2. 1
This publication has been produced within the framework of the Community Based Approach to
Local Development Project under the assistance of the European Union and UNDP. The content of
this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors. This publication is not intended to create
any obligations and does not express official position and/or views of the European Union, donor
countries’ governments, UNDP or any other UN project or program.
The contents of this publication may be freely cited/reproduced with due acknowledgement.
20 Esplanadna str., 7 floor, office 704-708, Kyiv 01601, Ukraine
Tel/fax: +38 (044) 584 34 70. E-mail: ganna.yatsyuk@undp.org
Wesite: www.cba.org.ua. Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/cbaproject
First edition: August 2011
Editors: Jaysingh Sah, Ganna Yatsyuk, Tetyana Diyeva
Acknowledgement:
This paper is synthesized from the reports of Kyiv International Institute of Sociology prepared on
the results of sociological research and progress reports of CBA Project.
The European Union is made up of 27 Member States who have decided to gradually link together
their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, during a period of enlargement of 50 years,
they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining
cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing
its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries
to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground
in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development
challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw ont eh people of UNDP and our wide
range of partners.
3. 2
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ARC Autonomous Republic of Crimea
CBA Community Based Approach to Local Development Project
CDO Community Development Officer (CBA staff in the region)
CDP Community Development Plan
CO Community Organisation
EU European Union
KIIS Kyiv International Institute of Sociology
LDF Local Development Forum
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MPP Micro Project Proposal
MP Micro Project (Community Project)
OC Oblast Council
OCC Oblast Coordination Council
OCRC Oblast Community Resource Centre (same as OIU)
OIU Oblast Implementation Unit (same as OCRC)
OSA Oblast State Administration
PA Partnership Agreement
PMU Project Management Unit (CBA head office in Kyiv)
RC Rayon Council
RCRC Rayon Community Resource Centre
RSA Rayon State Administration
UMDG Ukrainian Millennium Development Goal
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
VC/CC Village Council/City Council
4. 1
Community Based Approach to Local Development Project:
Consolidated Assessment Report
ABSTRACT
This publication presents a consolidated assessment report on the impact of the EU/UNDP
funded Community Based Approach to Local Development (CBA) Project. The Project was
implemented during December 2007-mid 2011 over all regions of Ukraine covering 209 rayons,
1123 village/city councils, 1149 communities. About 420,000 citizens participated in the process
and more than 1.2 million people directly benefited from the community projects implemented
by local communities across the country with support of the local authorities, Project and the
private sector.
Based on results of sociological research conducted during 2010 by Kyiv International Institute
of Sociology (KIIS) and analysis of the data collected by the monitoring department of CBA
Project, it was found that community based approach to local development proved effective in
unleashing people’s potential and consolidating efforts of all stakeholders at local level that
result in strengthening local self-government; reinforcing bottom-up planning and joint
decision-making process; improving public service delivery conditions; enhancing citizens-
authority cooperation; raising psychological well-being and social cohesion and enhancing
living quality of target population. High effectiveness of the Project methodology is attributed to
support structures created and skills imparted to representatives of community, elected officials
and state authorities at local and regional level.
The study recommends that the process and the support structures established by the Project
must be given continuity under national framework should the country aim for making local
development efficient and sustainable. Such a vision will require policy considerations and
further nurturing of human resources.
5. 2
I. INTRODUCTION
Ukraine has made significant social, economic and environmental development since its
independence. However, a vast population, living in rural and semi-urban areas, is still suffering
from low living standards, characterized by insufficient access to medical care, education, water
supply, energy supply and environmental situation. Underdeveloped or worn out basic
infrastructures in these sectors are the major cause for poor service delivery. To improve the
situation, much effort required especially at local level where legacy of the highly centralized
decision-making system, passive attitude of the population and limited capacity of the local
governments still exist.
UNDP/Ukraine, with support from its national and international partners, has been promoting
community based development approach in Ukraine since 2001to mitigate above problems. The
approach was piloted on small scale in various spatial contexts and for various development
objectives such as social cohesion and tolerance in Autonomous Republic of Crimea,
psychological recovery from Chernobyl disaster and participatory governance in Ukrainian
cities1
. Result of the pilots proved encouraging and warranted need for a nation-wide piloting of
the approach. Accordingly, Community Based Approach to Local Development (CBA) Project
was conceived in 2006.
CBA Project is a joint initiative of EU and UNDP meant to mitigate the above-mentioned
problems. First phase of CBA Project commenced on 4th
September 2007 and ended on 6th
June
2011. It aimed at creating enabling environment for long-term sustainable development at local
level by promoting local self-governance and community based initiatives throughout Ukraine.
Specific objectives included:
• Improving living conditions in rural and semi-urban communities by promoting
sustainable rehabilitation, management and operation of basic social and communal
infrastructure and services through community-based self-help initiatives
• Demonstrating effective participatory local governance and decentralized management
mechanisms for public service delivery by promoting inclusive, self-governing
community organizations undertaking self-help initiatives in partnership with local
authorities, private sector entities and other stakeholders
• Enhancing relevant professional skills and knowledge of community organizations and
local authorities to initiate and maintain visible participatory local process on social
economic development and public services delivery
• Improving institutional capacities of community organizations and local authorities to
identify community needs and priority, to manage and monitor participatory local
process for a sustainable social-economic development and efficient public service
delivery
• Promoting practical experience at grassroots level in participatory planning, decision-
making and social action with a view to providing inputs for policy and legal reforms
towards regional/local sustainable development, administrative and fiscal
decentralization and consolidation of local democracy
The strategic goal of CBA Project was to build capacity for participation of the local communities
and local authorities in decision making process and use this capacity for multi-stakeholders
cooperation. It utilized social mobilization tool to mobilize target stakeholders (namely local
1
For details, refer documents of Crimea Integration and Development Programme, CIDP (http://www.undp.org.ua/en/local-
development-and-human-security/37-local-development-and-human-security-/619-undp-crimea-integration-and-development-
programme); Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme, CRDP (http://www.crdp.org.ua/en/publication/content/462.htm
) and Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme, MGSDP (http://msdp.undp.org.ua)
6. 3
communities, local councils, rayon authorities, regional authorities) and prepare them for joint
decision-making and participatory action directed to resolving local development problems.
Appropriate support structures were developed to ensure joint decision-making and
participatory action. The structures included community organization (CO) at community level,
local development forum (LDF) at rayon level, oblast coordination council (OCC) at region level,
and community resource centre (CRC) at rayon as well as at oblast level.
CBA operated in 24 oblasts and Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC), 200 rayons and 1000
village/city councils were included into Project’s areas. The Project was expected to mobilize
1000 communities from 1000 village/city councils, to support 1175 self-help community
initiatives for improving basic social and communal infrastructure, to establish support
structures (namely1000 COs, 200 LDFs, 25 regional coordination councils, 25 oblast-CRC and
200-Rayon CRC). Various form of capacity building activities, including training, exposure visits,
logistic supports etc., were envisioned to raise skill and capacity of stakeholders so that they
could effectively implement the Project activities.
Coinciding with last year of CBA Project, an assessment of results and achievements of
community based approach was planned. Accordingly, a scientific sociological research was
conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on request of CBA Project during
June – October 2010. The study used quantitative as well as qualitative indicators relevant for
measuring effectiveness of UNDP projects related with community based approach e.g.
establishing partnership with oblast/rayon/local authorities, creation of support structures,
implementation of micro-projects, trust among community members, trust to local authorities,
social cohesion and general efficiency of CBA methodology. The study used stratified sampling
for geographical coverage across Ukraine and drew sample from community, local authorities,
regional authorities, project staffs pertaining to four projects of UNDP related with community
based approach namely CIDP, CRDP, MGSDP and CBA. Analytical report of this study is available
at http://cba.org.ua/ua/library/documents by the title ‘Local Development with Community
Participation’. It includes information, conclusions and recommendations common to these four
projects.
This publication is a consolidated report taken out of KIIS study pertaining to CBA Project only. It
is based both on data collected by monitoring department of CBA Project2
, and results of
sociological research conducted by KIIS. Each section and sub-section includes data from both
sources. In cases where statistical data collected by CBA Project is absent, only results of
sociological research are used. General logic and conceptual scheme of this report is follows the
structure and conceptual framework of sociological research of KIIS.
II. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of methodology utilized by CBA Project
to achieve its objective of improving living condition of target population, participatory
governance and creating environment for sustainable local development.
