The war forces frontline regions to respond to threats every day, support people and businesses, and find solutions to urgent problems. At the same time, they need a longer-term perspective than just the coming week or the next call for proposals. They need teams capable of identifying the needs of communities, fostering cooperation between business, education, authorities, and partners, preparing projects, and planning for future development.

The participants at the Summer School for Regional Development Agencies, which was held on 8–10 September in Uzhhorod, discussed this very topic. The Swiss-Ukrainian “Ukraine’s Coherence and Regional Development” (UCORD) project organised the event in cooperation with the European Association for Development Agencies (EURADA).

Representatives of the RDAs from Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Odesa regions joined the training. Together with experts from the OECD, EURADA, and European agencies, they worked on the strategic role of the Regional Development Agencies, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, attracting investment, preparing projects, and setting priorities for the next 12 months.

The European colleagues presented the experiences of the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, and Croatia. Whilst these varied in scale, resources, and institutional history, the common conclusion for the Ukrainian participants was clear: regional development does not begin with the search for funding, but with an understanding of the territory’s needs and potential, effective partnerships, and well-prepared solutions.

‘We did not strive to provide Ukrainian agencies with ready-made solutions. European models have been shaped over decades, whereas Ukrainian PRAs are young and are operating in wartime conditions that are without precedent. It was important for us to create a space for honest discussion: to identify what can be adapted from our colleagues’ experience, and where Ukraine needs to find its own solutions. And most importantly, that each agency would leave the programme not only with new contacts, but with a clearer understanding of its next steps,’ said Maryna Bryl, UCORD Project Leader.

 

From individual projects to a regional ecosystem

 

 

For the frontline regions, the discussion about a development ecosystem has practical significance. It concerns the ongoing links between communities, businesses, universities, experts, regional authorities, and international partners. Without these, businesses are left to seek support on their own, communities develop isolated projects, and investors fail to see a coherent regional proposition.

Oleh Kulakevych, Director of the Kherson Regional Development Agency “Office for European Integration”, explained that after a working visit to a Dutch agency – a member of EURADA – the team started working more systematically with institutions linked to the region: research organisations, the agricultural sector, communities, and universities.

‘We realise that the war is still going on, but the future lies ahead of us. Either we come together now, create our own ecosystem, and start planning and rebuilding, or we do nothing. Over two months of intensive meetings with different sectors, we have seen that everyone is ready to work together,’ he said.

For the Kherson Regional Development Agency, one of the tangible results of the programme was a focus on building such an ecosystem and establishing a network of specialist experts. The Agency’s small team cannot cover all aspects of the region’s development, but it can bring together those with the necessary knowledge and authority to tackle a specific task.

‘We cannot know everything. But we can be the platform where partners come and understand who to turn to, who to invite, and who can provide a high-quality analysis. Our task is to develop the ecosystem and build a network of experts around the agency,’ said Oleh Kulakevych.

Another important focus for the Kherson Regional Development Agency is the nature of investments. For the region, this is not just about funding. Partnerships can bring technology, expert knowledge, new solutions or the opportunity to test them in a specific territory. The Agency's task is to understand what resources the region needs and to organise work with them professionally.

 

Clearer priorities rather than scattered efforts

 

 

Representatives of the Regional Development Agency spoke not only about new tools, but also about the need to define their own functions and focus limited resources on a few realistic areas.

For the Mykolaiv Regional Development Agency, one of the key outcomes of the programme was the decision to hold a strategic session for the team. Its aim is not to produce yet another document, but to clarify the Agency’s role, its strengths, the services it can provide, and the sequence of steps for the coming period.

‘We can see that we are moving in the right direction, but we need a clearer vision. So that we do not proceed blindly or spread our efforts too thinly, but understand our uniqueness, our strengths, the services we can provide, and the specific steps for the coming period,’ said Liudmyla Vashorina, Project Manager at the Mykolaiv Regional Development Agency.

 

Analysis first, then the project

Yevhen Lukianenko, Director of the Kharkiv Regional Development Agency, named the need to strengthen the analytical basis of projects as one of the most important conclusions of the Summer School.

‘All projects have to be based on high-quality assessment and in-depth analysis. Only then can we gain a clear understanding of the direction we need to take. At the moment, we are focusing more on targeted initiatives, whilst larger-scale projects require data on which to base our decisions,’ he remarked.

