QUARTERLY REPORT for the Implementation of the PULSE Project
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QUARTERLY REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project APRIL – JUNE, 2020 (²I² QUARTER OF US FISCAL YEAR 2020) EIGHTEENTH QUARTER OF THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION QUARTERLY REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project TABLE OF CONTENTS List of abbreviations 4 Resume 5 Chapter 1. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE REPORTING QUARTER 5 Chapter 2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 7 Expected Result 1: Decentralisation enabling legislation reflects local government input 7 1.1. Local government officials participate in sectoral legislation drafting 8 grounded on the European sectoral legislative principles 1.1.1. Preparation and approval of strategies for sectoral reforms 8 1.1.2. Preparation of sectoral legislation 24 1.1.3. Legislation monitoring 33 1.1.4. Resolving local government problem issues and promotion of sectoral reforms 34 1.2. Local governments and all interested parties are actively engaged and use 40 participatory tool to work on legislation and advocating for its approval 1.2.1 Support for approval of drafted legislation in the parliament: 40 tools for interaction with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 1.2.2 Support to approval of resolutions and directives of the Cabinet of Ministers: 43 tools for interaction with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 1.3. Local governments improved their practice and quality of services 57 because of the sound decentralised legislative basis for local governments 1.3.1. Legal and technical assistance 57 1.3.2. Web-tools to increase the efficiency of local government activities 57 1.3.3. Feedback: receiving and disseminating 61 Expected Result 2: Resources under local self-governance authority increased 62 2.1. Local self-governance resources are increased 63 ensuring local government financial autonomy 2.1.1. Tools to increase own resources of local governments 63 2.1.2. Dissemination of best practices and replication of experience 66 2.2. Tool for local government to access additional financial resources 66 2 April – June, 2019 2.2.1. Capacity building for local government officials 66 2.2.2. Promotion of access to resources 66 Expected Result 3: Capacity of stakeholders increased 70 3.1. Local governments and stakeholders are informed and capable 71 of carrying out new roles and responsibilities flowing from decentralisation reform 3.1.1. Capacity building for local officials at the local level 71 3.1.2. Capacity building for local officials at the oblast and rayon level 76 3.1.3. Training of NGO representatives and librarians as communicators of reforms 76 3.2. Communication and outreach of decentralisation reform is enhanced 79 3.2.1. Creating communication channels for central authorities outreach and messaging 79 on decentralisation reform progress in various sectors 3.2.2. Strategic messaging through different media 80 3.3. Increased public awareness of reform successes 89 and trust in local governments 3.3.1. Supporting Offices for Reform Implementation Support 89 3.3.2. Spotting and Dissemination of Reform Successes 91 3.3.3. Promotion of reform successes 91 3.3.4. Attracting Youth and Teenagers to Decentralisation 92 Chapter 3. IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS AND BARRIERS 94 Chapter 4. SUCCESS STORIES (all sectors of activities of the PULSE Project and communities including activities to counter COVID-19) 96 Chapter 5. COOPERATION WITH OTHER PROJECTS 109 Chapter 6. ESTIMATED SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT QUARTER 113 ANNEXES 114 Annex А. Calendar of activities PULSE Project conducted in April – June, 2020 Annex В. List of sub-agreements concluded by AUC and PULSE Project sub-partners 3 QUARTERLY REPORT for the implementation of the PULSE Project LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AUC – Association of Ukrainian Cities AUC RO – Regional Office of the Association of Ukrainian Cities CMU – Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine CONPC – communally-owned no-profit companies Decentralisation Reform – Local government reform and reform of territorial arrangement of government institutions in Ukraine whose Concept was endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on April 01, 2014 CSEA – central state executive authorities CTC – consolidated territorial community HCE – health care establishments HU – housing and municipal utilities KCSA – Kyiv City State Administration LGs – local governments LSG – Local self-governance MCIPU – Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine MDTU – Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine MEDTAU – Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine MESU – Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine MHCU – Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine MIAU – Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine MIU – Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine MRD – Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine (Minregion) MYSU – Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine NRDF – National Regional Development Fund MSP – Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine NEURC – National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine NGO – non-governmental organisation NHSU – National Health Service of Ukraine NSS – National Social Standards NSSR – National Social Standards and Requirements NSUGCC - National Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Land Cadastre RLD – regulatory and legal document TCU – Tax Code of Ukraine UWLGA – Ukraine-wide local government associations VRU – Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 4 April – June, 2019 RESUME PULSE Project is working to develop a proper legal framework for decentralisation reform in Ukraine, ensuring that local government bodies contribute to decentralisation policy development and implementation, increase resources under local government authority and improve local government capacity to effectively use them enhancing the capacity and raising the professional level of key reform stakeholders involved. This report provides the information about the activities of the project during April – June, 2020. The main achievements for this period are presented in Section 1. The list (calendar) of the activities is provided in Annex A. The list of sub-agreements concluded by the AUC with project sub-partners is provided in Annex B. Chapter 1. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE REPORTING QUARTER AND CALENDAR OF EVENTS During calendar Quarter III, 2020 (April - June): x PULSE Project participated in the preparation of 81 draft regulatory and legal documents; x The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed and approved 17 regulatory and legal documents of importance for local self-governance, which were prepared with the participation of PULSE Project experts; x PULSE Project experts prepared 105 expert opinions to draft regulatory and legal documents the AUC received for concurrence from central state executive authorities; x PULSE Project experts prepared 90 expert opinions on draft regulatory and legal documents, which are being considered by committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; x PULSE Project experts participated in 13 meetings of 3 parliamentary committees; x PULSE Project experts participated in 13 meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; x in the course of the discussion of draft agendas of the Cabinet of Ministers and its committees PULSE Project experts and analysts monitored 482 draft regulatory and legal documents in particular: 59 draft legislation, 16 decrees and directives of the President, 397 resolutions and directives of the Cabinet of Ministers, 10 expert opinions on draft legislation, legislation implementation plans, etc. The draft regulatory and legal documents PULSE Project experts and analysts worked with included 131 (or 27%) documents dealing with local government issues; x PULSE Project organised and conducted 1 working sessions of AUC Professional Group in the format of a video conference (30 participants); x PULSE Project organised and conducted 3 video conferences with representatives of the MHC, NHSU, and the "ProZorro.Sales" State Enterprise (more than 22 thousand views); x PULSE Project continued the implementation of five distance learning courses on the Prometheus on-line platform (www.prometheus.org.ua). Also, two new training courses were introduced in cooperation with IREX and the Ostroh Academy. During the reporting quarter, the total number of students increased from 24,108 to 25,830 persons. The number of certificates increased from 10,056 to 11,088. x PULSE Project, together with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the regional offices of the AUC, conducted a survey of representatives of local government bodies of AUC members on gender policy. This information will become the foundation for comparing the situation in communities before and after the local elections using the example of communities that are members of the Association of Ukrainian Cities. x PULSE Project continued its cooperation with partner projects and organisations and participated in activities of partner projects, as well as and invited their project representatives to PULSE Project events; x the PULSE Project participated in the implementation of the Memorandum between the AUC, several ministries, organisations, and the UNICEF Children and Youth Friendly Community Fund; x the PULSE Project carried out a number of joint activities on gender equality; x IREX, PULSE Project sub-partner, conducted 6 webinars for participants of Reform Support Groups (RSGs) in communities; x PULSE Project regional consultants provided 2,482 consultations on legal and financial issues, local economic development, which promoted the process of consolidation of territorial communities; 5 QUARTERLY REPORT