million UAH directed to the budgets of cities and CTCs, which constitutes 76% of the total amount of the subvention (the remaining 24% of the subvention were directed to oblast and rayon budgets). In particular, the subvention funds went to: • 6 oblast center cities - 29.4 million UAH (or, 20% of total subvention amount); • 14 cities - 33.4 million UAH (or, 22% of the total subvention amount); and, • 30 CTCs - 50.5 million UAH (or, 34% of the total subvention amount). Thanks to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, 59 sports complexes will be created and repaired in comprehensive secondary educational establishments in cities and CTCs. A PULSE Project expert assisted individual territorial communities in the selection of projects to be included in this CMU directive.

HOUSING AND MUNICIPAL UTILITIES The mechanism to determining the cost of heat supply services has been improved Upon the suggestion from PULSE, the government improved the Rules for the provision of the heat supply service, in particular, with regard to the possibility for local government to adjust heat consumption standards for the building with heat metering devices. Earlier, the mechanism for establishing such standards did not provide for the possibility to take into account local peculiarities. This has improved the mechanism for determining the cost of heat services and will reduce the loss of municipal utility companies.

PULSE has provided advisory assistance to local governments and their utility companies to protect their rights The Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 560 of June 06, 2019 to limit the level of tariffs for heat supply services. This restricted the rights of local governments and municipal utility companies, since the Cabinet of Ministers failed to provide a mechanism to compensate the difference between the actual and the marginal price. PULSE prepared an algorithm and samples of procedural documents to protect the interests of local governments and their utility companies. In particular, the UmanTeploKomunEnerho [Uman communal heat and energy] Company made use of these documents in the preparation of the claim of appeal against CMU Resolution # 560. At present, the claim has been accepted and is pending consideration by the District Administrative Court of the City of Kyiv.

INCREASING SCOPE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT POWERS

Tanks to the cooperation of PULSE with the Cabinet of Ministers, local governments restored their right to exercise oversight of compliance with the labour legislation

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and with the participation of a PULSE analyst developed a new procedure for exercising such oversight including the oversight by local governments. The regulation was endorsed by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution # 823 of August 21, 2019. The right of local governments to bring the labour market out of shadow and replenish local budgets with collections from taxes was restored.

PULSE helps local governments to better tackle shadow employment and replenish local budget through tax payments In the context of the endorsement by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution # 823 of the new wording of the Procedure for exercising oversight of compliance with the labour legislation by local governments, a PULSE Project expert came to an agreement with the State Labour Service to conduct the relevant training for local governments in each oblast. In September – November, 2019, AUC Regional Offices in cooperation with the territorial outreach offices of the State Labour Service will conduct training for local governments in monitoring compliance with the labour legislation. These steps will provide local governments with an opportunity to better deal with shadow employment in communities and replenish local budgets through tax payments.

YOUTH POLICY PULSE helps local governments to better prepare youth policies In the context of start of the Youth Capital of Ukraine 2020 competition, a PULSE expert came to an agreement with the Ministry of Youth and Sport to conduct information meetings in each oblast with the participation of local governments and young people. In September, 2019, Regional Office of the Association of Ukrainian Cities in cooperation with regional coordinators of the Youth Capital of Ukraine competition conducted meetings for local governments and young people to discuss the participation in the Youth Capital of Ukraine 2020 competition. These steps will provide local governments with an opportunity to engage with young people and better prepare their local youth policies. Such events will continue in October, 2019.

SAFEGUARDING INTERESTS OF COMMUNITIES

The payment of cost share contributions by developer companies for infrastructure improvements in populated areas retained The parliamentary majority registered and actively pushed for the draft law, which would abolished the payment of cost share contribution for infrastructure improvements in populated areas by developer companies. Thanks to the active position of the AUC, cities managed to retain this instrument for communities until 2021 together with a new mechanism to calculate and pay this cost share contribution. By doing so, PULSE retained local budget revenues in the amount of 1.2 billion UAH in 2020.

The parliament took into account the problem issue of local governments with limitation of their right to representation in courts starting with January 01, 2020 The list of problem issues that were sent to government authorities after discussion during the XV Municipal Forum included the issue of limitation of local government to representation in courts starting with January 01, 2020. The President of Ukraine and the new composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine actually agreed with this problem issue. As a result, Parliament gave a preliminary approval to the amendments to the Constitution (Registration # 1013) abolishing the attorney "monopoly". In other words, it restored the rights of local government lawyers to represent relevant bodies in courts.

PULSE protects local governments from unauthorised increase of powers of the National Language Ombudsman On August 21, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Resolution # 817 "On Endorsing the Regulations for the Ombudsman for the Protection of the State Language to Exercise Control of the Application of the State Language by State Authorities, Government Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Governments" and # 819 "On Endorsing the Regulations for the Interaction of the Ombudsman for the

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Protection of the State Language with State Authorities, Government Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Local Governments”.

The resolution takes into account the AUC proposals prepared by a PULSE Project expert regarding the list of powers of the control person, procedure of conducting the inspection, grounds for conducting the inspection, possibility to make written comments of the actions of the controlling person, and to challenge his/her actions, and exclusion from the text of the resolution of additional rights of the Ombudsman, which are not provided for by the Law. This enhances the capacity of local government officials to protect themselves from the potential misconduct of the Ombudsman.

EDUCATION Six communities of the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Cherkasy oblasts additionally received 12 million UAH of the education subvention On July 10, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 496- p «On the Redistribution of the Amount of the Education Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets in 2019". The document takes into account the expert material of a PULSE Project specialist on the shortage of the education subvention in local budgets in 2019. The CMU Directive helped to give funds to six communities in the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Cherkasy oblasts to cover the shortage and prevented wage arrears for teachers of comprehensive secondary educational establishments. The total amount of 12 million UAH was redistributed for the CTCs. Financial resources f rayon budgets and reserve funds of the education subvention were used to cover the relevant expenditures.

The Cabinet of Ministers took into account AUC proposals in the Procedure for competence development of teachers The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 21 August 2019 “On Certain Issues Related to Competence Development of Teachers and Research Workers”. The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorsed the Regulations for competence development of teachers and research workers. The Regulations reflect the following AUC proposals prepared by a PULSE Project expert: − the powers of the founder within the organisation for competence development of teachers have been determined; − the provision granting non-competitive advantages in the provision of education services to teachers by certain postgraduate educational establishments was removed; − abolishment of the need for the pedagogical council to recognise certain forms of advanced training, such as participation in training events, seminars, workshops, master classes etc.; − the need to coordinate the proposals of teachers for competence development with the available training funds.

The AUC became a member of the MES board The MES Board includes a PULSE Project expert who will represent the position of city, town and village councils in terms of their power in the education sector (Directive # 1243 of September 26, 2019 "On Endorsing the Composition of the Collegium of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine”). This directive testifies to the readiness of the new leadership of the Ministry to continue cooperation with the AUC.

HEALTH CARE The procedure for appointing managers of health care establishments was standardised The Association of Ukrainian Cities sent to the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine a list of health care issues to be discussed during the Dialogue Day, which included inconsistencies of the current legislation regarding the appointment of the manager of the state-owned and communally-owned health care establishment, operating in the organisational and legal form of a state-owned or communally-owned non-profit organisation. The Cabinet of Ministers resolved this issue and endorsed CMU Resolution # 792 of August

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21, 2019, which establishes the only entity to appoint the manager of the health care establishment, depending on the type of ownership: the oblast, rayon council, or village, town or city mayor.

E-GOVERNANCE The Action Plan endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers is in line with the objectives of the AUC Strategy for the Development of e-Governance and Public Services The Cabinet of Ministers plans to take inventory of all services provided by government entities to citizens and businesses to eliminate unnecessary public services and optimise them. Development of modern electronic means of identification of the person (for example, SMART ID).

DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES USAID/PULSE Gender Budgeting Distance Learning Course demonstrates record achievements - 76% in three months after launch As of April 2019 5,851 students successfully completed the online course under the title: “Gender-oriented budgeting for community development” introduced by the PULSE Project implemented by the Association of Ukrainian Cities, with 76.32% of 7,666 registered receiving their certificates. As of October 2019, there were 8,011 registered and 5,976 certified students (74,60%). This demonstrates the extreme popularity of gender budgeting in Ukraine, because, as the world experience shows, such courses have the rate of 7 - 10%. The distance learning course was launched in November, 2018 on the Prometheus platform and was developed with the involvement of the Gender Oriented Budgeting in Ukraine (GOB) project, which is funded by Sweden. The course also presents materials from the USAID DOBRE and UN Women programs. Background. Since its inception, the PULSE Project has implemented 5 online courses on the Prometheus platform, with 21,013 students successfully completed them.

IREX/PULSE SUCCESSES

The Ministry of Culture noted AUC cooperation with libraries in the context of decentralisation On May 16, Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, spoke at a seminar of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine on the topic: "Social functions of the library for children in the cultural space of the community", which took place in the Hadyatska CTC (Poltava oblast). He presented AUC activities in cooperation with libraries in the context of decentralisation, in particular, the relevant component of the PULSE Project, which is implemented by IREX, PULSE sub-partner. The event participants discussed the work of cultural institutions and their adaptation to decentralisation; new realities of cultural services in the context of the reform; formulation of language policies based on community needs; and, finding ways for the work of specialised libraries for children in communities. In late May, the AUC received a thank-you letter from the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine noting the AUC work in reforming and supporting libraries in the context of decentralisation.

PULSE activities contributed to opening of the agency of local initiatives The city of Starokostyantyniv (Khmelnytskyi oblast) opened a Center for Local Initiatives Development - Agency for Change. By doing so, the community has institutionalised the two-year cooperation between the Starokostyantyniv Is not Indifferent NGO and the city library within the framework of the PULSE Project. The main sphere of the activities of the new agency includes community development, work with young people, and promotion of local journalism. The IREX team invited the Chairman of the Starokostyantyniv Is not Indifferent NGO to conduct ten coordination meetings with Reform Support Groups in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi oblasts to share experience with the participating teams of the third PULSE Project cohort. 99

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A PULSE expert now works in the CTC council Oksana Kolesnyk who used to work in the library of the Ivanivska Consolidated community (Chernihiv oblast) is now a member of the Reform Support Group (RSG). The PULSE Project promotes such groups in partner communities. Following a year of her work in the Project, Oksana was invited to conduct a series of training events on project proposal preparation for local activists and local government representatives in the Ivanivska Community. Now, she works as the Head of the Department for Education of the CTC and is the author of the project for opening a modern library called "Mediateque". The project won the grant competition and has already been implemented.

SUCCESSES FROM COMMUNITIES The Association of Ukrainian Cities, working within the framework of the PULSE Project, collects and disseminates success stories about decentralisation and best practices of consolidated territorial communities. Communities are making significant progress thanks to the work of PULSE regional consultants who work closely with local officials, provide consultations on legal and budget issues, communications and local economic development to improve the organisational aspects of CTC activities.

EDUCATION

The Pavlivska CTC, Zaporizzhya oblast A multimedia library opened A modern multimedia library opened in the village of Semenenkovo, which is part of the Pavlivska CTC. The establishment will be open to all community residents. The local budget earmarked funds to repair and insulate the premises, purchase modern furniture, computer equipment, plasma TV, and new printed media publications. The library has been connected to the Internet, which significantly expands the range of the library services.

The Rudkivska CTC, Lviv oblast There is a new kindergarten in the village The village of Pidhayichyky, which is part of the CTC, opened the Dyvosvit [wonderland] kindergarten for three groups for 45 children. The kindergarten also opened 22 jobs. The pre-school institution was built on the terms of co-financing with the National Regional Development Fund, subvention from the National Budget for social and economic development of the territory, and oblast and local budgets. The total cost of the construction constituted almost 8.8 million UAH. The kindergarten offers all the necessary conditions for education and upbringing of children, namely: spacious group rooms, bedrooms, offices, catering section, and sanitary facilities. The facility is provided with cold and hot water. The yard is equipped with a modern playground.

The Kyrylivska CTC of the Zaporizzhya oblast Interactive learning devices The Kyrylivska CTC purchased two multimedia interactive devices for primary school pupils of the Kyrylivka Comprehensive Secondary School. The community budget spent 70 thousand UAH for these purposes. Introduction of interactive devices systems during lessons is one of the requirements of the modern educational process. This will increase the amount of illustrative material and help better learn the training material.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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The Hnyvanska CTC, Vinnytsya oblast An energy efficiency project for public sector institutions The Hnyvanska CTC started implementing an energy efficiency project worth of almost 970 EUR. The project is being implemented on co-financing terms from the local budget and from tan EU international technical assistance project. In the city of Hnyvan, the community is implementing energy-efficient activities in Gymnasium # 2, kindergarten, and in the primary health care center. Thanks to this project, the community is planning to reduce electricity consumption and reduce carbon emissions by 2020.

The Kamyanska CTC, Cherkasy oblast Construction of a solar power plant A Norwegian company is building a 25-Megawatt solar power station in the community on the territory of the former sugar factory. The investor has invested 30 million Euros in the construction project. The community will receive a number of benefits from the work of the station including the creation of new jobs and payment of taxes to the CTC budget. The community is also currently performing the preparatory works on an area of 50 hectares. The commissioning of the facility is scheduled for the end of 2019.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES The Pischanska CTC, Poltava oblast The community opened its Center for Administrative Services The modern Center for Administrative Services working the Transparent Office format opened in the Pischanska CTC. The National Budget provided 1 million UAH for the reconstruction of the premises of the former pharmacy into a Center for Administrative Services, with approximately 300 thousand UAH coming from the community budget. The Center employs 10 specialists who provide about 50 services. So now, community members can apply for all types of services not to the village council, but also to the Center for Administrative Services.

The Chmyrivska CTC, Luhansk oblast Passports in the format of the ID-card The Center for Administrative Services (CAS), which provides services to residents of the Chmyrivska Consolidated Territorial Community, was opened with the assistance of the local budget and an international technical assistance project. The community performed capital repairs of the premises and completely renovated it. The community also pursed furniture and computers, equipped its archives, installed ramps, and took steps to improve the energy efficiency of the institution. Also, the Center introduced a modern system of the electronic administration. The CAS offers a unit to issue biometric documents. Starting from December, 2018, the community CAS offers passports of citizens of Ukraine in the format of the ID-card for persons who have reached the age of 14 years, as well as biometric passports for foreign travel.

The Velykoderekalska CTC, Ternopil oblast Transparent Office type Center for Administrative Services The Center for Administrative Services, which opened in the Velykoderekalska CTC, has become the eighth Transparent Office format center in the region and will provide social services.

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The Center has a remote work station for an employment agency employee, state registrar, and specialists from justice department and the pension fund. The Center will provide almost 150 administrative services including 43 services of social nature. The community has spent more than 5.5 million UAH on the opening of the Center for Administrative Services including 4.8 million UAH coming from the National Budget, with the rest being the local budget funds.

HEALTH CARE

The Vovkovynetska CTC. Khmelnytskyi oblast New outpatient family medicine unit The new outpatient unit is a two-storied building with the modern refurbishment and medical equipment. Previously, this was the premises of a former elementary school. The staff of the outpatient unit numbers 10 employees and will provide services to 5,398 inhabitants. In outpatient unit has three physician rooms, a cabinet for medical manipulations, a day care facility, an inpatient cabinet, a physiotherapy room, a laboratory, and a cabinet of physical therapy. There facility will have an emergency aid and disaster medicine unit, a drug store, and a dentist's office.

HOUSING AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY SERVICES

The Buchanska CTC, Kyiv oblast Center for waste removal services The Buchanska City CTC opened a center for the provision of waste removal services. It provides waste removal services to more than 30,000 community residents, as well as local businesses and public institutions. Such a center is the first in Ukraine and can serve as an example for other communities. The office provides opportunities for everyone to check their accounts, get advice, buy garbage containers, and conclude an agreement for waste removal. The institution has an interactive map with a real time visual information about the garbage trucks are located.

The Dunaevetska CTC, Khmelnytskyi oblast Waste sorting station After the establishment of the Dunaevetska CTC, the community began to resolve the problem with solid waste disposal. Thanks to the community efforts, the first waste sorting line was constructed. Also, residents are actively concluding agreements for the provision of solid waste disposal services. The sorting station was being built for over a year. The necessary documents were developed and the technological line was instated. Today, the facility offers employment opportunities to 10 persons, however the staff has to increase. Demand for garbage disposal and recycling is very high, with 120 - 130 tons of waste being brought to the plant on a daily basis. Thanks to the modern technologies, the employees sort, pack and sell solid waste to waste recycling plants in Poltava, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Chernivtsi. For example, plastic bottles here are sorted into 9 types. The funds received go to the local budget.

The Starokozatska CTC, Odesa oblast A mini-plant to produce asphalt The community received the funds from the subvention for infrastructure improvements and purchased equipment for road repairs: a mini-plant to produce asphalt. The plant has the capacity to perform the

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minimum required works to produce asphalt including heating up the material directly on the site: in yards, on sidewalks, small areas, sites for engineering communications repairs, etc. The new special equipment the community will use will provide it with the opportunity to perform the works independently to reduce the cost of regular road repairs by 300%.

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Hlybotska CTC, Chernivtsi oblast The community has set up its own fish company The Hlybotska CTC has set up a Fishery Center municipal company. The main purpose of the company is conservation and reproduction of fishery potential in natural water reservoirs and fish breeding in artificial ponds. Fishery and fish marketing is a sector in the agricultural business that will raise funds for the community budget. The municipal company will be engaged in the preparation and insertion of fish in water reservoirs owned by the community. The community has already inserted more than 400 kg of industrial fish (carp, silver carp, and crucian carp). At the moment, the community is preparing water reservoirs for fishing and recreation of local residents and setting up gazebos and other infrastructure items.

The Krolevetska CTC, Sumy oblast New jobs for community residents An investor opened the Yaroslav textile factory in Krolevets on the territory of the former weaving factory in the community offering 100 employment opportunities for the CTC residents. Next year, the investor is planning to increase the number of factory employees up to 300’. The company specialises in manufacturing knitted linen, household knitwear, bed linen, and working overalls. Graduates from the Krolevets Higher Vocational School # 23 will also the opportunity to find jobs at the factory without leaving their place of residence in the community.

The Koropska CTC, Chernihiv oblast 100 thousand hryvnyas as financial support to cooperatives At its last session in 2018, the Korop Village Council approved a program to support cooperatives on the territory of the CTC in 2019. The local budget earmarked 100,000 UAH to finance the agricultural cooperatives. The community studies the experience of other regions and plans to develop its own multifunctional cooperatives.

SOCIAL PROJECTS

The Stepanetska CTC, Cherkasy oblast The community supports young parents The Stepanetska CTC has earmarked 90 thousand UAH in the community budget to provide one-time financial assistance to parents after the birth of a child. The appropriate changes were made to the local program for social protection of the population called «Турбота» [care]. In such a way, the community has expressed its willingness to support young families and stimulate the birth rate.

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"Supporting rural families in this way is a manifestation of the concern our community has about the youngest villagers", - says the message on the community web site.

The Satanivska CTC, Khmelnytskyi oblast The Center for Social Services opened The Satanivska CTC launched a unique Center for Social Services for the region. It will provide services to 8,000 community residents as well as residents of surrounding CTCs within the framework of inter- municipal cooperation. The project was implemented at the expense of the NRDF and the community budget. The total cost of the project was over 5 million UAH. The new center will be able to provide assistance to the citizens who are in difficult circumstances and in need help and to those who are in need of social and psychological adaptation.

COMMUNITY SAFETY

The Tetiivska CTC, Kyiv oblast Municipal guard The Tetiivska City CTC has started it Municipal Guard unit. This is a city organisation for the protection of public order. The unit was set up with the purpose of preventing administrative offenses, preservation of the environment and facilities, as well as improving the CTC, ensuring road safety, etc. Mayor Ruslan Maystruk handed out tokens and certificates to the staff of the unit and said that the protection of the rights and freedoms of the community should be their priority task.

The Palanska CTC, Cherkasy oblast The community has set up its own fire brigade The town of Berestovets, which is part of the Palanska CTC, has organised yet another unit of the local fire brigade. The fire station was set up on the territory of a local company. Thanks to the joint efforts of local authorities and the rayon Department of the National Service for Emergency Situations of Ukraine, the community was able to equip the premises and provide all the necessary supplies to the fire-fighters. In particular, the community directed approximately 300 thousand UAH from the budget of Palanska CTC for the repairs of a fire truck. The establishment of the fire brigade represents an important step to ensure safety of the inhabitants of this community and the surrounding populated areas, as well as reduction of material damages in case a fire.

WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

City of Slovyansk, Donetsk oblast Young people restored the water source In Slovyansk, teenagers became participants of the Young Community Energy Project, which is being implemented in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by the UNICEF International Children's Fund, with the EU funding. They and their parents work as volunteers and cleared a water spring from debris, laid the foundation and built a pump room. The donor organisation funds in the amount of 50 thousand UAH were used for water and soil analysis and to the study the channel. Such community collaboration with international organisations is a good example for training teenagers in project management, enhance their civic engagement and social responsibility for the benefit of the community development.

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City of Nizhyn, Chernihiv oblast Youth Center for Active Young People Nizhyn City Youth Center has opened doors for active young people. It is a free, creative, open space where young people will develop their ideas, implement them and have an interesting experience. Training events, seminars, watching films, educational, entertaining and training events - all will take place in this institution. There will also be clubs and interest groups run by the center staff and volunteers. The activities of the center will be coordinated by the Family and Youth Affairs Department of the Nizhyn City Council Executive Committee. Financing of the institution is provided at the expense of the city budget and additional revenues.

The Perechynska CTC, Zakarpattya oblast Coworking for young people in the museum of local lore The community opened an updated municipal institution called “Museum of local lore” where one can get acquainted with the expositions about the history of the city on the examples of peaceful and tolerant coexistence of representatives of different nationalities. These are Ukrainians, Italians, Jews, Czechs, Hungarians, Swabians, Ruthenians, and Roma. A tourist information center and a co-working area for young people were opened in these premises. This is where projects aimed at enhancing the tourist attraction of Perechyn and of the whole consolidated community will be implemented.

The Oleksandrivska CTC, Donetsk oblast Youth centers in villages within the community Two youth centers were built in two villages of the Oleksandrivska Community. The cost of the construction project in the village of Novopoltavka constitutes almost 1.5 million UAH, while the cost of the construction project in the village of Myrna Dolyna is 1.1 million UAH. Funds for the implementation of the two projects came from the oblast budget (1 million UAH) and the local budget (1.6 million UAH). Each facility will have a gym with a locker room and a hall for events and a computer class.

The Dmytrivska CTC, Kirovohrad oblast Media school for children The Dmytrivska CTC, working within the framework of cooperation with the KOMORA.INFO information site has implemented the Komoryata Media School project. The purpose of the initiative was to teach children the basics of media literacy and journalism. Pupils of graduate classes of the local T. Shevchenko School were the main project participants. The training took place within the framework of the local Active Youth as Key to Community Development local program. The classes in the media school lasted for a month. The children learned about the peculiarities of working with information and texts, got to know how to write interviews and various pieces of news, how to look for trustworthy information in open sources, as well as prepared their home. After the completion of the training, the program included a contest of article writing and selection of winners. All school participants received certificates and individual note pads. Today, all graduates of the media school actively contribute to community accounts in social media, prepare articles for the newsletter the CTC publishes on a monthly basis with a circulation of 1,000 copies. Mentors use the live chat to continue supporting the students with professional advice.

City of Mariupol, Donetsk oblast School STEM-laboratory

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Competition for active young people development Mariupol School # 52 took second place in the all-Ukrainian project competition under the title: "Healthy Schools: for the sake of healthy and joyful schoolchildren" and received a certificate for 90 thousand UAH. This money will go for the implementation of a unique project of setting up the STEM-laboratory. Throughout the year, the school conducted activities aimed at building good eating habits and healthy lifestyles. The students developed a menu of balanced food and even conducted a master class on cooking diet on one of the city TV Channels. All in all, approximately 600 schools from all over Ukraine participated in the competition, with 40 schoolchildren qualifying into the finals. Three students represented in the Mariupol community: Valeria Yeremenko, Illya Mykheenko and Aglaya Kuleshova.

The Velykomostivska CTC. Lviv oblast Competition of youth projects Aiming at involving young people in the community life, the Velykomostivska CTC organised a competition for the most creative idea for the development of the active society. The idea of the competition was for young people to submit their own small projects and independently implement them in the community. The best idea was selected by voting. The purpose of the project was to set up a volunteer center won the competition. Its first task will be set up points to collect used clothing throughout the community and later on give to those in need.

ORGANISATION ASPECTS OF THE WORK OF LOCAL COUNCILS

The Mykolaivska CTC, Donetsk oblast Community Information Terminal Thanks to the support provided by the international technical assistance project within the framework within the framework of the Online Services: Safe Community competition, the Mykolaivska CTC received an information terminal. This is the electronic point of access for citizens to the services provided by government authorities and to the community. It has been set up to establish communication with government authorities and to give citizens the most important information. The terminal is located in the Center for Administrative and Social Services. The device has the basic functions that can be expanded to meet the needs of the population: Community News, Consolidated Territorial Communities, Appeals to Government Authorities, Community Security, Report about Offenses, Polls, Report about Corruption, Travel Guide, My Local Police Officer, etc. Soon, community residents will be able to use the terminal services on their mobile devices. The mobile application includes the terminal functions and has other useful features.

