On 30 January, a new ASC was opened in the town of Skalat of the Ternopil Oblast, with the support of Ukrainian and Swedish experts from the U-LEAD with Europe Programme. Due to the establishment of the modern centre, almost 15,000 hromada residents received access to a wide range of high-quality administrative services, including the most essential in AH: registration of residents, business and real estate, notarial, social, pension, land-related and local importance services, etc.

The U-LEAD with Europe Programme assisted hromada in the ASC institutionalisation, major repairs of the premises, as well as furnishing and equipment of the centre with modern appliances with specialised software. The Skalatska AH is an excellent example of an effective partnership between the hromada and an international donor programme.

The new ASC will employ 8 specialists, who have passed trainings, developed by the experts of the Programme. The training participants learned about the role of local self-government bodies in hromada servicing, proper organisation and delivery of quality administrative services, as well as business ethics and interaction with visitors of administrative service centres. A separate module was devoted to gender issues.

Susanna Dellans, Project Manager of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme’s Support to Improved Administrative Service Delivery, said: “We are glad that the ASC of the Skalatska AH is established with due account of the Swedish experience in delivery of convenient and accessible administrative services. We hope that opening of the centre will make the life in the hromada more comfortable and will contribute to further development of the region. I am grateful to the hromada for effective partnership and proactive stance.”

Petro Savonchak, mayor of Skalat, noted: “The opening of the ASC has a positive impact on the quality of hromada’s life. People will feel comfort and convenience in getting the most necessary services, since they will not have to spend half or even a whole day to receive an administrative service in the nearest ASC, located 24 km from the town of Skalat.”

Liliya Popova, head of the department of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, welcomed the participants on behalf of MinRegion of Ukraine and stressed: “Ternopil Oblast was one of the first to show the example of governmental reforms in 2014, and we are pleased that we can already sum up some results. On Friday the ASC was opened in Zolonyky with the participation of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services, and now it is the turn of the Skalatska hromada, where the ASC is being launched with the support of international partners. We hope that opening of the Centre will not only improve the life of the hromada, but will be an example and a catalyst for other development processes. The Ministry, together with the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, is ready to help hromadas at all levels.”

On the eve of the opening, the residents were informed about the features of the ASC work, its advantages, rights and obligations of employees and consumers of services. The Centre is accessible to people with disabilities and has a children’s indoor play corner.

It is worth reminding that 26 ASCs will be opened in Ukrainian amalgamated hromadas within the framework of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme which aims at improving the delivery of local administrative services. The best practices for creating and improving the delivery of administrative services that are tested and implemented in the pilot hromadas of the inception phase will be applied to all ASCs to be opened or modernised within the next phase of the Programme. That is at least 600 ASCs by the end of 2020.