Enhanced resilience and capacity of Ukrainian civil society, facilitating its role in the recovery and socio-economic development processes.

The overarching goal of the action is to contribute to enhanced resilience and capacity of Ukrainian civil society, facilitating its role in the recovery and socio-economic development processes. This goal will be achieved through three specific objectives:

Enhance public participation and CSO engagement in the recovery process
Strengthen CSO capacity to participate in social and economic development processes
Foster CSO participation in the national and local dimensions of the EU accession processes.

1. To enhance public participation and CSO engagement in the recovery process, EEF plans the following activities:
Small grants program will empower local CSOs by providing financial support for reconstruction and advocacy projects. This will enhance their capacity to contribute to community recovery and promote effective cooperation between civil society and local authorities. Local CSOs will implement up to 20 recovery projects in their communities and roll out up to 20 advocacy campaigns in their regions, significantly contributing to the reconstruction process and fostering stronger civil society-government partnerships.
Civic Tech Acceleration Program will empower up to 10 CSOs to develop innovative civic tech solutions and foster collaboration between CSOs, tech experts, and local communities.

2. The following activities will lead to strengthening CSO capacity to engage in social and economic development processes:
Up to 20 Project Management diagnostic interventions that will allow CSOs to assess their project management practices and develop plans for their improvement.
Up to 60 CSOs will benefit from training, coaching and mentorship support, enhancing their Project Management and M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) capacity.
Two new courses will be developed for EEF’s Zrozumilo! distance learning platform.
Up to 10 CSOs will receive institutional support grants to enhance their financial, administrative, communication and IT capabilities, and technical upgrades.
Efforts will focus on strengthening CSO network resilience during wartime by improving operational efficiency, communication strategies, and securing IT solutions and technical support.

3. Fostering CSO participation in the national and local dimensions of the EU accession processes will involve:
Development of several key documents, including:
A white paper titled “Ukraine Facility and Ukraine Plan implementation at the local level” and other analytical materials on different aspects of CSOs participation in EU accession process
An analytical report “Public participation in implementation of the Ukraine Facility and Ukraine Plan at the local level” and respective recommendations “Participation of CSOs in decision-making on local economic development and recovery”
An analytical report “Best practices of CSOs participation in EU accession processes at the local level”.
Launching the CSO Best Practice Award to celebrate innovative and impactful approaches by Ukrainian CSOs in advancing Ukraine’s EU accession at the local level.
Providing support to the European Integration Hub, initiated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, to enhance coordination among the Government of Ukraine, civil society, business leaders, and parliamentarians