On 19 March, a two-day training course entitled ‘Project Concept: From Idea to Solution Using the UCORD KROKUS Project Tool’ was completed in Kyiv. During two days, 26 representatives of regional development agencies (RDAs) from 11 regions of Ukraine worked on their own project ideas, using the KROKUS platform, created as part of the Swiss-Ukrainian ‘Ukrainian Cohesion and Regional Development’ (UCORD) Project. The main outcome was the presentation of concepts during a pitch session, the awarding of certificates, and the commitment of participants to apply the knowledge gained in their own regions.

UCORD has announced that training for RDA representatives will continue: a series of training sessions is planned for the coming months, which will also involve representatives from agencies in frontline regions.

Pitching as a test of maturity

The second day of the training began with public presentations. Each participant had seven minutes to present their concept, developed the previous day at the KROKUS ‘Workshop’. The focus was on the problem, the solution, the result, and the impact on target groups.

‘Preparing a concept “for yourself” is one thing. But when it comes to presenting the concept to colleagues who might ask awkward questions, the level of responsibility is entirely different. Pitching forces a person to thoroughly think through the logic, discard the superfluous, and focus on the essentials. For me, it was an invaluable experience,’ shared Oksana Kachmar, a representative of the Zakarpattia Regional Development Agency.

After the pitch session, the participants discussed not only the content of the concepts but also their own experience of working with the KROKUS platform. They assessed the user-friendliness of the tools, the logical flow of the concept creation process, and shared suggestions for improvement.

Certificates confirm new competencies

The official part of the training concluded with the awarding of certificates. The participants demonstrated not only their knowledge but also their practical skills in using the KROKUS tools: MindMap questionnaires, the AI assistant, evaluation mechanisms and Fast Track.

‘My greatest satisfaction comes not from the fact that the participants developed concepts, but from the way they went about it. They have learnt to ask themselves the right questions, to see the logic of “problem – solution – result”, and not to be afraid of change. In two days, we moved from ideas to structured concepts. This means that the tool works, and people are ready to think in new ways,’ noted Olena Nyzhnyk, Lead of the UCORD component ‘Regional development’.

Following the training, the participants:

• have structured drafts of their own project concepts;
• have practical skills in working on the KROKUS platform;
• are ready to train representatives of communities, authorities, businesses, and civil society organisations in their regions.

‘We want KROKUS to become not just a training tool, but a working ecosystem for managing regional project portfolios. And the fact that the RDAs were the first users is the best possible start. They are not just learning; they are becoming co-creators of the platform’s further development,’ concluded Ihor Katerniak, UCORD Expert.

For more details on the philosophy of the platform, its development, and why KROKUS is a community rather than just a tool, read the interview with UCORD Expert Ihor Katerniak, to be published today on the ‘Decentralisation’ Portal.

The KROKUS platform is a tool designed to develop project concepts, created as part of the UCORD Project to assist regional development specialists. It combines a MindMap structure, an AI assistant, peer-review mechanisms, and a Fast Track function.

The UCORD Project (Swiss-Ukrainian Project ‘Ukrainian Consolidation and Regional Development’) is implemented by NIRAS Sweden AB with the support of Switzerland.