Key tasks of the research were:
(a) to assess the impact on:
o community participation;
o local self-governance;
o creating conditions for service delivery in the sectors supported by the Project;
2
Statistical data were collected regularly by the Project during 3.5 years of its implementation. This information was tabulated, analyzed and
disseminated in form of progress reports. Quarterly and annual progress reports of the Project can be found at CBA web-site:
http://cba.org.ua/one/en/library/project-reports.
7. 4
o changes in community members quality of life;
and,
(b) to identify factors of success and to develop recommendations for further improvement.
III. METHODLOGY OF SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY
Three methods were used to evaluate the methodology of community based approach:
• focus group discussions (allows revealing spectrum of possible opinions and getting
detailed answers from local/regional authorities and other local stakeholders),
• survey of regional experts (allows revealing opinion of rayon and oblast focal persons,
and community development officers of CBA in the oblasts),
• survey of community members (from target as well as controlled communities)
In order to achieve aforementioned tasks, eight focus group discussions3
, 150 structural
interviews with regional experts and survey with 421 community members (213 respondents
from pilot communities and 208 from non-pilot).
Key areas of assessment include:
• Efficiency of CBA methodology
• Impact on service delivery
• Influence on quality of life of target population
The data were analysed using statistical tools involving tabular analysis and t-test to derive
reliable inferences. Factors that contributed to the results of assessment were identified and
necessary recommendations were made for management and policy makers.
IV. FINDINGS
4.1 Assessment of Efficiency of the Community Based Approach Methodology
Efficiency of the community based approach methodology used by CBA Project was assessed
through such indicators as level of participation, involvement of CO-members in decision-
making, joint priority definition, co-financing in community initiatives, relevance of support
structures, level of transparency of action, accessibility of services, bottom-up planning, access
to information, participation of private sector and citizen-authorities relationship. Details on
each of these indicators are given hereunder.
Community based approach methodology assumes active participation of community members
in the processes of local development. Even though it is desirable to involve 100% of the target
households into community organizations, CBA methodology considered 80% of target
household participation in the community organisation as a bottom line for full participation.
Due to various reasons, 100% household participation throughout the country could not be
expected or it would be rather impossible in practice. Therefore, this level was set for any
event/process to take place in course of CBA implementation.
4.1.1. Level of Participation in Community Organisation
A total of 1145 communities across the country, participated in CBA Project. Of 420`357 target
households, 78.8% got organized into 1149 community organizations (Annex - I). Region-wise
participation of households shows that in majority of the oblasts, participation level was 80% or
3
25 regions of Ukraine were grouped in 8 clusters basing on expert opinion of community development specialists of CBA Project about similarities
in the processes of Project implementation.
8. 5
more (Table – I). Lower participation was noticed in the areas where the target community was
very large to accommodate the nature of service (such as public health, street lighting) desired
by the community or households scattered over large area. In such a case, full participation of
entire target households was not possible.
Table – I: Participation of Target Households in CO
Participation Range % # of Region % of Regions
> 90 - 100 5 20
> 80 - 90 10 40
> 70 - 80 5 20
> 60 - 70 4 16
> 50 - 60 1 4
Source: CBA Annual Report 2010
4.1.2 CO Members’ Involvement in the Decision-making
Taking active part in the decision-making processes is a necessary element of direct participation
of the citizens in local development. There must be no discrimination either on prosperity of a
household or gender of a participant. It is also assumed that community organization members
participate in general meetings, and are aware about their CO activities.
Statistical data collected by monitoring department of CBA Project show that 1149 COs were
formed by 418,739 persons, representing 331,442 households. Of them, 58% were female and
42% were male. Participation of female (60.3%) was also found to be higher in the management
team of pilot COs.
Table – II: CO Formation and Membership
Households CO members
No of formed
CO
No of target
households
% of households
participants
Total Male Female
1149 331442 78.8% 418739 168731(42%) 242678 (58%)
According to the results of KIIS sociological survey, the level of participation of CO-members in
general CO-meetings and in decision-making processes was quite a high: 94% and 89%
respectively. Even though not all CO members took part in the decision-making, high
percentage (92%) of them were informed about decisions taken (Chart - I).
Chart –I: Participation in Decision-making Activity, N=212
94%
89%
92%
Participation in general
meeting at least once
Participation in decision-
making
Being informed about taken
decision
86% 88% 90% 92% 94% 96%
9. 6
Despite visible female domination in COs, no statistically significant difference was stated
between male and female as regards to their participation in general meetings and decision-
making processes.
4.1.3 Setting Priorities for Local Development
Community based approach methodology assumes that the set of community problems must
be defined and ranked by community members in common. Common problems are the ones
which are perceived by more than 80% of the households/apartments. At general meeting CO
members define a set of local problems to be solved. Out of defined problems, one problem is
prioritized to be solved in cooperation with CBA Project. To ensure the real reflection of citizens’
opinion, this process must be also free from local authorities’ influence.
As per the sociological survey, the majority of respondents pointed out that prioritization of
defined problems was based mostly on community members’ opinion (60%). At the same time,
27% of interviewed CO-members believed that local authority representatives did have some
influence on the process (Chart - II).
Chart – II: Influence on Problems’ Prioritization
A statistically significant correlation was found between general awareness about CO’s activities
and the conviction in the independent of authorities priority-setting4
. The more respondent was
informed about activity of his/her CO, the more he/she was inclined to believe in crucial role of
community in problem prioritization.
4.1.4 Effectiveness of Co-Financing Scheme
According to CBA methodology suggested scheme of micro-project co-financing is as follows:
50% of to be provided by CBA Project, 45% from the local budget of various levels, and 5% to be
contributed by CO-members. In fact, the COs contributed more than required, while Project’s
input turned out to be slightly lower than expected. By end of Project, the cost sharing
distribution was as follows: COs invested 7.2%, local budget – 45%, CBA – 46.5%, and private
sector contributed 1.3% of the total micro-project cost.
KIIS sociological research shows that, in general, existing co-financing scheme is estimated as
successful and efficient. This statement is based on the results of focus-group discussions and
interviews with regional experts. It became apparent that the main advantage of the scheme is
in synergy effect, when all participants get results which they would not get acting separately.
Chart - III presents percentage distributions of opinion of CO-functional group members and
regional experts on this topic.
4
Coefficient of correlations is -0.307 (p<0.05)
Mostly
opinion of
CO members
60%
CO members'
opinion and
authority
representativ
es opinion
equally
27%
Mostly
opinion of
authority
representativ
es
4%
Hard to say
9%
10. 7
Chart –III: Assessment of Co-Financing Scheme by
Regional Experts and CO-Functional Groups, %
As data show, 80% of regional experts consider existing co-financing scheme as very or mostly
effective, and only 3% assessed it as mostly ineffective. Functional group members are even
more optimistic: 98% of them consider the scheme as very or mostly effective.
Nonetheless, some regional experts pointed out the following difficulties related to existing co-
financial scheme: collecting community contribution, search for external additional financing,
and delay with provision of budget part of cost-sharing, especially due to lack of resources in
local budget. Therefore, they proposed to increase Project’s share in co-financing projects.
According to community members’ survey, 36% of interviewed CO-members reported about
occasional contribution of more than required cost-sharing for the micro-project. Morstly, the
prosperous households tended to contribute more than it was required than poorer ones.
Survey of regional experts confirms this data: 78.7% of interviewed experts are aware about the
cases of extra contribution.
At the same time, non-financial contribution (volunteer work) was more widespread than
additional financial investment: 82% of interviewed CO members reported about volunteering
for some work related with community initiatives (Chart - IV).
Chart –IV: Additional Contribution of CO Members
to Micro-projects’ Implementation, N=212
Focus-group discussions also revealed that additional non-financial contribution was useful not
only in terms of the work performed, but also because of its positive influence on the social
cohesiveness and increasing trust within the community.
37%
43%
17%
3%
57%
41%
3%
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Very
effective
Mostly
effective
Equally
effective and
ineffective
Mostly
ineffective
Regional experts,
N=150
CO functional
group, N=37
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Additional financial
contribution
Additional non-
financial contribution
(voluntary work)
36%
82%
11. 8
4.1.5 Relevance of Established Support Structures
Community organizations (CO), formed by the target communities, rayon level local
development forum (LDF), oblast level oblast coordination council (OCC) and community
resource centres (at rayon & oblast level) are the key support structures that significantly
contribute to the participatory decision making, bottom-up planning process and resource
mobilization for micro-projects.
