On November 14, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) DOBRE Program, with the support of the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine, organized a “Territorial Communities' Comprehensive Recovery Programs. 

18 partner territorial communities were selected for the pilot project on the Program's development. A primary analysis was carried out, taking into account whether there were hostilities on the territory of the community or whether it was under occupation, and the existence of destroyed or damaged property, the state of the community's economy, and existing migration processes were also considered. The pilot project included six territorial communities in Kharkiv Oblast; three in Mykolaiv Oblast; seven in Kherson Oblast; and two in Kirovohrad Oblast.

“It’s clear: that decentralization is one of the reasons Ukraine has astounded the world with its bravery, resilience, and unity”, said Jeffrey Lehrer, Acting Mission Director of USAID Ukraine. “This initiative is an essential tool to help you plan for this future. USAID is proud to be at the forefront of it, developing Comprehensive Recovery Programs together with 18 partner communities, as well as the very methodology that we hope will be used throughout Ukraine. USAID will remain a partner      of Ukraine in helping make the aspirations of Ukrainian communities a reality,” he added.

The developed programs allow communities to save time and focus on basic issues, such as everyday work (providing services for the current citizens' needs), inventories of resources available in the community, and determining damages caused by a full-scale invasion.

"We have a clear understanding that in multiple matters, it is necessary not to rebuild what was destroyed, in the same form, in the same locations, but it is worth rethinking the infrastructure so that it is oriented towards further development in the post-war period," stated Nataliia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.

A versatile Methodology for the development of Comprehensive Territorial Recovery Programs was developed on the basis of the territorial communities' practical experience. This document describes all practical work experience. It is a collection of step-by-step action algorithms and document templates that the territorial community can use when developing a program. These documents are accompanied by comments and explanations from lawyers and examples taken from community programs.

"Community leadership must play a key role in recovery, so they should be given access to all modern management tools. It is precisely on this key factor that the project to develop comprehensive territorial recovery programs for the territorial communities territories is based. At their core is the community's vision of its future, taking into account its features, the structure of the building, the characteristics of business, culture, and history," Olena Shuliak, Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning, noted during her speech. "The Comprehensive Territorial Recovery Programs for the territorial communities' territories is a prerequisite for the prompt attraction of investments, receiving international and state aid, and designing specific measures for the further restoration and development of communities. And most importantly, the vector of development will be determined by people, analyzing the potential of their territories," she added.

After that, the USAID DOBRE Program plans to support 14 more territorial communities from the Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts, designing 14 recovery programs with the communities. In addition, the USAID DOBRE Program will work closely with the regional military administrations Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts on developing comprehensive recovery programs at the oblast level.

“We are very pleased that we have been able to develop and implement this Methodology for the development of Comprehensive Territorial Recovery Programs in close cooperation with the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. We believe that this methodology will help territorial communities throughout Ukraine take the first important step in post-war recovery and move forward, creating a better life for their citizens,” said Brian Kemple, USAID DOBRE Program Chief of Party.