On August 4–5, at the request of the Administrative Service Center's management, the Polaris team conducted a working visit to the Uman territorial hromada. The experts conducted an audit of the ASC’s operations and prepared recommendations for its further development. In addition, they reviewed the hromada’s achievements in the areas of veterans’ policy, inclusion, accessibility, and gender equality.
For Lyudmila Lirnik, head of ASC's Administrative and Licensing Procedures Department at the Uman City Council, working with Polaris is not a new experience. Lyudmyla Lirnyk is a graduate of the “Training Platform for ASC Heads.” It was during her training that she was able to become more familiar with the Polaris team’s approaches. According to Ms. Lirnyk, she invited experts to conduct an audit because it was important for hromada to receive not only a professional evaluation of the center’s work but also an independent expert perspective on its future development.
“Today, the Administrative Service Center is a calling card for the hromada. The quality of services provided to residents depends on how well the hromada's management understands its role and supports its development,” noted Lyudmila Lirnyk.
As part of the audit, experts analyzed the documents, work organization, and staffing of the ASC, as well as the compliance of procedures and conditions for providing administrative services with legal requirements. They met with the management and staff of the ASC, as well as representatives of hromada’s executive bodies.
“An audit is, first and foremost, an opportunity to take a fresh look at the work of the ASC and, together with the hromada team, identify what is already working well and what needs to be changed. We see that the Uman hromada has a desire for development and a willingness to engage in dialogue,” noted Polaris expert Olga Kalinichenko. “Our team is working on comprehensive recommendations to make the ASC’s work more efficient and convenient for residents.”
The expert group also visited the Polyanytskyi Starosta District, where it examined how services are organized for people in terms of accessibility for starosta districts residents.
In addition, another area of focus was veterans’ policy. Denis Chechel, a veteran and Expert on Integrating Veteran's Perspectives, familiarized himself with how the hromada’s executive bodies are implementing the state’s veterans’ policy. He spoke with representatives of the veterans’ corps, as well as with the heads and specialists of the ASC, the Social Protection Department, the Department of Veterans’ Policy, specialists in veteran support, and administrators of the “Veteran” Administrative Service. He also had the opportunity to assess the accessibility of services for veterans, the development of veterans’ sports, the work of the rehabilitation unit, and the implementation of local initiatives in the veterans’ sector. Based on the results of this work, recommendations will be developed to improve the effectiveness of implementing veterans’ policy in the hromada’s activities.
A separate component of the visit was a training session titled “Inclusion, Accessibility, and Gender Considerations in the Provision of Public Services,” led by Gender Expert Yulia Savelyeva. During the event, participants learned about tools for a gender-inclusive approach and discussed ways to apply them in practice.
“The experts didn’t just offer recommendations — they listened carefully to us and took into account the specific characteristics of our hromada. For us, this kind of external professional evaluation is very useful, so we would like to continue our cooperation with Polaris in the future — not only in the area of public services but also in other areas,” noted Natalia Syrotiuk, secretary of the Uman City Council’s executive committee.
The working visit provided the Uman hromada with an opportunity to receive an independent professional assessment of the ASC’s operations, identify areas for further development, and define specific steps to improve the service delivery system. At the same time, Polaris experts took a broader approach — specifically addressing issues of accessibility, gender policy, and veteran policy.