The Sofiivska CTC, Dnipropetrovsk oblast Local online register of entrepreneurs Thanks to the support of an international technical assistance project, the Sofiivska CTC put together an electronic register of entrepreneurs. With the help of a mobile application, the community provides detailed information about registered local institutions and businesses: where they are, what they do, what contacts to use to contact a particular business. This will make it easier for entrepreneurs to assess the competition at the market and find additional partners. In addition to this, this application will provide an opportunity for investors to better explore the community and decide on the feasibility of investing or starting a partnership.

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Section 5. COOPERATION WITH OTHER PROJECTS

During Project Year Four, PULSE: - continued cooperation with partner projects and organisations; - participated in meetings of the Decentralisation Donor Board, in partner project activities, and invited project representatives to PULSE Project events; - organised a project information fair within the framework of the Ukrainian Municipal Forum; - participated in promotional events of USAID projects at Mistechko USAID events in 2 cities of Ukraine, and other USAID information events; and, - completed the development and implemented two distance learning courses in cooperation with other projects. One course is dedicated to gender oriented budgeting (jointly with the Swedish Gender Oriented Budgeting in Ukraine project). The DOBRE project, which provided practical materials from its pilot cities, and the UN Women project were also involved in this course. The other course is dedicated to training members of local council of consolidated territorial communities (in cooperation with the Norwegian Participative Democracy and Evidence Based Decision Making at the Local Level in Ukraine project”); - continued the implementation of a memorandum within the UNICEF Children and Youth Friendly Community project.

In the reporting quarter, PULSE continued its cooperation with partner projects and organisations. Specifically, representatives of the PULSE Project: ● every Monday (until August, 2019) participated in coordination meetings of projects working in the sphere of decentralisation under the auspices of the Ministry of Regional Development at the U- LEAD project office; ● participated on a regular basis in meetings of the Decentralisation Donor Board at the Ministry of Regional Development and in activities of the working groups of the Donor Board; and, ● participated on a regular basis in partner project events and invited other project representatives to PULSE Project events.

Mistechko USAID During the reporting quarter, the PULSE Project, along with other USAID projects, participated in the Mistechko USAID in Cherkasy and presented its activities to residents and visitors of oblast cities, disseminated information on decentralisation, etc.

Collaboration with the RST project On July 02, 2019, a PULSE Project expert hard a meeting with L. Martalishvili, an RST expert, and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) to discuss relations with regions regarding the New Ukrainian School (NUS) concept. In the course of the meeting, the participants discussed issues of implementation of NUS in regions of Ukraine and outlined areas of cooperation for implementation of reforms in the sector of education by local governments. In particular, the RST expert confirmed her participation in the meeting of the AUC Education Professional Group, which will take place on October 10 - 11, 2019 in the city of Odesa.

The Pro.Svit NGO On July 03, 2019, a PULSE Project expert conducted a meeting with representatives of the Pro.Svit NGO to discuss cooperation with communities of Ukraine on the development of strategies for the development of educational institutions and urban eco-systems. Following the meeting, the PULSE Project platform disseminated the information about the Pro.Svit NGO to Ukrainian communities.

Representative Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine

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● On July o9, 2019, the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils conducted a roundtable under the title: "Future prospects for the formation of a new System of administrative and territorial arrangement of the Kyiv region" organised with the support of the CoE Decentralisation and Local Self-Governance Reform in Ukraine program. PULSE Project Director Ihor Parasyuk made a presentation during the roundtable.

● Council of Europe report on the results of a professional survey under the title: "Democratic governance in metropolitan cities at the example of the Kyiv region" published On August 27, 2019, the Council of Europe published on the AUC website a report on the findings of the professional survey under the title "Democratic governance in metropolitan cities at the example of the Kyiv region”. The document was prepared by a group of experts from metropolitan cities (Warsaw, Hamburg, London and Turin) together with Council of Europe experts under the Council of Europe Program on Decentralisation and Local Government Reform in Ukraine in cooperation with the European Committee for Democracy and Governance (CDDG) and with the assistance of the Association of Ukrainian Cities. The report deals with the possibility of establishing metropolitan areas in Ukraine using the example of the Kyiv region, the necessary legislative changes for the establishment of metropolitan cities, as well as the corresponding recommendations. Background. On July 24, the Kyiv City State Administration presented a professional review under the title: "Democratic governance in metropolitan cities using the example of the Kyiv region" with the participation of Chairman of the Association of Ukrainian Cities V. Klychko and Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities O. Slobozhan. In April - May, a series of meetings and discussions took place in Kyiv for the professional review of governance in metropolitan cities (using the example of the Kyiv region) prepared by Council of Europe experts. The event was organised by the Association of Ukrainian Cities within the framework of the USAID Project “Policy for Ukraine’s Local Self-Governance” (PULSE) and the Council of Europe “Decentralisation and Reform of Local Self-Governance in Ukraine” Program, in cooperation with the Kyiv City State Administration.

Internews On September 11, 2019, PULSE Project Director I. Parasyuk participated in a roundtable discussion under the title: "When and by what will land reform be completed?" Organisers of the event: Internews, “Дзеркало тижня”, Laboratory for Legislative Initiatives. Participants: experts and specialists working in the sphere of open land market implementation. The roundtable participant discussed the issue of readiness to open the land market, first steps to regulate it, as well as the possible impact of the opening of the land market on the development of rural areas. Almost all participants came to an agreement that the main purpose of opening the market should be to stimulate the development of agriculture in Ukraine, as the main factor influencing the development of rural areas.

Association for Innovative and Digital Education NGO On August 15, 2019, a PULSE Project expert met with Vice President of the Association for Innovative and Digital Education D. Bondarenko to discuss cooperation with the AUC in implementing the educational hub project in the regions. The meeting participants agreed to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the AUC. On September 13, 2019, aiming at confirming the intention to cooperate, the PULSE Project expert participated in the First International Human Capital Forum under the title” "Ukraine of the future" and 108

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made a presentation on the topic: "How to provide opportunities for Ukrainian cities for the realisation of community residents”. Currently, representatives of the Association for Innovative and Digital Education confirmed their participation in the meeting of the AUC Education Professional Group, which will take place on October 10-11, 2019 in the city of Odesa.

The PLATFORMA Eastern Partnership program On September 05 - 06, 2019, the Eastern Partnership Coordination Seminar under the title: “New political situation for local and regional self-governance in Ukraine” took place in Kyiv. The event was organised by the AUC within the framework of the PLATFORMA Eastern Partnership program in cooperation with the associations of local and regional authorities of Georgia and Moldova. The main purpose of the event was to monitor and identify further steps in public administration reform and decentralisation reform, promote political dialogue with public authorities and European institutions, identify opportunities for cooperation in decentralisation and financing, and to develop a national plan for protecting and representing the interests of communities. The event brought together the following participants: representatives of the PLATFORMA Eastern Partnership Program, National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM), Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Association of Polish Cities (APC), Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Croatia, EU Delegation to Ukraine, European Investment Bank, European Business Association, embassies, and mayors of Ukrainian and European cities. The special guest of the seminar was National Deputy of Ukraine Ruslan Trebushkin (former mayor of the city of Pokrovsk of the Donetsk oblast). The Association of Ukrainian Cities was represented by O. Slobozhan, Executive Director of AUC, V. Myaghkokhod, Director of the Central Office for the Implementation of the Decentralisation Reform, and T. Paliychuk, expert of the AUC Center for Analysis and Legislation Drafting. The international and Ukrainian experts discussed the following topics: − Decentralisation and good governance: the basis of sustainable economic development. − National and European dialogue with sub-national authorities in Eastern Partnership countries. At the end of the event, they discussed plans for further cooperation in the sphere of decentralisation.

Covenant of Mayors - East (CoM East) On September 30, 2019, a PULSE Project expert participated in a working meeting of representatives of the CoM East Project and national and regional coordinators, as well as support entities for the Energy and Climate Transformation Municipal Platform. The framework of the event included the discussion of the results achieved and of ways for establishing more effective cooperation between all parties.

Representative Office of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine PULSE Project continues its cooperation with UNICEF for the implementation of the Children and Youth Friendly Community. During the reporting period, a PULSE Project expert, together with UNICEF, lobbied for the approval of the Budget Code of Ukraine to provide financial support to communities that joined the UNICEF initiative. The amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine will be considered by Parliament in the fourth quarter of 2019.

UN Women On September 18 - 19, 2019, Deputy Director of the PULSE Project participated in the UN Women Gender Data Seminar. She made a presentation of the Automated Municipal Statistics System and discussed possible options for collaboration with this program.

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On September 23, 2019, she participated in the presentation of a UN Women survey on the distribution of gender policy responsibilities at different levels of government. She submitted her proposals to the text of the document to include the information about the activities of the Association of Ukrainian Cities aimed at promoting gender equality.

European Assembly of Women Councillors On September 27, Deputy Director of the PULSE Project participated in an event of the European Assembly of Women Councillors dedicated to giving awards to women for the best initiatives in promoting democracy and economic development of Ukrainian communities. The event took place in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

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Section 6. SUGGESTED PLAN OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE COMING QUARTER

The project will continue to implement the PD in accordance with the approved Work Plan for the Project Year Five (2019 - 2020).

ER 1: Decentralisation enabling legislation reflects local government input

● Legislation drafting ● Legislation monitoring ● Providing consultations for local governments on legislation application ● participation in the work of parliamentary committees ● conducting holding a Day of Dialogue with Parliament ● conducting the Resources for Communities information fair with the participation of international projects and international financial organisations ● conducting meetings of Regional Policy Dialogue Platforms ● participation in meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers ● cooperation with line ministries ● participation in meetings of sectoral working groups ● working on increasing the number of consolidated territorial communities with the main focus on cities of oblast significance and problematic regions

The Central Elections Commission (CEC) has scheduled initial local elections of mayors and local council members on December 22, 2019 in 86 consolidated territorial communities in 21 oblasts. Also the CEC has scheduled the initial local elections of mayors and local council members on December 29, 2019 in 6 consolidated territorial communities in four oblasts. PULSE Project consultants will accompany the newly established communities.

ER 2: Resources under local self-governance authority increased

● the Project team is planning to reach the government approved standard parameters of social standards and standards of financial sufficiency in the sectors if education, health care and social protection ● continuing the implementation of the Municipal Fiscal Register in pilot communities ● supporting the pilot Incubators of Sustainable Communities for promoting economic growth points project in 30 pilot communities

ER 3: Capacity of stakeholders increased

● Conducting regional legislation application laboratories ● Informing the public and improving tools for interaction with media ● Developing products for media ● Conducing the National Press Club for Reforms ● Conducting a working coordination and planning meeting of PULSE Project regional consultants with the participation of executive directors of AUC Regional Offices and continuation of networking for regional consultants ● Collecting success stories and best practices

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ANNEXES

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Section 1. MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE REPORTING QUARTER

# Date Location Implementer Event July 01, 2019 city of Sumy AUC/PULSE meeting of the Sumy Regional Policy Dialogue 1. Platform

July 02, 2019 town of Komysh- IREX/PULSE information fair Zorya (Zaporizzhya 2. oblast)

July 03, 2019 town of Komysh- IREX/PULSE information fair Zorya (Zaporizzhya 3. oblast)

Expert workshop for 4. July 03, 2019 city of Zaporizzhya UAROC/PULSE representatives of oblast and rayon councils Expert workshop for representatives of oblast 5. July 04, 2019 city of Kyiv UAROC/PULSE and rayon councils

July 04, 2019 town of Komysh- IREX/PULSE information fair Zorya (Zaporizzhya 6. oblast)

July 04, 2019 town of Ivano- IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue Frankove (Lviv 7. oblast)

July 05, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE meeting with government Voevodske representatives 8. (Luhansk oblast)

July 05, 2019 city of Berdychiv IREX/PULSE live library 9. (Zhytomyr oblast)

July 05, 2019 town of Komysh- IREX/PULSE information fair Zorya (Zaporizzhya 10. oblast)

July 06, 2019 town of Chornyi IREX/PULSE information fair Ostriv 11. (Khmelnytskyi oblast)

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July 06, 2019 town of Komysh- IREX/PULSE information fair Zorya (Zaporizzhya 12. oblast)

July 06, 2019 village of Kozyn IREX/PULSE street consultation point 13. (Rivne oblast)

July 06, 2019 city of Dunayivtsi IREX/PULSE modelling community (Khmelnytskyi development 14. oblast)

July 06, 2019 town of IREX/PULSE watching a video with a Nemishaeve (Kyiv discussion 15. oblast)

July 06, 2019 cities of Baranivka, AUC/PULSE Zhytomyr AUC RO, Press 16. Rohachiv, Ivanivka tour (Zhytomyr oblast) July 07, 2019 village of Zvanivka IREX/PULSE street consultation point 17. (Donetsk oblast)

July 08, 2019 city of IREX/PULSE working with the Severodonetsk Prometheus online platform 18. (Luhansk oblast)

July 08, 2019 town of Bratslav IREX/PULSE street consultation point 19. (Vinnytsya oblast)

July 09, 2019 town of Nemyriv IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 20. (Lviv oblast)

July 09, 2019 town of Pischane IREX/PULSE public hearings 21. (Poltava oblast)

July 09, 2019 city of Tokmak IREX/PULSE live library (Zaporizzhya 22. oblast)

July 10, 2019 city of Mariupol IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 23. (Donetsk oblast)

July 10, 2019 city of Zdolbuniv IREX/PULSE Skype meeting 24. (Rivne oblast)

July 10, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE Skype meeting Semenivka 25. (Zaporizzhya oblast)

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July 10, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE information fair Snihurivka 26. (Zaporizzhya oblast)

Study tour for local government representatives within the 27. July 10 - 11, 2019 city of Chernihiv AUC/PULSE framework of the “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component July 11, 2019 city of Volochysk IREX/PULSE information fair (Khmelnytskyi 28. oblast)

July 11, 2019 village of Slout IREX/PULSE meeting with government 29. (Sumy oblast) representatives

July 11, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE modelling community Berestove development 30. (Zaporizzhya oblast)

July 11, 2019 city of Skvyra (Kyiv IREX/PULSE modelling community 31. oblast) development

July 12, 2019 city of Lyman IREX/PULSE live library 32. (Donetsk oblast)

July 12, 2019 town of IREX/PULSE meeting with government Chernihivka representatives 33. (Zaporizzhya oblast)

July 12, 2019 town of IREX/PULSE Skype meeting Krasnorichenske 34. (Luhansk oblast)

July 12, 2019 town of Tomashpil IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 35. (Vinnytsya oblast)

July 12, 2019 village of Klishkivtsi IREX/PULSE watching a video with a 36. (Chernivtsi oblast) discussion

July 12, 2019 town of IREX/PULSE street consultation point 37. Yarmolyntsi (Khmelnytskyi

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oblast)

July 12, 2019 village of Osypenky IREX/PULSE on site consultation point (Zaporizzhya 38. oblast)

July 12, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE meeting with government Nedoboivtsi representatives 39. (Chernivtsi oblast)

July 12, 2019 villages of Yasky- AUC/PULSE Odesa AUC RO, Press tour 40. Troitske (Odesa oblast) July 14, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE on site consultation point Semenivka 41. (Zhytomyr oblast)

July 15, 2019 village of Yevsuh IREX/PULSE live library 42. (Luhansk oblast)

July 16, 2019 village of Hrun IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 43. (Sumy oblast)

July 16, 2019 town of Hnizdychiv IREX/PULSE World Cafe 44. (Lviv oblast)

July 16, 2019 city of Novyi Rozdil IREX/PULSE round table discussion 45. (Lviv oblast)

July 16, 2019 city of Kolomyia AUC/PULSE Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO, (Ivano-Frankivsk study tour within the oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 46. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application 47. July 16, 2019 city of Poltava AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Poltava AUC RO July 17, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE training Solobkivtsi 48. (Khmelnytskyi oblast)

July 17, 2019 city of Horodok IREX/PULSE information fair (Khmelnytskyi 49. oblast)

July 18, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE information fair 50. Shulhynka

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(Luhansk oblast)

July 18, 2019 town of Yakymivka IREX/PULSE live library (Zaporizzhya 51. oblast)

July 18, 2019 city of Vynohradiv IREX/PULSE street consultation point (Zakarpattya 52. oblast)

July 18, 2019 city of Trostyanets IREX/PULSE Skype meeting 53. (Sumy oblast)

July 18, 2019 city of Kreminna IREX/PULSE street consultation point 54. (Luhansk oblast)

July 18, 2019 city of Balta (Odesa IREX/PULSE street consultation point 55. oblast)

July 18, 2019 village of Shyroke IREX/PULSE street consultation point (Zaporizzhya 56. oblast)

July 19, 2019 town of Dublyany IREX/PULSE modelling community 57. (Lviv oblast) development

July 20, 2019 village of Vita- IREX/PULSE live library Poshtova (Kyiv 58. oblast)

July 20, 2019 city of Nizhyn IREX/PULSE training 59. (Chernihiv oblast)

July 21, 2019 village of Smolyhiv IREX/PULSE watching a video with a 60. (Volyn oblast) discussion

July 23, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE training Berestove 61. (Zaporizzhya oblast)

July 24, 2019 city of Nemyriv IREX/PULSE street consultation point 62. (Vinnytsya oblast)

July 24, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue Mykhailivka (Rivne 63. oblast)

July 25, 2019 city of Starobilsk IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 64.

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(Luhansk oblast)

July 25, 2019 city of Uman IREX/PULSE Skype meeting 65. (Cherkasy oblast)

July 25, 2019 village of Mokra AUC/PULSE Cherkasy AUC RO, study Kalyhirka (Cherkasy tour within the framework oblast) of the “Itinerary of 66. Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component July 25, 2019 town of Yerky AUC/PULSE Cherkasy AUC RO, study (Cherkasy oblast) tour within the framework of the “Itinerary of 67. Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component July 25, 2019 city of Hola Prystan AUC/PULSE Kherson AUC RO, study tour (Kherson oblast) within the framework of the 68. “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application 69. July 25, 2019 city of Karlivka AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Poltava AUC RO July 26, 2019 village of Ust- IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue Putyla (Chernivtsi 70. oblast)

July 26, 2019 village of Solonka AUC/PULSE Volyn AUC RO, study tour (Lviv oblast) within the framework of the 71. “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application 72. July 26, 2019 city of Zhytomyr AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Zhytomyr AUC RO July 27, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE Information quest Voevodske 73. (Luhansk oblast)

July 27, 2019 village of Velyka IREX/PULSE watching a video with a 74. Volya (Lviv oblast) discussion

July 28, 2019 village of Yevsuh IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 75. (Luhansk oblast)

July 29, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE street consultation point Nedoboivtsi 76. (Chernivtsi oblast)

118 July – September, 2019

July 30, 2019 town of Smyha IREX/PULSE watching a video with a 77. (Rivne oblast) discussion

Legislation application 78. July 30, 2019 city of Vinnytsya AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Vinnytsya AUC RO Legislation application 79. July 30, 2019 city of Cherkasy AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Cherkasy AUC RO Legislation application 80. July 31, 2019 city of Myrnohrad AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Donetsk AUC RO July 31, 2019 village of Velymche AUC/PULSE Volyn AUC RO, Press tour 81. (Volyn oblast) July 31, 2019 city of Lviv (Lviv IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue 82. oblast)

July 31, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE meeting with government Pavlivka(Volyn representatives 83. oblast)

August 01, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE meeting with government Mykhailivka (Rivne representatives 84. oblast)

August 01, 2019 city of Kyiv AUC/PULSE working meeting to discuss improvements of the system of excise tax on 85. sales of tobacco products by retail entities

August 01, 2019 village of Spas AUC/PULSE Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO, 86. Press tour August 02, 2019 city of Hrebinka AUC/PULSE Poltava AUC RO, study tour (Poltava oblast) within the framework of the 87. “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 02, 2019 city of Hrebinka AUC/PULSE Sumy AUC RO, study tour (Poltava oblast) within the framework of the 88. “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 02, 2019 village of Buzivka IREX/PULSE training 89. (Cherkasy oblast)

August 03, 2019 city of Skvyra (Kyiv IREX/PULSE street consultation point 90. oblast)

119 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

August 06, 2019 town of Hrytsiv IREX/PULSE modelling community (Khmelnytskyi development 91. oblast)

August 06, 2019 town of Ivano- IREX/PULSE information fair Frankove (Lviv 92. oblast)

August 06, 2019 town of Hnizdychiv IREX/PULSE meeting with government 93. (Lviv oblast) representatives

August 07, 2019 city of Lozova AUC/PULSE Kharkiv AUC RO, Press tour 94. (Kharkiv oblast) Legislation application 95. August 07, 2019 city of Lozova AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Kharkiv AUC RO Legislation application 96. August 07, 2019 city of Odesa AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Odesa AUC RO August 08, 2019 city of Zboriv AUC/PULSE Ternopil AUC RO, Press tour 97. (Ternopil oblast) August 08, 2019 city of Hadyach AUC/PULSE Poltava AUC RO, Press tour 98. (Poltava oblast) August 08, 2019 city of Zboriv AUC/PULSE Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO, (Ternopil oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 99. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 08, 2019 village of Pavlivka IREX/PULSE live library 100. (Volyn oblast)

August 08, 2019 city of Skvyra (Kyiv IREX/PULSE modelling community 101. oblast) development

August 09, 2019 village of Kozyn IREX/PULSE meeting with government 102. (Rivne oblast) representatives

August 09, 2019 city of Skvyra (Kyiv IREX/PULSE live library 103. oblast)

August 09, 2019 towns of AUC/PULSE Chernihiv AUC RO, Press Mykhailo- tour 104. Kotsyubynske, Vedyltsi, Andriivka (Chernihiv oblast) August 09, 2019 village of Mayaky AUC/PULSE Mykolaiv AUC RO, study (Odesa oblast) tour within the framework 105. of the “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide

120 July – September, 2019

exchange study tour Project component August 09, 2019 village of Mayaky AUC/PULSE Odesa AUC RO, Press tour 106. (Odesa oblast) Legislation application city of 107. August 09, 2019 AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Kropyvnytskyi Kirovohrad AUC RO August 10, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE watching a video with a Stanyshivka discussion 108. (Zhytomyr oblast)

August 10, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE watching a video with a Chmyrivka discussion 109. (Luhansk oblast)

August 13, 2019 town of Nemyriv IREX/PULSE Meeting for a dialogue 110. (Lviv oblast)

August 13, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Sumy AUC RO, Chernechchyna study tour within the (Sumy oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 111. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 14, 2019 town of IREX/PULSE live library Nemishaeve (Kyiv 112. oblast)

August 14, 2019 city of Nemyriv IREX/PULSE meeting with government 113. (Vinnytsya oblast) representatives

August 14, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE meeting for a dialogue Kerpylivka (Rivne 114. oblast)

August 15, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO, 115. Dzvynyach (Ivano- Press tour Frankivsk oblast) August 16, 2019 town of Shatsk AUC/PULSE Ternopil AUC RO, (Volyn oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 116. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 16, 2019 village of Osypenko IREX/PULSE Training (Zaporizzhya 117. oblast)

August 16, 2019 village of Shyroke IREX/PULSE street consultation point 118. (Zaporizzhya

121 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

oblast)

August 17, 2019 town of Dublyany IREX/PULSE modelling community 119. (Lviv oblast) development

August 18, 2019 city of Novyi Rozdil IREX/PULSE round table discussion 120. (Lviv oblast)

August 20, 2019 town of Mlyniv AUC/PULSE Rivne AUC RO, Press tour 121. (Rivne oblast) August 20, 2019 city of Shpola AUC/PULSE Cherkasy AUC RO, (Cherkasy oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 122. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application August 20, 2019 123. city of Ternopil AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Ternopil

AUC RO Legislation application 124. August 21, 2019 city of Mykolaiv AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Mykolaiv AUC RO Expert workshop for 125. August 21, 2019 city of Lutsk UAROC/PULSE representatives of oblast and rayon councils August 21, 2019 village of Rukshyn AUC/PULSE Chernivtsi AUC RO, study (Chernivtsi oblast) tour within the framework of the “Itinerary of 126. Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 22, 2019 city of IREX/PULSE street consultation point Starokostyantyniv 127. (Khmelnytskyi oblast)

August 22, 2019 city of Kramatorsk IREX/PULSE on site consultation point 128. (Donetsk oblast)

August 22, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE training Snihurivka 129. (Zaporizzhya oblast)

August 22, 2019 city of Tokmak IREX/PULSE round table discussion (Zaporizzhya 130. oblast)

August 23, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE Training 131. Berestove

122 July – September, 2019

(Zaporizzhya oblast)

August 23, 2019 village of IREX/PULSE on site consultation point Mykhailvka (Rivne 132. oblast)

August 24, 2019 city of Uman IREX/PULSE street consultation point 133. (Cherkasy oblast)

August 27, 2019 city of Trostyanets IREX/PULSE quiz 134. (Sumy oblast)

