Ukraine launched the process of drafting the National Strategy for Civil Society Development for 2021-2026 with the first online meeting of the working group held on July 23. The working group includes representatives of the government, public authorities, Ukrainian CSOs, and international organizations whose activities are related to creating an enabling environment for civil society.
The drafting process of the new Strategy will be open: interested members of the civil society can participate and submit their proposals, as well as join the working group meetings and public discussions.
In order to ensure an inclusive process, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers plans to improve communication efforts by conducting a series of public discussions, electronic consultations, publication of articles, etc.
The Strategy will consist of 5 sections, the development of which will be led jointly by government and CSOs:
- creation of favorable conditions for the organizational development of CSOs (headed by Maksym Latsyba, UCIPR as coordinator from civil society);
- establishment of effective procedures for public participation in the implementation of state and regional policy, addressing issues of local importance;
- stimulation of CSOs’ participation in the socio-economic development;
- creation of favorable conditions for intersectoral cooperation;
- mechanisms for implementation of the Strategy, monitoring, and evaluation of its implementation.
The work on the Strategy is based on different analytical sources, including the CSO Meter report for Ukraine.
For example, the recommendation from the CSO Meter report for “ensuring legislative regulation for certain types of charitable activities, in particular, non-cash lottery, charitable auctions” and the one on “using social contracting for financing the delivery of services by CSO in all cities” will be included in the first section of the Strategy. You can find more information about the recommendations and conclusions of the CSO Meter report for Ukraine.
You can follow the process of developing the new Strategy in the section “Civil Society and Power” of the Government Portal and on the Facebook page “Civil Society and Power”.
The draft of the Strategy is due to be ready by September, and the Cabinet of Ministers is expected to adopt it by the end of this year.