#SRER A joint project of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, the German Government and UNDP in Ukraine
A joint project of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, the German government and UNDP in Ukraine
At the end of 2022, the project "Support for the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities" was implemented in Ukraine, funded by the German government. The project is being implemented by the German company GIZ and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine.
The project aims to support the rapid recovery of local economies in Ukrainian cities by investing in the reconstruction and improvement of business development infrastructure.
The project involves 12 cities, including large regional centers: Lutsk, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk, as well as relatively small cities such as Zvyagel, Stryi, Smila, and Lozova.
Ten communities within the project will create business infrastructure (business coworking spaces, innovation and technology parks, etc.), and two more will restore economic infrastructure, namely water supply to local industrial zones where small and medium-sized businesses are concentrated.
The peculiarity of the project "Supporting the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities" is that it organically combines two areas:
- Construction works to reconstruct business infrastructure and basic infrastructure;
- Implementation of an institutional capacity building program, including through consultations and a series of educational activities that will help ensure the sustainability of the results achieved after the project is completed.
Thus, in addition to funding, municipalities will also receive advisory support through ongoing interaction and cooperation, which will help to increase their competence and capacity. The project's goal is to achieve an end result aimed at both restoring and improving business infrastructure and ensuring its sustainable and efficient operation.
Participation of Ivano-Frankivsk
As part of the project "Support for the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities", our city has its own initiative called "Creating Infrastructure for Businesses Affected by the War" (SRER Ivano-Frankivsk).
The SRER Ivano-Frankivsk project initiative aims to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of local SMEs by creating a "business" infrastructure in Building A of the Potocki Palace. The uniqueness of the project lies in its implementation in the context of economic recovery after the war and in the context of preparations for EU accession.
The main components of the project include major repairs and restoration, arrangement of coworking spaces and conference rooms, creation of recording and analog/digital photography studios, and provision of voucher support for SMEs. Innovative approaches include focusing on creative industries, organizing workshops and forums for entrepreneurship development.
This project will help create new jobs and improve the business environment in the municipality. It is expected to increase investment and support the local economy, as well as engage veterans, women, and internally displaced persons in business.
Strengthening the capacity of Ivano-Frankivsk
In addition to infrastructure reconstruction, the SRER project includes capacity building activities for local governments, business communities, and civil society organizations that will ensure the sustainability of results after the project is completed and stimulate further local initiatives for economic development.
For example, when our project team completes the reconstruction of the first start-up complex of the Potocki Palace's Building A for local and relocated businesses, this facility will continue to develop after the project is completed.
In order to achieve economic recovery in Ukraine, the Company has engaged three leading organizations with experience in local development, such as:
- Association of Ukrainian Cities - the largest association of local governments in our country, whose activities are aimed at supporting Ukrainian municipalities in everything related to effective decentralized governance.
- Promprylad is an innovative organization based in Ivano-Frankivsk that has extensive experience in implementing business support initiatives both in its own city and in Ukraine as a whole. Promprylad's experts will show how to ensure the sustainability of the reconstructed facilities.
- Smart People is an organization that brings together experts in mobilizing business communities in Ukrainian cities. The Smart People team is involved in ensuring sustainability by engaging businesses in local infrastructure transformations and building business capacity based on an assessment of the needs of local business communities.
What's next?
The project will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the municipality's economy by creating a favorable environment for business development and investment attraction. This is in line with current challenges, including preparations for EU accession and economic recovery from the conflict.
The municipality's participation in the SRER project is key to the economic recovery of its territory. The municipality is obliged to ensure the successful implementation of the initiative and engage local entrepreneurs in the process. We encourage stakeholders to follow the project on the municipality's official media resources for more information and updates.
This article was created by Ivano-Frankivsk City Council as part of the project "Support for Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities" (SRER), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine with the support of the international cooperation project ReACT4UA ("Re-application and Implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the field of Trade"), funded by the German Government and implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and compilers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Government, GIZ, UNDP or other UN agencies.