August 27, 2019 villages of Nove AUC/PULSE Volyn AUC RO, Mistro, Deshychi study tour within the (Lviv oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 135. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 29, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Vinnytsya AUC RO, Babchyntsi study tour within the (Vinnytsya oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 136. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 30, 2019 city of Kramatorsk AUC/PULSE Donetsk AUC RO, Press tour 137. (Donetsk oblast) August 30, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Kirovohrad AUC RO, Dmytrivka study tour within the (Kirovohrad oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 138. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component August 30, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Kirovohrad AUC RO, Press 139. Dmytrivka tour (Kirovohrad oblast) August 30, 2019 city of Hola Prystan AUC/PULSE Kherson AUC RO, Press tour 140. (Kherson oblast) The Project published the 141. Late August AUC/PULSE AUC Herald # 164 for July – August, 2019 September 04, 2019 town of Broshniv- AUC/PULSE Zakarpattya AUC RO, Osada (Ivano- study tour within the Frankivsk oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 142. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 05, 2019 town of AUC/PULSE Rivne AUC RO, Press tour 143. Demydivka (Rivne oblast)

123 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

September 06, 2019 town of AUC/PULSE Luhansk AUC RO, Press tour 144. Novopskov (Luhansk oblast) September 10, 2019 villages of AUC/PULSE Cherkasy AUC RO, Horodetske, study tour within the Kochybiivka, framework of the “Itinerary 145. Palanka, of Successes” nation-wide Berestivets exchange study tour Project (Cherkasy oblast) component September 10, 2019 villages of AUC/PULSE Cherkasy AUC RO, Press Horodetske, tour Kochybiivka, 146. Palanka, Berestivets (Cherkasy oblast) Legislation application 147. September 10, 2019 city of Kyiv AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Kyiv AUC RO September 11, 2019 city of Polohy AUC/PULSE Zaporizzhya AUC RO, (Zaporizzhya study tour within the oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 148. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Study tour for local government representatives within the September 11 - 12, 149. city of Kyiv AUC/PULSE framework of the “Itinerary 2019 of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 12, 2019 village of Zymna AUC/PULSE Lviv AUC RO, Press tour 150. Voda (Lviv oblast) Legislation application 151. September 12, 2019 city of Vinnytsya AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Vinnytsya AUC RO Legislation application 152. September 12, 2019 city of Uzhgorod AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Zakarpattya AUC RO Legislation application 153. September 12, 2019 city of Ternopil AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Ternopil AUC RO September 13, 2019 village of Zvanivka AUC/PULSE Donetsk AUC RO, Press tour 154. (Donetsk oblast) September 13, 2019 city of Pochaiv AUC/PULSE Ternopil AUC RO, Press tour 155. (Ternopil oblast) September 13, 2019 town of Korop AUC/PULSE Chernihiv AUC RO, (Chernihiv oblast) study tour within the 156. framework of the “Itinerary of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project

124 July – September, 2019

component September 14, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Odesa AUC RO, Press tour 157. Krasnosilka (Odesa oblast) September 14, 2019 villages of AUC/PULSE Kherson AUC RO, Press tour Shlyakhove, 158. Vysokopillya (Kherson oblast) September 17, 2019 villages of AUC/PULSE Cherkasy AUC RO, Press Buzhanka, tour Kamianyi Brid, 159. Yablunivka, Tykhonivka, Zhabianka (Cherkasy oblast) September 17, 2019 city of Mena AUC/PULSE Chernihiv AUC RO, (Chernihiv oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 160. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 17, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Rivne AUC RO, Ostrozhets study tour within the (Rivne oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 161. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 17, 2019 city of Khodoriv AUC/PULSE Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO, (Lviv oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 162. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application 163. September 17, 2019 city of Sumy AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Sumy AUC RO September 18, 2019 towns of Opishnya, AUC/PULSE Dnipropetrovsk AUC RO, Shyshaky, villages Study tour within the of Machukhy, framework of the “Itinerary 164. Dykanka (Poltava of Successes” nation-wide oblast) exchange study tour Project component September 18, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Chernivtsi AUC RO, Press 165. Nedoboivtsi tour (Chernivtsi oblast) Legislation application 166. September 18, 2019 city of Zhytomyr AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Zhytomyr AUC RO meeting of the AUC Housing September 19 - 20, 167. city of Rivne AUC/PULSE and Municipal Utilities 2019 Professional Group

125 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

September 20, 2019 city of Mykolaivka AUC/PULSE Donetsk AUC RO, (Donetsk oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 168. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 20, 2019 town of Slavske AUC/PULSE Lviv AUC RO, (Lviv oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 169. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application 170. September 20, 2019 city of Zhytomyr AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Zhytomyr AUC RO Legislation application 171. September 20, 2019 city of Chernivtsi AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Chernivtsi AUC RO Legislation application 172. September 20, 2019 city of Chernihiv AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Chernihiv AUC RO September 21, 2019 town of Pryutivka AUC/PULSE Kirovohrad AUC RO, Press 173. (Kirovohrad oblast) tour September 24, 2019 city of Ivano- AUC/PULSE meeting of the Ivano- 174. Frankivsk Frankivsk Regional Policy Dialogue Platform September 25, 2019 city of Uzyn (Kyiv AUC/PULSE Kyiv AUC RO, oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 175. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 25, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Zhytomyr AUC RO, Press 176. Andrushky tour (Zhytomyr oblast) September 25, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Zhytomyr AUC RO, study Andrushky tour within the framework (Zhytomyr oblast) of the “Itinerary of 177. Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 25, 2019 city of Vashkivtsi AUC/PULSE Chernivtsi AUC RO, (Chernivtsi oblast) study tour within the framework of the “Itinerary 178. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Expert workshop for September 25, 2019 179. city of Odesa UAROC/PULSE representatives of oblast р. and rayon councils

126 July – September, 2019

September 26, 2019 city of Irshavа AUC/PULSE Zakarpattya AUC RO, Press 180. (Zakarpattya tour oblast) September 26, 2019 city of Hnivan AUC/PULSE Vinnytsya AUC RO, Press 181. (Vinnytsya oblast) tour September 26 - 27, city of Yuzhne AUC/PULSE meeting of the AUC Land 182. 2019 Relations Professional Group September 27, 2019 city of Lutsk AUC/PULSE meeting of the Volyn 183. Regional Policy Dialogue Platform September 27, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Zhytomyr AUC RO, Press 184. Vyshevychi tour (Zhytomyr oblast) September 27, 2019 village of AUC/PULSE Zhytomyr AUC RO, study Vyshevychi tour within the framework (Zhytomyr oblast) of the “Itinerary of 185. Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component September 28, 2019 town of Askania AUC/PULSE Kherson AUC RO, Press tour 186. Nova (Kherson oblast) September 28, 2019 town of AUC/PULSE Odesa AUC RO, Lyubashivka Study tour within the (Odesa oblast) framework of the “Itinerary 187. of Successes” nation-wide exchange study tour Project component Legislation application 188. September 30, 2019 city of Zdolbuniv AUC/PULSE laboratory in the Rivne AUC RO

127 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Annex В Detailed information about national level study visits within the framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Project component.

Date, venue, participants Topic Information about the event March 05 - 06, 2019, Dnipro as a smart The study visit started with a meeting in the Dnipro city of Dnipro city. Experience in City Council. M. Sereda, Acting Director of the Participants: digital community Information Technology Department, opened the 32 representatives from 25 cities transformation. event, conveyed greetings from Mayor B. Filatov including mayors, deputy mayors, and presented the city experience in the city council secretaries, directors implementation of e-governance. A. Ponomaryov, and specialists of departments and Director of the Department of Administrative directorates of information Services and Permit Procedures, and D. technology, representatives of the Tsimirenko, Director of the Info-Rada-Dnipro Dnipro City Council, PULSE Project Municipal Company made a presentation about regional consultants, Coordinator the tools for communication between the city of Communications of the Center government and the city community. of Professional development and In the course of the visit, the participants learned Communications of AUC O. about work of the Pravoberezhnyi Center for Zmievets, media representatives, Administrative Services and the Situation Center. etc. The city representatives also became familiar about the experience in implementing the Safe School project of the city Specialised School # 13, visited the Unified Hotline of the Dnipro City Council. The second day of the event was dedicated to the experience of city authorities in involving the community to using city e- technologies and e-services. April 10 - 11, 2019, Experience of the Rivne Mayor V. Homko presented successful city of Rivne Rivne City Council projects and programs aimed at energy efficiency Participants: in implementing and energy conservation in the city housing and 25 representatives of cities from 18 energy efficiency municipal utilities sector. Initially, the city regions of Ukraine including city activities and government had to appeal to citizens to set up mayors, mayors consolidated setting up an condominium associations and start upgrading territorial communities, deputy effective energy buildings, while now there is already a waiting line mayors, directors of city saving system. of condominium associations willing to participate departments housing and in urban energy efficiency programs, because the municipal utilities, energy city provides co-finances such programs on the efficiency and economy, energy condition from 10/90 to 50/50. managers, PULSE Project regional Deputy Mayor S. Vasylchuk spoke in detail about consultants, Coordinator of the mechanism of implementation of each of the Communications of the Center of programs. The maximum amount of budget funds Professional development and for the implementation of one project is 800 Communications of AUC O. thousand UAH per year. In particular, the budget Zmievets, media representatives, will finance the following projects: major repairs, etc. replacement and modernisation of elevators, renovation and installation of fire protection systems in high-rise buildings, as well as playgrounds. M. Lukianyk, expert of the Energy Efficiency Fund of Ukraine in the Rivne oblast, spoke about the Fund and opportunities for local governments. R. Aleksiychuk, Chairman of the Rivne Condominium Association Board, spoke about the work of condominium associations in the city and their impact on community development. The event participants visited to infrastructure facilities in the city where energy-efficient projects have already been implemented, in particular,

128 July – September, 2019

modernised boiler rooms with the modern equipment, School # 27, where energy-efficient projects have been implemented, and learned about the activities of Mayak and Druzhba condominium associations, where they got to know about their role in improving city energy efficiency. The second day of the visit dedicated devoted to the Rivne experience in energy management and energy audit. May 22 - 23, 2019, Decentralisation as The event started with a meeting at the Boryspil City of Boryspil, Kyiv oblast a tool for City Council. Boryspil Mayor Anatoliy Fedorchuk Participants: improving the addressed the audience with welcoming remarks: 29 representatives of communities quality of services “Thanks to fiscal decentralisation there is a from 23 regions of Ukraine and community possibility to implement many innovative projects including city mayors, mayors of well-being. that are important for the community. In the consolidated communities, deputy future, the establishment of the CTC will provide city mayors, directors of structural opportunities for the community to develop more departments of city councils, rapidly.” Coordinator of Events of the AUC AUC education expert Lyudmila Mozhova Center of Professional presented welcoming remarks form the Development and Communications Association and the quarterly collection of the A. Robson, media representatives, “Book of Successes” published by the AUC within etc. the framework of the PULSE Project. City Mayor A. Fedorchuk told city representatives about the city achievements, innovative projects, cooperation with investors, projects planned to be implemented in the city, energy conservation projects, development of the sectors of education, culture, sports and health care. Following the discussion with city managers, the study tour continued with a visit to city engineering facilities and educational institutions. Mayor A. Fedorchuk personally presented the facilities. The Boryspil Academic Lyceum was built at the expense of the local budget - 184 million UAH. This was possible due to the decentralisation reform: "It due to the fiscal decentralisation that we have the found”, the mayor said. At the lyceum, the participants met with renowned culinary expert Yevhen Klopotenko who presented the New School Meals project. By the way, Boryspil was the first to implement this project in city schools. During the visit, the participants visited the kindergarten where energy efficiency technologies were introduced; the stadium, the City Gymnasium with mountain climbing facilities and the rebuilt school stadium. On the second day of the visit, Mayor A. Fedorchuk presented made a presentation of the project to for reconstruction of the historic Knyshiv cemetery into a memorial park complex. Also, community representatives visited the Boryspil municipal television and radio studio, reconstructed outpatient Clinic of General Family Medicine # 1 (primary health care reform) and the city Water and Sewerage Company (with energy efficient and environmentally-friendly equipment). All participants of the study visit were impressed by the coordinated teamwork of the mayor and his

129 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

deputies, as well as their sincere desire to share successful experience with representatives from all regions of Ukraine.

June 11 - 12, 2019, Implementation of The work of the event began with a meeting in the city of Lutsk, Volyn oblast energy Lutsk CAS. Acting City Mayor and Secretary of the Participants: management and Lutsk City Council H. Pustovit opened th event and 21 representatives of communities of investment said: “Lutsk is a city for living that does its best from 17 regions of Ukraine projects as a way possible to be as comfortable as possible for including mayors, mayors of to ensure citizens and guests. It is very good that AUC consolidated communities, deputy sustainable organises such experience SHARING, because each mayors, directors of structural community community has something to learn, regardless of departments of city councils, development. its size or status. We do always have funds to have Coordinator of Events of the AUC our dreams come true, but we look for Center of Professional opportunities to earn and invest in community Development and Communications development, because it is the task of local A. Robson, media representatives, government is to work for the benefit of people.” etc. S. Omelchuk Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Policy and Director of the Department for Investments, made a presentation on the topic: "Lutsk is a city open to investments". V. Homonets, Head of the Department for International Cooperation and Project Activity, presented the experience of attracting grant funds for the city development. K. Patrakyev, Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Policy and Head of the Department of Energy Saving, told about the work Lutsk does in energy saving. N. Kolenda, Deputy Director of the Housing and Utilities Department, presented the topic: "Energy efficiency activities in residential buildings". O. Shevchuk, Deputy Director of Finance and Personnel Management of the Lutsk Water and Sewerage Company, told about funds as an effective mechanism for solving problems of territorial communities. L. Karpyak, Director of the CAS Department, told about the CAS and its cooperation with other Ukrainian and Polish centers administrative services. Following the discussions between the participants and local officials, the study visit continued with an overview of the municipal facilities where best practices were implemented. The city representatives visited the Central Tower Condominium Association, which is engaged in the implementation of energy efficient projects; thermo insulated school # 1; as well as the Lutsk Castle, Zoo and City Park. These facilities that are undergoing or have already undergone restoration and improvements. On the second day of the visit, the participants became familiar with the work of two more city condominium associations. Their managers said that the energy efficiency activities allow residents to save 55-60% of the heat cost. The training participants visited insulated Kindergarten # 4 and Gymnasium # 21. During the summing up session, the participants noted that the Lutsk City Council made great progress in implementing energy management and energy efficiency, and this experience is very useful for other communities.

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July 10 - 11, 2019, Preservation of The study tour started with e visit to the Chernihiv city of Chernihiv cultural heritage City Council. Deputy Chernihiv O. Honich said that Participants: and promoting tourism is one of the priority spheres of city 23 representatives of communities conditions for development: “Starting with 2016, the city has from 18 regions of Ukraine enhancing tourist been implementing its tourism development and including deputy city/town mayors, attractiveness as a promotion strategy for. During this time Chernihiv secretaries of city councils, factor of economic has changed a lot. To encourage and help tourists, directors and specialists of development of we have opened a Tourist Information Center." departments for culture, the city. M. Lytvyn, Executive Director of the Chernihiv AUC Coordinator of Events of the AUC Regional Office, spoke about the "Itinerary of Center of Professional Successes" nation-wide exchange study tour Development and Communications Project component by the AUC within the PULSE A. Robson, media representatives, Project. etc. K. Lytvyn, Director of the Department for Tourism and City Promotion presented hands-on experience of the city in the implementation of the European integration course of Ukraine in the sector of culture and tourism at the local level. O. Shevchuk, Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Chernihiv City Council, presented the project for the restoration of ancient monuments of Chernihiv. The event participants were given a presentation about Chernihiv Wooden Lace Online Museum Project whose purpose is to preserve historic wooden architecture of the region. In the course of the visit, the participants became familiar with the facilities where the best urban practices in the sphere of culture and tourism were implemented: the Chernihiv Dytynets and the best examples of historical wooden architecture. On the second day of the visit, the community representatives learned about the work of the Chernihiv Tourist Information Center and visited the Golden Beach Recreation Area, which is equipped to meet the needs of people with disabilities. While summarising the vent, the participants noted that the Chernihiv City Council has made great progress towards preserving its cultural heritage and restoring the city, and this experience is very useful for other communities.

September 11 - 12, 2019, Introduction of The visit began at the Kyiv City Council. PULSE city of Kyiv Safe City Project Director I. Parasyuk congratulated the Participants: technologies to participants and told about the work of the PULSE 30 representatives of communities promote project: “The main priority spheres of the project from 22 regions of Ukraine comfortable include professional development of local including city mayors, deputy city environment for government officials, which tales place, in mayors, secretaries of local citizen lives. particular, through exchange study visits within the councils, directors and specialists framework of the "Itinerary of Successes" nation- of departments of information wide exchange study tour component of the technologies, directors of Project implemented by the AUC both and at the municipal utility companies, national and regionally levels. It is the third time Coordinator of Events of the AUC when the "Itinerary of Successes" nation-wide Center of Professional exchange study tour takes place in the capital city. Development and Communications The topic on using safe city tools through A. Robson, media representatives, information technology is very important for etc. communities, because the protection of residents

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must be a priority for local authorities. And Kyiv itself is a wonderful example of promoting a comfortable living environment through modern technologies." Yu. Nazarov, Director of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies of the Executive Body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration) and co-coordinator of the Kyiv Smart City initiative, made a presentation under the title: "Kyiv Smart City: How to Make a City in a Smartphone". He spoke about the Kyiv digital infrastructure and the digital tools the city uses by the city to provide the right level of services and promote electronic services. Then the participants moved to studying the capital city experience on real examples. They became familiar with the work of the City of Kyiv 15-51 Contact Center, which was presented by the Deputy Director for Implementation and Information Support of IT Solutions of the GIOC Municipal Company E. Kutsyi. Later on, the city representatives went to the observation deck near the People's Friendship Arch, where M. Pykhtin, Director of the Informatics City Company, made a presentation about "safe city" technologies on the new capital pedestrian and bicycle bridge, as well as the first smart street in Kyiv. During their visit to the City Data Processing Center, the training participants became familiar with the innovative video surveillance system that provides opportunities to monitor the city utilities, respond to emergencies in a timely manner, and find offenders with the help of smart cameras installed in the city. On the second day of the visit, the city representatives visited the Unified Transportation Dispatching Monitoring Center. It is a platform designed to optimize the work of municipal passenger transportation system. The participants also learned about the Kyiv Smart City Hub, a place where business representatives, city officials and public activists work together to design the "smart" urban infrastructure. During the summing up session, the training participants noted that the Kyiv City Council has made great progress towards the implementation of information technologies, in particular, to ensure the safety of residents in the capital city.

132 July – September, 2019

Annex С

List of Cabinet of Ministers regulatory and legal documents supported by PULSE Project experts that have significantly influenced the decentralisation reform

(data for the last quarter of Project Year Four)

Four draft laws of Ukraine: 1. Draft Law “On Completed Comprehensive Secondary Education”, Registration # 0901 of August 29, 2019, which defines the legal, organisational and economic foundations for the functioning and development of the system of comprehensive secondary education and, at the same time, which makes the Law “On Comprehensive Secondary Education” void. In 2018 – 2019, PULSE Project experts actively as members of the intergovernmental working group on preparing the draft law and provided support during the public discussion and the subsequent consideration of the draft law in the relevant parliamentary committee. In particular, the draft law now takes into account the proposals of the AUC with regard to clarification of the sources of funds to cover certain types of expenditures of educational establishments (for example, for extended school day groups), identifies categories of students for whom individual curricula will be introduced, eliminates the duplication of powers in the sphere of supervision (control) of education. The draft law is currently under discussion in Verkhovna Rada Committees. 2. Draft Law “On the National Budget of Ukraine for 2020” of September 15, 2019, Registration # 2000. In the course of the discussion of this draft document, PULSE Project experts provided their comments and suggestions, in particular, with regard to increasing financial support for local budgets by 118.2 billion UAH in 2020 (the education subvention, state health care guarantees, difference in tariffs, infrastructure improvements in CTCs, construction, repairs and maintenance of motorways, and privileges and benefits granted by the state). The draft National Budget for 2020 is under consideration in Verkhovna Rada Committees. 3. Draft Law “On Introducing Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine” of September 16, 2019, Registration # 2144, which resolves problem issues related to the preparation of the draft National Budget of Ukraine for 2020. In the course of consultations with the AUC, PULSE Project experts provided their proposals to extend the term of application of the excise tax on the retail sale of fuel, ensuring the payment of the personal income tax at the place companies are actually located, to target collections from fees for social and economic compensation for the risk of the population to their intended purpose, to introduce the formula based distribution between local budgets of the subsidy from the National Budget to local budgets to cover the expenditure categories transferred to local governments by the central government (for maintenance of educational and health care establishments), to adjust the distribution of the subvention for construction, reconstruction, repairs and maintenance of roads, to support child-friendly communities with an additional share of the personal income tax (from 1 to 3%). The Draft Law is under consideration in the Verkhovna Rada Committees. 4. Draft Law “On Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Voluntary Consolidation of Territorial Communities” (regarding the simplification of the procedure for the endorsement of long-term perspective plans for the formation of community territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and oblasts)” of September 30, 2019, Registration # 2189, whereby the consolidated communities will be established exclusively according the prospective plans prepared by oblast state administrations and endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers. At the same time, the document eliminates the need for oblast councils to approve

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the long-term prospective plans, which will speed up the community consolidation process. The draft law takes into account the proposals to simplify the process of approval of prospective plans PULSE Project experts submitted in 2018 to the main author: the Ministry of Regional Development. The draft law was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada leadership for consideration. Twenty-nine (29) resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine: 1. Resolution of July 05, 2019, Registration # 571 “On Certain Issues Regarding the Provision in 2019 of the Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets for the Construction of Multifunctional Playgrounds for Game Sports”, whereby the National Budget disbursed 200 million UAH of the subvention for the construction of playgrounds for play sports and determined the mechanism for the distribution of subvention between local governments (oblast state administrations and the Kyiv City State Administration will distribute the funds between budgets of cities of oblast significance, rayon budgets and CTC budgets). 2. Resolution of July 05, 2019, Registration # 572 “On Certain Issues of the Provision of the Subvention from the National Budget in 2019 to Local Budgets for the Construction of New, Reconstruction and Capital Repairs of the Current Fifty-Meter and Twenty-Five-Meter Swimming Pools”, whereby the National Budget disbursed 200 million UAH of the subvention to local budgets for the construction and repairs of 10 current sports pools. 3. Resolution of July 10, 2019, Registration # 635 “On Approving the Procedure for the Organisation of Inclusive Education in Higher Educational Establishments”, which resolve the issues of organising the education process for students with special educational needs in higher educational establishments, including specialized institutions of professional pre-higher education. The regulatory and legal document concurred with by the AUC is, first of all, relevant for the city of Kyiv, which manages a number of colleges. 4. Resolution of July 10, 2019, Registration # 636 “On Approving the Procedure for Organising Inclusive Education in Vocational (Professional) Educational Establishments”, which regulates organizational aspects of the educational process for students with special educational needs in vocational (professional) educational establishments. The regulatory and legal document takes into account the proposals of the AUC to clarify the powers of oblast center cities, which are in charge of providing funding for vocational educational establishments. 5. Resolution of July 10, 2019, Registration # 637 “On Introducing Amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 319 of April 03, 2019” increases the scope of powers of local governments in using the funds of the education subvention to implement activities aimed at improving the quality of education services. In particular, now, local governments will have the opportunity to use the subvention to purchase mobile inclusive resource centers for children and purchase school buses equipped with facilities for children with special educational needs. 6. Resolution of July 24, 2019, Registration # 657 “On Introducing Amendments to the Procedure for Putting Together and Making Use of Material Reserves to Prevent and Eliminate the Consequences of Emergency Situations”, whereby the Cabinet of Ministers authorised and defined the mechanism to use of state-owned material reserves for preventing and eliminating the consequences of emergency situations (provided used reserves are replaced in a timely manner). 7. Resolution of July 17, 2019, Registration # 659 “On Introducing Amendments to the Regulation on the Unified National Civil Protection System”, which provides for the establishment of security centers to accommodate fire brigades and rescue and police units, and emergency medical teams to ensure accessibility of public services to the population in the sphere of public safety. 8. Resolution of July 10, 2019, Registration # 675 “On Endorsing the Regulations on the Center for Medical Rehabilitation and Palliative Care for Children”, which provides for the establishment of centers for medical rehabilitation and palliative care for children in territorial communities

