Open Call for Rethinking Cities in Ukraine: capacity-building program for Ukrainian municipalities 

“Rethinking Cities in Ukraine” is a practical-oriented capacity-building program for Ukrainian municipalities, that aims to support local-level officials and community leaders in Ukraine in a deeper understanding of the challenges of current and post-war strategic spatial development and to provide methodologies and tools to solve these tasks.
The program is organized by Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University, and Ro3kvit: Urban Coalition for Ukraine with financial support from the Swedish Institute - Public sector innovation program.
The program is focused on the following thematic modules that will guide participants through the entire cycle of integrated spatial planning:
● Spatial planning and reconstruction● Sustainable technologies● Participation and Inclusion● Finances, partnerships, and management
Program details:
🗓 6 months duration / From October 2023 to April 2024, with a Christmas break
💻 The hybrid learning format / Online webinars, workshops, and consultations plus two three-day offline workshops in Lviv
🕚 Part-time involvement / The schedule includes weekly training with teams according to a pre-formed curriculum, as well as individual teamwork between meetings
👥 Team participation / The participants have to cooperate within the same community in during- and post-war reconstruction projects
📈Adaptation of best practices to challenges on the ground / The combination of Ukrainian and foreign expertise through the teaching by practitioners with a deep understanding of the context
📚 Learning by working on their own project in their community / The team works with its own challenges under the guidance of curators and invited experts
☑️ Results will be ready for implementation / The findings, project results and recommendations will be formed into road maps for the next steps
🇸🇪 The trip to Stockholm at the end of the program/ presentation of work and experience exchange at a conference in Stockholm
Who is this course for?
The program is designed for 4-5 teams working with reconstruction challenges in urban communities with a population of 40,000 to 300,000 residents from front-line regions and de-occupied territories (Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv regions ). The teams selected for participation will have spatial and contextual similarities, as well as certain common challenge vectors, which will provide an opportunity to build a network of per-to-per support and sharing of experience.
IMPORTANT! Participation in the program requires preliminary selection by the organizing committee.
Requirements for teams:
● The team has to include 4-6 members of relevant profiles based on the municipality● Communities that have previous experience in planning and/or implementation of urban spatial planning or development projects, as well as have the political will to work on the Comprehensive Plan, including the Territorial Rebuilding Program● The municipality has access and full control over the territory of the community● Participants are motivated to study, ready to participate in the educational process for 4 hours a week at minimum, as well as will to the future implementation of the project on which they will work during the course● Profile of team members:● The basis of the team should be the decision-makers and specialists of the structural units of the municipality dealing with issues of spatial planning and development● The team should involve specialists responsible for the strategic and economic development of the community from other structural divisions ● The team may include representatives of active local communities, public organizations or professional communities that cooperate or plan to cooperate with the municipality in spatial development projects Criteria for selecting teams participating in the training program:
● Compliance with the requirements for the size and location of the community● Compliance with team requirements● Compliance with the requirements for the profile of team members and the professional balance of the team● The motivation of the team● Definition and description of challenges How to participate in the program? ● Form a team based on the municipality including relevant specialists● Fill out the joint team application by 20.08 following the link: https://forms.gle/WC7QHx2izMK2Hz2X7 In the application, we ask you to describe in detail the motivation of your team, as well as the existing challenges with which the municipality works or plans to work.● Pass the selection and get a positive answer.● Sign a memorandum with the course team.
How the participants will be selected?
The participants' selection will be carried out on the basis of the team application by the organizing committee. Responses regarding participation will be provided by September 4, 2023, to the e-mail addresses of the team members specified in the application. The organizing committee may request additional information from the teams to make an informed decision between August 22-29, 2023.
Download detailed information about the program (In Ukrainian):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qSXCvkESpUrqtqtk7tGwIj96JUdQmuu3/view?usp=drive_link
Fill out the application:
https://forms.gle/WC7QHx2izMK2Hz2X7
❓You have a question?
To solve any questions we provide online consultations, which take place every Wednesday at 3:00 PM in Zoom. At the Consultations, the organizational team will answer your questions about the program details, the process, and/or the application's content for participation.
To participate in Q&A session, please register in advance via the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIucO-qpjkpGNBiM4G_Tvs5w7c_7ScRXLhK