Community organization (COs) are the most vital element of the community based approach
methodology. CO is an organization of citizens living on the same territory and experiencing
common problems of local development. It is a self-governed and self-managed organization
led by a team of trusted activists. It functions with high level of participation of households, high
degree of transparency and mutual cooperation. It represents citizens’ view in local
development forums and dialogues held with the authorities on local development.
Local development forum (LDF) is established in each partner rayon, by the decree of rayon state
administration. The main function of LDF is to facilitate dialogue, coordination, planning and
decision-making at local level between the oblast and rayon authorities and communities. At
LDF sittings local development issues such as mainstreaming of community plans, mobilizing
resources for implementation of community priorities, providing guidance and technical
support to the COs during community micro-project implementation are discussed.
Oblast Coordination Council (OCC)5
is usually chaired by a deputy head of oblast state
administration or oblast council and includes representatives of the local development forums
in the region, relevant departments of OSA, selected VCs/CCs, COs, NGOs, and business sector.
An OCC coordinates project financing, ensures proper awareness of regional and local
governments, carries out joint monitoring of CBA implementation in the oblast and provides
strategic advice on implementation and solves local policy issues.
In each oblast and pilot rayon, a resource centre is created in order to facilitate implementation
of Project activities.
CBA targeted the establishment of 1000 COs, 200 LDFs and 24 OCCs (+ republican coordination
council in ARC). Similarly, 23 oblast level resource centres (except in Kyiv and ARC) and 200 rayon
level resource centres were expected to be established. During the period of CBA activity, 1149
COs were formed, 23 oblast resource centers and 176 rayon resource centers were created
(Annex – I and Annex II).
According to the results of sociological research, the support structures created by CBA are
considered as effective and useful both for community members and for local authority. As focus
group discussions revealed, the support structures are especially useful for: community
mobilization, human resource development, and improvement of cooperation between citizens
and authority. For the local authorities it became easier to work with developed and
experienced communities which implemented at least one micro-project.
Results of regional experts’ survey show that local development forums got the highest score in
terms of overall effectiveness (very effective and rather effective) followed by community
organisation, oblast coordination council, oblast resource centre and rayon resource centre. In
general, no less than 80% of interviewed experts considered CBA support structures as very or
rather effective (Table – III).
5
Termed as Republican Coordination Council in case of ARC
12. 9
Table –III: Effectiveness of Support Structures in Opinion of Regional Experts, N=150, %
Very
effective
Rather
effective
Equally effective
and ineffective
Rather
ineffective
Ineffective
Hard to
say
Community organizations 46.7 42.7 9.3 0.7 0.0 0.7
Rayon resource centers 40.3 40.3 11.4 2.0 0.0 6.0
Oblast resource centers 54.7 29.3 6.7 3.3 0.7 5.3
Local development
forums
50.0 42.7 4.7 0.7 0.0 2.0
Oblast coordination
councils
48.7 38.7 5.3 3.3 0.0 4.0
At the same time, community members consider community organizations as the most efficient
structure (94%), followed by LDF (93%), and OCC (85%) (Chart - V)
Chart – V: Effectiveness of Support Structures for Cooperation
Between Communities and Local Authorities, Regional Experts, N=150
4.1.6 Potential Sustainability of Support Structures
Created support structures are supposed to be sustainable and continue to function after
termination of CBA.
Regional experts were found to be quite optimistic regarding sustainability of created structures.
As Table - IV shows, the majority of experts evaluated sustainability of created structures as very
or rather probable. COs got the highest probability rate (85%) from them for continuation
followed by rayon resource centers (82.4%), oblast coordination councils (79.9%), and almost the
same rate for oblast resource centers and local development forums (76%). At the same time,
some experts expressed doubts regarding sustainability of these structures (from 2% to 9.3% for
different structures).
Table – IV: Probability of Created Supporting Structures Existence after CBA Termination, %
Very
probable
Rather
probable
50x50
Rather
improbable
Absolutely
improbable
Hard to
say
Community
organizations (N=150)
52.0 33.3 11.3 0.7 0.7 2.0
Rayon resource
centers (N=148)
40.5 41.9 7.4 2.7 1.4 6.1
Oblast resource
centers (N=150)
32.0 44.7 10.0 2.7 1.3 9.3
Local development
forums (N=149)
25.5 51.0 10.1 4.7 0.7 8.1
Oblast coordination
councils (N=149)
25.5 54.4 7.4 4.7 3.4 4.7
42%
51%
4%
1% 2%
40%
45%
9%
1% 4%
59%
35%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Very
effective
Mostly
effective
Equally
effective
and
ineffective
Mostly
ineffective
Hard to say
LDF
OCC
CO
13. 10
The research also revealed quite a high level of willingness among regional experts to support
created structures, especially the community organisations, after CBA Project terminates – 92%
of experts think they will be able to support community organizations further on (Chart-VI).
Chart –VI: Willingness of Regional Experts to Support
COs after CBA Termination, N=150, %
4.1.7 Use of Support Structures Beyond CBA Project
Methodology of community based approach assumes that created support structures will
contribute to local development processes beyond CBA Project. Among created support
structures, local development forums, and community organizations were found to be active
beyond CBA Project. It includes COs and LDFs acting together to attract non-CBA resources to
undertake additional community initiatives. Replication of CBA methodology in non-CBA
territories is also ongoing.
Data collected by monitoring department of CBA show that COs started to implement other
initiatives, in parallel or after implementation of micro-project under CBA’s support. During 3.5
years of CBA implementation, 235 pilot COs applied to various funding agencies and competed
for financing/co-financing of their initiatives. 159 of them (i.e. 67.7%) won grants (see Table - V).
High success rate was attributed to the skill and confidence of CBA/COs in preparing quality
proposal and in convincing the potential donors that they are capable of implementing a micro-
project with high degree of quality, timely completion, time reporting and with additional
resource mobilisation from community members and other potential sponsors at local level.
Table – V: Activity of Pilot CBA COs Beyond CBA
Activity Number
No. Pilot COs applied for grants to other donors 235
No. Pilot COs received grants 159
Survey of community members conducted by KIIS confirms quite a high level of COs’ activity
beyond participation in CBA Project. Of 35 CO functional group members interviewed, 62.8%
reported about having applied for other grants after/in parallel with cooperation with CBA
Project. All of them successfully received financial support for their initiatives.
Data collected by CBA monitoring department also show that non-pilot rayons and communities
take interest in methodology of community based approach. During 3.5 years of CBA-I, 171 COs
55%
37%
5% 1% 2%
Very probable
Mostly probable
Equally probable and
improbable
Mostly improbable
Hard to say
14. 11
were formed following examples of pilot COs; of them 108 were registered as legal entities.
Survey of regional experts confirms cases of replication of CBA methodology. According to the
survey results, 77% of experts reported cases they know when citizens of non-pilot communities
created COs following CBA scheme; 71% of experts mentioned cases when non-pilot
communities used village, rayon or oblast resource centers for assistance (Chart - VII).
Chart –VII: CBA Methodology Replication and Use of
Resource Centre, % of Regional Experts
4.1.8 Human Resource Development
Enhancing relevant professional skills and knowledge of community organizations and local
authorities was one of the main tasks of CBA Project. Human capacity building involved such
activities as training, exposure visit, dialogues and various other forms of techniques pertaining
to skill enhancement/knowledge transfer. During 3.5 years, CBA Project conducted 1776
trainings with 37,262 participants (including 29560 CO members and 7702 representatives of
local authorities).Trainings included modules on CO management, planning, project proposal
preparation, micro-project implementation, object’s handover, public audit, sustainability and
others (Annex - III).
In the interviews, regional experts indicated the increased level of their professional skills.
Participating in the work on micro-project’s implementation provided them with practical skills
of working with community organizations, and increased their knowledge on local governance.
According to the survey results, 97% of interviewed experts reported increased level of their
knowledge of self-government processes during last several years. Simultaneously, 72% of
experts pointed out the significant increase in their skills in cooperation with communities
(Table - VI).
Table –VI: Changes in Professional Skills, Regional Experts, N=150, %
Significantly
increased
Rather
increased
Did not
change
Rather
decreased
Knowledge of self-
government processes
58.0 39.3 2.7 0.0
Skills in cooperation
with communities
72.0 26.7 0.7 0.7
Statistically significant correlation between the age and the amount of obtained skills was found.