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(in the premises of children homes). Local governments will serve as founders of these institutions. The purpose of the centers will be to meet the needs in rehabilitation and provide assistance to children taking into consideration the needs of territorial communities. 9. Resolution of July 17, 2019, Registration # 676 “On the Unified Information and Analytical System for Management of Social Assistance to the Population of Ukraine (E-SOCIAL)”. The document provides for the establishment of a unified information and analytical management system and a unified state register of the social sector. This will promote the necessary conditions for granting, calculation and receipt of social payments, allowances, privileges, social services and housing subsidies, will help to increase the effectiveness of the work of social protection departments, social inspectors, will prevent abuse in the course of granting social assistance, as well as will improve better targeted nature of various types of social assistance and budget efficiency. 10. Resolution of July 05, 2019, Registration # 690 “On Endorsing of the Rules for the Provision of Centralised Water Supply and Centralised Sewerage Services and Model Contracts for the Provision of Centralised Water Supply and Centralised Sewerage Services”. The document introduces clear and detailed rules for the provision of water and sewerage services, as well as approves a number of standard documents. PULSE Project experts submitted their proposals, which were taken into account. 11. Resolution of July 10, 2019, Registration # 691 “On the Implementation of the Experimental Project for Promoting Favourable Conditions for Implementation of the Rights of the Child”. The document offers a mechanism for the provision of administrative services, which will provide opportunities to minimise the number of documents and procedural actions required for obtaining these servcies and significantly reduces the administrative burden on parents. In particular, parents of a newborn baby are offered a comprehensive «е-малятко» [e-baby] service, which includes: registration of birth, place of residence of the child, entry of the information in the Patient Register, registration of it in the State Register of Physical Persons - Taxpayers, Unified State Demographic Register for Granting Birth Assistance, issuing certificates and granting assistance to large family members, etc. 12. Resolution of July 10, 2019, Registration # 695 “On Introducing Amendments to Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution # 22 of January 11, 2018”. Starting from September 01, 2019, this document will provide a 10%, increase of salaries of teachers whose remuneration is paid at the expense of local budgets and who did not have increase in their salaries in 2018, specifically: teachers of pre-school, out-of-school, vocational and other educational establishments, except for those whose salaries are paid at the expense of the education subvention. 13. Resolution of August 14, 2019, Registration # 714 "On Introducing Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 3 118 of February 20, 2013 and 3 588 of August 01, 2013”. The document introduces amendment to Model Regulations on the Center for Administrative Services and Model Rules on the Center for Administrative Services. In particular, the document streamlines the issue of the establishment and functioning of the Center for Administrative Services territorial unit and remote workplace of its administrator (including the one opened in the CTC), the issue of the activity of the starosta in the course of the provision of his/her services, etc. 14. Resolution of August 14, 2019, Registration # 755 “On Certain Issues of Remuneration of Employees of Children and Youth Sport Schools”. The document introduces a pay rise rate for salaries of coaches and teachers of children and youth sport schools. In particular, the document introduces pay rise rates with the increase by 42% in 2020. To make such an increase, local budgets will need additional 677 million UAH. 15. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 778 “On Introducing Amendments to the Procedure for Transferring a Part of Collections from the Excise Tax on Fuel Produced in Ukraine and Imported to the Customs Territory of Ukraine to the General Fund of Local Government

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Budgets in 2019”. The document introduces the distribution of shares of the collections to be directed to local budgets of the excise tax (13.44%) in the second half of 2019. 16. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 779 “On the Organisation of Inclusive Education in Out-of-School Educational Establishments”. The document outlines the requirements for organisation of inclusive education in out-of-school educational establishments regardless of their subordination, type and form of ownership in order to ensure equal rights and opportunities for persons with special educational needs for high quality out-of-school education, the development of their skills and talents, taking into account individual needs and interests, including the need in choosing a profession, socialisation and integration into society. 17. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 792 “On Approving the Procedure for Concluding the Contract with the Manager of the State-Owned or Communally-Owned Health Care Establishment and the Model Contract with the Manager of the State-Owned or Communally- Owned Health Care Establishment”. The document will provide opportunities to unify and bring model forms contracts of managers of health care establishments in line with the legislation. In particular, the document endorses standard forms of contracts with managers of state-owned and communally-owned health care establishments of various organisational and legal forms. 18. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 793 "On Introducing Amendments to Part 4 of the Procedure and Conditions for the Provision of the Subvention form the National Budget to Local Budgets for Implementation of Activities to Support the Territories Affected by the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine". The document enhances the capacity of local governments to accomplish the tasks of providing temporary housing for internally displaced persons and facilitates access to administrative services for the population living in communities located on the demarcation line and on the temporarily occupied territories. This will be done by decreasing the amount of co-funding local government budgets have to give for this subvention from 50% to 30%. 19. Resolution of August 21, 2019 Registration # 795 "On Introducing Amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of April 23, 2014, # 117". The document allocates funds for conducting a research of the level of user satisfaction with the efficiency and quality of administrative services provided through CASs and advantages and disadvantages in their work. 20. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 800 “On Certain Issues of Training of Pedagogical, Scientific and Research Employees”. The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine endorses the Procedure for competence development of pedagogical, scientific and research staff. One should note that in the course of the public discussion of the document, the Association of Ukrainian Cities sent its Letter # 5-240 of May 14, 2019 with proposals for the draft document, which were taken into account by the author. Thus, in particular, the latest version takes into account the following suggestions of the PULSE Project expert: the powers of the founder of the educational establishment in the organisation of competence development of pedagogical staff has been determined; the provision allowing non-competitive advantages to certain postgraduate educational establishments in the provision of education services to teachers has been removed; the requirement for the pedagogical council to recognise certain types of competence development training including participation in training, seminars, workshops, workshops, etc. has been abolished; and, the requirement to coordinate the proposals from teachers with the amount of available training costs has been introduced. The endorsement of this resolution will provide opportunities to ensure annual competence development of teachers; 21. Resolution of August 14, 2019, Registration # 807 "On Introducing Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and Considering Some of Them Void". The document improves the mechanism for the provision of housing subsidies and privileges for the payment of housing and municipal utility services to the population in cash by transferring, as of October 01, 2019, the powers to pay housing subsidies to recipients from the central level to

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the local level. Thus, the housing recipients will independently choose where from they will receive the funds of the state assistance. 22. Resolution of August 08, 2019, Registration # 808 "On Setting the Maximum Amount of the Per Consumer Subscription Service Fee for the Housing and Municipal Utility Services Provided to Consumers of Apartment Buildings under Individual Contracts". Aiming at protection of consumer rights, the document sets the maximum permissible amount of the subscription fee, which can not be exceeded by providers of the relevant service. 23. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of August 21, 2019, Registration # 809 “On Introducing Amendments to the Procedure for the Removal of Trees, Bushes, Lawns and Flower Beds in Populated Areas” clarifies the procedure for obtaining a permit for the removal of plantations, as well as envisions the possibility of reducing the cost of compensation for the removed green plantations for the amount of the planned cost of green plantations of the territory in the future; 24. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 817 "On Endorsing the Procedure for the National Language Ombudsman for the Use of the National Language by the State Authorities, Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and Local Governments to Exercise Control". 25. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 819 “On Endorsing the Regulations for the Interaction of the National Language Ombudsman with State Authorities, Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and Local Governments”. 26. Resolution of July, 2019, Registration # 822 "On the Remuneration of Teachers and Research Staff of Educational and Scientific Establishments and Institutions". The document promotes the conditions for the substantial increase in the amount of remuneration of teachers and research staff of educational establishments and institutions as of 2020. The document envisions an incremental increase in salaries of teachers up to 4 subsistence levels for work able persons by 2023. However, given the status of national public finance, local budgets may become a source of the funds to increase the salaries in the education sector, which increases the financial risks for local government in the medium term. 27. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 823 “Certain Issues of State Oversight and Control of Compliance with the Labour Law”. The document which defines the procedure for exercising control of compliance with the labour legislation by the executive bodies of city councils of cities of oblast significance and of rural, town, city councils and CTCs. The endorsement of the regulatory and legal document vests the communities with the right to exercise control of timely and complete payment of remuneration and compliance with the minimum state guarantees for remuneration and registration of labour relations. 28. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 824 “On Endorsing Model Provisions for the Day Center for Social and Psychological Assistance to Persons Who Have Been Affected by Domestic and/or Gender-Based Violence and the Specialized Service for Primary Social and Psychological Counselling for Persons Who Have Been Affected by Domestic Violence and/or Gender-Based Violence”. The resolution takes into account the position of the AUC with regard to ensuring independence of local governments in opening the specialised services. 29. Resolution of August 21, 2019, Registration # 830 “On Approving the Rules for the Provision of the Heat Supply Service and Model Contracts for the Provision of the Heat Supply Service” establishes detailed rules for the provision of the heat supply service and endorses a number of standard documents.

Eighteen (18) Directives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine: 1. Directive of July 05, 2019, Registration # 488-р “On the Distribution in 2019 of the National Budget Subvention to Local Budgets for the Implementation of Activities to Support the Territories with Negative Effects from the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine”. The document distributes the additional funds in the amount of 18.8 million for the implementation of

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Activities to support the territories with negative effects from the armed conflict between 9 cities and territorial territories of the Donetsk, Zaporizzhya, Luhansk, and Kharkiv oblasts. 2. Directive of July 05, 2019, Registration # 492-р “On Introducing Amendments to the List of Investment Programs and Regional Development Projects That May Be Implemented in 2019 at the Expense of the National Regional Development Fund including those financed with the purpose of the repayment of debt registered by State Treasury Service entities as of January o1, 2019”. The document included 366 new projects with the financing amount of 3.646 billion UAH to the current list of projects. 3. Directive of July 05, 2019, Registration # 493-р "On Endorsing the Distribution of the Amount of the National Budget Subvention to Local Budgets for Opening and Repairs of the Existing Sport Facilities in Secondary Schools of all Grades in 2019". The document distributes 150 million UAH of the subvention to local budgets (including 76% or 113.3 million UAH to city and CTC budgets) for opening and repairs of sport facilities in secondary schools of all grades in 2019. 4. Directive Registration 496-р of July 10, 2019 “On the Redistribution of the Amount of the Education Subvention from the National Budget to Local Budgets in 2019”. The document partially resolves the problem of the shortage of the education subvention in six communities of the Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Cherkasy oblasts and prevents violations of the timeframe of payment of salaries to teachers. A total of 12 million UAH was disbursed to CTCs at the expense of reserve funds of the education subvention in rayons. 5. Directive of July 10, 2019, Registration # 500-р “Some Issues of the Distribution in 2019 of the National Budget Subvention to Local Budgets for the Implementation of Activities for Social and Economic Development of Certain Territories”. The document endorses the disbursement of 2.5 billion UAH of the subvention funds for the implementation of activities for social and economic development of certain territories between local budgets and changes the list of entities for the subvention, their names and amounts of financing. In particular, 1.4 billion UAH has been earmarked for the implementation of activities for social and economic development of smaller towns and villages. 6. Directive of July 05, 2019, Registration # 505-р "On Introducing Amendments to Item 2 of Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 1085 of November 07, 2014". The document unifies and updates and expanded the number of involved government authorities with regard to the list of populated areas where state government authorities temporarily do not exercise their powers and the list of populated areas located on the conflict line (taking into account the proposals of PULSE Project experts submitted in 2018). 7. Directive of July 10, 2019, Registration # 535-р "On Endorsing of the List of Cultural and Art Projects, Winners of the Small Cities – Great Impressions Competition of Cultural and Art Projects, Which Are Implemented in 2019 on Co-Financing Conditions from the National Budget”. Through this resolution, the Cabinet of Ministers endorses the list of cities, winners of the Small Cities – Great Impressions Competition. The National Budget disbursed 74 million UAH for 74 projects aimed at developing cultural and economic potential of cities with the population of up to 50,000. 8. Directive of July 17, 2019, Registration # 563-р "On Introducing Amendments to Item 1 of Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 502 of July 13, 2016". The document increases the list of populated areas (the cities of Kolomyia, Kremenets, and Kholodna Balka) included in the pilot project for the simplified procedure of state registration of marriage. The number of communities participating in the project has increased to 72. 9. Directive of July 24, 2019, Registration # 600-р “On the Redistribution of Some Expenditures of the National Budget Envisioned by the Ministry of Health Care for 2019”. The document additionally provides local budgets with 1 billion UAH for primary health care to the population by redistributing expenditures for the pilot project on the implementation of state guarantees for health care (secondary care). The decision was prompted by the necessity to provide

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additional funding from the National Budget for salaries of doctors, but in general this decision did not resolve the problem of shortage of funds in the health care sector. 10. Directive of August 14, 2019, Registration # 613-р "On Introducing Amendments to Annex 10 of the Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 14 of January 16, 2019". By endorsing this document, the Cabinet of Ministers distributed the balance funds of the additional subvention between local budgets of the Kirovohrad oblast. Thanks to the distribution of the balance funds in the amount of 7.2 million UAH, the government increased the amount of the additional subvention to the cities of Kropyvnytskyi (by 7.8%) and Oleksandriya (by 8.1%). 11. Directive of August 14, 2019, Registration # 614-р "On Introducing Amendments to Annex 24 of Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 14 of January 16, 2019". By endorsing this document, the Cabinet of Ministers distributed the balance funds of the additional subvention between local budgets of the Chernihiv oblast. The government increased the amount of the additional subvention to the cities of Nizhyn (by 97.2%), Novhorod-Siverskyi (by 28.6%), Kiptivska Village CTC (by 114.7%), Makivska Village CTC (by 100%), and Koryukivska City CTC (by 155.8%). 12. Directive of August 14, 2019, Registration # 657-р "On endorsing the Action Plan for 2019 for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Promoting Civil Society Development in Ukraine for 2016 - 2020". The document envisages activities to strengthen the institutional capacity of civil society organisations, involve citizens in decision making at the local level (through the provision of technical assistance to local governments in the preparation and approval of community charters), development of social entrepreneurship, increasing the level of legal culture of citizens, etc. 13. Directive of August 21, 2019, Registration # 666-р "On Approving the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Healthy Activities in Ukraine for the Period up to 2025 "Motor Activity - Healthy Lifestyle - Healthy Nation" for 2020". The document endorses the action plan aimed at promoting favourable conditions in communities for well-being of residents and improving their health. The document takes into account comments and suggestions of PULSE Project experts with regard to developing mechanisms to finance, construct, reconstruct and maintain infrastructure, and preparation of informational, logistical and human resources at the local level. 14. Directive of July 24, 2019, Registration # 249 “On Introducing Amendments to Annex 3 of Directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 14 of January 16, 2019”. The document distributed the outstanding amount of balance funds of the additional subvention to cove the expenditure categories shifted from the National Budget to local budgets for maintenance of educational establishments and health care institutions between local budgets of the Dnepropetrovsk oblast for 2019 for timely payment of salaries to employees of public sector institutions. CTC budgets additionally received 78.2 million UAH, with the share of CTC budgets increasing from 4.5% to 13.5% of the total amount of the subvention.

Also, the AUC concurred with 4 directives of the Cabinet of Ministers. These documents provided for the transfer of integral property facilities of state-owned vocational training institutions to joint ownership of territorial communities of the 8 oblasts and the city of Kyiv, which will ensure their efficient management and high quality of educational services: 15. Directive of July 24, 2019, Registration # 578-p "On Transferring of Integral State-Owned Property Facilities of Vocational (Professional) Training Institutions to the Joint Ownership of Territorial Communities of the Lviv Oblast"; 16. Directive of July 24, 2019, Registration # 583-р "On Transferring of Integral State-Owned Property Facilities of Vocational (Professional) Training Institutions to the Joint Ownership of Territorial Communities of the Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, Odesa and Kherson Oblasts;

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17. Directive of 24.07.2019, Registration # 587-p "On Transferring of Integral State-Owned Property Facilities of Vocational (Professional) Training Institutions to the Joint Ownership of Territorial Communities of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast"; 18. Directive of August 14, 2019, Registration # 619-р "On Transferring of Integral State-Owned Property Facilities of Vocational (Professional) Training Institutions to the Joint Ownership of Territorial Communities of the Cherkasy and Kirovohrad Oblasts".

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Annex Е

Legislation application laboratories in AUC Regional Offices

During Project Year Four, PULSE conducted 117 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 2,484 local government representatives (1,005 males and 1,479 females)

In July - September 2019, PULSE Project conducted 20 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 420 local government officials including 186 males and 234 females.

Date, venue, participants Topic Information about the event July 16, 2019 Application of local economic The training event moderator introduced the Poltava AUC RO development tools for effective tools of local economic development for city of Poltava community development effective community development together with the peculiarities of preparation and Participants: village, town and city submission of project application for receiving a mayors, their deputies, specialists subvention from the National Budget for of technical departments. infrastructure improvements, provided examples of attracting funds from different sources for implementation of development projects, and told about the current status and future prospects of small and medium-sized businesses in the oblast. July 25, 2019 Reforms in the sector of The training event moderator familiarised the city of Karlivka housing and municipal utilities. audience with the main amendments in the Poltava AUC RO Hands-on aspects of legislation regulating the sector of housing and application of legislation municipal utilities, spoke about the rights and Participants: village, town and city provisions and legislative responsibilities of housing managers, providers mayors, their deputies, specialists framework for condominium of utility services and consumers, and provided of departments of housing and associations (with ProZorro) examples of how to resolve conflicts between municipal utilities. service providers and consumers and how to conduct competitions to select the managers of the apartment block. The participants discussed problems of the separated collection of household waste. July 26, 2019 Reform in the social protection The training event moderator spoke about the Zhytomyr AUC RO system. Peculiarities of working new provisions in the legislative governing the city of Zhytomyr with persons with disabilities, sector of social protection, familiarised the ATO participants, internally audience with the peculiarities of setting up Participants: deputy village, town displaced persons and other structural departments of social protection, and city mayors, directors of categories of population and informed about the peculiarities of social departments and directorates of protection of participants of the anti-terrorist social protection. operation and their families. The participants discussed issues of how to increase activism of citizens and improve cooperation with non-governmental organisations in social support of disadvantaged groups July 30, 2019 Local economic development The training event moderator familiarised the Vinnytsya AUC RO tools audience with the legislative framework for city of Vinnytsya local government activities in stimulating local economic development, outlined the model Participants: town and city structure of the document for the preparation mayors, technical deputies, of community economic development profile, directors and specialists of and told about the importance of project and departments of economy. grant work that promotes local economic

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development. The participants discussed the need to develop strategic development plans in their communities. July 30, 2019 Application of local economic The training event moderator spoke about the Cherkasy AUC RO development tools for effective content, components and instruments of local city of Cherkasy community development economic development, provided examples of development and support for agricultural Participants: village, town and city cooperatives and businesses in local mayors, CTC mayors, their communities in general, spoke about the deputies, directors and specialists opportunities for tourism development, of technical departments and presented the criteria to determine community directorates. preparedness for inviting investors, spoke about the main spheres of the work of the Cherkasy Regional Development Agency and familiarised the audience with its services for communities including CTCs. July 31, 2019 Project management as a tool The moderator spoke about how local Donetsk AUC RO for community economic governments may regulate investment city of Myrnohrad development activities, about project management and its importance for local economic development, Participants: city mayors, their outlined the peculiarities of preparation of local deputies, council secretaries, economic development projects, told about the specialists of technical ways of attracting funds from international departments. organisations and National Budget for project implementation. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. August 07, 2019 Economic development as a The training event moderator provided an Kharkiv AUC RO basic component of community overview of the legislative framework of local city of Lozova development government activities in stimulating local economic development, introduced the ways to Participants: village, town and city develop and support of local businesses, mayors, CTC mayors, directors of provided hands-on examples of preparation of departments of social and local development projects and obtaining funds economic development of for their implementation, told about the need communities. to modernise the current mechanisms to provide housing for citizens and develop new ones for affordable housing. August 07, 2019 Supporting local businesses The moderator emphasised the need of Odesa AUC RO and entrepreneurship as a tool examining the business climate in the city of Odesa for community economic community and ways to improve it, spoke development about the phases of its preparation, evaluation Participants: deputy village, town and selection of investment programs and and city mayors, directors and regional development projects, which can be specialists of technical implemented at the expense of the funds of the departments. National Regional Development Fund, and outlined the main tools for small business support. The participants received examples of effective cooperation between state-owned banks and local governments. August 09, 2019 Strategic planning as a tool for The moderator explained the peculiarities of Kirovohrad AUC RO community economic the legislation on community economic city of Kropyvnytskyi development development, told about the phases of strategic planning, forms of involvement of Participants: deputies of village, citizens in the preparation of the strategic plan, town and city mayors, directors and presented a step-by-step algorithm for the and specialists of technical preparation of the community development departments. strategic plan.

142 July – September, 2019

The participants received recommendations on the preparation of strategic plans and explanations about their relationships with spatial planning in communities. August 20, 2019 Interaction of local The moderator familiarised the audience with Ternopil AUC RO governments with citizens. modern tools for local governments tot city of Ternopil Public involvement in financial communicate with activists and non- decision making. Public budget governmental organisations, told about the Participants: village, town and city legal mechanism of implementation of the mayors, their deputies, CTC public budget tool, presented the opportunities mayors, directors of technical of the Open Budget portal to increase departments and directorates. transparency and accountability of government authorities, and told about forms of citizen involvement and mechanism for providing consultations with the help of establishing expert councils. August 21, 2019 Attracting additional financial The moderator told about the sources of Mykolaiv AUC RO resources as a tool for additional funding for local economic city of Mykolaiv community economic development, specifically: the national Warm development House program, National Regional Participants: village, town and city Development Fund, national programs to mayors, their deputies, CTC support agricultural producers, emphasised the specialists in financial and need to prepare project applications in the economic issues. correct way and basic requirements for them, shared the experience in selecting the source of financial and technical assistance for project funding, and told about where to look for information and how to identify a donor. September 10, 2019 Community economic The training event moderator spoke about the Kyiv AUC RO development tools regulatory and legislative framework for city of Kyiv strategic planning, peculiarities of the preparation of development projects, Participants: deputy village, town procedures for selecting best ideas for projects and city mayors, directors and that can be implemented at the expense of the specialists of economic National Regional Development Fund, and departments of councils. informed about the phases of strategic planning, forms of involvement of citizens in the preparation and implementation of strategies, and peculiarities of high quality community development planning. Representatives of the Prozorro.Sales state- owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. September 12, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The moderator spoke about changes in the Vinnytsya AUC RO effectiveness of land regulatory and legislative framework for land city of Vinnytsya management in territorial management, procedures for the normative communities. Issues in land pecuniary valuation of lands located beyond Participants: village, town and city relations the boundaries of populated areas, told about mayors, their deputies, specialists the mechanism of transferring of land plots to of departments of land relations. ownership and permanent use of co-owners of apartment blocks, and informed about the peculiarities of conducting land sales (auctions). Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. September 12, 2019 Small and medium-sized The moderator spoke about the legislative Zakarpattya AUC RO enterprise development tools aspects of SME development, implementation city of Uzhgorod in communities of regulatory policy, familiarised the audience with the peculiarities of long-term planning of Participants: deputy town and city small and medium-sized entrepreneurship in mayors, specialists of economic communities and aspects of applying business

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departments of councils. development tools for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, and spoke about the start-up competition within framework of the program to competitiveness of the Zakarpattya oblast. September 12, 2019 New approaches in urban The moderator spoke about major changes in Ternopil AUC RO planning and architecture, their urban planning legislation, permit, registration, city of Ternopil application in the context of control and supervisory functions of the State decentralisation Architectural and Construction Inspection, Participants: village, town and city reported on the activities of the State Fund for mayors, their deputies, directors of Youth Housing Assistance and the content of technical departments and the current housing loan programs for young directorates. people, emphasised the peculiarities of preparatory and construction works, and the mechanisms for state architectural and construction control. The event participants learned about the types of accountability for violations of urban planning legislation. September 17, 2019 Legal aspects of privatisation of The training event moderator familiarised the Sumy AUC RO communal property audience with the new provisions of the city of Sumy legislation in the sector of privatisation of state- owned and communally-owned property, Participants: deputy village, town classification of objects and subjects of and city mayors, CTC mayors, privatisation, told about the procedure for the directors and specialists of preparation of the list of entities to be technical departments. privatised for approval, outlined ways of privatisation, peculiarities of redemption of individual privatisation objects, organisational aspects of privatisation of communal property, and introduced various types of auctions. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. September 18, 2019 Interaction of local The event moderator spoke about the Zhytomyr AUC RO governments with citizens. legislation governing work of local governments city of Zhytomyr Information openness to in the information sector and coverage of the communities: goals, objectives, work of the municipalities in media; legislative Participants: deputy village, town tools requirements on access to public information and city mayors, specialists of and informing about the activities of local technical departments of councils. government; the purpose of maintaining the web site and ways of work with information; system of information exchange with departments, establishments, enterprises; tools and ways to work with media; and informed about the peculiarities of establishing effective internal communication, spheres and peculiarities communication activities in communities. September 20, 2019 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator provided an Zhytomyr AUC RO implementation of CTC overview of changes in the budget and tax city of Zhytomyr budgets. Effective management legislation, spoke about the peculiarities of of financial resources. preparation of local budgets for 2020, Participants: deputy village, town Performance program familiarised the audience with the process of and city mayors, directors of budgeting preparing the revenue and expenditure part of financial departments and budgets, provided suggestions and identified directorates. the main ways for increasing local budget revenues, spoke about the peculiarities of inter-budget relations, and informed about changes in the application of performance program budgeting. September 20, 2019 Promoting favourable The training moderator spoke about the

144 July – September, 2019

Chernivtsi AUC RO conditions for local business legislative framework for the preparation of the city of Chernivtsi and entrepreneurship as a tool local economic development policy and the LED for community economic strategic and tactical instruments, informed Participants: town and city development about the possibilities of introducing inter- mayors, their deputies, directors municipal cooperation, emphasised the and specialists of technical necessity of systematic community departments. development planning with due regard to regional and central government strategic documents, described tools and leverages of obtaining state support, and familiarized the audience with the principles of preparation of high quality marketing strategies and territory branding. September 20, 2019 Strategic planning for local The training event moderator spoke about the Chernihiv AUC RO development: methodology methodology of strategic planning; emphasised city of Chernihiv and community best practices the importance of promoting the environment for economic growth and improvements of Participants: town and city mechanisms to manage community mayors, their deputies, directors of development based on the principles of financial departments and efficiency, openness and transparency; outlined directorates. ways to enhance the investment and innovation attractiveness of communities, improve opportunities for small and medium- sized business development; and shared best practices in strategic sectors of community development. September 30, 2019 Application of local economic The moderator familiarised the audience with Rivne AUC RO development tools for effective legislative requirements for the preparation of city of Zdolbuniv community development investment projects, peculiarities of their implementation, told about the basics Participants: village, town and city elements of project management, phases of mayors, CTC mayors, deputy town setting up project teams, importance of project and city mayors, council approaches in the community development secretaries. strategy, phase of selection of project ideas and preparation of technical tasks, and provided the hands-on experience of the city of Zdolbuniv in implementing development projects.

