Centre for Social Security and Regional Initiatives NGO, members of UNP WG5, is implementing the initiative “Social Dialogue Tools as a Mechanism for Social Cohesion at the Community Level” within the project “Supporting the Activities of the Ukrainian National Platform of the EaP CSF in 2025–2026,” implemented by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting with financial support from the European Union.
The initiative aims to identify opportunities for using social dialogue tools as mechanisms for social cohesion at the territorial community level.
The initiative plans include:
- Analysing participation of social dialogue parties at the territorial community level through public discussions and expert assessments,
- Conducting focused interviews with target audience representatives, namely: Department of Economy and International Relations of Kharkiv OSA; councils and executive committees of territorial communities in Kharkiv Raion of Kharkiv Oblast; trade unions, employers’ associations, NGOs, and volunteer initiatives in Kharkiv Raion of Kharkiv Oblast,
- Creating a mapping of social dialogue tools’ compliance with social cohesion criteria,
- A series of expert interviews on identifying opportunities for social dialogue as a mechanism for ensuring social cohesion,
- Conducting public discussions with EaP representatives and stakeholders to prepare recommendations on developing a social dialogue strategy as a foundation for social cohesion at the territorial community level,
- Developing and publishing recommendations on government-community interaction based on existing, legally established instruments.
Ihor Dubrovskyi, Head of Centre for Social Security and Regional Initiatives NGO:
Currently in Ukraine, social dialogue at the national level is regulated by official legislation and relevant institutions. While we observe a gap between formal requirements and their implementation at local levels, experience from implementing dialogue initiatives in Kharkiv Oblast’s territorial communities demonstrates both the potential of legally established instruments (information exchange, consultations, conciliation procedures, collective bargaining) and aspirations for social dialogue at this level. This concerns preserving or restoring communities’ human capital as a basic resource for local labour markets. This requires a certain level of social cohesion — the ability of community members to cooperate based on social dialogue principles. The initiative aims: first, to identify the potential impact of the social dialogue system on creating or supporting communities’ human capital by ensuring key social cohesion criteria — readiness to cooperate, unity around common goals, and inclusiveness; second, to develop functional connections within communities to form appropriate social cohesion levels; third, to identify opportunities for adjusting formalised means of organising interaction between community members based on social dialogue, considering wartime realities. This activity should be based on a cycle of qualitative research, discussion of results, and through process advocacy, lead to creating recommendations for territorial communities in Kharkiv Oblast and other oblasts of Ukraine.
The results should be recommendations on using dialogue mechanisms for developing human capital at the territorial community level.
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This initiative is implemented within the project “Supporting the Activities of the Ukrainian National Platform of the EaP CSF in 2025–2026,” carried out by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting with financial support from the European Union. The content of the research is the sole responsibility of Centre for Social Security and Regional Initiatives NGO and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.