The Kharkiv Regional Development Agency has already begun working with communities to support local businesses. In particular, the Agency has selected four pilot communities where it is training local coordinators to guide entrepreneurs through the available support tools and direct them to the relevant institutions. Together with the communities and the business sector, the team also plans to develop entrepreneurship programmes and establish an ongoing dialogue at the local level.

 

 

The Kharkiv Regional Development Agency plans to take two areas of focus from the Summer School: more in-depth analysis to prepare future projects and the formation of local consortia.

‘We need to work harder on analytics so that we have a solid foundation to build on, and to establish local consortia – links between communities, businesses, and other partners,’ summarised Yevhen Lukianenko.

At the same time, the Director of the Kharkiv Regional Development Agency admitted that a system of ongoing cooperation between academia, business, and local authorities in the region is still taking shape. Therefore, the experience of the Portuguese Regional Development Agency, presented during the Summer School, served as a practical guide for the team: its experts visit small communities and provide entrepreneurs with on-site consultancy.

 

Experts working closely with communities

The Sumy Regional Development Agency identified European practices as a way to partially address the staffing challenge, which is particularly acute in the frontline region. The Agency’s Director, Vitalii Rastorhuiev, appreciated the approach whereby a small team engages specialists in communities and gradually transfers some of the functions relating to supporting local businesses to them.

‘When the team is small, it is important to engage experts in the local communities and delegate some of our responsibilities to them so that they can provide support on the ground. We are already training communities and civil society organisations to become our partners in the development of the region,’ he said.

The Agency provides consultancy services to businesses via a helpline and, where necessary, visits communities. The approach, which the team plans to develop after the Summer School, envisages that local specialists will be able to provide basic consultancy services on the ground, whilst referring more complex issues to the Regional Development Agency or relevant experts.

A separate conclusion for the Sumy Regional Development Agency was the need for funding from different sources. Vitalii Rastorhuiev stated that combining funds from the regional and state budgets, project activities and fee-based services could reduce the Agency’s dependence on a single source.

To address the shortage of specialists, the Sumy Regional Development Agency is already engaging experts from universities and partner organisations to perform specific project tasks. This approach makes it possible to avoid expanding the staff to cover every possible specialisation, whilst still obtaining the necessary expertise when it is needed.

 

 

Comparisons with European regional development agencies at the Summer School raised another issue: in many countries, the role of agencies, their functions, and their interaction with regional authorities are defined more clearly. Ukrainian agencies are also seeking a clearer legislative framework so that their involvement in regional development depends not on ad hoc agreements, but on a defined mandate.

‘The legislation lacks clearly defined responsibilities, tasks, and the very framework for how the agencies operate. We need to understand where our area of responsibility lies, and how we interact with regional authorities, communities, and the business sector,’ noted Vitalii Rastorhuiev, Director of the Sumy Regional Development Agency.

 

Not copying models, but strengthening existing institutions

The conclusions of the Summer School go beyond individual European case studies. The participants were not looking for a universal model applicable to all regions. Instead, they compared different approaches with their own conditions to determine which functions should be strengthened over the next 12 months: analytics, community engagement, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, project development, investment proposals or a network of partnerships.

‘For regional development, it is important that the agency is able to perform clear functions, has a professional team and the trust of its partners. This does not happen through a single project or a single training session. But every partnership, every well-prepared project idea, and every established dialogue between the community and the business sector gradually builds the region’s institutional capacity,’ emphasised Olena Nyzhnyk, Component Lead “Regional development” of UCORD project.

John Gallagher, UCORD’s international advisor, noted that strong RDAs are built gradually – through trust, partnerships, professional teams, and practical experience.

‘European agencies did not become strong overnight. Over many years, they built trust, partnerships, professional teams and accumulated practical experience in strategic planning, business support, attracting investment and project development. Ukrainian RDAs can draw on international experience, but they do not need to copy models from other countries. Instead, they should build on this experience and their own strengths, and consistently develop the functions that are most important for their regions,’ he said.

The Summer School culminated in work on priorities and possible steps for the next 12 months. These will vary from agency to agency. However, all participants share a common understanding: regional development does not begin when funding becomes available. It begins when there are people and institutions in the region capable of recognising an opportunity, engaging the right partners, and seeing solutions through to a successful outcome.

 

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Read more about the UCORD Summer School in the articles on the “Decentralisation” portal:

• From regional policy to specific decisions: Lessons learned by regional development agencies from frontline regions on the first day of UCORD Summer School
• UCORD Summer School: How Regional Development Agencies can turn regional needs into viable projects
• UCORD Summer School: How Sumy and Odesa Regional Development Agencies work with resilience, communities, and investment