In April - June 2019, PULSE conducted 27 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 540 local government officials including 183 males and 357 females.

Date, venue, participants Topic Information about the event April 05, 2019 Provision of administrative The training event moderator provided an Volyn AUC RO services at the local level, ways overview of the legislation in the sector of city of Lutsk to improve their quality administrative services, described the requirements for the provision of Participants: deputy village, town administrative services in CTCs and experience and city mayors, CTC mayors, in solving problems with opening of centers of directors and specialists of administrative services in CTCs, and introduced the ways to improve the quality of technical departments. administrative services. The participants learned about the standards and requirements for opening and equipping centers of administrative services. April 09, 2019 Preparation and The event moderator spoke about the main Kyiv AUC RO implementation of requirements of the investment legislation, city of Kyiv infrastructure and investment informed about the peculiarities of preparation projects with the funds of and submission of projects that can be Participants: deputy village and subventions from the National implemented at the expense of the National

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town mayors, CTC mayors, Budget to local budgets, grants Regional Development Fund and the directors and specialists of funds, loans and funds of the subvention from the National Budget to local economic and investment NRDF budgets for infrastructure improvements in departments. CTCs, drew the attention to opportunities of local governments to attract funds from others sources for project implementation. The Kalytyanska and Velykodimerska CTCs shared their experience in preparation and implementation of investment projects. April 10, 2019 Preparation of local budgets, The moderator familiarised the audience with Kirovohrad AUC RO ways to local budget increase main new provisions and changes in the 2019 - city of Kropyvnytskyi revenues and tax base, 2020 budget process, informed about the main interaction of local changes in registering revenues and Participants: deputy village, town governments with fiscal and tax expenditures at the local level, offered and city mayors, directors and authorities suggestion and identified the main ways to specialists of financial increase local budget revenues, informed about departments. changes in using performance program budgeting, and spoke about the peculiarities of the interaction of local governments with financial and tax authorities. April 11, 2019 Modern tools for community The training moderator spoke about the main Zhytomyr AUC RO economic development. principles and approaches in local economic city of Zhytomyr Entrepreneurship development development planning and specific features of and territorial marketing strategic planning for local economic Participants: village, town and city development, informed about the concepts mayors, their deputies, directors of and tasks of territorial marketing, tools for departments, directorates of enhancing the investment attractiveness of economic development. territories, promoting business climate and establishing a dialogue between local governments and businesses. The Olevska, Korostenska and Novohrad- Volynska communities shared their experience in preparing development strategies. April 11, 2019 Preparation and The moderator spoke about investment Cherkasy AUC RO implementation of legislation, legal and regulatory support to use city of Cherkasy infrastructure and investment the subvention for infrastructure projects with the funds of improvements in CTCs, presented the Participants: village, town and city subventions from the National procedures of submitting project application mayors, their deputies, CTC Budget to local budgets, grants and their content and general characteristics, mayors, directors and specialists of funds, loans and funds of the presented the peculiarities of preparing and technical departments and NRDF submitting investment projects that can be directorates. implemented at the expense of the National Regional Development Fund. The event participants shared their experience in preparing and submitting project applications and ensuring effective project teams. April 12, 2019 Education reform. New The moderator familiarised the audience with Zaporizzhya AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development the main changes in the education legislation, city of Zaporizzhya of inclusive education regulatory and legislative framework for the implementation of the New Ukrainian School Participants: deputy village, town and inclusive education concepts, spoke about and city mayors, directors of the peculiarities of providing education services departments of education. in the context of the New Ukrainian School, emphasised the importance of promoting the upgraded education environment, and introduced the peculiarities of the work of inclusive resource centers. April 12, 2019 Dnipropetrovsk Education reform. New The moderator spoke about major changes in Dnipropetrovsk AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development the education legislation, provided an overview city of Dnipro of inclusive education the implementation of the New Ukrainian

146 July – September, 2019

School concept, familiarised the audience with Participants: town and city the establishment, tasks and functions of mayors, CTC mayors, directors and inclusive resource centers, spoke about details specialists of departments of of the distribution of the subvention from the education. National Budget in the Dnepropetrovsk oblast for the state support to persons with special education needs in 2017 – 2019. April 15, 2019 Education reform. New The training moderator described the Vinnytsya AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development legislative framework for the implementation city of Vinnytsya of inclusive education of the concept of the New Ukrainian School, about two city educational programs called Participants: technical deputy "Education development program for the village, town and city mayors, period till 2020 and "Vinnytsya - a children and directors of education youth friendly city", presented the experience departments. of the Vinnytsya City Council Education Department in improving the professional level of teachers in the context of the New the Ukrainian School concept. The participants became familiar with the system of inclusive education in Comprehensive Secondary School # 33. April 15, 2019 Education reform. New The training event moderator described the Luhansk AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development legislative framework for aligning the education city of Severodonetsk of inclusive education space in the context of reforms, informed about the current status of the preparation of Participants: technical deputy educational establishments in the oblast for the town and city mayors, directors of implementation of the concept of the New education departments. Ukrainian School, focused on the peculiarities of promoting inclusive educational space and inclusive resource centers and classes, and emphasised the importance of increasing the professional level of teachers working with children with special educational needs. April 24, 2019 Legal aspects of privatisation of The event moderator familiarised the Chernivtsi AUC RO communal property participants with new provisions of the city of Chernivtsi legislation governing privatisation, reviewed the peculiarities of the privatisation of Participants: town and city communally-owned property, spoke about the mayors, their deputies, specialists mechanisms, timeframe, procedures and of technical departments. methods of privatisation, peculiarities of preparing documentation for privatisation, focused the attention on accountability for violations of the legislation on privatisation of property, and familiarised the audience with the peculiarities of selling property through e- auctions. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. April 24, 2019 Application of modern The training event moderator introduced the Poltava AUC RO information technologies in Concept for e-governance development in city of Kremenchuk local government activities. e- Ukraine, presented the work of the information governance as a Factor of systems of such city municipal companies as Participants: village, town and city Government Openness to City Registration - Community Register and mayors, directors and specialists of Community Accounting and Control System, Analyst, and technical departments. introduced the requirements for data formats for electronic document turnover. The participants learned hands-on skills in using electronic document turnover systems, electronic digital signature and electronic accounting in the office work.

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April 25, 2019 Reforms in the sector of The training event moderator familiarised the Kharkiv AUC RO housing and municipal utilities. audience with the main amendments in the city of Kharkiv Hands-on aspects of the legislation governing the sector of housing and application of legislation and municipal utilities, spoke about the rights and Participants: village, town and city legal framework for responsibilities of building managers, providers mayors, CTC mayors and starostas. condominium associations and consumers of housing and municipal utility services, procedures for concluding contracts between service providers and consumers, and told about the responsibility for the failure to provide high quality housing and municipal utility services or poor services. The director of the housing management company of the city of Zmiyiv shared his experience in servicing the apartment blocks of the city. May 14, 2019 Application local economic The training event spoke about the strategy for Ternopil AUC RO development tools for effective the development of small and medium-sized city of Ternopil community development enterprises in the Ternopil oblast for the period of 2016 – 2020 and focused on the need to Participants: village, town and city develop and implement a community mayors, their deputies, CTC development strategy, to promote investment mayors, directors of technical image of the community and its investment departments/directorates. opportunities, discuss the opportunities for attracting international grant programs, participation in sectoral policy programs, and establishment of cooperation between government and businesses. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. May 15, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator provided an Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO effectiveness of land overview of amendments in the legislation city of Ivano-Frankivsk management in territorial governing land management, told about the communities. Issues in land procedures for transferring state-owned Participants: village, town and city relations agricultural land plots to communal ownership mayors, specialists of land and of consolidated territorial communities, legal departments. emphasised the importance of land inventory, conclusion of land lease agreements, implementation of auctions, and shared experience in resolving disputes and cooperation with the management of the Office of the State Land Cadastre of the General Directorate of the State Land Cadastre in the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. May 16, 2019 Green tourism as a factor of The training event moderator familiarised the Luhansk AUC RO local economic development audience with organisational and legislative town of Bilovodsk principles for the provision of services in the sphere of rural green tourism, certification Participants: town and city issues and successful examples of running mayors, CTC mayors, directors and green tourism farms in Ukraine, emphasised specialists of economic the need to develop tourism as a strategy for departments/directorates. the development of CTCs, and spoke about the need to prepare a tourist profile of communities and tourist route profiles. The manager of the Tourist Association of Luhansk Oblast NGO presented the idea of Greenways green tourism routes. May 17, 2019 Organisational and legal The training event moderator described the Rivne AUC RO aspects of interaction of local legislative framework for the interaction of city of Rivne governments and citizens. local governments with citizens, focused the Public involvement in financial attention on the formation and methodology of

148 July – September, 2019

Participants: town and city decision-making. Public budget the public budget, importance of citizen mayors, CTC mayors, directors and participation in making financial decisions, specialists of technical introduced a comprehensive methodology for departments. assessing the transparency and openness of local governments activities, and presented models of visualisation of open budgets, instructions for writing programs, and the Budget on the Map and Municipal Enterprise modules. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. May 22, 2019 Preparation and The training event moderator introduced the Chernihiv AUC RO implementation of legislative framework for the development and city of Chernihiv infrastructure and investment implementation of infrastructure and projects with the funds of investment promotion projects at the expense Participants: village, town and city subventions from the National of the subvention from the National Budget to mayors, CTC mayors, directors of Budget to local budgets, grants local budgets, grant funding, loans and funds of departments and directorates of funds, loans and funds of the the National Regional Development Fund, city, town, village councils. NRDF provided an overview of the participation of representatives of territorial communities in competitions, grant programs and projects that were implemented in 2018 and, on a separate note, focused on the programs that will be implemented in 2019. The participants learned about the benefits of working with the Prozzoro.Sales system. May 29, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator provided an Cherkasy AUC RO effectiveness of land overview the legislative framework governing city of Cherkasy management in territorial land management relations, emphasised the communities. Issues in land peculiarities of establishing local rates of land Participants: village, town and city relations tax and fees, told about the procedure for CTC mayors, their deputies, approving a decision on rates and privileges on directors and specialists of the land tax, inventory of land parcels, recent technical departments and trends in contractual work in the sphere of land directorates. relations and provided examples court decisions with regard to resolving land lease disputes. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. June 05, 2019 Legal aspects of privatisation of The training event moderator described the Mykolaiv AUC RO communal property regulatory framework for communally-owned city of Mykolaiv property management, focused the attention on the transfer of communally-owned property Participants: town and city to state ownership, key issues of privatisation mayors, directors and specialists of of communal property, the procedure for the municipal property departments, sale of small privatisation property items legal consultants. through the electronic auction, and described ways to improve the management of communally-owned property in territorial communities and control over its effective use. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. June 10, 2019 Effective tools for community The training event moderator introduced tools Volyn AUC RO economic development for the promotion of business opportunities in city of Lutsk the community and peculiarities of attracting investors to the community, provided an Participants: village, town and city overview the model structure of the mayors, CTC mayors, directors of community investment profile as a key

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economic departments and document of the community, emphasised the directorates. importance of having cluster models in preparing development projects involving local businesses, and told about the technology for submitting an application for participation in the competition of sectoral reform projects and preparation and implementation of projects at the expense of grant funds. June 12, 2019 New approaches in urban The training event moderator described the Zakarpattya AUC RO planning and architecture, their legislative innovations in the sector of urban city of Uzhgorod application in the context of development and architecture, emphasised the decentralisation responsibility for violation of urban Participants: town and city development legislation, introduced the mayors, their deputies, directors procedure for granting permission for the and specialists of departments of development of urban development urban planning and architecture. documentation at the local level, procedure for its preparation and approval, emphasised the importance of promoting accessibility for persons with disabilities and low-mobility groups to social, engineering and transport infrastructure. June 12, 2019 Preservation of historical and The training event moderator told about the Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO cultural heritage as a tool for basic legislation regulating the protection of city of Burshtyn community economic cultural heritage, emphasised the importance development of compiling a map of historical buildings and Participants: village, town and city natural landscapes with the purpose of their mayors, directors of technical inventory and timely restoration, departments. implementation of ideas in the programs for asocial, economic and cultural development, provided an example of the Vyhoda narrow- gauge train system that promotes revitalisation of local businesses and dissemination of a positive image of the Vyhoda community. June 21, 2019 Modern financial instruments The training event moderator described the Dnipropetrovsk AUC RO of community economic legislative framework governing local economic city of Dnipro development development of the territorial community, provided a general description and hands-on Participants: village, town and city examples of applying modern financial mayors, their deputies, directors of instruments for local economic development, technical departments. such as: promotion of foreign direct investments, international technical assistance, grants, loans, and provided a brief overview of the structure and peculiarities of preparing grant applications, main rules for its submission and common mistakes. June 25, 2019 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator provided an Lviv AUC RO ways to local budget increase overview of the budget legislation, familiarised city of Lviv revenues and tax base, with the main directions of the budget policy, interaction of local peculiarities of preparing estimates for draft Participants: city mayors, directors governments with fiscal and tax budgets, budget process calendar, calculations and specialists of economic and authorities of forecasts of volumes of inter-budget financial departments. transfers, methodology of their definition, hands-on aspects of servicing the development budget in banking institutions, and with the deposit and credit policy of local governments. Representatives of Prozorro.Sales state-owned company presented the benefits of working with the Prozorro.Sales system. June 25, 2019 Education reform. New The training event moderator provided an Cherkasy AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development overview of amendments in the legislation

150 July – September, 2019

city of Cherkasy of inclusive education governing the sector of education, familiarized the audience with the activities of the Cherkasy Participants: village, town and city City Council Education Department in 2017 – CTC mayors, their deputies, 2029 to introduce the Concept of the New directors and specialists of Ukrainian School in the city, focused the technical departments and attention on the optimisation of the network of directorates. educational establishments of local communities to provide the necessary conditions for obtaining high-quality comprehensive secondary education, and shared the experience of the Cherkasy oblast inclusive resource center. June 25, 2019 Strategic planning for local The training event moderator provided an Zaporizzhya AUC RO development: methodology overview the main tools of local economic city of Zaporizzhya and community best practices development, described the process of preparation of local economic development Participants: deputy town and city strategies, their types, focused the attention on mayors, directors and specialists of the peculiarities of the analysis of the economic development. community development in the course of the preparation of the strategy, described best examples of community development strategies of the oblast, and presented the experience of the city of Zaporizzhya in preparing its writing development strategy and main ways of attracting investments for economic development of the community. June 26, 2019 Land inventory as a tool for The training moderator provided an overview Khmelnytskyi AUC RO community economic of the legislation on the regulation of land city of Khmelnytskyi development inventory, urban planning documentation and land management projects, reviewed the Participants: deputy village, town consequences of violations of land legislation, and city mayors, directors of familiarized the audience with the main economic departments. economic and social benefits of land inventory, provided hands-on recommendations on the maintenance of the State Land Cadastre to attract investments and explained the peculiarities of electronic data recording.

In January - March 2019, PULSE conducted 35 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 680 local government officials including 282 males and 398 females.

Date, venue, participants Topic Information about the event January 11, 2019 Strategic planning for local The training event moderator described the Lviv AUC RO development: methodology methodology of developing effective local city of Lviv and community best practices economic development strategies, highlighted the peculiarities of the analysis of the Participants: city mayors, CTC community development and its use for mayors, technical specialists. developing models of local economic development, listed available tools for local economic development, and familiarised the audience with best practices of developing economic development plans and the algorithm for their implementation. The participants exchanged experience in promoting conditions for the development of local businesses and attracting investments. January 18, 2019 Legal regulation of public The training event moderator provided an Chernihiv AUC RO procurement and experience in overview of regulatory requirements for public city of Chernihiv using the ProZorro system procurement, highlighted the importance of openness and transparency of the procurement

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Participants: village, town and city process, as well as talked about the mayors, CTC mayors, technical requirements for bidding documents and open specialists. bidding and the procedure for monitoring public procurement. The participants studied the peculiarities of responsibility in the sector of public procurement and learned practical skills in using the ProZorro procurement system. January 24, 2019 Education reform. New The training event moderator introduced the Kharkiv AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development innovations in the education legislation, city of Kharkiv of inclusive education regulatory and legislative framework for the implementation of the New Ukrainian School Participants: deputy city mayors, concept and inclusive education, described the CTC mayors, directors and peculiarities of providing educational services specialists of education in the conditions of the New Ukrainian School, departments. and emphasised the necessity of promoting a modern educational environment in educational institutions of the city of Kharkiv. The participants visited the Inclusive Resource Center where they became acquainted with the practice of providing educational services and methods for working with children with disabilities. January 29, 2019 Legal aspects of privatisation of The training moderator familiarised the Khmelnytskyi AUC RO communal property audience with innovations in the legislation on city of Khmelnytskyi privatisation, spoke about the peculiarities of privatisation of communally-owned property in Participants: CTC mayors, directors accordance with the phases specified by the and specialists of financial and law, outlined the step-by-step procedure and economic timeframe of the privatisation process, and departments/directorates. familiarised the audience with the peculiarities of the sales of objects through the ProZorro procurement system. She also shared practical experience in privatisation projects at e- auctions. January 31, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator familiarised the Kherson AUC RO effectiveness of land audience with new provisions of the land city of Kherson management in territorial management legislation, told about the communities. Issues in land procedure for transferring state-owned Participants: village, town and city relations agricultural lands located beyond the mayors, CTC mayors, specialists of boundaries of populated areas into the land departments. ownership of consolidated territorial communities, told about the problems of implementing delegated powers by local governments in the spheres of using and protecting lands and ways of their solution, and highlighted the peculiarities of the mechanism for normative pecuniary valuation of land parcels. February 05, 2019 Preparation and The training event moderator familiarised the Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO implementation of audience with legislation governing city of Ivano-Frankivsk infrastructure and investment investments, reviewed sources of project projects with the funds of financing, focused on the stages and obstacles Participants: deputy village, town subventions from the National of preparation of project applications for donor and city mayors, directors and Budget to local budgets, grants assistance, provided recommendations for specialists of departments of funds, loans and funds of the improving the writing skills of grant economy. NRDF applications, and presented a training manual on territorial community development planning prepared by the AUC. The participants exchanged hands-on experience in preparing regional development

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projects. February 06, 2019 Preparation and The training event moderator familiarised the Rivne AUC RO implementation of audience with the main requirements of city of Rivne infrastructure and investment regulatory documents for the preparation of projects with the funds of investment projects, provided the main list of Participants: deputy city and town subventions from the National sources of funding investment projects, mayors, council secretaries, Budget to local budgets, grants disclosed main donor requirements to prepare specialists of economic funds, loans and funds of the and submit applications for international departments. NRDF technical assistance. The participants learned about the main problem issues of the preparation and implementation of infrastructure improvements and investment promotion projects at the expense of the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for infrastructure improvements in consolidated territorial communities. February 08, 2019 Interaction of local The training event moderator described the Chernivtsi AUC RO governments with citizens. legislative framework for involving citizens in city of Chernivtsi Public involvement in financial decision-making in territorial communities, decision making. Public budget introduced the practice of implementing the Participants: city mayors, CTC Transparent Budget program in Chernivtsi, and mayors, deputy directors of outlined activities for involving the public in financial departments. participation in budget hearings and participation in making financial decisions using the example of the Chernivtsi City Council. The participants learned about the peculiarities of the public project competition in Chernivtsi. February 08, 2019 Preparation and The training event moderator made provided a Kirovohrad AUC RO implementation of legislative overview of budget and grant city of Kropyvnytskyi infrastructure and investment opportunities to attract resources for projects with the funds of community development in 2019 - 2020, Participants: village, town and city subventions from the National provided information on the current grant mayors, CTC mayors, their Budget to local budgets, grants programs for local governments, described the deputies, specialists of economic funds, loans and funds of the peculiarities of applications for submitting calls and financial departments. NRDF for proposals for NRDF funding, and told about the peculiarities of inter-municipal cooperation, stages its organisation and the peculiarities of concluding inter-municipal cooperation agreements. February 08, 2019 Reforms in the sector of The training event moderator described Ternopil AUC RO housing and municipal utilities. amendments to the legislation governing the city of Ternopil Hands-on aspects of the sphere of housing and municipal utilities, application of legislation and described the procedures of mandatory energy Participants: village, town and city legal framework for certification of buildings and building class mayors, their deputies, directors condominium associations definitions in accordance with European and specialists of technical methods, provided an overview the legal departments and directorates. support of condominium associations, and defined peculiarities of ownership in an apartment block. The participants discussed issues of preparation of energy certificates at the phase of building design. February 13, 2019 Preparation and The training event moderator provided an Zakarpattya AUC RO implementation of overview the main requirements of regulatory city of Uzhgorod infrastructure and investment and legal documents for the preparation of projects with the funds of investment projects, described the peculiarities Participants: deputy town and city subventions from the National of preparation and presentation of investment mayors, specialists of economic Budget to local budgets, grants projects that can be implemented at the expense of the National Regional Development Fund and financial departments. funds, loans and funds of the

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NRDF and the subvention from the National Budget to local budgets for infrastructure improvements in consolidated territorial communities. The participants learned about other sources of funding of for infrastructure improvements and investment promotion projects. February 15, 2019 Reforms in the health care The training event moderator introduced the Dnipropetrovsk AUC RO system. Formation of hospital main changes in the legislation governing the city of Dnipro districts sector of health care, told about the achievements and problems of the sector in Participants: village, town and city 2018, outlined the main principles of health mayors, CTC mayors, directors and care financing reform, spoke about how to specialists of health care identify sources and determine the amount of departments. financing for primary health care, about the peculiarities of interaction the primary care units in consolidated territorial communities with secondary health care units, and focused the attention on the principles and strategic planning of functioning of the hospital districts. February 15, 2019 Legislative and regulatory The training event moderator provided an Chernihiv AUC RO framework for the work of overview the legal aspects of becoming the city of Chernihiv starostas starosta, described the main tasks the starosta has to deal with in resolving social and Participants: CTC mayors, economic issues of his/her district, described secretaries of councils. the election and taking office process, provided a list of duties, rights and limitations of the starosta with regard to combining other work, paid attention early termination of starosta powers, and familiarised the audience with model provisions on the starosta. The starosta of the Voloskyi Starosta District shared his experience he learned while working on this position. February 19, 2019 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator introduced Poltava AUC RO ways to local budget increase recent amendments to the budget legislation, city of Poltava revenues and tax base, told about the phases of the budget process interaction of local and peculiarities of funding health care and Participants: village, town and city governments with fiscal and tax education sectors in consolidated territorial mayors, CTC mayors, directors and authorities communities in 2019, provided a detailed specialists of economic and overview of changes in the distribution of inter- budget transfers, provided an explanation of financial departments. the mechanism for checking the effective use of funds inter-budget transfers from the National Budget by the Accounting Chamber, and told about cooperation with financial and tax authorities in the process of preparation of local budgets. February 19, 2019 Legal aspects of privatisation of The training event moderator introduced Vinnytsya AUC RO communal property innovations in the legislation governing city of Vinnytsya privatisation of communally-owned property, introduced the principles of privatisation, Participants: village, town and city described objects and subjects of privatisation, mayors, their deputies, CTC peculiarities of non-privatised objects, shared mayors, specialists of technical the experience of the Vinnytsya City Council in departments. introducing electronic auctions, as well as the experience of communities in the oblast in privatising communally-owned property and the increasing the revenue flow to local budgets, and told about the procedure and timeframe of privatisation, as well as about the peculiarities of preparation of documentation

