Intensifying cooperation between civil society organizations and Parliament

USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program has launched the "Citizens and Parliament" grant initiative and held an introductory training session for the winners of the grant competition on February 8-9.

7 Ukrainian organizations received a grant to:

1. build interaction and cooperation between MPs (parliamentary fractions, committees) and voters within the constituency or region in the wartime;
2. engage citizens in the decision-making process and the work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
3. communicate reforms, study social issues, and find solutions using various tools of parliamentary interaction with citizens, including public consultations.

"Cooperation with voters and constituencies is an important element of the Parliament. One of the objectives of the grant program is to help the Parliament communicate with society and the local communities to improve communication with communities and local authorities. People must trust in the Verkhovna Rada. We hope that you will help to resolve these issues," said Oleksandr Piskun, Democracy Project Management Specialist, Office of Democracy and Governance, USAID Mission to Ukraine, in his welcoming remarks.

During the training, the participants presented their projects and discussed what is needed to achieve maximum results. USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program's experts also conducted training sessions, in which they covered:

• the peculiarities of parliament and public participation in its work;
• how to develop a strategy for a parliamentary advocacy campaign;
• why we need to conduct targeted communications and how to talk about social changes;
• how to strengthen the institutional capacity of an organization through monitoring and evaluation.

See photo report from the event on our Facebook page.

It is the second "Citizens and Parliament" grant initiative from USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program. The results of last year's initiative are available in our brochure.

This year, 7 Ukrainian organizations are implementing projects within our grant initiative:

1. NGO "Institute Respublica"
2. NGO "Association of Members of Parliament of Ukraine"
3. NGO "Association of Companies for International Employment"
4. Charitable Organization "Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation"
5. NGO "Union for Promotion of Rural Green Tourism Development in Ukraine"
6. NGO "National Ecological Center of Ukraine"
7. Volyn regional branch of the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Government Bodies "Association of Cities of Ukraine"