Improvement in the skill of younger official to work with communities over years was likely to be
higher than the older officials6
. Besides, it was found that changes in the level of knowledge on
6
Correlation coefficient Kendal tau-b is 0.157, p<0.05
71%
77%
66% 68% 70% 72% 74% 76% 78%
Citizens of non-pilot communities
use village, rayon, oblast resource
centers
Citizens of non-pilot communities
create COs following CBA schema
15. 12
processes of local self-government are correlated with skills in cooperation with communities.
The highest the level of first, the better is second7
.
4.1.9 Level of Transparency of Support Structures
Transparency is one of the key tenets of the community based approach. While contributing
money for micro-project, community members need to be sure that this money will be used in a
proper way. To be able to collect financial fees for community’s part of co-financing, community
members have to trust their CO and its management team. To achieve this, CO’s activity must be
as transparent and accountable as possible.
As focus group participants reported, information about procedure of micro-project
implementation and finance expenditures of the CO was easily available at the COs. Information
boards were created and newsletters were published to spread information about the process of
MP’s implementation.
Statistical data from community members’ survey confirm the high level of transparency of and
availability of information about COs’ activities. Only 0.5% to 6.6% of interviewed CO-members
mentioned that they were not aware about their CO’s activity, while from 53% to 90% reported
to be well informed. The average level of awareness about CO’s activities is 4.1 (scale is “1”–
absolutely unaware, and “5” - fully aware). However, the level of awareness varied depending on
the type of activity. Chart - VIII presents distribution of simple mean for each of the six types of
CO activities.
Chart –VIII: Level of Awareness About CO’s Activity, Simple Mean, N=212
As Chart - VIII shows, the awareness about public audit and conducting tenders is significantly
lower comparing with awareness about decision-making, problem prioritizing, performing
works on project sites (sig. p<0.01), reporting and resource use (sig. p<0.05). Relatively low level
of awareness about tenders can be explained by the fact that it is mostly representatives of
functional group who deal with these issues, while ordinary CO members usually do not
participate in these processes. At the same time, it is expected that all or the majority of CO
members should participate in public audit. Therefore, relatively low value of the index means
that more attention must be paid to the issue of organizing public audits.
7
Correlation coefficient Kendal tau-b is 0.550, p<0.01
4,5
4,2
4,0
3,8
4,3
3,7
0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0
Decision-making
Problem prioritizing
Reporting and resource use
Conducting tenders
Doing work at objects
Public audit
16. 13
Significant difference is apparent between the CO members and functional group
representatives on the awareness issue (p<0.01): on average, functional group representatives
are much more informed. This can be explained by their direct and continuous involvement all
the processes within CO (see Chart - IX).
Chart –IX: Awareness about CO Activity among CO Members
and CO Management Team Representatives, Simple Mean
Because of a small sample, no statistically significant difference was found between the levels of
awareness of management group representatives of different types of CO activities among
functional group representatives.
4.1.10 Accessibility of Services among Target Group Population
CBA assumes equal access to services created within imported the framework of CBA Project. As
survey results revealed, almost all respondents reported about the fulfillment of this
requirement (e.g. it was confirmed by 92% of interviewed CO-members). It was not possible to
find out whether those who gave negative answers was actually due to existing problem of
service inaccessibility or they believed so because different services designed for special groups
(for example, school and school bus for children) were not available to them.
Chart –X: Accessibility of Services, N=213
4,1
4,5
3,9
4,0
4,1
4,2
4,3
4,4
4,5
4,6
All CO members, N=212 Functional group members, N=43
92%
8%
Yes
No
17. 14
4.1.11 Bottom-up Planning
Methodology of CBA presupposes that citizens are actively involved into the process of
participatory planning. The plans prepared through people’s participation are appreciated at all
levels and by support agencies. The plans which are initiated directly by citizens carry more
value than the ones prepared by someone on people’s behalf. This statement is based on
assumption that the community members are better aware about the problems in their
communities and the degree of their importance.
Bottom-up planning includes several stages. At first stage, needs of the local community are
collected, debated and finalized at CO level. This is followed by approval of CO plans at
village/city council level. All plans from pilot village/city councils are collected and discussed at
sittings of rayon local development forum, and then incorporated into the social and economic
development plan of the rayon. In its turn, rayon plans of socio-economic development
incorporated into the oblast level program of social and economic development. During 3,5
years of CBA Project activity, all pilot COs prepared their community development plans that
were approved at LDF sittings8
.
As focus group discussions revealed, CO-members are convinced in the use and effectiveness of
the bottom-up planning. This mechanism allows attracting attention of local authorities to
urgent problems in communities. Besides, the respondents also mentioned that the plans were
not only formally included into rayon development plans, but also implemented. As a rule,
inclusion of community development plans into rayon plans increases the probability of
receiving financial resources for solving local problems.
Regional experts in interviews reported about the cases of inclusion of priorities of community
development into rayon/oblast programs of strategic development. This statement is also
supported by the statistical data.
Chart –XI: Inclusion of Community Development Priorities into Rayon Development Plans
% of Regional Experts, N=150
8
There are several cased when COs united in one umbrella organization and worked out a common community
development plan.
Fully included
43%
Rather included
37%
Partially
included
19%
Rather not
included
1%
18. 15
As data show, 80% of experts consider community development priorities to be fully or rather
included into rayon development plans. At the same time, 76% of respondents reported about
partial or full implementation of the included priorities (Chart - XII).
Chart –XII: Level of Community Priorities’ Realization within Frameworks
of Rayon Plans, Regional Experts, %
4.1.12 Access to Information about Local Authorities’ Activities
One of the goals of CBA is to improve communication between the community members and
local authorities. Access to information about authorities’ activities is an important part of this
task.
Participants of focus group discussions pointed out that cooperation with communities
motivated authorities to disseminate information about their activities. Several ways of
information dissemination were pointed out including: informational boards, mass-media, direct
communication with community members.
As mentioned by the regional experts, direct communication with community members
(participation in LDF sittings, conferences, micro-project inaugurations), and their involvement
into processes of planning and micro-projects’ implementation considerably contributed to the
improvement of communication processes. As figures in Table –VI show, the majority of regional
experts think that access to information about local authorities’ activities significantly or rather
increased during the last several years. Dissemination of information increased through various
public events with mass media participation (confirmed by 94.7% of experts) followed by
information boards (89% reported about this) and increased role of resource centers (83.8%).
Though rayon community resource center is a newly created structure within CBA Project, they
already acquired such a high level of positive assessment confirming the high level of their
effectiveness and importance.
Table –VII: Changes in Information Dissemination About Local Authority’s Activity, N=43, %
Significantly
increased
Rather
increased
Did not
change
Rather
decreased
Significantly
decreased
Hard to
say
Information boards 41.3 47.3 10.7 0.0 0.0 0.7
Press-conferences,
mass media
48.0 46.7 5.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
Resource centers 43.9 39.9 9.5 0.0 0.7 6.1
36%
40%
24%
1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Fully realized Rather realized Partially realized Rather unrealized
19. 16
In order to distinguish CBA contribution to changes in access to information, a comparison was
made between the target group (pilot CBA communities) and the control group (non-pilot
communities). Chart - XIII demonstrates distribution of answers of respondents from the target
and control groups.
Chart –XIII: Changes in Access to Information about Local Authority’s Activity, %
The majority of respondents from the target group (62%) observed an increased communication
from the authorities, while the trend at the control group is to consider that communication did
not change or decreased (47% and 26% respectively)9
. Statistically significant difference allows
making a conclusion about significant contribution of CBA Project into positive changes in
access to information about local authorities’ activity in pilot communities.
4.1.13 Involvement of Private Sector
Originally, private sector was not included into the mandatory co-financing scheme of CBA
Project. However, according to the statistical data of CBA monitoring department,1.3% of total
projects cost was financed by local business. Interviews with selected entrepreneurs revealed
their intention to invest money into communities’ initiatives. Among the various reasons
motivating entrepreneurs contributing into micro-projects are: desire to help their fellow
citizens, support development of a given settlement and prevent re-settlement of potential
employees, and even the desire to support village council head. Therefore, ensuring active role
of private sector in the local development processes is worth considering.
