Supporting Ukraine's Recovery to Ensure Transparency, Engagement, Sustainability, and Empowerment

U-RESTORE is a six-year initiative implemented by a consortium of organizations led by Cowater International and funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The project aims to support recovery processes in Ukraine by strengthening community resilience, introducing transparent and inclusive solutions, and involving residents in decision-making. Particular attention is paid to the needs of women and vulnerable groups to ensure that recovery is fair, inclusive, and sustainable.

The presentation of the project to the communities on December 18 was attended by Michael Rymek, Head of Cooperation at the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine, Oleksiy Ryabikinta, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, and representatives of implementing civil society organizations – the Initiative Center for Activity and Development “Ednannia” and the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.

The right to participate in the selection is granted to territorial communities that:

• are located in Dnipropetrovsk or Zhytomyr oblast;
• have a population from 5,000 to 80,000 people;
• do not participate in other international technical assistance projects on inclusive infrastructure recovery;
• are located at least 30 km from the front line and 20 km from the state border with Belarus (with an additional security risk assessment);
• belong to territories with significant recovery needs (destruction, large numbers of IDPs, low socio-economic indicators, other complex challenges);
• demonstrate the interest of local self-government bodies in cooperating with the project, learning and improving transparency, inclusiveness and efficiency of recovery management.

U-RESTORE implements infrastructure projects in target communities totaling CAD 4 million, which must meet the needs of vulnerable groups, ensure the availability of services at the local level, and increase the participation of women and vulnerable groups in local economic activities.

The project will finance the renovation, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of social infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, etc.), as well as strategic investments in the development of local services and economic opportunities for communities.

Within cooperation with U-RESTORE, communities receive support and carry out the following types of activities:

• participation in infrastructure projects for the recovery of social infrastructure and the development of local services and economic opportunities;
• signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the U-RESTORE project;
• appointing an authorised contact person in the local self-government body to coordinate cooperation with the project;
• taking part in the assessment of internal processes and institutional capacity of local authorities and developing an individual plan to increase transparency, inclusiveness and effectiveness of recovery management;
• participating in capacity-building programmes, consultations and coordination meetings with partners, trainers and consultants of U-RESTORE;
• engaging women and vulnerable groups to identify needs and ensure their participation in community activities;
• facilitating community research (surveys, focus groups) to identify needs and infrastructure priorities;
• participating in mental health support activities for representatives of local authorities and civil society activists representing vulnerable groups;
• cooperating with local, regional and national civil society organisations, including women’s rights organisations;
• jointly prioritising, implementing and monitoring public investment projects and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure projects financed by U-RESTORE;
• publicly informing about project activities in the community.

Plan for selecting and reviewing applications:

Steps for submitting an application in accordance with the announcement:

• download the application form at the link;
• fill out the application form in accordance with the requirements (the content of the form is not displayed online without authorization);
  have the form signed by the head of the community or the acting head of the community;
• send the completed and signed form to info@urestore-cowater.com with the subject line “Application to participate in the project from XX (name) territorial community” by February 12, 2026;
• if necessary, request a visit by the U-RESTORE team to the community by writing to info@urestore-cowater.com;
• if necessary, receive individual advice on completing the application by email or via WhatsApp/Viber to arrange a consultation time (phone +38 095 988-6558).

Applications from communities that meet the mandatory criteria are assessed and ranked according to the following criteria:

• Level of damage to social infrastructure – priority to communities with the greatest damage that disproportionately affects women and vulnerable groups;
• Additional recovery challenges – priority to communities facing complex recovery challenges that affect vulnerable groups (large numbers of IDPs, low socio-economic indicators, environmental, geographical or demographic constraints);
• Interest of local self-government bodies – advantage to communities that demonstrate high motivation for cooperation, learning and adaptation, even under limited resources;
• Openness and transparency – readiness of the community to cooperate with various stakeholders and ensure transparency in the implementation of recovery projects.

A completed application form, signed by the head of the community or acting head of the community, and sent by email to info@urestore-cowater.com

The project provides for information activities to ensure equal access to participation in the community selection process, including:

• online sessions to provide information about the application process (starting with the first formal announcement of the competition, at least two additional sessions are planned to answer questions from potential applicants);
• individual letters to all communities belonging to the “recovery areas” in the relevant regions with information about the project and the selection process;
• field visits to communities identified by open data as having the greatest needs;
• individual consultations by email and telephone (including via WhatsApp and Viber).