USAID Democratic Governance East Activity Annual Performance Report USAID Democratic Governance East Activity FY 2019 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT - REVISED (October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2019) Contract No: 72012118C00006 Prepared for USAID/Ukraine c/o U.S. Embassy 4 Ihor Sikorsky St. Kyiv, Ukraine 04112 Prepared by Chemonics International Inc. 1717 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 DISCLAIMER This publication was produced by Chemonics International for the USAID Democratic Governance East Activity to be reviewed by the United States Agency for International Development. The author’s views, expressed in this publication, do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. Table of Contents I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 2 II. CONTEXT UPDATE 4 III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 IV. KEY NARRATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS 15 OBJECTIVE 1: GREATER ACCEPTANCE OF SHARED CIVIC CULTURE BASED ON COMMON VALUES AND UNDERSTANDINGS 15 OBJECTIVE 2: INCREASED PARTICIPATION TO IMPROVE UKRAINE’S GOVERNANCE AND REFORM PROCESSES AND HELP RESOLVE COMMUNITY PROBLEMS 56 V. LESSONS LEARNED 85 VI. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE 89 VII. PROGRESS ON LINKS TO OTHER ACTIVITIES 91 VIII. PROGRESS ON LINKS TO HOST GOVERNMENT 94 IX. PROGRESS ON INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT 96 X. BUDGET EXECUTION INFORMATION 98 XI. GRANTS AND SUBCONTRACT DETAILS 99 XII. ACTIVITY ADMINISTRATION 99 XIII. MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING 102 ATTACHMENT A: List of Deliverables 104 ATTACHMENT B: Public Outreach Documents 118 ATTACHMENT C: PERFORMANCE DATA TABLE 121 ATTACHMENT D: GRANTS AND SUBCONTRACTS TABLE 126 ATTACHMENT E: SUCCESS STORIES 128 ATTACHMENT F: Deliverable #4 132 ATTACHMENT G: Roadmap for the Media Sector Support in the Eastern Ukraine 155 1 I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS Academy Cultural Management Academy ACTED NGO Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development APS Annual Program Statement ASC Administrative Services Center BUR Building Ukraine Together initiative CEC Community Engagement Centers CS Civil Society CSC Community Score Card CSO Civil Society Organization CVA Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment DDGS Direct Distribution of Goods and Services DG East USAID Democratic Governance East Activity DSP Department of Labor and Social Protection ERA Ukraine Economic Resilience Activity FC2U From Country to Ukraine festival GESI Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy GOU Government of Ukraine HICD Human and Institutional Capacity Development HPI Human Performance Improvement IDLO International Development Law Organization IDP Internally Displaced Person IFC International Finance Corporation ISPI International Society for Performance Improvement LEF Lviv Educational Foundation LGBTQI+ Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex Persons, Plus All Other Sexual Identities LGE Local Government Entity MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MIS Medical Information System MOU Memorandum of Understanding MREO Inter-rayon Registration and Examination Department (abbreviation from Ukrainian “Mizhrayonyi reyestratsiyno eksamenatsiynyi viddil”) N/A Not Available NGCA Non-Government-Controlled Area NGO Non-Governmental Organization OPI Organizational Performance Improvement OSA Oblast State Administration OSBB Association of Apartment Building Co-owners (abbreviation from Ukrainian “Ob'yednannya spivvlasnykiv bahatokvartyrnoho budynku”) PC Public Council PHC Primary Healthcare Center 2 PIRS Performance Indicator Reference Sheet RFA Request for Applications RFP Request for Proposals SCI NGO Service Civil International SCORE Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Index SeeD Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development SME Small and Medium Enterprises STTA Short-term Technical Assistance ToT Training of Trainers UCBI Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government VNG International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities VR Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene 3 II. CONTEXT UPDATE The USAID Democratic Governance East Activity’s (DG East) first year of implementation coincided with a critical period in the political life of Ukraine. On April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, a candidate of the Servant of the People political party, was elected president. Figure 1: Distribution of the parliamentary seats; Servant of the People seats in green The first decision announced by the newly elected president was to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada (VR), the Parliament of Ukraine. On July 21, VR elections were held, which changed the distribution of political power. The majority of parliamentary seats went to the pro-presidential party, Servant of the People. In political circles at the regional level (governors, mayors, and heads of civil-military administrations), many were not ready for cooperation with the new President. They counted on the victory of Petro Poroshenko and the continuation of the previous directions of development and management. The resignation of governors in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the nomination of new leaders allowed local representatives of large businesses, who completely controlled the region until 2014 and have close economic ties with Russia, to exert significant pressure on the new leaders of the region and destabilize the situation in the region. In particular, in Severodonetsk and Rubizhne, the city councils, which are under the influence of the Opposition Bloc, as the political force of the local oligarchy, removed the Mayors of cities from their position. Also, at the local level, the narrative of Russia being a partner and that it is necessary to return to cooperation with it began to be broadcast again. These moods are 4 propagated by representatives of large city-forming enterprises, which significantly affect the budgets of small cities and therefore can manipulate the population. Despite the aggressive election campaign, opposition forces representing the old business clans were not able to gain full dominance. According to Central Election Commission, Donetsk, and Luhansk region as a whole voted for Yuriy Boyko - the leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life. This Opposition Platform became the union of the For Life party led by Vadym Rabinovich, who has historically criticized the Ukrainian authorities and all the reforms that were implemented locally, as well as most of the representatives of the Opposition Bloc party, which is the successor of the Party of Regions. The creation of the political force “Opposition Platform - For Life” made it possible to unite the radical anti-Ukrainian citizens who supported Rabinovich’s ideology, as well as unified regional businessmen who supported a more restrained policy, but around the Russian-minded Boyko. At the same time, the other part of the Opposition Bloc party, which refused to unite with the For Life political force, nominated Oleksandr Vilkul as its presidential candidate. According to the Central Election Commission, he came in second place during the vote in Luhansk region, and in fourth place in terms of the number of votes in Donetsk region. Vilkul is associated directly with Renat Akhmetov, and is called the representative of Akhmetov’s interests in political circles. Generally, the situation with the split in the Opposition Bloc demonstrated internal problems in the distribution of spheres of influence between oligarchs in the region, which may indicate changes in internal interests in the regional political and business market. In other words, this conflict does not demonstrate the monogamous priority of Russian interests for regional business elites. This indicates the positive development of civil society, increased personal responsibility of young people, and reduced dependence on Soviet nostalgia. The historically monochromatic industrial region is gradually turning into a diverse and independent community, ready to take responsibility for decision-making. Since the elections, the government in Kyiv has been actively signaling to Moscow and key Western partners about its readiness to return to the negotiation table. After the negotiations stalled in 2016, the Normandy format or “Normandy Four” (France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia) has now regained its importance as a negotiating platform to resolve the war in eastern Ukraine. Following the significant Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange on September 7, Kyiv initiated gradual withdrawal of Ukrainian troops along the contact line and announced plans to implement the next phase of the Minsk agreements; in particular, holding local elections in the 5 non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (NGCA) under Ukrainian legislation and the supervision of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The Steinmeier Formula, to which President Zelenskiy returned and the frequent conversations about reintegrating the occupied territories, showed that there is no longer a single monopoly opinion that has been demonstrated for years in eastern Ukraine. People are no longer afraid to speak openly about their agreement or disagreement with certain decisions which are accepted at the local or state level. For example, in reaction to the decision to withdraw troops from the contact line, numerous rallies and protests of residents of territories located in the so-called gray zone occurred primarily because people fear for their safety. This is especially true for people with an open pro-Ukrainian