Work is ongoing to enable communities in the Ternopil region to update their development strategies and plan projects.

A working group meeting was recently held to approve the draft “Methodology for aligning local strategies with the updated Development Strategy for the Ternopil Region for 2021-2027.” This document aims to provide communities with clear guidelines for updating their local development and recovery strategies.

The project was developed by the Agency in collaboration with experts from the Department of Management and Administration, Ternopil National Technical University, to provide communities with simple and practical instructions for their own development.

During the meeting, participants discussed how to make the methodology as clear and convenient as possible for communities.

Agency Director Iryna Skuratko noted that this document is important for communities to be able to plan their development consciously and effectively, and emphasized that the Agency is ready to work with each community, supporting them in implementing strategies and developing projects.

Deputy Director of the Agency Volodymyr Pletyuk emphasized that strategic documents belong to communities and that the main task of the methodology is to support them in implementing their priorities without unnecessary bureaucracy. The methodology has already been partially applied in the formation of the Horostkiv community strategy.

Other strategic planning experts also joined the discussion of the draft. In particular, Iryna Storonyanska made a number of proposals and comments on the draft regarding the possible appointment of a person responsible for the implementation of additional regulatory documents and the possibility of coordination through medium-term public investments. She also shared her practical experience of implementing local strategies in the Ternopil region.

Deputy Director Department of Economic Development of the Ternopil Regional State Administration Iryna Bura, Executive Director Ternopil Regional Branch of the Association of Ukrainian Cities Ruslan Fronc (Ruslan Fronts), strategic communications expert Yavoriv Local Economic Development Agency Iryna Kuropas expressed the opinion that this document is of a recommendatory nature for the communities of the region.

The working group members agreed to continue working on the document, simplifying it and making it as practical as possible for communities.

The next stage is to present the updated methodology to the communities in the region so that each can develop according to its own plan within the framework of the region’s common priorities.