Over the four years since territorial communities were established in Ukraine, 744 communities (about half of all CTCs in the country) registered 497 inter-municipal cooperation agreements. Due to the full-scale war, such partnerships have become increasingly essential, as it is difficult for communities to improve or create new services on their own due to the lack of funding, personnel, and destruction of infrastructure. Moreover, services like waste management will soon be impossible without cooperation, as there will be only five to eight landfills in each oblast.

This field is rapidly growing, with news of community collaborations appearing almost every week. As of September 2024, the USAID HOVERLA Activity has already helped partner communities sign 45 inter-municipal cooperation agreements, of which 38 have been approved by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development (MCTD) and continues to support them in establishing even closer and more productive collaborations.

The USAID HOVERLA Activity helps communities identify areas where cooperation is most effective, choose suitable partners and forms of collaboration, and develop action plans. Experts provide training, workshops, individual consultations, and methodological support on legislation, procedures, inclusive services, communication, conflict resolution, and more. The project also organizes study tours, where communities can explore their colleagues' experiences more deeply.

In this article, USAID HOVERLA Activity experts analyze the experience and key trends in inter-municipal cooperation, outlining the benefits and results of community collaboration.

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Inter-municipal cooperation helps:

1. Improve service quality

It may not be rational for every community to provide certain services. For instance, a community of 10,000 people doesn’t need to build its own hospital when it is cheaper and more efficient to use and cofinance services from neighboring communities. A joint facility can maintain more qualified staff, provide more modern equipment, and offer better conditions.

2. Accumulate resources

 Such partnerships help save tens or even hundreds of thousands of hryvnias, which can be directed to areas where they are most needed, like road repairs.

3. Standardize and anticipate all partnership details

Previously, community partnerships worked through financial support, where Community A would simply transfer funds to Community B for a service. However, this process often led to issues: how Community B calculated service costs; how residents of Community A would travel to Community B; whether Community B would refund Community A if residents didn’t use the service. All these issues are now clearly outlined in the agreement to prevent misunderstandings.

4. Attract private investments

Communities calculate the cost of their services and specify what is included (facility maintenance, new equipment purchases, service expansion, etc.), all outlined in the significant terms of the agreement. Communities also hold public discussions and must report on fulfilling their obligations. By observing the transparency of the process, businesses are more inclined to join community projects.

5. Strengthen institutional capacity 

Communities not only improve service quality in specific areas but also gain new skills in the process, learning to work together rather than compete and creating success stories. Exchange visits further motivate them, as they draw inspiration from the successful practices of their peers.. For example, after one such visit, Rava-Ruska was inspired by Velykyi Bychkiv’s experience in waste sorting through business partnerships and the revolution in school meals through catering services. Meanwhile, Velykyi Bychkiv found a solution for developing its water purification and drainage system, using Rava-Ruska’s example. Similarly, Lyubeshiv found Yasynia’s approach to youth support and initiatives, cultural heritage promotion, and local craft production beneficial. In turn, Yasynia borrowed the experience of Lyubeshiv in establishing a fire brigade and conducting innovative safety classes for children.

And that’s just a fraction of the benefits. Communities can collaborate both by territorial proximity, to provide shared services, or across vast distances to enhance each other in specific areas.

 

Most frequently, USAID HOVERLA Activity’s partner communities cooperate in the following areas:

1. Healthcare

Ten out of 45 agreements supported by the USAID HOVERLA Activity relate to the co-financing of medical institutions. A successful example is Sencha community, which does not have its own hospital but co-finances a medical facility in the Lokhvytsia community. Thanks to this cooperation, Lokhvytsia has provided housing for specialists, attracting well-trained professionals, modernized medical equipment, and offerednew services. As a result, residents of both communities no longer need to travel to nearby large cities for complex surgeries.. Watch the story of one of the patients in this video.

The hospital has also become an example of autonomy and resilience: it continued full operations during power outages. This medical institution is now part of a recovery project aimed at improving accessibility. Soon a lift will be installed, along with a rehabilitation department for veterans.

2. Social services

Communities are jointly addressing challenges in providing services for the elderly, internally displaced persons, and people with limited mobility, such as home care, rehabilitation services, and geriatric facilities. With the USAID HOVERLA Activity support, communities signed seven agreements in this area. For example, Bila Krynytsia plans to purchase a social taxi for people with limited mobility with neighboring communities, while the Brody Municipal Center for the Professional Development of Educational Workers will provide services to educators from Radyvyliv to support their professional growth and methodological work.

3. Inclusive education

Communities collaborate to provide educational  services for children with special educational needs, including training for inclusive personnel and support for parents. Seven such agreements have already been signed. In Myrhorod, a powerful inclusive resource center serves citizens, and is considered one of the best in the region. This community has signed several co-financing agreements with neighboring communities.

4. Territorial development 

Despite the distance, communities seek joint solutions for territorial development through shared projects. Poliana in Zakarpattia Oblast, known for its resorts, and Shatsk in Volyn Oblast, famous for its lakes, plan to develop a joint marketing strategy and visual brand and implement at least one co-branding tourism project to increase the number of tourists. The communities also plan to apply together for Interreg NEXT Poland-Ukraine 2021-2027. Meanwhile, Rozhysche in Volyn Oblast and Rozhniativ in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast are digitizing their libraries. They will improve book records and access for residents, including military personnel and their families, which will help further collaborate with publishers and authors, announce new books, and open up services to more citizens.

5. Civil protection

Faced with the challenge of fire safety in remote villages with over 3,000 residents, Myrhorod delegates this responsibility to Komyshnia, which is better positioned to respond to emergencies logistically. Myrhorod pays approximately UAH 800,000 per annum to Komyshnia for these services and no longer worries about timely fire suppression. In total, four civil protection agreements have been signed with the support of the USAID HOVERLA Activity.

Additionally, there are examples of cooperation in such areas as housing and communal services, as well as archive management, where Radyliv, Krupets, and Kozyne communities have successfully joined forces. their efforts). united

Stay tuned for more stories of new partnerships and successful collaborations, proving that through cooperation, communities become stronger together.

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The USAID HOVERLA Activity supports the MCTD’s efforts in establishing inter-municipal cooperation, which serves as a boost for the holistic development of communities. This helps optimize resource use, promotes cultural diversity, stimulates economic growth, addresses environmental challenges, and facilitates large-scale projects.