The Recovery and Development Consultants program is a training initiative of ISAR Ednannia, implemented with the support of the European Union. It trains specialists who help communities recover and develop, establish partnerships between authorities and citizens, launch local change projects and attract funding. Participants are people from NGOs, local governments and business initiatives who are already working at the local level and want to do it more systematically.
How it all began
Myroslava Zhylina is the program director of the Podilska Hromada Community Foundation in Vinnytsia. Myroslava is from the Donetsk region: when Russia’s invasion of Eastern Ukraine began in 2014, her husband volunteered to fight in the army. In 2015, after he was wounded, the family moved to Vinnytsia. Myroslava says that before moving, she was not involved in the civil society sector. However, once she found herself in a new place and needed to adapt to society, she began attending various events supporting internally displaced persons.
“In the beginning I just visited events, then I began volunteering, then started working in one organization. And starting from 2021 I work in the Podilska Hromada Community Foundation.”
A foundation that is 18 years old
"Podilska Hromada" is not a classic civil society organization or a common charitable foundation. It is a community foundation whose main task is the development of the community itself.
"Our task is to develop the Vinnytsia community. To do this, we strengthen the culture of philanthropy and establish interaction between business, government, and the public. We try to solve the current problems of the community, as defined by the community itself. Almost every year we conduct a survey to understand these needs, and based on the results obtained, we plan our work and support," explains Myroslava.
The organization has existed since 2008. On May 23, it turned 18 years old. The foundation employs 9 people, as well as a supervisory board of 11 members and a representative council. Since 2022, within the framework of the Vinnytsia humanitarian hub, the foundation has been providing support throughout Ukraine, primarily to frontline territories, de-occupied communities, and the military.
Among the organization’s strategic areas of work are the development of the Vinnytsia community, strengthening the culture of philanthropy, increasing organizational capacity, and ensuring the resilience of the community in the face of a full-scale invasion.
One of the current projects of the fund is “Community on Security Guard”, implemented by ISAR Ednannia with the support of the European Union. Within its framework, fire hydrants are installed in the Vinnytsia community, trainings are held in emergency medical help, public first aid kits are equipped, and security packages are handed over to condominiums.
“This support is really important for us, because currently people really need community security to become stronger”, says Myroslava.
Trainings: practice instead of lectures
Myroslava has participated in the Recovery and Development Consultants program twice: first she completed the training for trainers, and later she became a participant in the second wave of the program for consultants.
“It seems to me that the goal of this training is to form a community of consultants who are partners of the community in recovery and development. This is exactly our goal as a community foundation,” she explains her decision.
She also adds that her particularly noticeable gap was in the knowledge of the legislative processes and the work of local government.
“Before this I did not really know legislative initiatives that well. So for me this was a very useful specialised training”.
Myroslava says that the training process was well planned and practically oriented. During the five-day training for trainers, she received many useful tools and techniques that helped her deepen her knowledge and skills.
“I was very impressed by the special approach of the team of trainers to the training, the availability of handouts and instructions. They simply give you ready-made clear templates and algorithms, which you can then use in your work,” she says.
She noted that the "Recovery and Development Consultants" program was thoughtfully structured — progressing from ethical principles through to community partnership and facilitation.
Myroslava notes that the Recovery and Development Consultants program was logically structured: from ethical principles to community partnership and facilitation.
New topics that she learned through the program included local policy development, the work of parliament, and mechanisms for involving the public in decision-making.
The next step in Myroslava’s training is to conduct training in her own or a partner community. On June 13, she and her colleague are planning to conduct such a training in Boyarka, in the Kyiv region.
Life after training
Myroslava immediately began to implement the knowledge she gained during the training into practice. The foundation is currently administering the project “Community in Action: Participation Tools for Recovery”. And the tools for engaging the public that were discussed in detail during the trainings became the basis for this current project.
“Since we paid a lot of attention to public engagement and participation tools, this is extremely relevant for me now,” she says.
After the training, the foundation’s team has already conducted trainings on fundraising, grant writing, and project management for other organizations.
“I started feeling much more confident because we studied very well all kinds of training tools,” says Myroslava.
The foundation constantly receives many requests, from humanitarian aid to community development needs. According to Myroslava, this requires resources, but the knowledge gained during the training helps to find not only funding, but also partnerships and other support opportunities.
The organization continues to develop the Vinnytsia community, supports rehabilitation institutions, advises civil society organizations and shares experience with newly created initiatives.
As one of the oldest civil society organizations in the region, the foundation often receives requests for mentoring and consulting. However, due to the large volume of current work and humanitarian projects, sometimes there is not enough time and resources to systematically engage in these activities.
“I want to work more with business, develop corporate social responsibility and share my experience,” says Myroslava.
She adds that the training has influenced not only individual projects, but also the approaches of the organization as a whole. The team is already using the knowledge gained when developing new initiatives in the areas of European integration, strategic communications and cooperation between local governments and civil society organizations.
The program has also helped the foundation to strengthen its expertise in community renewal, involving residents in decision-making and developing partnerships between the government, business and the civil society sector. The tools for analyzing community needs, facilitating dialogue and finding joint solutions to solve local challenges have become particularly useful.
According to Myroslava, thanks to this, the foundation is gradually developing: it is no longer just providing assistance or grants, but is also becoming an organization that helps communities better plan development, unite people and resources for change.
“It’s not that difficult”
For those who hesitate about applying for the program, Myroslava advises to simply take the first step.
“If you start filling out the application, you will see that everything is not so difficult, but on the contrary - interesting and motivating. In addition to knowledge and skills, you also gain this extraordinary community that will then surround you. Simply extraordinary people who do the possible, and sometimes the impossible, for the development of their communities,” she concludes.
The programme is implemented within the framework of the EU Unity4Community project, funded by the European Union.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ISAR Ednannia and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
