Community Partnerships Project pairs cities in Ukraine and U.S. (01/23/00)

Community Partnerships Project pairs cities in Ukraine and U.S.

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Donetsk and Louisville, Kentucky; Komsomolsk and Ithaca, New York; Kamianets-Podilskyi and Athens, Georgia. The pairings immediately cause one to ponder, what could these Ukrainian and U.S. cities possibly have in common? They have unrelated histories, traditions, languages ... the list goes on. Today, however they are partners, and what has drawn them together is the essential: a desire to cooperate, to exchange ideas on municipal governance, to foster better relations and to learn each other's unique culture.

The cities are part of a singular program involving 18 U.S. cities and towns and their Ukrainian counterparts in a project aimed at improving local government practices and promoting municipal reform. The program, called the Community Partnerships Project (CPP), is directed by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. It is now entering the final year of its three-year program.

In Ukraine, with its legacy of a command economy, five-year plans, and inefficient and wasteful government, the need for municipal government education and reorientation is particularly acute. The CPP has attempted to fill that void. Since 1996, when it first initiated contacts between U.S. and Ukrainian cities, the CPP has organized internships for Ukrainian city officials in U.S. communities and follow-up visits by representatives who act as trainers. It has sponsored workshops and seminars and developed a network of computers to allow the partnership communities to maintain links via e-mail and the Internet.

The project, which is supported by a $7 million grant from USAID, has concentrated on five strategic areas of development: economic development, citizen participation, budgeting and finance, municipal transportation, and housing and communal services.

"What we're dealing with are local government problems," explained Abigail Cleveland, communications manager for CPP. She added that the long-term goal is to create cooperation among the Ukrainian cities, so that after CPP leaves they will continue to work on their problems together.

So far, the results are dramatic and speak for themselves. Today nine of the Ukrainian communities have established community task forces or advisory boards to improve communication between the government and the community to contribute to the government's planning processes; 12 are holding public hearings for the first time ever to inform residents about local government activities; 10 partner cities have begun to tackle economic development issues by preparing needs assessment and strategic evaluation studies; four communities have made their practices more transparent by developing better relations with the local press.

Ms. Cleveland said that, as the partnerships develop, the communities identify the strategic areas on which they want to concentrate. "Each partnership selects a specific project within their cities from the five general areas. They target something, such as economic development. A lot have chosen economic development, it is pretty broad," said Ms. Cleveland.

In economically stagnant Ukraine, the economy is the issue, and most of the cities realize that they need to expand their economic base and diversify, moving away from the command-oriented system of the past. Their U.S. partners are helping them to get on track.

For example, the Artemivsk-Omaha, Nebraska, partnership has created an economic development plan to promote local government support for small businesses in Artemivsk. Artemivsk has organized a public-private task force - unheard of in Soviet times - to deal with small business development and problems.

Little Rock, Arkansas, is helping the Kalush economy diversify by offering guidance for the formation of a public-private stakeholders group and the creation of a single economic development plan for the community.

The historic city of Kamianets-Podilskyi completed an economic assessment last September with the help of its U.S. partner city, Athens, Georgia. The aim is to develop the economy by spurring the development of tourism and historic preservation.

Not all the partnership communities are concentrating on economic issues. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, decided to focus on transportation problems in cooperation with Cincinnati, Ohio. They addressed parking congestion in Kharkiv by deciding to install parking meters in the city center, which will also provide much-needed revenue.

Cincinnati has provided two parking meters as design models for local entrepreneurs to use in developing a Ukrainian version, one that would accept Ukrainian "kopiiky."

Another goal, most stressed as the partnership programs develop, is for communities to develop open and transparent lines of communication with their residents, which has brought a number of successes as well.

Pervomaisk is setting up an information center and is considering adding a press secretary position to its city staff. The Kalush mayor has begun holding regular meetings with citizens, and the city publishes information about the municipal budget in a local newspaper every week.

The central aspect of the CPP program is an exchange of city employees and officials. Chosen representatives from Ukrainian cities spend two weeks in the U.S. in the municipal offices of their partners. This allows them to observe first-hand the government workings and practices of the average U.S. municipality.

Those taking part in the professional exchange first visit the Washington offices of the CPP, where they receive an overview of the U.S. system of municipal governance. The balance of their U.S. stay is then spent in the city with which their town is partnered. Each partnership has at least one and usually two non-governmental organizations with which it develops an association. Usually the NGOs are local colleges and universities, or an international visitors bureau, as is the case with the Philadelphia-Lviv partnership. Their responsibility is to host the visitors from Ukraine and to coordinate contacts with municipal authorities.

In return, the U.S municipalities send trainers to their Ukrainian partner cities, which allow them to work with larger groups of officials to directly assist with the partnership plans, and get a better understanding of their needs and strengths.

Cooperation takes place on many levels, and e-mail and fax communication is routine. The Community Partnerships Project has provided all 18 Ukrainian partner communities the computer equipment needed to maintain e-mail and Internet services. Ms. Cleveland said the equipment is used for all matter of correspondence, including the development of major government tools such as an annual budget. As she explained, U.S. municipal officials regularly review the budgets of their Ukrainian counterparts when they are asked to do so and provide comments and recommendations.

Ms. Cleveland noted that the CPP is spurring not only partnerships not only between U.S. and Ukrainian municipalities, but between Ukrainian cities as well. Ukrainian mayors are encouraged to exchange ideas and information and to develop closer ties.

On November 18, 1999, nine Ukrainian mayors as well as representatives from the other nine cities associated with the CPP met in Kyiv for a four-day conference to discuss their problems and achievements, and broaden their relations. It was the first time that all the partner communities had been brought together and reflected a similar conference of the U.S. partner communities held in Washington in September.

"One of the main goals of this project is to create a network of Ukrainians working together to improve local government in Ukraine," explained Ms. Cleveland. "This conference was one of the ways by which we have helped to format their work."

What the U.S. cities receive by cooperating in the partnership is much less tangible - but benefits do exist. The U.S. cities generally receive minimal financial support for their efforts, which includes exchanges of information and the hosting of officials from Ukrainian cities, but for the most part their efforts are pro bono.

However, contact with another country allows for relations to develop that may help bring business to the U.S. municipality, or may eventually allow for interest to develop among local entrepreneurs to expand their business to the partner community. Another benefit is simply the exposure that Americans receive to another country and culture.

"A lot of these communities are communities that do not have a whole lot of international contact. They are Midwestern communities, many of them, they are in middle America and they are looking to broaden their horizons, to expand their international contact. And it is helpful for their community to really understand that they are part of this global marketplace," explained Ms. Cleveland.

She said that during the Washington conference of U.S. municipalities, many of the speakers spoke of how they had learned more about their own systems as they explained them to their Ukrainian counterparts. Those who have traveled to Ukraine have said the experience has given them a boost in both their professional and individual development, as well.

"Projects like this one benefit us in another sense," added Ms. Cleveland, "because they give American foreign aid a whole new constituency in the United States. There is a whole group of people in these different cities who see the real impact of what our foreign aid dollars are doing."

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