Localization of resources as a means to accelerate the development of civil society in Ukraine

Not so long ago, the international community recognized that Russia started the war back in 2014, and today we can only observe a full-scale escalation of this attack. Unfortunately, for Ukrainian civil society, this thesis has also become relatively new. In the period from 2014 to 2015, there was a surge of public activity aimed at supporting the front. People shocked by the massive murder in Ilovaisk and news from the ATO zone began to actively participate in volunteer activities. Then came the war was frozen for a long time and the organizations that continued to work in support of internally displaced persons and the Ukrainian military became a separate segment of the public sector that worked on an equal footing with other organizations.

The full-scale war reactivated the public sector and involved almost 20% of the population of Ukraine. Non-governmental organizations were among the first to respond to the challenges posed by the war to the communities – helping the military, searching, setting up logistics, supporting people who come to the community in search of safety, collecting humanitarian aid and much more. For effective work, organizations began to establish strong communications not only with local self-government bodies, but also with internally displaced persons, because among them there are many people who were active in their communities.

According to the data of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, from February 24 to June 30, 2022, 4,365 civil society organizations were registered in Ukraine, of which 3,364 are charitable and 1,001 public organizations. Many of these informal volunteer groups are now permanent active organizations operating in the regions. Crazy numbers of newly created organizations and they work diligently on the ground. They do not yet have enough policies and procedures in place, but they should be able to be supported.

Bureaucracy kills initiative and blocks the way to financing. What chance do newly created organizations have for successful development if the right to funding is limited and selective?

The internationalization of resources undermines the development of leadership in Ukrainian civil society and significantly slows down the scaling of newly created organizations. Restraining the transfer of resources to local organizations is contrary tothe Grand Bargain signed by most international organizations and donors. It commits to providing 25% of global humanitarian funding to local organizations and empowers them in the adoption system.

Thus, the current model of funding, which is aimed more at fulfilling the goals of international organizations in Ukraine than at developing local potential, leads to a point where international resources divert human capital and hinder response.

Even during the pandemic, Ukrainian public organizations began to work according to the principle of “adapt or disappear.” Now we can observe how cultural, youth, and environmental organizations have begun to implement projects aimed at accelerating Ukraine’s victory in this war.

The statistics of the Educational and Analytical Center for the Development of Communities show that, despite full-scale military actions, of all interviewed representatives of civil communities, almost 50% continue the implementation of projects in the directions according to the statutory goals, more than ⅓ – partially implement the initiatives, and only approximately 25% completely stopped the project activity.

Public sector organizations were able to adapt and understand how to act in new realities according to previously set goals. Such a change in statutes and activities looks “unreliable” for grant-makers, but it is surprisingly rational from the point of view of the situation inside the country.

We want to convey to the international community that it should strive to be adaptive to existing realities and strive to study the context in which local public organizations operate. These two tools will positively influence the achievement of the goal of 25% of localized resources, which in turn will significantly strengthen Ukrainian civil society