4.1.14 Impact on Citizens –Authority Relation
Implementation of micro-projects requires strong cooperation between citizens and local
authorities. CBA methodology presupposes that joint work on micro projects strengthens
authorities relationship. This subject was assessed from following perspectives:
Dialogues and cooperation
Regional experts reported about the positive changes in citizens – authorities relations during
the last years. Focus group participants pointed out several issues crucial for successful citizens –
authorities relations e.g. openness for dialogue, mutual trust (successful experience of mutual
cooperation contributes a lot to this), and willingness of local authorities to take into
9
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.01
62%
27%
5%
7%
21%
47%
26%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Very or rather
increased
Did not
change
Very or rather
decreased
Hard to say
Target group, N=213
Control group, N=207
20. 17
consideration the community development priorities. Table - VIII presents the spectrum and
distribution of regional experts’ answers.
Table –VIII: Change in Citizen – Authorities Relation
(Regional experts, N=150), %
Significantly
increased
Rather
increased
Did not
change
Rather
decreased
Significantly
decreased
Hart to
say
Openness for
dialogue
42.0 48.0 8.0 0.7 0.0 1.3
Readiness to take into
account citizens’
opinion and interests
34.7 57.3 5.3 0.7 0.0 2.0
Citizens – authority
cooperation
53.3 41.3 4.7 0.7 0.0 0.0
Effectiveness of local
authority’s activity
28.2 59.7 9.4 0.7 0.0 2.0
As data indicates (Table - VIII), citizens–authorities cooperation changed the most as reported by
94.6% of regional experts. It is followed by authority’s readiness to take into consideration
citizens’ interests (92%) and openness for dialogue (90%). Effectiveness of local authority’s
activity changed relatively the least – 87.9% of experts mentioned about this.
The sociological study confirmed the significant improvement in citizens’ – authorities
cooperation (53%) and the significant improvement in readiness to take into consideration
citizens’ opinions and interests (34.7%), increased openness for dialogue (42%) and an estimated
improvement in the efficiency of local authority (28.2%).
Despite quite positive assessment of citizens–authority relationship from the side of regional
experts, the opinion of community members somewhat differs. Survey of CO members show
that community members are more cautious in their assessment - 58% of interviewed
respondents are convinced that local authority became significantly or rather ready to take into
account citizens’ opinion and interests, while 92% of regional experts are convinced in this
(Chart - XIV ).
Chart –XIV: Readiness to Take into Account Citizens’ Opinion and Interests
(CO-members, N= 213 and Regional Experts, N=150)
57,5%
28,8%
8,0% 5,7%
92,0%
5,3%
0,7% 2,0%
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
70,0%
80,0%
90,0%
100,0%
Significantly
or rather
increased
Did not
change
Significantly
or rather
decreased
Hard to say
CO members
Regional Experts
21. 18
Comparison between response of target group and control group (non-pilot communities)
revealed significant difference in assessment of changes in citizen–authority relation during
previous years. Table - IX presents distribution of assessment of changes in authority and citizens
relations.
Table –IX: Change in Relation between Citizens and Local Authorities
(NTG = 213, NCG = 208), %
Significantly or
rather increased
Did not change
Significantly or
rather decreased
Hart to say
Target
group
Control
group
Target
group
Control
group
Target
group
Control
group
Target
group
Control
group
Openness for
dialogue
58% 28% 29% 40% 8% 25% 5% 6%
Readiness to take into
account citizens’
opinion and interests
58% 23% 29% 40% 8% 31% 6% 6%
Citizens – authority
cooperation
65% 20% 23% 45% 5% 26% 7% 9%
Effectiveness of local
authority’s activity
58% 21% 27% 45% 9% 27% 6% 7%
As data in Table-VIII show, pilot community members reported about significantly or rather
increased willingness of authority to have a dialogue with citizens (58%), while only 28% citizens
of non-pilot communities were convinced on this. Contrary to this, citizens of non-pilot
communities believed that relations became worse in this realm (25% of respondents
mentioned this). Members of pilot communities significantly more often than citizens of non-
pilot communities, pointed out that authority became more willing to take into consideration
community’s interests (58% and 23% respectively10
). Improvement in cooperation with authority
was reported by 65% of pilot community members contrary to 20% of those from non-pilot
communities.
No statistically significant difference was found in assessment of various issues of citizens-
authorities relations within each group.
Trust toward Local Authority
Attitude of citizens towards authority representatives is a complex issue. However, one of the
best indicators of this attitude that can be measured is the level of trust. Survey of community
members and control groups included two questions regarding their trust to local and state
authorities. A scale from 0 (total distrust) to 10 (total trust) was used.
As presented in Chart –XV, in both groups level of trust to local authority is higher than to state
authority. However, in the target group this index is higher than in control one: 5 and 4.1
respectively.
10
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.05
22. 19
Chart –XV: Level of Trust of Citizens to Local and State Authority
Another indicator of change is the subjective assessment of trust dynamic. As it is shown on
Chart –XVI, citizens of pilot communities (target group) reported about significant or rather
increased level of their trust to local authorities during last years, than respondents from non-
pilot communities (control group) – who mostly indicated that trust level either did not change
or decreased.
Chart –XVI: Level of Trust of Citizens to Local Authority During Last Year, %
To some extent, confidence in communicating with authority representatives can be also an
indicator of changes relations with authorities. Among members of CO-management team, 76%
pointed out that they feel very or rather confident while communicating with local authority
representatives, and 12% feel very or rather unconfident (Chart - XVII).
7,0 (N=204)
5,3 (N=201)
5,0 (N=197)
4,1 (N=189)
0,0
1,0
2,0
3,0
4,0
5,0
6,0
7,0
8,0
Trust to local authority Trust to state authority
Target group
Control group
50%
33%
12%
5%
23%
40%
31%
5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Significantly or
rather
increased
Did not
change
Sirgnificantly
or rather
decreased
Hard to say
Target group
Control group
23. 20
Chart –XVII: Level of Confidence in Communication with
Authority Representatives, CO-MT, N=42
Cooperation between Citizens and Authorities
Survey results demonstrate a tendency to strengthening of relations between citizens and
authorities through in cooperation in CBA Project. This was especially evident upon comparison
of perceptions by the pilot and non-pilot communities (Chart-XVIII).
Chart –XVIII: Cooperation between Citizens and Authorities,
Target Group N=213, Control Group N=207
Respondents from the target group assessed the quality of cooperation as significantly or rather
improved – (65%). At the same time, respondents from the control group demonstrated the
reverse tendency: only 20% of them thought that positive changes happened in this realm
during last years, while the majority of them (45%) believed that nothing had changed.
Citizens’ Satisfaction of Authorities’ Work
Generally, 57% of respondents from the target group indicated the increased effectiveness of
local authority’s activity during the last years, and only 9% reported about the opposite. At the
same time, the majority of respondents from control group demonstrated an opposite trend
Very or rather
confident
76%
Equally
confident and
not
12%
Very or rather
unconfident
12%
65%
23%
3%
8%
20%
45%
27%
9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Significantly
or rather
increased
Did not
change
Sirgnificantly
or rather
decreased
Hard to say
Target group
Control group
24. 21
Chart –XIX: Effectiveness of Local Authority’s Activity,
Target group N=213, Control Group N=206
Despite the generally critical attitude towards authorities’ activities, members of pilot
communities are significantly more inclined to assess authority’s activity positively than those
from the control group. The level of general satisfaction in the target group is 3,8, while in
control group 3,211
(1 – fully unsatisfied, 5 – fully satisfied).
Chart –XX: Level of Satisfaction with Local Authority’s Activity, Simple Mean
11
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.05
57%
27%
9%
6%
21%
45%
27%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Significantly
or rather
increased
Did not
change
Sirgnificantly
or rather
decreased
Hard to say
Target group
Control group
3,8
3,2
2,8 3,0 3,2 3,4 3,6 3,8 4,0
Target group
Control group
25. 22
4.2 Impact on Service Delivery
Improving living conditions through rehabilitation/creation of communal infrastructures was
among tasks of CBA Project. The Project supported micro-projects in five spheres: energy saving,
health care, water supply, school transportation and environment. Distribution of 1303
implemented micro-projects within these priorities was as follows: 59% was devoted to energy
saving, 21% to health care, 15% to water supply, 4% to school transportation, and the least
numerous is environmental sphere – 1%. Detailed information about oblast wise distribution of
micro-projects by types is given in Annex - IV
4.2.1 Cost of Service Creation or Rehabilitation
Very often rehabilitation/creation of communal/social infrastructures undertaken by pilot
communities was found to be cost effective. Participants of the focus group opined that this was
possible because citizens worked for themselves, they seek to utilize the available funds as
effectively as possible, they find the optimal cost-quality correlation, and perform part of work
voluntary and free of charge.
