On May 3, a formal event was held to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development” (UCORD), the Regional Development Agency (RDA) of the Sumy oblast, the Sumy Regional Council and the Sumy Regional Military Administration to establish close cooperation and consolidate the efforts aimed at the recovery and development of the Sumy oblast.

Volodymyr Artiukh, Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, emphasised the long-term cooperation with Switzerland in the area of development and the intention to put in active and motivated efforts to show that the border of the Sumy oblast was a region with quality services for residents and IDPs rather than some “grey zone”.

According to Viktor Fedorchenko, Chair of the Sumy Regional Council, despite the difficulties and destruction experienced by the Sumy oblast, people do not give up. On the contrary, they are determined to work effectively with international partners for recovery and development.

The signed Memorandum envisages support for the RDA of the Sumy oblast, its institutional strengthening and the transformation of its organisational structure within the next 4 months. To do this, UCORD will consider the vision of the ADR, its purpose and role in the development of the oblast, management mechanisms, main functions, priorities, organisational measures, staffing and financial requirements. This will help determine all the resources needed to ensure the effectiveness of the RDA of the Sumy oblast.

The Memorandum provides for the support of the RDA of the Sumy oblast for the strengthening of the capacity of the Regional Development Agency in the recovery of municipalities and the oblast, as well as in the planning of local and regional development projects. The RDA will act as a platform for social cohesion and dialogue between citizens, businesses and authorities, including regarding the policy-making in the areas of water supply, drainage and waste management, as well as culture and creative industries.

The Regional Development Agency of the Sumy oblast was introduced in 2022 and has experience in implementing a number of projects together with municipalities and NGOs. According to Hryhorii Starykov, Director of the Regional Development Agency of Sumy Oblast, the RDA participates in the development and implementation of recovery policies and processes, cooperates with the public to provide high-quality public services, supports the human capital of the region and promotes micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

Maryna Bryl, Acting Head of the UCORD project, said that the RDA of the Sumy oblast had successfully passed a multi-stage and long-term selection, proving that the close cooperation of all levels of government, civil society and business community would give the RDA of the Sumy oblast an opportunity for the recovery and development of the oblast with the support of UCORD.

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Launched in December 2022, the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development” (UCORD) is implemented with the support of Switzerland by NIRAS Sweden AB. The first phase of the project will be active until 2026.

UCORD aims to promote coordinated actions for recovery and collaborative regional development on the part of the public, business community and authorities, which in turn improves the quality of life of people and strengthens the resilience of society, peace and social cohesion in Ukraine. The project is implemented through 3 components, Regional Development; Development of Potential and Environmental Services; Social Cohesion Through Culture and Public Engagement.

In its approach, UCORD focuses on qualitative changes at the regional level, which can be achieved by strengthening the institutional capacity of regional development agencies, following the example of the successful functioning of the relevant European RDAs. According to the Law of Ukraine “On the Fundamentals of State Regional Policy”, regional development agencies are non-profit institutions created for the purpose of effective implementation of state regional policy. Using the principles of cohesion, transparent public dialogue, and effective project management, RDAs are platforms for cooperation between authorities, businesses and the public for inclusive and sustainable regional development, investment attractiveness of the region and rallying people around common goals.

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