History

Foundation and first steps

The Association for Participatory Community Development was established in 2020 by seven communities that sought to ensure sustainable local governance aimed at social development and inclusive citizen engagement. The first major project was the initiative "Strategic, digital and participatory solutions for the development of the social sphere", with the support of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), which covered 10 communities of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Expanding activities after a full-scale invasion

After the full-scale invasion began in 2022, the Association expanded its activities, focusing on supporting communities hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and providing humanitarian assistance. One of the key projects of this period is "Social cohesion to overcome the humanitarian crisis by increasing the potential of Poltava region as a center for the accommodation of IDPs", implemented jointly with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Social integration and development of social cohesion

Simultaneously with humanitarian projects, the Association expanded activities aimed at the social integration of IDPs. The project "Social integration of internally displaced persons in the communities of Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions" provided for the creation of co-working spaces for IDPs, as well as employment and socialization training for about 600 people.

Support of civic activity and local development

The association also actively contributed to developing civic participation and improving the quality of local governance. As part of the project "Promoting Citizen Participation in Local Government", funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, more than 300 local leaders — representatives of local self-government bodies, NGOs, and IDPs — received training in the practice of local democracy, which had a positive impact on the quality of local politics and involvement citizens to management processes.

Expansion of partnership relations and geography of activity

After the successful implementation of previous projects, the Association continued its development and involvement of new partners. In particular, in 2023, a project was implemented to support the communities of the Poltava region to improve public safety and recovery, which was financed by UNDP. In parallel with this project, work began with new partners, such as the East Europe Foundation and the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU). As of 2024, the Association has grown from a small, niche organization to a structure that works with various international technical assistance projects and whose activities cover the Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Lviv regions and other regions