A “Strategic development and investments” conference was held in Kyiv for amalgamated hromadas on 5-6 November. The event was organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “Decentralisation Offering Better Results and Efficiency” (DOBRE) Programme in partnership with the Ukrainian Crisis Media Centre.

The conference brought together over 400 participants, including representatives from 75 Programme partner hromadas, representatives of business and investment funds, implementers of international technical assistance projects, central and regional authorities.

At the opening of the event, Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services, noted:

“Decentralisation is a change in the management system that should support two main strategic objectives for local economic development: a high human potential index and hromadas’ competitiveness index. An investor comes to where there is a prospect, development strategy, predictability and transparency of processes and decisions. But the main thing is that an investor comes for human resources and skilled personnel.”

Thomas White, Director, Office of Democracy and Governance, USAID/Ukraine, Moldova, & Belarus, thanked the Government representatives for cooperation and said:

"Local economic development and strategic approach in amalgamated hromadas deserve special attention. They create preconditions for the well-being of their inhabitants. The first 50 USAID DOBRE partner hromadas have already elaborated local economic development strategies and action plans. New hromadas, that have recently joined the Programme, will also receive expert assistance in the preparation of these strategically important documents. The DOBRE Programme is a powerful resource that will help local authorities, business and civil society representatives unite their efforts for development.”

Barry Reed, USAID DOBRE Programme Director, addressing hromadas in his welcoming speech, said:

"The DOBRE Programme has recently announced a partnership with new hromadas, and now their number has grown up to 75. That is – 9% of the total number of AHs in Ukraine. Today, all our partners have the opportunity to communicate informally and learn from colleagues the recipes of good governance success. This is just the beginning of fruitful cooperation between new hromadas and DOBRE Programme, and we are looking forward to helping you become more successful together.”

During the event, hromadas’ representatives were able to present investment projects to potential investors. Svitlana Spazheva, head of the Pokrovskaa AH from the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, shared her experience and noted:

"Our hromada is a modern agropolis with 55 operating agricultural enterprises, successfully developing cooperative movement and created economic profile. We have developed two investment projects. The first is the creation of a logistics centre for harvesting, processing and sale of vegetables. The second is the construction of a solar power plant. We understand that cooperation of hromada, local self-government and business is the key to a successful partnership for attracting a potential investor.”

The organisers prepared a pleasant surprise for the participants of the conference. Alla Stashchenko, head of the genre direction of image projects of 1+1 Production and creative producer of the “Million-Hryvnia Hromada” project, announced the launch of hromadas’ selection process for participation in the second season.

“Million-Hryvnia Hromada. Specialists” is a continuation of the joint TV project of the USAID DOBRE Programme and 1+1 channel. “The main characters are the AH residents, whom we want to introduce to the whole country. I encourage you to participate in the project casting.”

The event became a platform for discussion on how to interest a potential investor and motivate him to cooperate, choose the right investment strategy and raise the investment attractiveness ofamalgamated hromadas. DOBRE partner hromadas had the opportunity to communicate and get recommendations from leading experts and real investors, who will help develop partner relationships and build clear algorithms for sustainable economic development on the ground.