“Oh, we’re almost there,” is a typical line from people travelling by bus or car to Lviv from the Prykarpattia region when they see the beaver sculpture near the petrol station at the entrance to Bibrka. This, it seems, was the extent of the travellers’ knowledge about Bibrka and the municipality. It used to be the case, but today the municipality has something to offer to both tourists and investors.

 

To be visible, you need a brand

 

Bibrka has about a dozen different tourist locations and its own culinary brand, Urbanskyi Rohalyk rolls. The municipality also launched the open-air brass band festival, Zolotyi Bober (Golden Beaver). This year, Bibrka hosted the final day of the Vezha International Architecture and Arts Festival in the Svirzh Castle. This opportunity was used to showcase the municipality’s tourist attractions, taking participants on a roundabout route that included stops at exciting sites, from the Sokil Society building to the picturesque, fairy-tale lavender fields.

This is because tourism was chosen as one of the most promising areas for Bibrka’s development when assessing the economic profile and prospects for developing the municipal business environment as part of the U-LEAD’s programme “Municipal Business Environment”. That is why a branding system is being implemented here to comprehensively promote the municipality as a tourist destination and bring all initiatives together. To this end, they created a brand book and tourist logo, which they encourage businesses to use as well.

“The brand book we designed and the use of its elements are currently agreed upon informally. Suppose someone in the municipality is hosting an event or other activity and wants to use the logo or other elements. In this case, they can simply post it in the chat, and one of the competent members of the working group can make adjustments or provide recommendations. In fact, the entire brand book is available to the public,” says Andrii Datsenko, the Head of the Investment and Development Department of the Executive Committee of Bibrka City Council.

The municipality is now working on creating a craft directory of local producers, drawing on the experience of one of the U-LEAD training programmes. Furthermore, as stated by Andrii Datsenko, they aim to scale up the printed and electronic versions. The plan is to make each page of the craft manufacturer a separate event at Svirzh Castle.

 

Beavers: from prey to Bibrka’s mascots

 

At the same time, Bibrka is working on positioning around beavers. After all, beavers, which have lived here since time immemorial, gave their name to the Boberka River and later to the settlement itself, which became the town of Bibrka. Whereas a thousand years ago beavers were hunted for their valuable fur, today they are the municipality’s ambassadors.

Bibrka even has a beaver valley, which we visited together with members of Bibrka’s Strategic Development Working Group. This visit was the starting point for understanding that beavers are the highlight of the municipality.

“The Beaver Valley could be a tourist magnet and the midpoint of a tourist route that runs through Park 3020, the fairy-tale lavender fields, Svirzh Castle and Sokil. This route showcases the entire municipality, centring around beavers and the Boberka River. That is why we, having studied the experience of Lutsk and Uzhhorod, decided to create the Beaver Quest for tourists,” Andrii Datsenko explains how the beaver concept was born.

The idea with beavers unexpectedly grew into something more than a tourist attraction. Having studied the experience of municipalities in Khmelnytskyi oblast during a study visit organised by U-LEAD, we borrowed the idea of the Goofy Centre that involved creating an ambassador that would become the municipality’s mascot.

“We decided that the mascot of our municipality should be a beaver. Without investments, we visualised our beaver using AI. Nowadays, everything is much simpler, and certain ideas can be brought to life in a few clicks. So we made a million of these pictures with beavers. They are all slightly different but united by a common concept. One of the beavers is a logo for the chat and supporting documents for the Investment Council. Another beaver mascot represents persons with special needs as an inclusive beaver for the municipality’s accessibility direction. Two more beavers are dedicated to land issues and spatial development planning. These drawings will be used as a framework for navigation around the municipality,” says Andrii Datsenko.

However, beavers in the municipality are more than just a visual symbol and an appealing story. The municipality is developing a package of tourism and research projects in the natural habitat of beavers. Bibrka has already allocated land plots for projects such as a petting zoo, a research centre and a recreation area. For this, they are even studying the experience of other countries. For example, the practices of a Japanese petting zoo, Torius, which is managed by the Nagasaki Bio Park. Beavers there have their own Instagram and Twitter accounts, YouTube and TikTok channels with thousands of subscribers.

“We are currently studying international experience with beavers and capybaras. They are adorable, Instagram-ready animals. Our beavers, however, are nocturnal and not very sociable. I think their approach is less talk and more action,” says Andrii Datsenko.

Thanks to their hard work, Ukrainian beavers from Bibrka municipality are increasingly becoming an export product of the municipality, as well as an element of its brand. For instance, Scotland today recognises beavers as a tool for regulating water resources. Beavers from breeding centres were of little help there, as they had partially lost their natural skills, but Ukrainian beavers actively tackled the problem.