4.2.2 Cost of Service Delivery
Implemented micro-projects were supposed to decrease the cost of public utilities, and to
improve conditions of service provision. Focus group discussions revealed that all participants
(both community members and local authority representatives) are confident that implemented
micro-projects allow decreasing public utility costs. Regional experts were more specific and
marked out positive effect of implemented micro-projects in terms of:
• Possibility to get services in their own village/town and do not spend money and time to
travel to other settlements;
• Possibility to choose and control the service provider;
• Creating conditions to get favorable or free of charge facilities.
Further detail assessment on service delivery was made in terms of the following:
4.2.3 Quality of Service Delivery
According to the results of focus group discussions, general increase of service quality was
obvious.
To trace the influence of CBA Project on changes in quality of provided services, three groups
were compared: 1) pilot communities with certain projects (energy saving, water supply etc.), 2)
control group, 3) control group and target group that implemented other than in group 1
project.
Energy saving
It refers to creation/rehabilitation of infrastructures so as to allow for the decrease of energy
consumption. Survey of community members included questions about changes in quality of
heating and street lighting. More than 70% of respondents who benefited from energy saving
projects in their communities reported about increasing quality of heating and street lighting
(76.8% and 79.7% respectively). Response from control group and target group without energy-
saving project is 45%-46% for quality of heating and 27% - 28% for quality of street lighting
(Table – X). The difference was found to be significant12
.
12
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.01
26. 23
Table –X: Subjective Assessment of Changes in Service Quality in the Sphere of Energy Saving, %
1. Target group with
energy saving
project, N=155,
N=123
2. Control group
N=132, N=172
3. All respondents
without energy
saving projects,
N=228, N=151
Heating (school,
kindergarten,
ambulance
building)
Quality increased 76,8% 45,3% 46,9%
No changes in quality 16,8% 39,5% 32,5%
Quality decreased 4,5% 8,1% 10,5%
Hard to say 1,9% 7,0% 10,1%
Street lighting Quality increased 79,7% 28,8% 27,2%
No changes in quality 15,4% 34,8% 33,8%
Quality decreased 4,9% 35,6% 38,4%
Hard to say 0,0% 0,8% 0,7%
Water supply
Out of 1303 micro-projects implemented by communities in cooperation with CBA 14.4% were
devoted to water supply. According to survey results, 86.5% of respondents from communities
that implemented projects on water supply positively assessed changes in quality of water
supply (Table - XI ).
Table –XI: Subjective Assessment of Changes in Service Quality in the Sphere of Water Supply, %
1. Target group with
water supply project, N=
89
2. Control group, N=130 3. All respondents without
water supply projects, N=
209
Quality increased 86.5% 48.5% 46.4%
No changes in quality 10.1% 39.2% 42.6%
Quality decreased 3.4% 9.2% 8.1%
Hard to say 0.0% 3.1% 2.9%
As reflected in the above table, respondents from the target group almost twice as more
positively assessed the changes in quality of water supply (86.5% versus 48.5% respectively)13
.
No statistically significant difference was found between the control group and the group of all
respondents without water supply projects.
School transportation
4.5% of 1303 implemented CBA micro-project were devoted to school transportation. In Table -
XII subjective assessments of changes in the realm of school transportation are presented.
Table –XII: Subjective Assessment of Changes in Service Quality in the Sphere of School
Transportation, %
1. Target group with
projects on school
transportation, N=34
2.Control group, N=136 3.All respondents without
school transportation
projects, N=245
Quality increased 91.2% 53.7% 60.0%
No changes in quality 8.8% 22.8% 23.3%
Quality decreased 0.0% 11.0% 6.1%
Hard to say 0.0% 12.5% 10.6%
Most (91,2%) of the respondents reported about the increased quality in school transportation.
Probably, since it is quite easy to assess changes in the realm of school transportation (there was
13
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.01
27. 24
no school bus before micro-project was implemented, and now community has it), the
distribution of response is quite simple.
Because of small sample size (of target group), significance in difference between the target
group and two others could not be estimated. No statistically significant difference was stated
between two other groups.
Environmental protection
The least number of micro-projects were devoted to environmental protection sphere (0,9% of
1303 implemented micro-projects). These micro-projects mostly concerned reorganization of
landfill and improvement of waste collection.
Of 23 respondents mentioned that they had an environmental project in their communities.
Among them, 87% mentioned that quality services provision increased, and 13% said no
changes happened (Table - XIII).
Table –XIII: Subjective Assessment of Changes in Service Quality in the Sphere of Environmental
Preservation, %
1. Target group with
projects on environmental
preservation, N=23
2.Control group N= 100 3.All respondents without
environmental projects,
N=167
Quality increased 87.0% 30.0% 44.3%
No changes in quality 13.0% 48.0% 41.3%
Quality decreased 0.0% 21.0% 13.2%
Hard to say 0.0% 1.0% 1.2%
Statistically significant difference was noted between the second and third groups – 30% in
control group and 44,3% in group where environmental project was not implemented (control
group plus a part of the target group without environmental projects). This difference could
probably be explained with assumption that implementing any micro-project within
cooperation with CBA, community members start to change their mindset, and become active
enough to start implementing other initiatives.
Health care
Within CBA Project, 21.1% of micro-projects were implemented in the sphere improvement of
health care. This type of the projects included renovation of health posts and medical
equipment purchase. Among 44 persons who reported that they had this kind of micro-projects
in their communities, 70.5% confirmed the positive changes in quality of services provision, and
22.7% pointed out no changes (Table - XIV).
Table –XIV: Subjective Assessment of Changes in Service Quality in the Sphere of Health
Protection, %
1. Target group with
project on health
protection N=44
2. Control group N=202 3. All respondents without
health protection projects,
N=370
Quality increased 70,5% 22,3% 22,4%
No changes in quality 22,7% 56,4% 57,0%
Quality decreased 6,8% 18,8% 17,8%
Hard to say 0,0% 2,5% 2,7%
Small sample size of the target group does not allows assessment making a comparison
between this group and two others. At the same time, no statistically significant difference was
stated between the control group and group of respondents without health protection projects.
28. 25
In general, in those cases where sample size allows assessment of statistically significant
difference estimation, respondents from the target group significantly more often indicated
positive changes in all five spheres of micro-projects implementation. Moreover, respondents of
this group did not hesitate about evaluation of the changes –regarding all except energy saving
projects (quality of heating) no one answered ‘hard to say’.
4.3 Assessment of CBA Methodology Influence on Quality of Life of Target Population
Positive changes in target population’ quality of life is one of the most significant indicators of
the Project success. One of the ways to evaluate the general quality of life is to assess such
indicators as subjective satisfaction with various sides of their life such as social cohesiveness,
material conditions of life, and overall well-being. Comparison of the pilot communities (target
group) with non-pilot ones (control group) allows distinguishing factor of CBA Project influence
on changes in general quality of life among target population14
.
According to the survey results, mean level of satisfaction of pilot community members was
found to be 3.4 against 3.1 of control group. Despite relatively low mean level of satisfaction,
citizens from pilot CBA communities tend to be more satisfied than those from non-pilot ones
regarding certain spheres of life. Chart - XXI presents a distribution of simple mean of
respondents’ answers from the main and control groups regarding various spheres of their life.
Chart - XXI: Level of Satisfaction with Various Aspects of Life for the Main and Control Groups
Simple Mean (‘1’ – totally unsatisfied, ‘5’ – absolutely satisfied)
Pilot community members in average are more satisfied (compared to the ones from control
group) with almost all spheres of life, except feeling safe from criminality, and their state of
14
During 3,5 years of CBA Project activity more than 1 million beneficiaries got benefit from implementation of 1303
micro-projects.
4,0
3,0
3,3
4,4
3,6
3,2
1,9
3,4
3,9
2,6
3,4
3,3
2,4
3,2
4,2
3,3
3,1
1,5
2,3
2,4
2,2
3,1
0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0
Confidence in own forces N=206, N=194
Level of material well being N=209, N=207
State of health N=212, N=205
Attitude of people towards you N=200, N=200
Environmental conditions in your area N=205, N=201
Feeling safe from criminality N=174, N=188
Opportunity to find a job in your area N=193, N=192
Public life in your village/town N=193, N=183
Perspectives of your community development N=185, N=156
Overall satisfaction with how things going on in Ukraine
N=200, N=194
Overall satisfaction with your life N=210, N=204
Control
group
Main
group
29. 26
health condition. Even though in some cases the difference between the main and control
group is quite small (satisfaction with opportunity to find a job, with environmental conditions,
and overall satisfaction with how things going on in Ukraine), it is statistically significant
(p<0.01), so we can state that in general, pilot community members are more satisfied than
citizens of non-pilot ones.