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for the privatisation procedure. February 19, 2019 Reform in the social protection The training event moderator familiarised the Sumy AUC RO system. Peculiarities of working audience with the main spheres of reforming city of Sumy with persons with disabilities, the system of social protection. ATO participants, internally He paid special attention to the experience of Participants: deputy town and city displaced persons and other Berezivska CTC of the Hlukhiv rayon in mayors, directors and specialists of categories of population. participating in the pilot project of the Ministry technical departments. of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine on social protection of vulnerable population groups, and spoke about the peculiarities of granting subsidies to the population to reimburse the cost of housing and municipal utility services and about problem issues of social protection of ATO participants living in the territory of the consolidated territorial community. February 19, 2019 Legal regulation of public The training event moderator described the Mykolaiv AUC RO procurement and experience in legislative innovations in the procedure for city of Mykolaiv using the ProZorro system conducting public procurement, provided definition of the essence, concepts and basic Participants: deputy town and city principles of public procurement, highlighted mayors, directors and specialists of the peculiarities of working with the ProZоrrо technical departments. procurement system, provided useful advice on how to plan procurement of goods, works and services using Internet recourses, and focused the attention of the audience on the requirements of legislation with regard to risk indicators in the course of procurement and on peculiarities of the preparation and approval of the annual procurement plan. February 20, 2019 New approaches in urban The training event moderator familiarised the Luhansk AUC RO planning and architecture, their audience with the main legal documents in the city of Severodonetsk application in the context of sphere of urban planning and architecture, told decentralisation about the accountability for violating urban Participants: deputy town and city development legislation, spoke about the mayors, directors and specialists of peculiarities of urban development in cities of land departments and directorates. oblast significance, paid attention to the peculiarities of the development and approval of urban planning documentation for consolidated territorial communities, focused the attention on the main tasks of urban development activities in 2019, and told about the purpose and peculiarities of the Geoinformation system of the city planning cadastre. February 21, 2019 Reform in the social protection The training event moderator familiarised the Zaporizzhya AUC RO system. Peculiarities of working audience with the basic legislative documents city of Zaporizzhya with persons with disabilities, in the sphere of social protection, work of the ATO participants, internally electronic queuing management system, Participants: deputy of village, displaced persons and other possibility of online signup for an appointment town and city mayors, CTC mayors, categories of population. with a departmental officials, and organisation directors and specialists of of facilities to rental technical and other means departments of social protection. of rehabilitation. The participants learned about the experience of the departments for rehabilitation of children with disabilities the territorial centers and about the work of the Family Club for ATO participants at the Center for Social Services for Family, Children and Youth. March 01, 2019 Reforms in the health care The training event moderator provided an Kyiv AUC RO system. Formation of hospital overview of key amendments in the health care

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city of Kyiv districts legislation, reported on the current status and future prospects of reforms in the health care Participants: town and city sector in the Kyiv oblast in 2019, formation and mayors, directors of health care peculiarities of functioning of hospitals, departments. emphasised the peculiarities of local government powers in the health care sector, informed about the current status of reorganising of health care institutions providing primary health care to communally- owned non-profit companies. March 01, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator familiarised the Khmelnytskyi AUC RO effectiveness of land audience with the legislative documents city of Khmelnytskyi management in territorial regulating land relations, drew attention to the communities. Issues in land necessity of timely monitoring and control of Participants: village, town and city relations land use, emphasised the need for constant mayors, land surveyors. cooperation with fiscal authorities, drew attention to the ways of improving the efficiency of land resources management, shared hands-on experience in preparing land management documents, described the procedure and conditions for obtaining funds for the using of land plots in violation of requirements of the legislation. March 05, 2019 New approaches in urban The training event moderator familiarised the Lviv AUC RO planning and architecture, their audience with the main provisions of the city of Lviv application in the context of legislation in the sphere of urban planning and decentralisation architecture, told about the mechanism for Participants: village, town and city granting permits for the preparation of urban mayors, directors and specialists of planning documents at the local level, the technical departments. procedure for its preparation and approval, normative pecuniary valuation, inventory and documents on changing the boundaries of the populated areas, and clarified the procedure of maintaining urban development cadastre. March 12, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator introduced the Rivne AUC RO effectiveness of land recent amendments in the land management city of Dubno management in territorial legislation, described the peculiarities of the communities. Issues in land national normative pecuniary valuation of Participants: town and city relations agricultural lands, described the details of land mayors, deputy city mayors, land inventory, provided algorithms for improving surveyors. administration of land rent, and familiarised the participants with the problems of land auctions to sell state-owned and communally- owned land parcels and the ways of resolving them. March 14, 2019 Local economic development The training event moderator provided an Kherson AUC RO tools overview new provisions of the legislation city of Kherson governing the preparation of plans and programs for social and economic Participants: town and city development, outlined the basic principles of mayors, deputy city mayors, project management and the main sources of specialists of technical additional financing for local economic departments. development, and described the main stages and mechanisms for the preparation and implementation of community social and development programs of the community, main conditions for the selection of investment programs and projects funded through for international technical assistance projects. March 14, 2019 Legal regulation of public The training event moderator described the

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Odesa AUC RO procurement and the practice requirements of the legislation for the city of Odesa of using the ProZorro system procedure for putting together and endorsing the annual procurement plan, methodology for Participants: deputy village, town calculating the expected value of the and city mayors, specialists of pds1 procurement item, procedure for amending the responsible for procurement. annual procurement plan, dwelled upon the organisational aspects of the work of the tender committees and authorised officials, paying particular attention to the process of drafting tender documentation and annexes thereto, and gave recommendations on how to prevent violations. The participants learned about the peculiarities of work in the ProZorrо system. March 19, 2019 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator provided an Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO implementation of CTC overview amendments to the budget city of Ivano-Frankivsk budgets. Effective management legislation, told about the peculiarities of the of financial resources. preparation of local budgets in 2019, provided Participants: village, town and city Performance program an overview the peculiarities of introducing and mayors, CTC mayors, directors of budgeting applying the performance program budgeting financial departments and method, told about the possibilities of directorates. increasing the revenue base budgets of consolidated territorial communities, discussed the regulations and procedure of preparation of budgets in consolidated territorial communities and highlighted the peculiarities of preparing a decision on the CTC budget, and familiarised the audience with the principles of CTC budget implementation. March 19, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator described Luhansk AUC RO effectiveness of land changes in the land management legislation, city of Severodonetsk management in territorial highlighted the peculiarities of preparing urban communities. Issues in land development documents and maintaining a city Participants: town and city relations planning cadastre, introduced the mechanism mayors, deputy city mayors, land for transferring state-owned agricultural lands surveyors. located beyond the boundaries of populated areas to the ownership of consolidated territorial communities. The moderator also told about the procedure for the setting and changing the designation of land parcels. March 19, 2019 Education reform. New The training event moderator described the Kirovohrad AUC RO Ukrainian School. Development innovations in the education sector and the city of Kropyvnytskyi of inclusive education peculiarities of providing education services in the context of reforms, provided an overview Participants: village, town and city of the legislative framework for the mayors, CTC mayors, directors of implementation of the New Ukrainian School, education departments. concept and familiarised the audience with the peculiarities of inclusive education in the city of Kropyvnytskyi. The participants visited educational establishments in the city where they became familiar with the educational environment for the provision of education services for children with special needs. March 20, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator described the Mykolaiv AUC RO effectiveness of land legislative and regulatory mechanism for city of Mykolaiv management in territorial grating powers in land management, paid communities. Issues in land special attention to the use of land under the Participants: village, town and city relations land lease agreement, and familiarised the mayors, CTC mayors, land audience with the requirements of government

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surveyors, directors and staff of authorities on control over the use and land departments. protection of agricultural lands within the territory consolidated territorial communities. The participants studied the mechanisms for conducting the normative pecuniary valuation of land parcels. March 21, 2019 Investment passport as a tool The training event moderator familiarised the Sumy AUC RO for community economic audience with investment law, provided the city of Sumy development information on the mechanisms for setting up and models of functioning of industrial parks Participants: deputy town and city and industrial zones, shared the international mayors, CTC mayors, specialists of experience in preparing investment community economic departments. profiles using the example of the Koval Gmina (Poland), focused the attention on importance of sectoral investment profiles (tourist attractiveness profiles, cluster profiles of territories, etc.) and the most common mistakes during the preparation and promotion of the community investment profile. March 22, 2019 Legal aspects of privatisation of The training event moderator provided an Zaporizzhya AUC RO communal property overview the main amendments in the city of Zaporizzhya legislation on privatisation of communally- owned property, informed about the powers of Participants: village, town and city local governments in the sphere of mayors, CTC mayors, directors of privatisation, and told about the procedure and legal departments. ways of privatisation, the algorithm of selling small privatisation objects, accountability for violating the legislation on privatisation of property, and mechanisms for conducting electronic auctions. March 26, 2019 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator informed about Cherkasy AUC RO ways to local budget increase the main changes in the budget and tax city of Cherkasy revenues and tax base, legislation, provided information about the interaction of local procedure for the preparation of local budgets, Participants: village, town and city governments with fiscal and tax ways to increase the revenue flow and tax base mayors, their deputies, directors authorities of local budgets, talked about the interaction of and specialists of technical local governments with financial and tax departments and directorates. authorities, described additional mechanisms for to get land fees, focused the attention on the peculiarities of applying performance program budgeting method, and presented the public budget of the city of Cherkasy. March 27, 2019 Legal regulation of public The training event moderator familiarised the Zakarpattya AUC RO procurement and experience in audience with the legislation in the sphere of city of Uzhgorod using the ProZorro system public procurement, informed about the definition of the procurement of goods, works Participants: deputy village, town and services, functions of tender committees, and city mayors, specialists of described the peculiarities of preparation of departments responsible for competitive bidding documents, emphasised procurement. the accountability in the sphere of public procurement, provided an overview of entities authorised to exercise control in the sphere of public procurement, and familiarised the audience with the main features and procedures of conducting public procedures in the ProZorro electronic system. March 28, 2019 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator told about the Kharkiv AUC RO effectiveness of land new provisions in land management legislation city of Kharkiv management in territorial and informed about the mechanism of communities. Issues in land preparation of master plans and detailed plans Participants: village, town and city relations of territories, about strategic and

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mayors, CTC mayors, directors of environmental assessment in the course of land departments. territorial development, and local government powers commissioning objects. The participants received answers to their questions regarding land plots for unauthorised construction and learned about the procedure for transferring agricultural lands to the ownership of consolidated territorial communities.

In October - December 2018, PULSE conducted 35 legislation application laboratories with the participation of 844 local government officials including 354 males and 490 females.

Date, venue, participants Topic Information about the event October 04, 2018 Community information The training event moderator presented the Khmelnytskyi AUC RO openness: goals, objectives, main provisions of the legislation that regulate city of Khmelnytskyi tools. Community branding the information work of local governments and how municipalities cover their work in media, Participants: village, town and told about the tools of informational openness city mayors, deputy mayors, of the community, such as: a web site, page in council secretaries, directors social networks, and offline channels including and specialists of technical media, community newsletters, libraries, departments. communication of starostas with citizens. The participants learned about the importance of community branding. October 05, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator provided an Kherson AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. overview of amendments changes to the town of Bilozerka Effective management of budget and tax legislation, described the financial resources. Performance peculiarities of the preparation of local budgets Participants: CTC mayors, program budgeting in 2019, introduced the process of the technical deputies, directors formation of the income and expenditure part and specialists of budget of local budgets, and focused the attention on departments. the peculiarities of cooperation with fiscal authorities and taxpayers. The participants received answers to their questions about organisational aspects and staffing support of the budget process. October 11, 2018 New regulatory and legal The training event moderator provided an Kherson AUC RO requirements to use budget overview the main regulatory documents in the city of Kherson funds for construction and sphere of construction, identified the risks in Participants: village, town and reconstruction of social facilities. the course of designing buildings, spoke about city mayors, CTC mayors, Single customer service the hands-on experience of concluding technical specialists. contracts for the provision of construction services, and focused the attention on the peculiarities of pricing and preparation of cost estimates for construction projects. The participants learned about the main requirements for receiving the qualification of "Engineering Consultant in Construction". October 12, 2018 New approaches in the health The training event moderator provided an Chernivtsi AUC RO care system legislation. overview the key amendments in the legislation city of Chernivtsi Peculiarities of implementation on health care, focused the attention on the of the health care reform. Rural peculiarities of local government powers in the Participants: deputy village, medicine reform sphere of health care in the context of reforms, town and city mayors, CTC and presented the experience of interaction mayors, chief physicians, Klishkivtsi Primary Aid and Family Medicine directors and specialists of Station with the National Health Service of medical units. Ukraine.

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The participants learned about the peculiarities of making health care establishments autonomous and implementation of the health care reform in CTCs. October 17, 2018 Mechanisms for improving The training event moderator described Lviv AUC RO effectiveness of land changes in the land legislation, peculiarities of city of Lviv management in territorial the preparation of urban planning communities. Issues in land documentation, and about the maintenance of Participants: town and city relations urban planning cadastre in CTCs. mayors, technical specialists on The participants learned about the peculiarities land issues. of land management lands of other types located within the boundaries CTCs and the procedure of transferring state-owned agricultural lands to consolidated territorial communities. October 19, 2018 New approaches in the legislation The training event moderator familiarised the Kyiv AUC RO in the sector field of education. participants with the new provisions in the city of Kyiv Peculiarities of providing legislation in the sphere of education, talked education services in the context about regulations on public-private partnership Participants: town and city of reforms in the sphere of education in CTCs, described mayors, directors and the optimal structure of an education specialists of education management entity and the staffing level for departments. effective management, and shared experience of the education management entity in the Piskivska CTC. The participants also learned about the experience of Bucha Specialised School # 5 in becoming an effective autonomous educational institution. October 19, 2018 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator talked about Odesa AUC RO ways to local budget increase changes in budget legislation, peculiarities of city of Odesa revenues and tax base, inter-budget relations, and preparation of local interaction of local governments budgets in 2019 and emphasised the role and Participants: deputy city with fiscal and tax authorities tasks of local financial authorities in preparing mayors, directors and local budgets. specialists of financial The participants learned about the peculiarities and purposes of performance program departments. budgeting in the preparation of local budgets. October 19, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator told about new Luhansk AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. provisions in the budget legislation, highlighted city of Severodonetsk Effective management of the peculiarities of the formation of the financial resources. Performance revenue and expenditure part of CTC budgets, Participants: village, town and program budgeting provided an overview of the peculiarities of the city mayors, their deputies, implementation and application of specialists of financial performance program budgeting, presented departments and directorates. the main indicators characterising the financial status of budgets, and shared the hands-on experience in preparing 2019 budgets using the example of the Severodonetsk City Council budget. October 23, 2018 Hands-on aspects of The training event moderator familiarised the Kyiv AUC RO implementation of legislation in audience with the current legislation in the city of Kyiv the sector of administrative sphere of administrative services, focused the services in the context of attention on the main phases and requirements Participants: village, town and decentralisation. Amendments to for setting up Centers for Administrative city mayors, their deputies, legislation regarding Services, distributed the list of administrative technical specialists. registration/deregistration of the services to be provided at CASs, and told about place of residence/sojourn of ways to improve the quality of administrative citizens services. The participants learned about the experience

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of the CAS of the Hostomel Town Council and received answers to their questions about the interaction between CAS administrators and territorial offices of executive authorities. October 24, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator familiarised the Mykolaiv AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. audience with amendments changes in the city of Mykolaiv Effective management of budget legislation, provided examples how to financial resources. Performance calculate local budget taxes and fees, told Participants: village and town program budgeting about the changes in approaches to the mayors, directors and preparation of local budgets for 2019, specialists of budget described the peculiarities of the performance departments. program budgeting method, described the procedure and phases of budget request formation, and provided specific examples of the legislative framework for inter-budget relations in the context of decentralisation. The participants learned about the requirements for putting together annual and monthly schedules of local budgets The participants learned about the requirements for putting together annual and monthly schedules of local budgets. October 25, 2018 Hands-on aspects of The training event moderator familiarised the Kharkiv AUC RO implementation of legislation in audience with the basic regulatory and legal city of Kharkiv the sector of administrative document in the sphere administrative service services in the context of provision, told about putting together and Participants: village, town and decentralisation. Amendments to maintaining the Register of the territorial city mayors, specialists of legislation regarding community of Kharkiv, and provided hands-on registration departments. registration/deregistration of the examples of new electronic services on the place of residence/sojourn of electronic service portal of the city of Kharkiv: citizens e-kharkiv.org. The participants studied the hands-on application of legislation on registration/deregistration of the place of residence/sojourn of citizens. October 30, 2018 New approaches in the legislation The training event moderator told about new Poltava AUC RO in the sector field of education. provisions in the legislation in the sphere of city of Pyryatyn Peculiarities of providing education and about the peculiarities of the education services in the context provision of education services in the context Participants: village, town and of reforms of reforms, provided an overview the legislative city mayors, their deputies, framework for the implementation of the technical specialists, directors Concept of the New Ukrainian School, education departments. emphasised the importance of the new educational environment, informed about the peculiarities of the distribution of the education subvention, and described out-of-school education and experience in setting up an inclusive and educational center in the Pyryatynska CTC. November 09, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator provided an Kirovohrad AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. overview the main amendments in the budget city of Kropyvnytskyi Effective management of legislation, told about the opportunities for financial resources. Performance increasing the revenue base CTC budgets, Participants: CTC mayors, their program budgeting discussed the mechanisms and procedure for deputies, specialists of budget the preparation of CTC budgets, highlighted the departments. peculiarities of drafting a local ordinance on the CTC budget, and told about the principles of budget implementation in CTCs. The participants learned about the peculiarities of using performance program budgeting and

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the mandatory requirements to use it starting with 2019. November 15, 2018 Organisational aspects of The training event moderator provided an Sumy AUC RO administrative services in CTCs. overview of new provisions in the legislation on city of Sumy Opening of Centers for administrative services, spoke about problems Administrative Services with the provision of administrative services Participants: CTC mayors, and ways to resolve them, and described the specialists of technical ways for improving the procedure for departments. administrative service provision using the introduction of express services, Mobile Office and Mobile Administrator services as examples. The participants learned about corruption risks in administrative service provision. November 15, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator provided an Ternopil AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. overview the implementation of budgets in the city of Ternopil Effective management of CTCs in 2018, familiarised the audience with financial resources. Performance the peculiarities of the preparation of CTC Participants: CTC mayors, their program budgeting budgets in 2019, described the peculiarities of deputies, directors of budget the preparation of indicators of local budgets departments. and inter-budget transfers for 2019, highlighted the peculiarities of inter-budget transfers between local budgets and the National Budget, familiarised the audience with the procedure for drafting, reviewing and approving local budgets, and told about the performance program budgeting and its application for the preparation and implementation of budgets. November 16, 2018 Legal and hands-on aspects of The training event moderator reviewed the Volyn AUC RO implementing energy efficiency main requirements of energy efficiency city of Lutsk activities in communities legislation and the peculiarities of its hands-on application, described the mechanisms for Participants: village, town and cooperation between local governments, city mayors, CTC mayors, condominium associations and the Energy specialists of technical Efficiency Fund, familiarised the audience with departments. the requirements for designing projects aimed at thermal modernisation of buildings, and shared the current mechanisms for increasing energy efficiency in communities. The participants learned about the main ways to attract investments for energy efficiency projects. November 16, 2018 Legal and hands-on aspects of The training event moderator provided an Lviv AUC RO implementing energy efficiency overview of new provisions in the legislation on city of Lviv activities in communities energy saving and energy efficiency, described the preparation of financial mechanisms for Participants: town and city implementation of energy efficiency projects, mayors, specialists of technical described the peculiarities of crediting thermal departments. modernisation projects for apartment blocks, and discussed how to set up and run the Energy Efficiency Fund. The participants learned about hands-on examples of attracting loan funds for thermal modernisation activities. November 20, 2018 Organisational aspects of The training event moderator spoke about new Khmelnytskyi AUC RO administrative services in CTCs. provisions in the legislation that governs the city of Khmelnytskyi Opening of Centers for procedure for the provision of administrative Administrative Services services and opening of Centers for Participants: village, town and Administrative Services, told about the specific city mayors, CTC mayors, requirements opening, equipping and running a specialists of technical CAS, discussed the issues of staff training and

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departments. meeting the visitor service quality requirements in the CAS. The participants studied the list of administrative services to be provided at the CAS and ways to improve their quality. November 22, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator provided an Zakarpattya AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. overview the main amendments in the budget city of Uzhgorod Effective management of legislation, told about the current status of the financial resources. Performance implementation of local budgets in the oblast in Participants: CTC mayors, program budgeting 2018, familiarised the audience with the directors and specialists of peculiarities of using performance program financial departments. budgeting, and spoke about control and audit in the budget process being as one of the tools for effective management of public funds. The participants discussed the problems of budget sufficiency in local governments and ways to resolve them. November 22, 2018 Amendments in legislation on The training event moderator told about Donetsk AUC RO housing and municipal utilities amendments in the legislation governing the city of Pokrovsk and their hands-on application. sector of housing and municipal utilities, Reforms the sector of housing informed about the current status of Participants: city mayors, their and municipal utilities implementation of reforms in the sector of deputies, specialists of technical housing and municipal utilities in the oblast, departments. and provided clarifications on how to increase energy efficiency of buildings in the public sector and how to use ESCO mechanisms. The participants learned about the peculiarities of setting tariffs for housing and municipal utility services and the types of accountability for late payment of utility bills. November 22, 2018 Legislative and regulatory The training event moderator provided an Odesa AUC RO mechanisms to improve overview of amendments in the land city of Odesa efficiency of land resource legislation, introduced the procedure for management. Issues in land transferring state-owned agricultural lands Participants: city and village relations located beyond the boundaries of populated mayors, land specialists of local areas to the ownership of consolidated councils. territorial communities, told about the powers of the state land inspectorate, informed about the peculiarities of the formation and registration of communally-owned land plots, and spoke about the procedure for setting or changing the designation of land plots. November 23, 2018 Peculiarities of application of the The training event moderator told about the Zaporizzhya AUC RO Law of Ukraine "On the Electricity new provisions in the legislation that city of Zaporizzhya Market" establishes the rules for purchasing electricity, informed about the phases of electricity Participants: village, town and purchase planning, and described the city mayors, their deputies, CTC procedure for open tenders to purchase mayors. electricity, as well as the outlined the negotiation procedure for purchasing electricity distribution services. The participants learned about the peculiarities of concluding contracts to purchase electricity. November 23, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator reported about Chernihiv AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. the implementation of budgets of consolidated city of Chernihiv Effective management of territorial communities in 2018, stressed the financial resources. Performance need for effective management of financial Participants: village, town and program budgeting resources as a component of effective city mayors, CTC mayors, territorial community work, described the

163 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

specialists of financial and peculiarities of the formation and preparation budget of draft budgets for 2019, informed about the departments/directorates. main revenue sources of local budgets, and stressed the poor level of infrastructure projects for attraction of additional investments. November 29, 2018 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator provided an Ivano-Frankivsk AUC RO ways to local budget increase overview of main amendments in the budget city of Ivano-Frankivsk revenues and tax base, and tax legislation, familiarised the audience interaction of local governments with the peculiarities of the formation of local Participants: village, town and with fiscal and tax authorities budgets for 2019, described the ways of city mayors, CTC mayors, improving local budgets, described the main specialists of financial indicators of the revenue part of local budgets, departments. their dynamics and trends, and highlighted the issue of the distribution of the education subvention. The participants exchanged their experience in interacting with financial and tax authorities. November 29, 2018 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator provided an Dnipropetrovsk AUC RO ways to increase local budget overview of the new provisions of the budget city of Dnipro revenues and tax base, legislation, paid special attention to hands-on interaction of local governments aspects of the preparation of local budgets, Participants: deputy city with fiscal and tax authorities informed about the areas of work to increase mayors, directors of technical revenues to local budgets, and talked about the departments. ways to improve the efficiency of local budget expenditures. The participants learned about the main principles of interaction of local governments with financial and tax authorities. November 29, 2018 Preparation of local budgets, The training event moderator informed about Rivne AUC RO ways to increase local budget amendments in the budget and tax legislation, city of Rivne revenues and tax base, explained the peculiarities of the formation of interaction of local governments local budgets using performance program Participants: village, town and with fiscal and tax authorities budgeting, shared gave experience in using it in city mayors, council secretaries, the cities of Rivne, Dubno and Varash, directors of finance emphasised the importance of preparing departments. programs of social and economic development to be financed from local budgets, spoke about the peculiarities of the preparation of the budgets in consolidated territorial communities, and described the ways to improve revenues of local budgets and efficient management of expenditures. November 30, 2018 Procedural provisions of the The training event moderator described Volyn AUC RO economic, administrative and amendments in the civil and procedural law, city of Lutsk civil law. Organisational aspect of listed the principles of civil and economic work the local government legal justice, highlighted the practical aspects of the Participants: village, town and in the context of reforms setting up and running legal services in local city mayors, CTC mayors, governments in the context of reforms, specialists of legal departments. provided examples of actions of local government representatives in court sessions to safeguard the interests of local councils, answered questions about the unification of terminology and procedures of economic, civil and administrative processes. December 05, 2018 Legal regulation of public The training event moderator described the Kherson AUC RO procurement and experience in legislative framework for tender procurements, city of Kherson using the ProZorro system familiarised the audience with the peculiarities of the Prozorro procurement system, informed Participants: technical deputy about the list of existing electronic platforms, village, town and city mayors, outlined the peculiarities of concluding

164 July – September, 2019

directors and specialists of contracts and conducting tenders for technical purchasing electricity in accordance with the departments/directorates. new requirements, and provided hands-on recommendations on the preparation of cost estimate documentation for tenders for capital repairs, reconstruction and construction of facilities in the social sector. December 06, 2018 Legal regulation of public The training event moderator talked about the Sumy AUC RO procurement and experience in legislation government the sphere field of city of Sumy using the ProZorro system public procurement, provided a general review of the Prozorro procurement system, drew Participants: city mayors, CTC attention of the audience to the peculiarities of mayors, directors and procurement procedures in this system, specialists of technical provided examples of bidding documentation departments/directorates. for purchasing electricity in the open bidding process, informed about the peculiarities and organisational aspects of procurement in organisations and institutions, and informed about the resources to search information that can be used as analytical tools, especially in procurement planning. December 11, 2018 Reform in the social protection The training event moderator familiarised the Chernivtsi AUC RO system. Peculiarities of working audience with legislation governing the sector city of Chernivtsi with persons with disabilities, of social protection and protection of children ATO participants, internally rights, informed about the local government Participants: technical deputy displaced persons and other powers in the sphere of social protection, village, town and city mayors, categories of population described the peculiarities of the child directors and specialists of patronage service over within the framework of technical departments. the Strategy for Reforms of the Institutional Care and Upbringing of Children for 2017 - 2026, familiarised the audience with social adaptation of internally displaced families, families of ATO participants, and provided the algorithm to plan the work with vulnerable families. December 12, 2018 Peculiarities of preparation and The training event moderator familiarised the Odesa AUC RO implementation of CTC budgets. audience with the peculiarities of the city of Odesa Effective management of preparation of CTC budgets, described the financial resources. Performance phases of the budget process at the local level, Participants: CTC mayors, their program budgeting powers of the budget process participants, deputies, directors and peculiarities of revenues and expenditures of specialists of financial and CTC budgets, the process of forming the budget of the CTC, informed about the peculiarities of budget using performance program budgeting, departments/directorates. outlined the peculiarities of preparing budget program profiles, and spoke about the preparation of draft ordinances on local budgets. December 12, 2018 Regulatory and legislative The training event moderator provided an Vinnytsya AUC RO framework for preservation and overview the key legislation on preservation city of Vinnytsya promotion of cultural heritage as and popularisation of cultural heritage, told a tool of community economic about the main tendencies in reforms in the Participants: village, town and development sector of culture in the context of city mayors, technical deputies, decentralisation, stressed the necessity of economists, and profile developing proper tools for preservation and specialists. use of cultural values, familiarised the audience with the experience of Tulchynska and Barska CTCs in launching various festivals that promote development and popularisation of the cultural heritage. December 20, 2018 Legislative and regulatory The training event moderator described the

165 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Volyn AUC RO framework for the work of legislation governing the work of starostas, city of Lutsk starostas informed about the powers of starostas, their rights, duties, their role in the budget process Participants: village, town and and in the preparation of projects for social and city mayors, CTC mayors, economic development of the community, council secretaries. emphasised the peculiarities of early termination of starosta powers, describe starosta activities with a focus on administrative services, and told about the peculiarities of starosta reporting to the community. December 21, 2018 Reforms in the sector of housing The training event moderator informed about Dnipropetrovsk AUC RO and municipal utilities. Hands-on the main amendments in the legislation on city of Dnipro aspects of the application of housing and municipal utility services, spoke legislation and legal framework about the peculiarities of setting up and Participants: deputy city for condominium associations running condominium associations, programs mayors, directors of technical to support condominium associations and departments. housing construction cooperatives, presented a list of opportunities to raise funds under conditions of co-financing terms and citizen involvement, and told about the ways to increase energy efficiency. The participants learned about the tendencies of introducing of energy saving technologies. December 27, 2018 Provision of administrative The training event moderator familiarised the Zhytomyr AUC RO services at the local level, ways to audience with the legislation on the provision city of Zhytomyr improve their quality of administrative services, informed about the regulatory and technical requirements for Participants: deputy village, premises of Centers for Administrative Services, town and city mayors, technical told about the practical and organisational specialists. aspects of CAS, described the powers of municipalities in the sphere of registration/deregistration of the place of residence, and familiarised the audience with the tools for assessing the quality of administrative services and the work of CASs. The moderator also shared her experience in working with the Zhytomyr CAS.