 

Informal dialogue and its impact on the business environment

 

The shifts in the municipality and the introduction of bold ideas come from working together and really getting people and businesses involved in solving local issues. Informal communication has become one of the most effective tools for this purpose. The key element here is the recently established Bibrka Municipality Entrepreneurs Association. Members of the Association moderate informal working groups on strategic development, implementation of the spatial development plan and promotion of tourism. Bibrka chose to implement these tools, informal working groups and strategic sessions, among other things, while participating in the U-LEAD support programme “Designing Roadmaps for Individual Tools to Improve the Business Environment of the Municipality”.

The concept of working groups was redefined before restarting them. The rather stereotypical perception of a working group as “inefficient formalities” has been transformed into an effective tool for developing and implementing projects.

“When we came to the municipality, about 1.5 years ago, we were told that working groups were not very effective. However, we revamped them once we figured out what the problem was. It is when 20 people get together and do not even agree on who is responsible for what or the extent of their involvement. We did things differently. The working group has a work plan, a leader, people who assist him or her, and each person has their own area of responsibility,” says Anton Vdovychenko, the Founder and the Head of Bibrka Municipality Entrepreneurs Association NGO.

Instead of meeting at the office, members of working groups in Bibrka often travel and explore the prospects of a particular project on the ground. Upon returning, they can brainstorm for another hour at a gas station over coffee.

“The working group makes it sound like an inventory commission, as if people are forced to work in some uncomfortable and unnatural environment to accomplish some kind of superfluous task, which also has a somewhat negative connotation. In contrast, our working group now is an expert environment of like-minded people thinking along the same lines. They are incredibly driven people who trust each other and help each other. Somewhere at the hindbrain level, there is a feeling that this is a team and we can count on each other,” Andrii Datsenko says with a smile.

This approach is actively promoting efforts to update the Community Development Strategy and develop a comprehensive vision for tourism development in the municipality. Of course, businesses are not immediately on board and ready to work; their trust still needs to be earned. A good example, notes Anton Vdovychenko, is holding a strategic session on tourism development in the municipality.

“We gathered business owners working in the tourism sector. At first, they reacted with puzzlement to what the authorities wanted from them. It was difficult to get people going for the first hour, but after that, we discussed things freely and brainstormed ideas. The result pleased everyone,” recalls the head of Bibrka Municipality Entrepreneurs Association.

Anton Vdovychenko is himself a businessman and an adviser to the mayor of Bibrka municipality. So he is often perceived by entrepreneurs themselves as a public official. Yet, as he says, his role lies precisely in understanding both sides — the local self-government bodies and businesses — and finding common ground and opportunities for cooperation. Participation in U-LEAD training programmes on improving the business environment in the municipality, according to Anton Vdovychenko, provided a better understanding of the work of local self-government and the importance of strategic documents for municipal development.

“We are already working on strategic documentation. We have incorporated these developments into the Municipal Development Strategy and are working on the Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategy and the Terms of Reference for a comprehensive Spatial Development Plan for the municipality. In general, these documents serve as the cornerstone for all development. If a particular project is included in the strategy and comprehensive plan, it is much easier to communicate with grantors, donors, foundations and investors. When we approach them and express that we have ideas and projects, and even budgets for them, we get asked how this works from the perspective of local self-government. And now we can offer an explanation,” says Anton Vdovychenko.

 

Attracting investment as a development tool

 

Strategic documents and a vision of comprehensive development are only the first important step. The municipality is currently actively working on mechanisms for attracting resources for municipal development. One of these is attracting external investments. To this end, as part of their participation in the U-LEAD support programme “Designing Roadmaps for Individual Tools to Improve the Business Environment of the Municipality,” municipal officials, together with experts, have devised two tools for attracting investors: an investment website and an investment forum.

The process of preparing for the launch of a modern online tool for investors has only just begun. After all, this involves developing a large amount of materials and implementing technical solutions to make this tool effective. In the meantime, a separate section has been set up for potential investors on Bibrka City Council website.

An investment forum is scheduled to be held in October this year, with a focus on attracting investors willing to invest in the hospitality industry, recreation, eco-friendly and craft production. Bibrka Municipality Entrepreneurs Association is actively involved in preparing investment proposals and coordination efforts.

“We plan to present our projects at the forum and talk about the development and growth points we have identified. We will soon have more than 10 purely investment projects to invest in. The investment forum is an opportunity for us to present our proposals on the one hand, and to showcase our craft producers on the other,” says Anton Vdovychenko, Head of the Association.

During the upcoming investment forum, a presentation and fair featuring local craft producers will be held to showcase the small businesses operating in Bibrka municipality and enable small producers to showcase their products.