Despite the fact that improving conditions for health care services is one of the prioritized
directions of CBA activity, no statistically significant difference was found between the main and
the control groups as regards their satisfaction with the personal health condition. State of
health is a very complex issue, depending on numerous factors, while CBA Project activity was
directed mostly on improving such issues as health post renovation and medical equipment
purchase, influence of this input could be visible only in long-term perspective.
Besides evaluation of satisfaction with various aspects of life, respondents from both main and
control groups were asked to assess changes in their life during the last years. According to
results of community members’ survey, 33% of interviewed citizens from pilot communities
reported about significant or rather significant improvement of their life during the last year (see
Chart - XXII), while only 22% reported the same in control group.
Chart - XXII: Changes in Quality of Life during the Last Years
(NTG = 213, NCG = 206)
At the same time, almost the same number of respondents in both groups believed no changes
happened in their life during the last year (42% and 41%), while direction of negative
assessments in changes of quality of life was an opposite – 23% of respondents versus 36% from
control one mentioned worsening in their life situation during previous year.
Changes in Material Well-being
Statistical data demonstrate significant difference regarding subjective evaluation of material
well-being between the main and control groups (Chart - XXIII). Even though, the difference is
quite small (0.6), it is statistically significant (p<0.01). Additional analysis also revealed that
citizens of those pilot communities that implemented micro-projects related to street lighting
tend to assess their material conditions higher than those who implemented other projects15
.
15
Coefficient of Pearson correlation is 0.203, p<0.05
6%
27%
42%
18%
5%
2%
4%
18%
41%
22%
14%
1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Significantly improved
Rather improved
Did not change
Rather became worse
Significantly became worse
Hard to say
Control group
Main group
30. 27
Chart - XXIII: Changes in Material Well-being
Simple Mean (NTG = 209, NMG = 207)
Analysis of the focus group discussions revealed that decrease of expenditures on public
services allows saving financial resources. Besides, creation or renovation of additional services
gives opportunities to create new temporary or permanent work places (teacher in a
kindergarten, driver for school bus etc.). Newly created objects of infrastructure require labor
force, and local citizens get employment opportunity. As the survey result shows, citizens of CBA
pilot communities assess opportunity to get a job in their village/town higher than those from
non-pilot communities (even though difference is quite small, it is statistically significant, Chart -
XXIV).
Chart - XXIV: Opportunity to Get a Job
Simple Mean, (NTG = 193, control group NCG = 192)
Changes in health state conditions
Focus group participants mentioned that because of created or renovated conditions for
medical services their health state improved. Improvement of teaching conditions in schools
and kindergartens also contributed to the improvement of health condition, especially among
children. At the same time, statistical analysis did not reveal significant difference between the
subjective evaluation of health state among respondents from the main and control group.
Changes in psychological well-being
Improvement of psychological well-being was mentioned among the most significant results of
the Project. Focus group participants reported about the following important consequences of
the participation in frameworks of CBA:
0,0
1,0
2,0
3,0
Main group Control group
3,0
2,4
1,9
1,5
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
Target group Control group
31. 28
• Increased self-confidence (see Chart - XXV for figures);
• Feeling of self-respect;
• Feeling responsible for the results of their work;
• Feeling of satisfaction over well-done job;
• Motivation to be more active further on due to successful experience;
Regional experts pointed to the following changes in psychological well-being of the pilot
community members:
• People became more responsible, and organized;
• Confidence in their own strength increased;
• Feeling of self-dependent emerged;
• Feeling of ability to cooperate with local authority emerged; level of trust increased;
• People became more active;
• Citizens acquired the feeling of responsibility for the renovatedrebuilt object, they tend
to preserve it in good condition.
Participation of citizens in micro-projects’ implementation significantly contributed a lot to
increase of confidence in their own abilities (see Chart - XXV)
Chart - XXV: Confidence in Their Own Forces, target group, simple mean
(NTG=206, NCG=194)
Having implemented at least one micro-project, people became aware of their potential.
Statistically significant difference between the main and control group confirms this as evidence.
Changes in Social Cohesion
According to the survey result, the increased level of social cohesion within pilot communities
was among the important results of CBA Project. As revealed at focus group discussion revealed,
social cohesion in communities has increased step by step. First people needed to realize a
necessity of common action, creation of CO. Furthermore, it was important to realize that there
must be a common decision-making process, and joint work on micro project implementation.
These actions resulted in the high: interdependency of community members; start of discussion
on common issues; better mutual understanding each other better; and improved skills of
conflict resolution.
Regional experts also mentioned that the financial and in-kind contribution of community
members to community initiatives intensified feeling of cohesion within a community. As a
result, people became more active and enterprising in solving their own problems.
3,0
2,4
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2,5
3,0
3,5
Target group Control group
32. 29
Statistical data confirm the abovementioned statements. To mark CBA input main and control
groups are compared (Chart - XXVI).
Chart - XXVI: Changes in Social Cohesion, %
As data show, distribution of pilot community members’ response indicates significant increase
in social cohesiveness (56% of respondents reported about it), while only 18% of non-pilot
community members pointed out this.
Level of mutual trust within community is an additional indicator to positive trend in the social
cohesiveness of their communities. According to survey results, members of pilot CBA
communities demonstrated significantly higher level of trust to each other than the members of
non-pilot communities (see Chart - XXVII).
Chart - XXVII: Level of Trust to Community Members
(NTG=208, NCG=163), simple mean (‘0’ – total distrust, ‘10’ – total trust)
Chart - XXVIII visually presents the distributions of level of trust to family members, strangers,
and community members. As data show, the highest level of trust both pilot and non-pilot
communities is demonstrated toward family members. At the same time, there is statistically
significant difference between these two groups: respondents from the target group tend to
trust family members more comparing to the respondents from control group16
. The least both
groups trust to the strangers – the value of index is 3.3 and 3.2 respectively. Trust to community
members is in the middle of the scale for the control group and closer to family members for the
target group.
16
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.01
2%
11%
29%
36%
20%
2%
3%
28%
42%
14%
4%
9%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Significantly decreased
Rather decreased
Did not change
Rather increased
Significantly increased
Hard to say
Control group
Target group
0,0
1,0
2,0
3,0
4,0
5,0
6,0
7,0
8,0
Target group Control group
7,9
6,1
33. 30
Chart - XXVIII: Levels of Trust to Different Groups of People
Simple Mean (‘1’ – total distrust, ‘10’ – total trust)
Level of trust to strangers and family members is quite similar both the main and the control
group, while regarding community members it differs significantly (value of index is 7.9 for the
target group and 6.7 for control group)17
.
Subjective assessment of the perspective of further community development, satisfaction with
public life in the village/town, and satisfaction with people’s attitude toward them are also
indirect indicators of quality of life. Chart - XXIX presents the distributions of simple mean for
each of these indicators both for the main and control groups.
Chart - XXIX: Level of Social Cohesion, simple mean
(‘1’ totally unsatisfied - ‘5’ totally satisfied)
The highest level of satisfaction both groups demonstrate with attitude of other people towards
them: 4.4 and 4.2 (however, citizens of pilot CBA communities are still significantly more satisfied
with this issue, p<0.01). Satisfaction with perspective of community development is significantly
higher in the target group (3.9) than in control one (2.4). The same tendency was noted for
satisfaction with public life in their village/town – 3.4 for the target group and 2.3 for control
one18
. Strong correlation was apparent between the satisfaction with perspectives of community
development and satisfaction with public life in a community19
. For the target group these
indicators are significantly higher than for the control one.
17
Difference is statistically significant, p<0.01
18
In both cases difference is statistically significant, p<0.01
19
Correlation coefficient for control group is 0.551 and for the target group – 0.614 (p<0.01)
9,7
7,9
3,2
9,3
6,1
3,3
0,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 12,0
Family members (main
group N=213, control group
N=204
Community members (main
group N=208, control group
N=163)
Strangers (main group
N=211, control group
N=193)
Control group
Target group
0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0
Attitude of people
towards you N=200,
N=200
Public life in your
village/town N=193,
N=183
Perspectives of your
community development
N=185, N=156
4,4
3,4
3,9
4,2
2,3
2,4
Control group
Main group
34. 31
SECTION 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1Conclusions
Sociological research results and the data collected by monitoring department collected
during 3.5 years of the Project’s activity provide sufficient grounds to conclude that community
based approach to local development is effective, as it promotes consolidation of local self-
government, contributes to improvement of service-rendering conditions and creates a
favourable environment for enhancement of life quality of the population.