166 July – September, 2019

actual

9 9 FY2020 FY2020 75 Annex F Annex target 900

9 4 27 358 actual

9 9 FY2019 FY2019 70 900 target

9 27 13 actual 1305

FY2018 FY2018 9 9 65 target 900

PLAN / ACTUAL PLAN PULSE PULSE 9 9 26 actual 1170

al legislative principle FY2017 FY2017 9 9 55 target 900

9 0 0 19 actual

FY2016 FY2016 2 2 50 target 200

0 0 0 40 value

DATA ts local government inputts local government year BASELINE 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015

grounded on the European sector on grounded

DATA Raboshuk Raboshuk Raboshuk SOURCE Raboshuk Raboshuk

% UNIT forum persons persons strategies number of units, units, of number ctoral legislationctoral drafting

Number of sectoral Number of % of LGs whose % of LGs sectoral Number of officials Number of LG

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 1.1.1. participateofficials in law to AUC members) (% drafting 1.1.2. preparedstrategies based at the European sectoral principles, in process of adopted and implementation 1.1.4. sectoral forumattending meetings

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Plan and Evaluation Monitoring of end the of as (information Four) Year Project reflec 1: Decentralization Result enabling legislation Expected in se officialsparticipate 1.1. LG 1.1.3. forums for regular forums between communication the state executive and local governments

167 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

40 10 40 100 250 350 250 95 10 25 59 38 169 201 t cumulative) 40 10 40 80 200 250 200

64 11 26 43 179 179 154 108 30 10 40 60 175 100 150 0 89 10 14 29 158 201 40 10 40 40 125 250 100

9 0 61 22 12 216 271 35 10 30 20 75 50 100 5 0 22 n/t n/t NT NT

unddecentralized legislative basis are strengthened and utilized are strengthened and year, (data for each separate no 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015

Raboshuk Raboshuk Raboshuk Raboshuk Raboshuk Lazarenko Lazarenko

tools local local local groups groups laws and laws number of nd services nd services because of the so regulations consultations governments governments draft documentdraft

er input in legislation adoption in legislation er input Number of legislative legislative Number of

1.1.5. and stakehold 1.2. Tools for LG tools used to 1.2.1. Number of legislation secure adoption task forces1.2.2. Number of to draft legislationcreated with input LG laws 1.2.3. Number of and adopted which were regulations input with the drafted LG their improved 1.3: LGs practice a whose1.3.1. Number of LGs reportofficials about the legislative of improvement LG regions) basis (total for whose1.3.2. Number of LGs reportofficials about the of operation practice improved region) (total and by consultations1.3.3. Number of with state executive on organized representatives the web-platforms and regulatory drafts prepared and regulatory officials input to with the LG implement decentralization (F-I) policy

168 July – September, 2019

50 20 50 250 300 100 150 5 81 ** 83 368 829 21,6 119/ 8,8** 8,8** 50 18 58 75 225 200 150 15 56 756 653 175 205/ 9,1** 20,6** 20,6** 50 17 46 50 200 150 150

0 37 40 497 124 187/ 1843 19,5** 19,5** 16 44 25 50 150 100 150 0 0 0 49 304 1336 19,2** 0 0 0 15 42 250 100 0 14 40 n/t n/t n/t 565 autonomy autonomy 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015

a od od Raboshuk Raboshuk Raboshuk Lazarenko Yurchenklo Yurchenklo Yurchenklo Myaghkokh Serebryansk governments’ authority increased (fiscal decentralization)

% % local local local local local urces ensuring LG financial urces ensuring LG persons persons number of governments governments governments governments

1.3.4. Number of LGs 1.3.4. Number of LGs assistancereceiving from the to improve the practice PULSE servants (consultationsof LG provided) (F-I) 2: Resources Result under local self-Expected 2.1: Local self-government own reso own resources2.1.1. % of LG in the consolidated budget of Ukraine 2.1.2. % of local budgets increase (as compared with the previous year) 2.1.3. Number of reporting LGs resourcesabout local budgets increase region) (by * signed 2.1.4. Number of LGs up for Municipal Fiscal *Register 2.1.5. Number of LGs best practicesproviding on municipal resources increase * officials 2.1.6. Number of LG in Ukraine participating united exchangeprofessional program gender,(total and by males/females)

169 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

60 30 50 100 180 150 2400 / * 92 ion legislation 534 925 889 42* *** 1529 1005 71,75 71,75 60 90 25 40 150 100 2400

72 38 58/ 684 734 2381 72,08 3004/ 26***** 60 70 20 30 70 120 2400

56 010 466 480 67,9 1339/2 49/ 48 16***** 60 50 90 15 40 50 1920 0 16 50 44 34/ 260 581 72,5 1079/ 0 0 30 25 30 30 30 240 0 0 0 70 n/t n/t n/t out new roles and responsibilities that flow from decentralizatfrom that flow roles and responsibilities out new are in place and utilizedare in place 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 Robsond Robsond Robsond Lazarenko Lazarenko Lazarenko Serebryanska Serebryanska Serebryanska

ns ns of of % rmed and capablermed of carrying laws local local ments number govern persons persons persons persons projects projects organisatio 2.2: Tools for LGs to access2.2: Tools for to additional LGs financial resources servants 2.2.1. Number of LG training events attending on access to additional resources gender,(total and by males/females). whose 2.2.2. Number of LGs, reportofficials about the of additional attraction region)* (total and by resources projects2.2.3. Number of municipalities (by by prepared region)* donors 2.2.4. Number of and attending IFI Fair Information accesson Resources * 3: Capacity Result Expected of key stakeholders increased are info and stakeholders 3.1: LGs officials3.1.1. % of LGs their capacityreporting to issueshandle routine legal on their own (% to questioned) laws 3.1.2. Number of discussed at legislation application laboratories servants 3.1.3. Number of LG trained in legislation implementation (disaggregated males/females)by gender,

170 July – September, 2019

- 7 960 360 135 70* 2700

/ 8 43 25 99/ 298 101 649 501/ 176/ 3445 1341 6 960 360 200 70* 130- 4000 7 61 81 17 312 803 552/ 153/ 105/ 1420 4279/ 6 960 360 130 100 50* 2000 7 7 56 22 34 16 91/ 351 168/3 112/6 1053/ - 5 50 960 360 100 1000

0 0 0 0 6 71 299 191/ 139/ 0 0 0 5 480 240 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 nhanced 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 IREX IREX IREX IREX Raboshuk Raboshuk Lazarenko Lazarenko Lazarenko Lazarenko Lazarenko Yurchenklo Yurchenklo tools events RSGs persons persons persons persons persons 3.1.4. Number of LG servants 3.1.4. Number of LG level in trained of regional implementation legislation by (disaggregated gender, males/females) servants 3.1.5. Number of LG trained in law drafting and advocacy (disaggregated by males/females)gender, librarians and 3.1.6. Number of CSO representatives local trained in supporting decentralization outreach and with stakeholderscoordinating and government (by region and males/females)by gender, library based 3.1.7. Number of events in support of decentralization reform RSGs 3.1.8. Number of region) established (by non- 3.1.9. Number of stakeholdergovernmental who support decentralization reform active participation in through by RSGs (disaggregated gender) is e and outreach of reform 3.2: Communication decentralization tools 3.2.1. Number of for communication introduced of central state executive staff and authorities with LG the public

171 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

30 275 200 300 200 200 500 22/ 66/ 249 205 265 640 180 144 *** 47* *** 8,4* 27 225 240 250 170 185 400 89 31/ 68/ 238 200 237 685 148 **** 25 175 200 200 150 175 300 32 50 28/ 72/ 112 154 247 553 125 **** 22 150 150 150 120 125 200 0 70 26 30/ 77/ 128 308 233 24*** 50 20 150 100 100 100 100

0 47 24 n/t n/t n/t n local governments 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 IREX Lazarenko Lazarenko Yurchenklo Yurchenklo Lazarenko Yurchenklo Yurchenklo Yurchenklo Yurchenklo

: % local local media governments persons persons persons success stories success materials Explanations / comments / Explanations 3.2.2. Number of 3.2.2. Number of of central state representatives executive authorities using channels communication (disaggregated by gender, males/females) materials in 3.2.3. Number of media generated by PRLibrary media 3.2.4. Number of posting on information PULSE decentralization * journalists3.2.5. Number of in the dissemination pool (disaggregated by gender, males/females)* public awareness of3.3: Increased successes i and reform trust of citizens3.3.1. trust toLevel government local whose 3.3.2. Number of LGs are positive aboutofficials (total region) by and reform success3.3.3. Number of stories in the data base (total and by region)* indicators for December,Baseline 2015

172 July – September, 2019 e, e, e relevant e relevant 320, and 13 – e in June, tools is provided suggestions were suggestions were

the data excluding excluding the data » C Board and not and C Board this number will 170 participants; May 23, 2019 Health Care Care 23, 2019 Health May 170 participants; – easing) principle. The list of the . 320, with the Day Dialogue Parliament the State Treasury (these are – was obtained to amend suggestions calculating through » males – state executive and local governments members) esolutions and directives of the Cabinet Ministersesolutions of Ukrain . The total number of . The total number of participants attending the for th forums

rding to the cumulative (incr rding ies for the Dialogue Day with the Central Government (took plac ». mbers as date forof the closing suggestions. sending 222 such with the Central Government 58 participants; March 21, 2019 LED Kyiv Kyiv LED 21, 2019 March 58 participants; females, second number second females, number –

g to the data according g from year – 40 participants. 40 participants. – r includes: laws of Ukraine, r (9)the AU corresponds to the number priorities outlined of by ipants of the Dialogue Day or, 100% means the total AUC me or, 100% means y two numbers: first number y two numbers: first number % of LGs whose officials participate (% in law drafting to AUC Number of sectoralNumber between forums for of the regular communication Number of tools used to secure legislation approval Number tools used to secure of legislation « « « «Number of LG officials attending sectoral forum of LG meetings»«Number “Number of sectoral“Number strategies” of 90 participants; June 06, 2019 Education Kyiv Kyiv Education 06, 2019 June 90 participants;

– . . . : . Number for the year. This numbe . Number the for year. . below: The list of tool is updated on a permanent basis. Recorded acco received. Indicator 1.1.2 change. Indicator 1.1.3 regulatory and legal documents submitted by AUC and legal documents member communit submitted by regulatory to this 2019). According indicat directives of line ministries. Indicator 1.2.1

Indicator 1.1.1 sectoral forums: 547 (9)+118 (4) = 665 persons. 2019 (Project YearIn Four) - 358 persons. Indicator 1.1.5 transfers state funds)transfers from data are presented b Gender year. year. 1,305 persons (2018) including partic * - cumulative indicators (increasing) indicators ** - planned budget as of October 01 of the reportin Indicator 1.1.4 Sectoral forums (2019): March 20, 2019 Urban Development, Kyiv Development, Urban 20, 2019 March (2019): forums Sectoral Ivano-Frankivsk

173 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project s or blast blast aw aw of net of nnex F.3. nnex F.3. central state on, highlights licy to licy support mittees. mittees. vernment issues year. This number includes the number of ». nt) with the participation of village, town and city mayors, ganized on the web-platformsganized Ukraine to support local self-governance (submitting draft law g for Deputy assistants). for National g draft National Budget for the coming year (envisioned by the L f September, 2018. The distribution by region is presented in A region is presented f September, 2018. The distribution by f September, 2019. The distribution by region is presented in A region is presented f September, 2019. The distribution by ft legislation and draft regulations prepared and submitted by oups to coordinate draft regulatory legaloups to coordinate documents.and draft regulatory hnical hnical Committees with an advisory vote (envisioned by the Cabi village, town and city mayors who are members of AUC ROs and o to explain the meaning of draft laws suggested for considerati ys ys to resolve issues in technical sectors and development to po o ensure support of the legislation aimed at resolving local go tion, as on those under discussionwell parliamentaryas by com ions and decision making). ting year (non-cumulative) ive authorities on the and placed AUC site for the web relevant . binet of Ministers and it tec Number of consultations withNumber of state executive representatives or Number of task forces for the relevant year.

. « . Data for. Data the reporting based findings ason the survey year o . for. Data the reporting based findings ason the survey year o Ukraine “On Local GovernmentUkraine “On Associations”) Local Regional Regional Policy Dialogue Platform (events with participation of Ministers by-laws). and inter-governmentalgr Participation in governmental working leadership with National Deputies elected in the given oblast t Supporting Supporting the local government caucus in the Verkhovna Rada of Annual Annual budget consultations with the Ministry of Finance on the Dialogue Dialogue Day with the representatives of central government authorities to discuss wa Government (Cabinet of Ministers/Parliame self-governance.local Participation in meeting of the Ca amendments by localamendments by government caucus members, thematic trainin Cooperation with factions in the parliament (expert discussions executive authorities to the Cabinet of Ministers for considera Participation in the work committees. of parliamentary Preparation and presentation of AUC position with regard to dra in these regions). in these regions). sectoral forums.Conducting of draft legislation for better legislation of draft understanding of their implicat

9. 7. 1. 8. 5. 6. 2. 3. 4. 10. consultations, responses to questions from central central to questions from state execut consultations, responses Indicator 1.3.3 Indicator 1.3.2 Indicator 1.2.2 Indicator 1.3.1 All indicators in Chapter 1.2. areAll indicators in actual numbers for Chapter the repor

174 July – September, 2019 ». ) cal cal 286.9 Cs – work of , 2019) , which took place in r 01 (planned)

The list of communities o work with the Municipal s (consultations provided) (F-I tic training within the frametic training o work with the Municipal Fis . participants attended these events us year us (2018).year ; Е). 500 of Professional Group the LED governments, which started t he previous 2018 (as of October 01 calculated as a in the valuechange of the parameter (%) to » 1,326 billion UAH) – prove the practice of LG servant the practice of prove LG 286.9 billion UAH of 15 communities, which started t D events, started conducting thema D events, started conducting – by the U-LEAD Project and lack of human resource capacity in CT s) constituted 263.5 billion UAH (actual), in 2019 as of Octobe ed by ed by 8. % as compared with t ffices (the list is provided in Annex cipants (24 and 10 males)females budget revenues) in the consolidated budget constitutes 21.6%. constituted 534 persons. d as transfers.d as he communities, which did not receive which did not receive he such assistance communities, earlier. 829. – . ce from the PULSE Project to im the PULSE ce from was was calculated 01, as of October 2019 as compared to the previo » s without transfers (own local presented in a non-cumulative 10 of 15 local presented manner. fact, In laboratories in AUC O Regional – % of own resourcesLG in the consolidated budget of Ukraine : « 176. – Number of LGs receiving assistan receiving Number of LGs 2018, did 5 it in not continue doing 2019. Thus, in 2019, only

. Data for. Data 2019 (cumulative over all years) for. Data 2019 . . Indicator . « . In Project Year Four except(2019), PULSE, . for specialisedIn LE : % of local budgets increase emergence of a product prepared more functional and competitive : « : Fiscal Register in Register Fiscal Indicator 2.1.3 for 2019 Separately in Annex region is presented F.3. The distribution by Indicator 2.1.4 billion UAH. revenues budget Own local increas transfers) in 2019 (excluding The calculations does not reflect local budget revenues local budget The calculations does not reflect receive Thus, own local revenuesgovernment in 2018 (excluding transfer Explanation 01, 2019local budget revenues as of October planned) without transfers (2019 revenues of the consolidated budget of Ukraine as of October 01, 2019 planned) (2019 Indicator 2.1.2 Indicator the value of the precious the value year. ofThe share local budget revenue with the distribution by region is presented in Annexregion with the distribution by F.1. Indicator 2.1.1 Includes the data The the Includes Project took into account t for year. regional legislation application legislation regional (including: 213 females(including: and 287 males). Together with the parti 2019 (city of Chernihiv),May, of the total number participants Indicator 1.3.4 Register last workRegister with it. year, Reasons who could update the databases on a permanent basis Indicator 2.2.1

175 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project from ine. l vy calculated based gs received in lategs –

nd purification of

azumkov Center

ves and media. . lations of the data received October 2019, of 308 representatives – d social spheres, d social spheres, a reform court . The distribution by region is presented region in Annex. The distribution by F.3. e presented e in Annex F.3. executive authorities with LG staff the executiveand authorities with public” LG he data were obtainedhe data were through calcu als. All in all, in September a obtained from Resolutions of the Cabinet Ministers Ukra he number of projectshe number of represented in the loca donors working by 241. The distribution by region is presented in Annex region is presented 241.F.3. The distribution by ic changes in the political an – by 11% by 32% of residents (see Page 15 of the Report, reference below). , 2018) by the, 2018) by (DI) and the R Foundation Democratic Initiatives krayintsi_doviryayut_volonteram_ta_zbroyinym_sylam_deminitsiaty – ve Democracy and ve Democracy Evidence Based Making Project, findin Decision e opportunity to communicatee opportunity with local government representati y) ts for 2017 decreased by 12.1 % as compared with 2016 /img/upload/files/2016%2001%2014%20PR%201.pdf ua_mista_otg_new.pdf ; provided the “yes” response . These the are total data for t 925. for 2019 Separately – able at: http://www.uisr.org.ua ticipated in the survey. 265 ecember, 2017 (published in January overnments (completely overnmentsor partiall (completely

“Number of tools introduced for communication of central for communication state tools introduced “Number of . The PULSE Project did not do surveys on this topic in. The PULSE 2019. T . Data received of. Data based on the survey local officigovernment . Data as compared to the number Comments as compared . Data of those surveyed. ar . . Cumulative data for all years . The distribution by region is presented in Annex region The . The distribution by F.2. dat . Cumulative data for 2019 2.1 . data of the 2016 sociological survey «Attitude towards democrat survey data of the 2016 sociological «Attitude Baseline dataBaseline for 2015 are avail other sources. See below. other sources. Indicator 3.3.1 AUC member communities par AUC member communities Indicator 3.3.2 on all types of PULSE events of PULSE whereon all types high level officials have th government sector. government Indicator 3.1.1 Indicator 3 Indicator 2.2.4 Indicator 2.2.3 http://auc.org.ua/sites/default/files/library/amu_2017_ Source: https://reforms.censor.net.ua/news/3046015/nayibilshe_u Source: government in Ukraine» in Ukraine» government the USAID Fair Justiceby Project the Norwegian**** in 2017, within the framework of Participati December, as 2017 are follows: Trust / confidence in local g of trust to local data: provides only governmen relative «Level Indicator 2.2.2 *** - conductedSocial survey in D in 2016 showed decreased trust as with 2015 Survey compared DI

176 July – September, 2019 ”, which took “With regard to “With regard 22, 2019, is at the level 22, 2019, is at the level – y of the levely of trust to ks that this formulation does not fully reflect does not fully ks that this formulation ation and local ation and local reformgovernment uestion to the respondents was the following: under the title: “Decentralis However, the Project team thin -shcho-situatsiya-v-kraini-pokrashchilasya-doslidzhennya ng to the survey to the survey conducted Agencythe Rating by ng on October 19 ocal governments in Ukraine.ocal However, of the surve the findings Local was government Local an option. ” December, the 2018 as Council of Europe.commissioned by The q – indicator was presented to theaccording of the survey findings of 47%. city/village mayors are partially mayors are relevant. This level, accordi city/village the level of trust in general. no other to identify were the level surveys There of trust to l the politics, whom do you trust most? the politics, whom do you Source: https://dif.org.ua/article/lishe-3-ukraintsiv-vvazhayut Source: The 2019 place in Novemberplace

177

ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Annex F.1 F.1 Annex

Oblast Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Rayon Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Haisyn Zhmerynka Zhmerynka Kalynivka Kalynivka Kozyatyn Kozyatyn Kozyatyn Kozyatyn Lypovets Lypovets Lypovets Lityn Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Kurylivtsi Murovani Official name of the local Official name of the local government Council Lityn Town Council Village Luka-Meleshkivska Council Khutory Village Mizyakivski Council Hraniv Village Village Zhukivtsi Council Lelyaky Village Council Council Village Mizyakiv Village Council Pavlivka Town Brodetske Council Council Village Makharyntsi Council Village Sokiletska Village Council Sokolivka Brytske Village Council Vasylivka Village Council CouncilHraniv Village Council Bahrynivtsi Village Council Vyscheolchedaiv Village Zhvan Village Council Council Nadunistryanske Council Obukhiv Village Village Council Petrymansk Council Rivne Village Council Rozdolivka Village Council Village Stepanivka List received of communitiesconsultative to have in assistance PULSE Project the from 2019 Name Name Lityn Luka-Meleshkivska Khutory Mizyakivski Hraniv Zhukivtsi Lelyaky Mizyakiv Pavlivka Brodetske Makharyntsi Sokiletska Sokolivka Brytske Vasylivka Hraniv Bahrynivtsi Vyscheolchedaiv Zhvan Nadunistryanske Obukhiv Petrymansk Rivne Rozdolivka Stepanivka Type of the the Type of populated area town village village village village village village village town village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village

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Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Vinnytsya Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Nemyriv Nemyriv Pischane Tyvriv Tyvriv Tyvriv Tyvriv Tyvriv Tyvriv Tulchyn Chernivtsi Sharhorod Vysokopillya Volodymyr-Volynskyi Volodymyr-Volynskyi Horokhiv Horokhiv Horokhiv Horokhiv Horokhiv Horokhiv Horokhiv Kamin-Kashyrskyi Kamin-Kashyrskyi Kamin-Kashyrskyi Kivertsi Kovel Lutsk Lutsk Lyuboml Rozhysche Rozhysche

