On April 20, 2016, PLEDDG Steering Committee meeting was held in Kyiv. During the meeting, the PLEDDG Progress Report for 2015-2016 was presented and the Action Plan for 2016–2017 was approved.
The meeting was co-chaired by Roger Anderson, Regional Chair and CEO of Regional Municipality of Durham (Ontario, Canada) and Volodymyr Semenikhin, Director of Entrepreneurship Development and Regulatory Policy Department of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.
Representatives from the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing of Ukraine, the Association of Ukrainian Cities, National Council for Reforms, 16 partner cities in 4 oblasts (Zaporizhia, Vinnytsia, Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts), representatives of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine as well as PLEDDG staff were present at the meeting.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, Roman Waschuk, attended the event. The Ambassador expressed the hope that PLEDDG partner cities would use their cooperation with PLEDDG in the most effective and efficient way. The Head of International Development Department of Canadian Embassy, Karim Morcos, congratulated the PLEDDG team on the work done.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) was represented by Ms. Odette Gauthier, Director of Programs, FCM International. Ms. Gauthier spoke about the mission, structure and key elements of FCM’s activities. She stressed that local self-government bodies could better understand the needs of their own communities; therefore it was extremely important to strengthen their capacity from policy development to educational campaigns.
PLEDDG Project Director Oleksandr Kucherenko spoke about PLEDDG implementation in 2015 – beginning of 2016, the signing of Memorandums of Understanding with partner cities, Oblast Councils and Oblast Administrations in 4 pilot oblasts, the development and approval of the Implementation Plan for Zaporizhia Oblast Strategy, an audit of Odesa Oblast’s tourist resources as part of the elaboration of a regional tourism development strategy for Odesa Oblast, as well as analysis of investment activities and practical recommendations for investment attraction in partner oblasts.
PLEDDG Senior Governance Advisor, Kadie Ward, described PLEDDG cooperation with donor organizations and the process of engagement of international experts in PLEDDG implementation. PLEDDG senior experts, Ihor Lepyoshkin, Valeriy Kokot and Oleh Voytovych, presented PLEDDG plans and activities within the three components – “Democratic Governance”, “Support of SME Development” and “Intergovernmental Collaboration in the Area of Decentralization” respectively. In particular, during 2016 – 2017, it is planned to develop partner cities’ development strategies and implementation plans, carry out Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), analyze and assess the quality of administrative services provision and CASPs activities, develop and implement recommendations for financial support to business, social entrepreneurship development and partnerships for labour resources development, train partner cities’ representatives on how to for apply for SME development support, organize intergovernmental forums, develop regional programs for investment attraction etc.
The presentations by experts were followed by a discussion of the Action Plan and budget for April 2016 – March 2017. The Steering Committee meeting ended with the PLEDDG Work Plan for 2016 – 2017 being approved.