The approach is effective for activating and combining efforts of local communities, local
authorities and self-government, and the private sector for common priority setting in
development of the settlement and joint implementation of initiatives to improve living
conditions.
United by a common goal of their community development, local residents become an active
partner of local authorities and bodies of local self-government and contribute to sustainable
local development.
Indeed, in these communities overwhelming majorities of their members participate in
activities of these organisations, in particular, through participation in regular general meetings
and decision-making procedures.
Almost all community members pay member fees for common initiatives to be realised
and community organisations to function. A considerable proportion of community members
contribute more than the set membership fee; besides, residents who are not members of their
local community also make voluntary contributions for community project realisation.
Community members feel more responsible for objects of public infrastructure and better
understand of their role in development of their communities.
Community organisations enjoy high level of trust among local residents; their work is
transparent and characterised by high accountability. Community organisation activists
regularly and fully inform local residents of all the steps in their activities and report on funds
expenditures. Community organisations are guided by the principle of equality stating that all
the residents, regardless of their economic and social status, have equal opportunity for using
created or rehabilitated services.
Community involvement in the process of priority setting for local development has a positive
influence on local development processes.
Community development priorities are set considering interests of most community
organisation members and almost without influence from local authorities.
The strategic planning model with a bottom-up planning mechanism has become
widespread: rural community interests are taken into account in the work of village councils and
included in rayon strategic development plans; town/city community interests are documented
in town/city strategic development plans.
Local communities, authorities and businesses acknowledge effectiveness of the joint
initiative development, joint funding and joint implementation.
Partners see the co-funding scheme instilled by the methodology as generally efficient.
According to this scheme, a part of funds for community project implementation comes from
international donors, another part – from local budgets, while the community itself and local
businesses make their contribution too. Partners are willing to invest in joint projects more
resources than the set minimum and a part of them indeed provide additional funding.
35. 32
A significant proportion of community organisation members make additional
contributions in form of voluntary public works on community objects.
Members of community organisations express their willingness and readiness to support
the created or renovated communal infrastructures.
Representatives of local business express their willingness to sponsor local development;
in fact they do make contributions to community organisation projects.
CBA methodology contributes to qualitative enhancement of local government, increase in
trust towards authorities and establishment of effective cooperation between communities
and authorities. The key instruments of the methodology are created support structures that
ensure regular dialogue in joint decision making.
Oblast coordination councils and local development forums are platforms for discussion
of priorities. They also assist in coordination of activities of communities, authorities and
businesses as partners in project implementation.
Oblast and rayon community resource centres provide valuable informational support to
communities seeking self-organisation and looking for partners for fulfilment of joint initiatives.
These centres accumulate the experience gained and information about potential donors. They
help communities to implement other initiatives beyond CBA Project. These centres help
replication of CBA model in communities not participating in CBA Project.
Both communities and authorities assess these structures as highly effective, they are
willing to use these centres in the future and give a positive prediction of their sustainability.
Partnership based on CBA methodology leads to visible qualitative enhancement of relations
between authorities and communities.
There has been a noticeable improvement in the amount and quality of information
about activities of local authority provided to the public. This serves as an evidence of increase in
transparency of authorities. They are becoming more open to dialogue with communities.
Cooperation between communities and local authorities is also improving. Cooperation
mechanisms suggested by the methodology raises people’s interests in activities of local
authorities. As a result, citizens admit an improvement in work of authorities.
Citizens expressed that their trust to local authorities is growing. There is a positive
dynamics in people’s contentment with the work of local authorities. Citizens feel more
confident in communicating with representatives of authorities.
There is a noticeable growth in the quality of human resources and mutual learning
among community leaders and representatives of local authorities. Community leaders and
officials accumulate knowledge and apply the new skills.
There is an increase in citizens’ satisfaction with the quality of services rendered through
community projects. Creation or renewal of services involving participation of communities is
cost effective. Moreover, the created or renewed communal infrastructures are actually and
potentially sustainable.
Community projects definitely improve the quality of communal services and the public
is satisfied with the quality of these enhanced services. Community members apply efforts to use
communal services more economically and contribute towards sustainability of communal
infrastructures.
There has been improvement in economic conditions, the psychological self-feeling
and significant growth in cohesion of communities.
36. 33
Community self-organisation has led to improvement of quality of life of citizens. They
assess prospects of their community development as positive. Community members working on
community project realisation experience growth of self-reliance and self-respect. Because of
continuous interaction and mutual cooperation there is significant increase in community
cohesion.
5.2 Recommendations
Recommendations concerning perfection of approach and public policy concerning local
development
Community based approach applied CBA Project has proved that community members and
local authorities can be effectively mobilised for participatory governance and local sustainable
development. Support structures such as COs, LDFs, community resource centres, co-ordination
councils are valuable assets to build on and, therefore, following opportunities should be
capitalized to further promote the approach:
5.2.1 Recommendations for UNDP
• Methodology of community based development approach has introduced efficient
working mechanisms. It should be promoted widely through media outlets, lobby and
advocacy.
• Capacity of the created community organizations should be further developed so that
they can make independent decisions and maintain their status of an equal partner of
local authorities.
• Created rayon community resource centres possess great potential for becoming
powerful structures for supporting, informing, and implementation of community based
development initiatives and dissemination of experience. Capacity of these RCRCs and
the involved personnel should be further built through appropriate technical and
capacity building supports so as to and personnel boost their potential.
• Support is needed for creation of a functional network of resource centres to enable
sharing of experience and best practices.
• It is necessary to consolidate and disseminate among communities and RCRCs the
information about innovative technologies, especially on new energy saving
technologies and alternative energy sources.
• The role of private sector in local development processes is yet underestimated.
Cooperation with local businesses ought to be strengthened in order to exploit their
potentials towards self-help initiatives of local communities.
• Incorporating the knowledge and experience on community based development into
teaching curriculum of academic institutions is recommended as a step towards
sustained capacity building in the area of community based development.
5.2.2 Recommendations for National, Regional and Local Authorities
• The community based development methodology proved to be efficient for all partners
and possesses a significant value in the long term. Therefore, it should be further
promoted by local authorities through existing community resource centres and regional
media. COs can also be encouraged to share their experience in form of success stories,
bulletins and hosting study/exchange visits.
37. 34
• Pilot territories (rayons, local councils) practicing participatory governance through COs-
participation enjoy more efficient decision-making, micro-project implementation, and
more dynamic local development. Settlements with mobilized communities demonstrate
initial increase in economic development, improvements in service delivery, high quality
of strategic planning, and corruption-free use of funds in implementation of local
projects. These phenomena and their factors should be explored, assessed and
generalized by local authorities; the process should be standardized and prepared for
adoption in non-pilot areas.
• Local development forums as well as community resource centres possess great
potential to sustain the practice of community based local development. However, these
are semi-formal, ad-hoc structures with rather normative than legal value. In order to fully
exploit their efficiency and build on the opportunities they provide, local authorities
should formalize these structures with appropriate logistic provisions and human
resources. A national level up scaling of this practice can be considered and supported by
national government.
• In the longer term, local resources are to be generated for funding of community
initiatives and sustainability of such initiatives. Such resources are to be mobilised by
community organisations in the form of community development fund, maintenance
fund etc. However, creation and activities of such funds require legal provision.
• Registered COs offer local businesses a legal and transparent means of channelling their
funds for support of community initiatives. They also bear potential to receive local
budget to carry out community initiatives jointly. However, current legal provision causes
difficulties in full fledge utilisation of this opportunity and therefore appropriate legal
provision and budget code must be brought into force.
• Strategic planning in participation of mobilised community is found to be efficient and
therefore should be continued and promoted further.
• More than 4000 people across Ukraine have acquired know-how to implement CBA
methodology at local level. Local development processes initiated under this
methodology created favourable conditions for the natural leaders to unleash their
potential.Their potential can be further utilized in local governance.
Several demonstration sites have emerged at the local level for dissemination of CBA
methodology in practice. These can be used as learning ground by authorities willing to
introduce community based development.