рада Village Council Village Council

міська Vorobiivka Village Council Village Vorobiivka Council Council Village Trybusivka Vasylivka Village Council Council Village Misto Nove Pylyava Village Council Village Council Polyovi Rakhny Council Selysche Village Town Council Sutysky Council Village Kynashivka Council Village Mazurivka Town Council Vapnyarka Council Village Koichubeivka Council Holovne Town Town Council Ovadne Vatyn Village Council Kvasiv Village Council Village Council Myrkiv Council Village Pechykhvosty Пірванченська Skryhiv Village Council Village CouncilTereshkivtsi Council Village Vyderta Council Village Vorokomle Council Village Vorokomle Council Village Derno Council Village Lyubytiv Council Village Voyutyn Torchyn Town Council Ustyluh Council Vichyni Village Council Nemyr Village Vorobiivka Vorobiivka Trybusivka Vasylivka Nove Misto Pylyava Polyovi Rakhny Selysche Sutysky Kynashivka Mazurivka Vapnyarka Koichubeivka Holovne Ovadne Vatyn Kvasiv Myrkiv Pechykhvosty Pirvane Skryhiv Tereshkivtsi Vyderta Vorokomle Vorokomle Derno Lyubytiv Voyutyn Torchyn Ustyluh Vichyni Nemyr village village village village village village village town village village town village town town village village village village village village village village town village village village village town city village village

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Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Volyn Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Donetsk Rozhysche Manevychi Shatsk Dnipro Kamianske city of Kamianske city of city of Nova Kakhovka Petrykivka Petropavlivka Pidohorodne Pyatykhatky Pyatykhatky Synelnykove Synelnykove Synelnykove Synelnykove Synelnykove Solone Solone Solone Solone Solone Solone Sofiivska Tomakivka Tsarychanka Shyroke Yuriivka Bakhmut

рада

міська Yasenivka Village Council Village Yasenivka Prylisne Village Council Council Hrabove Village Kovel City Council Council Sursko-Lytovske Town Mezhove Town Council Council Town Karnaukhovka Raiske Village Council Village Council Ivanivka Village Council Ukrainske Pidhorodne Saivka Village Council Council Village Maryanivka Yuriivka Town Council Council Town Slavhorod Zaitseve Village Council Council Town Ilarionove Village Council Lyubymivka Village Council Bashmachka Council Village Vakulove Village Council Iverske Council Village Mykylske-na-Dnipri Council Town Svyatovasylivka Council Shyroke Village Council Village Devladove Council Village Myrovka Council Rudka Village Council Stepove Village Yuriivka Town Council Council City Verkhnyodniprovsk Council City Bakhmut Yasenivka Yasenivka Prylisne Hrabove Kovel Sursko-Lytovske Mezhove Karnaukhovka Raiske Ivanivka Ukrainske Pidhorodne Saivka Maryanivka Yuriivka Slavhorod Zaitseve Ilarionove Lyubymivka Bashmachka Vakulove Iverske Mykylske-na-Dnipri Svyatovasylivka Shyroke Devladove Myrovka Rudka Stepove Yuriivka Verkhnyodniprovsk Bakhmut village village village city village village town village village village city village village town town village town village village village village village town village village village village village town city city

180

July – September, 2019

Donetsk Donetsk Donetsk Donetsk Donetsk Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Bakhmut Myrnohrad Toretsk Toretsk Andrushivka Andrushivka Berdychiv Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Luhyno Malyn Berehove Berehove Bereznyi Velykyi Volovets Volovets Volovets Volovets Volovets Irshava Irshava Mukachevo Mukachevo Mukachevo Mukachevo Mukachevo Mukachevo Rakhiv Svalyava Svitlodarsk City CouncilSvitlodarsk City Myrnohrad City Council Zalizne City Council Council City Toretsk Council Volosiv Village Council Village Stara Kotelnya CouncilVillage Staryi Solotvyn CouncilHolovenka Village Sadky Village Council Town Council Chopovychi Topillya Village Council Village Council Vorsivka Council City Novohrad-Volynskyi Berehove Council City Koson Village Council Council Village Chornoholova CouncilBukovets Village Village Verbyazh Council Village CouncilHuklyvyi Council Pidpolozzya Village Council Roztoka Village Council Zarichchya Village Council Village Kamianske Council Village Bobovysche Council Village Zhnyatyne Village Council Zhykove Council Village Kopynivtsi Council Lokhove Village Council Village Chomonyn Council Town Polyana Kobyletska CouncilBereznyky Village Svitlodarsk Svitlodarsk Myrnohrad Zalizne Toretsk Volosiv Stara Kotelnya Staryi Solotvyn Holovenka Sadky Chopovychi Topillya Vorsivka Novohrad-Volynskyi Berehove Koson Chornoholova Bukovets Verbyazh Huklyvyi Pidpolozzya Roztoka Zarichchya Kamianske Bobovysche Zhnyatyne Zhykove Kopynivtsi Lokhove Chomonyn Polyana Kobyletska Bereznyky city city city city village village village village village town village village city city village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village town village

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Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zakarpattya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Svalyava Tyachiv Tyachiv Uzhgorod Khust Bilmak Hulyaipole Hulyaipole Hulyaipole Zaporizzhya Zaporizzhya Melitopol Melitopol Melitopol Melitopol Melitopol Melitopol Polohy Polohy Polohy Rozivka Tokmak Bohorodchany Dolyna Dolyna Kalush Kalush Kalush Hankovytsya Village Council Village Council Hankovytsya Council Village Nyzhnya Apsha Council Village Novobarove Village Council Dubrivka Council Village Velyatyne Council City Khust Chop Council City Husarka Village Council Village Council Vozdvyzhivka Council Village Malynivka Pryutne Village Council Village Voznesenske Council Council Village Novooleksandrivka Council Village Voznesenivka Myrne Town Council Council Village Novobohdanivka Council Village Novomykolaivka Council Village Svitlodolynske Village Fruktove Council Council Village Verbove Village Council Inzhenerne Council Village Semenivka Council Village Novomlynivka Village Council Pokrovske Berdyansk City Council Council Manyava Village Village Council Vyshkiv Village Council Hrabivka Village Council Mostysche Council Village Verkhhnya Village Council Kropyvnyky Hankovytsya Nyzhnya Apsha Novobarove Dubrivka Velyatyne Khust Chop Husarka Blahovischenka Malynivka Pryutne Voznesenske Novooleksandrivka Voznesenivka Myrne Novobohdanivka Novomykolaivka Svitlodolynske Fruktove Verbove Inzhenerne Semenivka Novomlynivka Pokrovske Berdyansk Manyava Vyshkiv Hrabivka Mostysche Verkhhnya Kropyvnyky village village village village village city city village village village village village village village town village village village village village village village village village city village village village village village village

182

July – September, 2019

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kalush Kalush Kolomyia Kolomyia Nadvirna Rohatyn Rohatyn Tysmenytsya Tysmenytsya Chaplynka Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva Boryspil Boryspil Boryspil Borodyanka Borodyanka Vasylkiv Vasylkiv Vyshgorod Kaharlyk Kaharlyk Kyievo-Svyatoshynskyi Kyievo-Svyatoshynskyi Kyievo-Svyatoshynskyi Kyievo-Svyatoshynskyi Kyievo-Svyatoshynskyi Kyievo-Svyatoshynskyi Makariv Pererisl Village Pererisl Village Council Council Village Lisnyi Khlibychyn Council Village Sheparivtsi Town Council Lanchyn Council Village Verbylivtsi Council Village Putyatyntsi Council Village Hanusivka Pidluzhzhya Village Council Chaplynka Town Council City Council Yaremcha Council Pylypcha Village Pischana Village Council Council Village Oleksandrivka Velyka Council Vyshenky Village Council Village Martusivka Bystavytsya Village Council CouncilBorodyanka Town Council Town Hlevakha Council Village Dzvinkove Lebedivka Village Council Rzhyschiv City Council Council Village Stritivka Council Village Buzova Bucha City Council Town Council Hostomel Village Council Lisnyky Village Mykhailivka-Rubezhivka Council Council Village Khotiv Village Council Novosilky Pererisl Pererisl Lisnyi Khlibychyn Sheparivtsi Lanchyn Verbylivtsi Putyatyntsi Hanusivka Pidluzhzhya Chaplynka Yaremcha Pylypcha Pischana Velyka Oleksandrivka Vyshenky Martusivka Bystavytsya Borodyanka Hlevakha Dzvinkove Lebedivka Rzhyschiv Stritivka Buzova Bucha Hostomel Lisnyky Mykhailivka- Rubezhivka Khotiv Novosilky village village village town village village village village town city village village village village village village town town village village city village village city town village village village village

183

ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Luhansk Luhansk Luhansk Luhansk Luhansk Luhansk Luhansk Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Lviv Obukhiv Obukhiv Obukhiv Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi Rokytne Blahovischensk Dolynska Dolynska Dolynska Dolynska Kirovohrad Kirovohrad Kropyvnytskyi Novomyrhorodskyi Bilokurakyne Lysychansk city of Lysychansk Popasna Starobilsk Starobilsk Starobilsk Brody Zhovkva Zolochiv Peremyshlyany Postomyty Postomyty Postomyty Sambir Sambir Skole Village Village Council Velyki Dmytrovychi Village Council Village Dmytrovychi Velyki Nescheriv Village Council Village Demiantsi Council Rokytne Town Council Blahovischensk City Council Council Village Bratolyubivka Council Village Veselivka Village Council Ivanivka Council Village Oleksandrivka Village Council Ivanivka Village Council Mykolaivka Council Severynka Village Velyka Village Council Tyshkivka Council City Oleksandriya Council Town Bilokurakyne Council City Novodruzhesk Council City Pryvillya Town CouncilDolyna Myrna Village CouncilBaikivka Village Council Kalmykivka Підгорівка Brody City Council Council Village Dobrosyn Council Village Kurovychi Council Romaniv Village Council Village Voda Zymna Council Village Pykulovychi Council Schyrets Town Council Village Vilshanyk Council Village Chukva Council Town Synyovydne Verkhnye

Velyki Dmytrovychi Dmytrovychi Velyki Nescheriv Demiantsi Rokytne Blahovischensk Bratolyubivka Veselivka Ivanivka Oleksandrivka Ivanivka Mykolaivka Severynka Velyka Tyshkivka Oleksandriya Bilokurakyne Novodruzhesk Pryvillya Myrna Dolyna Baikivka Kalmykivka Підгорівка Brody Dobrosyn Kurovychi Romaniv Voda Zymna Pykulovychi Schyrets Vilshanyk Chukva Verkhnye village village village town city village village village village village village village village city town city city town village town village city village village village village village town village village town

184

July – September, 2019

Lviv Lviv Lviv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Sokal Stryi Stryi Bashtanka Bashtanka Berezan Bratsk Bratsk Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Vitovskyi Voznesensk Yelanets Yelanets Novyi Buh Novyi Buh Snihurivka Snihurivka Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilyaivka Bolhrad Ostriv Village CouncilOstriv Village Village Council Lysovychi Council Stankiv Village Village Council Yermolivka Council Village Novooleksandrivka Village Council Schaslyve Village Council Hanivka Council Village Novooleksandrivka CouncilBilozirka Village Hreihove Village Council Council Village Kolarivka Village Council Mykolaivka Council Village Mykhailo-Laryne Council Village Novomykolaivka Council Village Partyzanske Council Town Pervomaiske Council Village Prybuzhzhya Council Village Shevchenkove Council Buzke Village Council Vodyano-Loryne Village Village Council Kalynivka Council Village Novokhrystoforivka Council Village Yelanets Sukhyi Village Council Barativka Council Village Oleksandrivka Council Village Krasna Kosa Council Moloha Village Council Village Semenivka Village Council Mayaky Council Village Kubei Synyovydne Synyovydne Ostriv Lysovychi Stankiv Yermolivka Novooleksandrivka Schaslyve Hanivka Novooleksandrivka Bilozirka Hreihove Kolarivka Mykolaivka Mykhailo-Laryne Novomykolaivka Partyzanske Pervomaiske Prybuzhzhya Shevchenkove Buzke Vodyano-Loryne Kalynivka Novokhrystoforivka Sukhyi Yelanets Barativka Oleksandrivka Krasna Kosa Moloha Semenivka Mayaky Kubei village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village Town village village village village village village village village village village village village village village

185

ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Odesa Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Poltava Rivne Rivne Rivne Rivne Ivanivka Ivanivka Ivanivka Ivanivka Lyman Lyman Lyman Ovidiopol Shyryaeve Shyryaeve Shyryaeve Bahachka Velyka Hadyach Hadyach Hadyach Hadyach Kremenchuk Lokhvytsya Mashivka Mashivka Myrhorod Orzhytsya Orzhytsya Orzhytsya Orzhytsya Poltava Poltava Semenivka Demydivka Radyvyliv Rivne Rivne Village Council Village а Baranivka Village Council Baranivka Village Council Bilka Village Council Novobuyalytsk Village Council Vyzyrka Village Kryzhanivka Council Village Council Novosofiivka Village Council Mykolaivka Village Council Petrovirivka Village Stari Mayaky Council Council Chohodarivka Village Village Council Ustyvytsya Council Village Budyscha Velyki Council Village Plishevets Village Council Rashivka Sary Village Council Village Keleberda Council Council Tokari Village Council Abramivka Village Council Village Koshmanivka CouncilRomodan Town Zarih Village Council Town Council Novoorzhytske Village Council Onishky Council Village Staryi Irzhavets Village Kolomatske Council Council Village Suprunivka Vasylivka Village Council Bokiyma Village Council Council Village Buhaivka Council Bila Krynytsya Village Council Buhryn Village Baranivka Bilka Buyalyk Velykyi Vyzyrka Kryzhanivka Novosofiivka Mykolaivka Petrovirivka Stari Mayaky Chohodarivka Ustyvytsya Budyscha Velyki Plishevets Rashivka Sary Keleberda Tokari Abramivka Koshmanivka Romodan Zarih Novoorzhytske Onishky Staryi Irzhavets Kolomatske Suprunivka Vasylivka Bokiyma Buhaivka Bila Krynytsya Buhryn village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village village town village town village village village village village village village village village

186

July – September, 2019

Rivne Rivne Rivne Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Ternopil Kharkiv Kharkiv Kharkiv Kharkiv Rivne Rivne Bilopillya Bilopillya city Konotop of Dolyna Lypova Dolyna Lypova Dolyna Lypova city of Sumy Sumy Sumy Sumy Yampil Yampil Berezhany Husyatyn Husyatyn Zalischyky Zalischyky Kozova Lanivtsi Lanivtsi Monasyrysk Ternopil Balaklia Pervomaiskyi Pervomaiskyi Staryi Saltiv Horodysche Village Council Council Horodysche Village Village Hruzhvytsya Council Council City Ostroh Village Council Vyry Village Council Synivka Council Village Pidlypne Council Village Pidstavske Council Village Semenivka Village Yasnopilschyna Council Council Village Pischane CouncilBezdryk Village Council Village Chernetchyna Velyka Council Village Kyanetska Council Village Knyazhychi Yampil Town Council Council Trostyanets City Council Village Saranchuky Council Village Zelene Council Kalaharivka Village Village Council Dorohychivka Tovste Town Council Council Village Kupchyntsi Borsuky Village Council Chaichyntsi Village Council Council City Monstyrysk Council Nastasiv Village Council Savyntsi Town Village Council Rzhavchyk Council Hryshyne Village CouncilStaryi Town Saltiv Horodysche Hruzhvytsya Ostroh Vyry Synivka Pidlypne Pidstavske Semenivka Yasnopilschyna Pischane Bezdryk Velyka Chernetchyna Nova Sich Knyazhychi Yampil Trostyanets Saranchuky Zelene Kalaharivka Dorohychivka Tovste Kupchyntsi Borsuky Chaichyntsi Monastyrysk Nastasiv Savyntsi Rzhavchyk Hryshyne Staryi Saltiv village village city village village village village village village village village village village village town city village village village village town village village village city village town village village town

187

ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Kharkiv Kharkiv Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Kherson Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Kharkiv Beryslav Beryslav Beryslav Beryslav Lepetykha Velyka Oleksandrivska Velyka Henichesk Hola Prystan Hola Prystan Hola Prystan Hola Prystan Hola Prystan Zhytomyr Kalanchak Nova Kakhovka Skadovsk Skadovsk Chaplynka Horodok Polonne Slavuta Teofipol Teofipol Teofipol Teofipol Khmelnytskyi Chaplynka Shepetivka Raivka Village Council Council Izyum City Council Village Burhunka Vesele Village Council Urozhaine Village Council Council Shlyakhove Village Council Town Lepetykha Velyka Council Novopavlivka Village Council Strilkove Village Heroiske Village Council Council Village Kostyantynivka Council Village Oleksandrivka Sadove Village Council VillageHladkivka Council Council Village Stanyshivka Village Council Hirsivka Council Nova Kakhovka City Village Council Ulyanivka Council Village Shevchenko Village Preobrazhenka Council KakhovkaCouncil City Council Lisovody Village Hrytsiv Town Council Council Village Krupets Council Village Berezhyntsi Council Village Kuncha Council Village Mykhniv Council Turivka Village Council Town Narkevychi Chaplynka Town Council Council Lenkivtsi Village Raivka Izyum Burhunka Vesele Urozhaine Shlyakhove Lepetykha Velyka Novopavlivka Strilkove Heroiske Kostyantynivka Oleksandrivka Sadove Hladkivka Stanyshivka Hirsivka Dnipryany Ulyanivka Shevchenko Preobrazhenka Kakhovka Lisovody Hrytsiv Krupets Berezhyntsi Kuncha Mykhniv Turivka Narkevychi Chaplynka Lenkivtsi village city village village village village town village village village village village village village village village town village village village city village town village village village village village town town village

188

July – September, 2019

Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Cherkasy Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Shepetivka Beryslav Horodysche Horodysche Drabiv Drabiv Drabiv Zhashkiv Zhashkiv Zvenyhorodka Zvenyhorodka Zolotonosha Kamianka Kamianka Kamianka Kaniv Katerynopil Lysyanka Uman Cherkasy Vyzhnytsya Hlyboka Hlyboka Zastavna Zastavna Kelmentsi Kelmentsi Kelmentsi Kelmentsi Kelmentsi Sudylkiv Village Council Village Sudylkiv Village Council Kachkarivka Council Village Vilshana Council Village Khlystunivka Drabovo-Baryatynske Town Council Council Village Mytlaschivka Village Council Svichkivka Council Liplyava Village Council Village Sabadazh Council Village Vodyanyky Council Village Moryntsi Village Council Kalenyky CouncilBalandyne Village Council Village Buzhanka Lebedivka Village Council Council Village Tahancha Village Council Mykhailivka Village Vynohrad Council Ladyzhynka Village Council Council Matusiv Village Banyliv Village Council Council Sycheveny Village Council Village Tarashany Council Village Kadubivtsi Village Council Malyi Kuchuriv Council Lukachany Village Council Village Nelypivtsi Council Buzovytsya Village Council Village Vartykivtsi Kelmentsi Town Council Sudylkiv Kachkarivka Vilshana Khlystunivka Drabovo- Baryatynske Mytlaschivka Svichkivka Liplyava Sabadazh Vodyanyky Moryntsi Kalenyky Balandyne Buzhanka Lebedivka Tahancha Mykhailivka Vynohrad Ladyzhynka Matusiv Banyliv Sycheveny Tarashany Kadubivtsi Malyi Kuchuriv Lukachany Nelypivtsi Buzovytsya Vartykivtsi Kelmentsi village village town village town village Village village village village village village village village village village village town village village village village village village village village village village village town

189

ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Chernihiv Kitsman Kitsman Novoselytsya Novoselytsya Sokyryany Storozhynets Storozhynets Horodnya Borivtsi Village Council Borivtsi Village Village Drachentsi Council Village Slobidka Council Council Village Tarshany Council Village Hrubno Council Village Petrivtsi Velyki Council Village Davydivka Council Village Khorobychi Borivtsi Drachentsi Slobidka Tarshany Hrubno Petrivtsi Velyki Davydivka Khorobychi village village village village village village village village

190 July – September, 2019

Annex F.2. Number of projects implemented in Ukrainian cities in 2019

Subvention from the National National Budget to Regional local budgets for social Development and economic Fund development of Oblast (NRDF) certain territories Total Vinnytsya oblast 13 24 37 Volyn oblast 2 29 31 Dnipropetrovsk oblast 14 12 26 Donetsk oblast 39 13 52 Zhytomyr oblast 20 39 59 Zakarpattya oblast 14 5 19 Zaporizzhya oblast 15 15 30 Ivano-Frankivsk oblast 11 15 26 Kyiv oblast 8 20 28 Kirovohrad oblast 6 63 69 Luhansk oblast 24 0 24 Lviv oblast 15 39 54 Mykolaiv oblast 3 41 44 city of Kyiv 9 25 34 Odesa oblast 4 13 17 Poltava oblast 2 3 5 Rivne oblast 13 7 20 Sumy oblast 22 25 47 Ternopil oblast 23 14 37 Kharkiv oblast 12 23 35 Kherson oblast 12 3 15 Khmelnytskyi oblast 14 18 32 Cherkasy oblast 9 46 55 Chernivtsi oblast 10 22 32 Chernihiv oblast 21 40 61 Total 335 554 889

191 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Annex F.3. to the 2019 Indicator Table

Distribution of certain indicators by region (2019):

# Indicator and its total annual value Region/oblast Number 1. 1.3.1. Number of local governments whose officials Vinnytsya 12 inform** about improvements of the legislative Volyn 9 framework for local governments (total for regions) Dnipropetrovsk 11 – Total for 2019 – 169 Donetsk oblast 5 Zhytomyr 8 Zakarpattya 2 Zaporizzhya 12 Ivano-Frankivsk 7 Kyiv 1 Kirovohrad 4 Luhansk 4 Lviv 3 Mykolaiv 3 Odesa 11 Poltava 6 Rivne 2 Sumy 10 Ternopil 14 Kharkiv 10 Kherson 8 Khmelnytskyi 9 Cherkasy 7 Chernivtsi 4 Chernihiv 7

2. 1.3.2. Number of local governments whose officials Vinnytsya 13 inform** about increased efficiency of local Volyn 8 governments (total and by region) - in 2019 - 201 Dnipropetrovsk 13 Donetsk oblast 5 Zhytomyr 9 Zakarpattya 1 Zaporizzhya 11 Ivano-Frankivsk 9 Kyiv 7 Kirovohrad 3 Luhansk 3 Lviv 5 Mykolaiv 3 Odesa 12 Poltava 11 Rivne 6 Sumy 12 Ternopil 14 Kharkiv 9 Kherson 13 Khmelnytskyi 10 Cherkasy 10 Chernivtsi 6 Chernihiv 8

192 July – September, 2019

3. 2.1.3. Number of local governments whose officials Vinnytsya 10 inform** about increase in local budgets (Total and Volyn 9 by region)* - for 2019 - 176 Dnipropetrovsk 9 Donetsk oblast 3 Total for all years (cumulative) - 829 Zhytomyr 7 Zakarpattya 2 Zaporizzhya 7 Ivano-Frankivsk 6 Kyiv 8 Kirovohrad 4 Luhansk 3 Lviv 7 Mykolaiv 3 Odesa 17 Poltava 6 Rivne 5 Sumy 12 Ternopil 10 Kharkiv 10 Kherson 6 Khmelnytskyi 8 Cherkasy 7 Chernivtsi 7 Chernihiv 10

4. 2.2.2. Number of local governments whose officials Vinnytsya 17 inform** about attrition of additional resources Volyn 10 (Total and by region) * -–. Dnipropetrovsk 12 Total, cumulative – 925 Donetsk oblast 8 (including for 2019 separately – 241) Zhytomyr 5 Zakarpattya 2 Zaporizzhya 12 Ivano-Frankivsk 10 Kyiv 9 Kirovohrad 3 Luhansk 9 Lviv 10 Mykolaiv 4 Odesa 10 Poltava 13 Rivne 10 Sumy 15 Ternopil 15 Kharkiv 16 Kherson 11 Khmelnytskyi 11 Cherkasy 11 Chernivtsi 8 Chernihiv 10

5. 3.1.1. % local government officials who inform Vinnytsya 15 about their capacity to independently resolve every- Volyn 8 day issues (as compared to the surveyed officials)** Dnipropetrovsk 14 – in 2019 - 221 communities, or 71.75% of those Donetsk oblast 4 polled Zhytomyr 7 Zakarpattya 1

193 ANNUAL REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project

Zaporizzhya 13 Ivano-Frankivsk 10 Kyiv 9 Kirovohrad 7 Luhansk 7 Lviv 12 Mykolaiv 5 Odesa 12 Poltava 10 Rivne 4 Sumy 11 Ternopil 11 Kharkiv 14 Kherson 13 Khmelnytskyi 9 Cherkasy 8 Chernivtsi 7 Chernihiv 10

6. 3.3.2. Number of local governments whose officials Vinnytsya 16 have a positive attitude to the reform (Total by Volyn 11 region)** – Total – in 2019 – 265 Dnipropetrovsk 15 Donetsk oblast 8 Zhytomyr 11 Zakarpattya 2 Zaporizzhya 11 Ivano-Frankivsk 10 Kyiv 10 Kirovohrad 6 Luhansk 6 Lviv 10 Mykolaiv 5 Odesa 16 Poltava 11 Rivne 9 Sumy 15 Ternopil 18 Kharkiv 14 Kherson 15 Khmelnytskyi 12 Cherkasy 10 Chernivtsi 9 Chernihiv 15

Notes:

* - Cumulative data

** - Data received through polling local government officials. All in all, in September, 2019, 308 representatives of AUC member communities including 179 CTCs participated in the poll.

194