On 6 March 2025, the fifth cohort of the Training Platform commenced as part of the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris Programme “Support for Multilevel Governance in Ukraine.”
This year, 81 applications were submitted, and 31 managers—28 women and three men—were selected for the training group. The participants represent 19 regions of Ukraine, covering 15 urban, 10 settlement, and six rural hromadas.
The opening of the Training Platform began with a speech by Maryna Bobranitska, Head of the Systemic Development of Administrative Services Department at Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. She emphasised the importance of continuous professional development for ASC (Administrative Services Centre) managers.
The first session focused on effective team management and enhancing personal efficiency, covering soft skills, strategic thinking, and change management. Participants discussed the importance of teamwork, emotional intelligence, and resilience, as well as motivation strategies, productivity principles, and the role of emotional intelligence in leadership. As highlighted by the trainers, 85% of a manager’s success depends on working with people, with the formula for effectiveness comprising environmental influence (50%), mindset (40%), and knowledge (10%).
Graduates of the Training Platform actively apply their knowledge in practice. Maryna Riabukha, Head of the Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi ASC, shared her experience:
“Thanks to the ASC Managers’ Training Platform, I have learned to delegate authority, become more resilient, seek support, set realistic goals and achieve them. After completing the training, I set myself a challenge—to acquire a mobile service case. At the time, there were only promises, but when the 2025 budget was approved, the community allocated funds, and from January, we began working towards this goal. Colleagues from the region who had already purchased such a case helped with the selection. Now we are preparing to present the usage procedure at a council session—and we are ready to get started. To ensure this knowledge benefits more than just me, I encouraged a colleague to join the training, and now she is also part of the platform.”
The training will continue for two months, concluding with a final meeting in Lviv, where participants will present their projects on implementing improvements in Administrative Services Centres. Overall, the Training Platform has already brought together 146 ASC managers across Ukraine.
