On April 10, 2017, in Kropyvnytskyi, a presentation of the experience of the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Supporting Decentralization in Ukraine” DESPRO in terms of the development of rural communities of Ukraine and implementation of the decentralization reform took place at the Centre for Retraining and Advanced Training of employees of public authorities, local self-government bodies, public enterprises, institutions and organizations of Kirovohrad Oblast State Administration. 

Leonid Zhovtylo, expert-facilitator of the Community of Practice for Local Development platform, conducted insightful trainings for the heads and specialists of the departments of economy at Rayon State Administrations and the amalgamated territorial communities in Kirovohrad oblast. 

The participants in the advanced training courses became familiar with web-resources developed within the DESPRO Project, got links to the implemented projects and courseware tried and tested during ten years of the project execution. In a separate session, the course participants were acquainted with the resources of the online platform “Community of Practice for Local Development” and with the possibility of self-studying the materials Local Self-Government School tried and tested during several years, as well as the topics of “Planning of Local and Inter-Municipal Systems of Solid Waste Management”, “Rural Drinking Water Supply”, “Decentralization: Powers-Resources-Responsibility”. In addition, based on the training materials of the e-course “Local Development Project Management”, an interactive training on Project Approach to Community Development was conducted.