Monthly report for February 2006
	The following are the key events of February 2006:
	State Strategy of Regional Development
	On 27 February a working meeting was arranged for the specialists of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine in response to the request of the Ministry. The meeting was advised by Professor Grzegorz Gorzelak (Poland), international expert of the Project. The purpose of the meeting was consulting and provision of comments and proposals on the existing draft Strategy. In particular, it was observed that some parts of the diagnostic analysis of the document need further elaboration. The Ministry is to prepare the finalized version by 15 March 2006.
	Regional Contracts
	The Ministry of Economy completed the Model Contract and now this document is being reviewed by the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Economy is currently finalizing the procedure for agreeing contracts between national and regional/local levels of government, in which they are taking into account the comments of international project expert Professor Gerard Marcou (France).
	State Capital Investment Grants
	On 18-19 February a two day's expert workshop "State Capital Investment Grants - EU Approaches to Criteria and Procedures for Appraisal" was arranged for the representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine in response to the request of the Ministry. The workshop was held by international experts Zbigniew Jedrzejewski and Jacek Kawala (Poland).
	Before and after the seminar the Ministry representatives were provided with the documents of the Polish Government on the criteria and the procedures for evaluation of capital investment projects from regions and municipalities. These criteria and procedures are more or less standard throughout the EU.
	The key documents will be posted in the Project web-site in the near future: http://www.largis.org.ua/largis2/ind-en.htm
	The representatives of the following divisions of the Regional Policy Department of the Ministry of Economy took part in the workshop: Stimulation of Regional Development, Mid-Term and Long-Term Planning of Regional Development, and Monitoring of Regional Development. Among other things, the following issues were discussed at the workshop: legislative framework of grants from the government for investment projects; procedures for preparation of the project proposal; qualification criteria; qualifications for participation in the selection process; procedures for project submission and the format of proposal; financial and economic evaluation of the projects etc.
	LARGIS II Project team hopes to arrange a visit to Krakow, Poland, for a small number of specialists from the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. The visit is provisionally scheduled for the period of 9 to 15 April 2006. The visit will have a form of workshop held by two leading Polish experts Zbigniew Jedrzejewski and Jacek Kawala. The topic of the workshop will be the procedures pertinent to the grants for investment projects. The objective of the workshop will be to assist the Ministry representatives in their adapting the European Union practices of state capital investment grants distribution for investment projects to the specific needs of Ukraine.
	Regional Development Agencies
	On 1-5 February 2006 a study tour was arranged for the representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and Lviv Oblast State Administration. The purpose of the tour was to study the British practices of RDA operation.
	During the study tour the team visited London, Birmingham, and Cardiff, and got familiarized with the activity of RDAs in those regions, in particular with the Advantage West Midlands (AWM) Regional Development Agency in Birmingham, Wales Regional Development Agency in Cardiff, and with the Department of Trade and Industry in London.
	After the study tour Mrs. Tetyana Kravets (the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine) prepared the report describing the characteristics of RDAs operation in the U.K.
	The report on the tours to Poland and the U.K. are posted in the Project web-site: http://www.largis.org.ua/largis2/ind-en.htm
	On 10 February a working meeting was arranged involving the Ukrainian experts of the Project Myroslava Lendel, Igor Sanzharovsky, Victor Tkachenko, and also Tetyana Kravets (the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine), Krzysztof Herbst, international expert of the Project, and Tetyana Korneyeva, the Project Coordinator. The meeting included a mini-presentation of the comparative analysis of the RDAs' roles and tasks in the EU Member States and in Ukraine prepared by the Ukrainian experts.
	Both reports are posted in the Project web-site: http://www.largis.org.ua/largis2/ind-en.htm
	Tetyana Kravets and Igor Sanzharovsky also presented reports on the tours to Poland and the U.K. arranged under the Project.
	The next working meeting is scheduled to be held on 14 March in Kyiv. During the meeting experts will present the draft model of regional development agency appropriate for Ukrainian conditions, and discuss the key points of the final version. After finalization the document will be presented to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
	Duncan Leitch LARGIS II Director
	Tetyana Korneyeva LARGIS II Coordinator
	February 2006