How business, NGOs, and the public contribute to Ukraine’s recovery

Collaborative projects, participatory strategic planning, and civic platforms for the city’s recovery — Zaporizhzhia shares solutions for community engagement to respond to wartime challenges and prepare for rebuilding.

More than 100 civic activists, volunteers, and other representatives from communities in southern Ukraine participated in an event held by the Kherson Regional Charitable Fund “Union.” The forum took place in Kyiv on February 14-15, focusing on community security and cooperation among citizens, local authorities, the State Emergency Service, police, and businesses.

Veronika Shostak, manager of the City Development Institute of Zaporizhzhia, was one of the speakers at the panel discussion, sharing the best cases of collaborative efforts to enhance community security in our city. Here are some extracts and insights from her presentation:

Rebuilding a Better City Together

As Zaporizhzhia remains dramatically close to the southern front, cooperation between local authorities, international donors, community organizations, and volunteers is essential to ensure the community’s resilience and support its further sustainable growth.

While the Program of Comprehensive Recovery for Zaporizhzhia is in development (the public is encouraged to submit their proposals to the future document by April 8), the City Council, together with the Ro3kvit Urban Coalition for Ukraine, has started a collaborative project to shape a Vision for Zaporizhzhia 2030. The kick-off meeting earlier in February brought together city specialists, activists, and experts from Ro3kvit, who defined their expectations for the new city strategy and first steps to develop it.

Platforms for Intersectoral Cooperation

Several active civic platforms have emerged in response to the need for qualified and inclusive public discussion of both urgent and long-term issues of the city’s reconstruction. One of them is the Recovery Council of Zaporizhzhia, an independent advisory association uniting NGO leaders, scientists, experts, entrepreneurs, and active citizens. Working since early 2023 with a focus on green recovery, the association has already offered its recommendations for the city to build back greener, better, more energy-efficient, and more sustainable. They also prepared a Road Map for Green Recovery, prioritizing challenges of rebuilding and concerns to address.

Additionally, in 2023, UNDP in Ukraine helped establish Zaporizhzhia’s Community Security and Recovery Working Group. It operates as an advisory and consultative body at the City Council that seeks and offers solutions to the security, social, and humanitarian problems caused by Russian military aggression. The working group serves as a platform for strengthening ties between local government representatives, international donors, municipal institutions, the police, and the State Emergency Service.

Furthermore, UNDP in Ukraine allocated funds to create a hub called “Unity” at the City Development Institute of Zaporizhzhia. This is a workspace for public meetings and dialogues between local officials and civil society organizations, with a printing point and information products available. Meetings in the “Unity” Hub have already resulted in the signing of ten more memoranda of cooperation between the City Council and NGOs.

Community Projects

Collaboration with NGOs is a special field for the City Development Institute of Zaporizhzhia. Whereas the city faces severe budget limitations, attracting additional funding through grant and technical assistance programs is vital to many socially oriented projects. In 2023, NGOs and charity foundations helped to create safe spaces for children at hospitals, creative workshops at schools, and digital learning centers. And this is only a small part of their contribution. There is a lot of work not always visible to the public: brainstorming project ideas together, consulting with stakeholders, writing proposals, applying for open competitions.

These days, CDIZ works to expand its partnership network to work more closely with the non-governmental sector, use its expertise to assist local organizations in applying for grants, and benefit from the NGOs’ activity as well. Such cooperation is bearing its fruits now. As an example, after a lengthy review of grant applications, a large collaborative project in Zaporizhzhia will finally be announced, and a grant agreement will be signed (more details in March). Thanks to the project, children with disabilities will get access to quality correctional and developmental assistance. The win in the competition results from the joint work of the CDIZ, one of the city’s Inclusive Resource Centers, and a partner NGO.

There are plenty of possible subjects for cooperation — repairs in air raid shelters, social housing for IDPs, safe places for cultural events and public meetings, protecting childhood and youth, response and prevention to gender-based violence, and others. Any project in these particular areas requires the community’s active involvement and consolidated efforts of local authorities and partners.

Photo: Andrii Krepkykh / UNDP in Ukraine