65 local officials from 19 communities across Ukraine enhanced their awareness of civic participation tools and improved their engagement with residents during three training sessions within the framework of the project "Participate Local: Establishing Foundations for Inclusive Civic Engagement in Local Governance."

The CSO “Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Center” implemented the project “Participate Local: Establishing Foundations for Inclusive Civic Engagement in Local Self-Governance” with grant support from the Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine”.

The project covered the Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Sumy regions and focused on two key components:

• Training and experience exchange for local council officials to improve their skills in engaging with citizens.
• Informing residents about the available civic participation tools in their communities and how to use them.

During three training sessions in Ivano-Frankivsk, 65 officials from Ternopil, Sumy and 17 communities of Ivano-Frankivsk region strengthened their skills in engaging with residents to identify and address local issues and increased their awareness of civic participation tools. According to the results of pre- and post-training surveys, over 80% of participants demonstrated improved knowledge on civic participation.

As part of the project, a Methodology for analysing the interaction between local governments and citizens was developed. Moreover, 3 Guides on civic participation tools were created, tailored specifically for the Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Sumy communities.

In 2024, CSO “Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Center” received a grant from the Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine”. This grant aimed to support civil society organisations in Ukraine in strengthening citizen engagement in decision-making processes. Five Ukrainian CSOs were awarded this support.

The Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine” is designed to support the implementation of the objectives set out in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) to strengthen the democratic processes and address the challenges public authorities are facing in the time of war and in post-war context through active and effective civic participation at the local, regional and national level.