On 30 April – 1 May 2026, the final meeting of the seventh cohort of the Training Platform for heads of Administrative Service Centres (ASCs) took place in Lviv. The Platform is implemented under the Polaris Programme: Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine.
The Training Platform for ASC Heads is a short-term professional development programme worth 1 ECTS credit, approved by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service. It aims to strengthen leadership skills and enhance the capacity of managers to drive change in hromadas.
Over the course of two months, 31 participants from 18 regions of Ukraine completed an intensive training programme focused on improving personal effectiveness, strengthening team capacity, managing change, enhancing communication, and introducing innovations in ASC operations.
Olena Nykonenko, Head of the ASC of Liubotyn City Council, Kharkiv Oblast, noted: “Such programmes provide a powerful boost to professional development and experience sharing. It is not only about gaining new knowledge, but also about being inspired by colleagues’ ideas to improve service delivery in our hromadas.”
This year, 74 applications were submitted, from which 31 heads of city, settlement, and rural hromadas were selected. Among them were both experienced managers and newly appointed professionals, as well as representatives of relocated ASCs from temporarily occupied territories.
The programme combined online sessions, trainings, webinars, and practical assignments. The final meeting in Lviv provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, present results, and plan further development steps. An important component was the “change laboratory”, where participants developed and presented their own ASC improvement projects.
For heads of relocated ASCs, participation in the programme is particularly valuable. As Svitlana Sysoieva, Head of the ASC of Vynohradiv rural hromada, Kherson Oblast, emphasised: “For me, as a head of a relocated ASC, the training platform is a critically important resource that provided real practical tools for restoring and developing ASCs in wartime. The most valuable aspect is direct contact with other managers and the exchange of experience, which saves weeks of searching for solutions.”
In total, seven cohorts of the Training Platform have already brought together 207 ASC heads from across Ukraine, forming a strong professional community that drives change and strengthens the administrative service delivery system in hromadas.
