Partnership That Works: Responsible Citizens Systematically Builds Cooperation with Communities

For the NGO Responsible Citizens, work in a community does not begin with a single event and does not end once a project has been completed. We build a long-term presence and working partnerships at the local level — with communities, government authorities at all levels, educational institutions, social services, and cultural and youth organizations.

Today, our partnership network includes 107 signed memoranda and agreements across five regions of Ukraine.

• Sumy region — 7 memoranda.
  Our partners include communities, social service centers, youth centers, and community leadership.
• Dnipropetrovsk region — 20 memoranda.
  Our partners include communities, social service centers, employment centers, and educational institutions.
• Kryvyi Rih — 18 memoranda.
  Our partners include gymnasiums, cultural centers, the city council’s education department, the municipal social services center, and Kryvyi Rih State University.
• Zaporizhzhia region — 20 memoranda.
  Our partners include communities, the education department, the employment center, child services, the social services center, and educational institutions.
• Kharkiv region — 22 memoranda.
  Our partners include local authorities in cities and settlements, educational institutions, and education departments.
• Donetsk region — 20 memoranda.
  Our partners include local authorities and education and culture departments.

For us, a memorandum is a formalized agreement on joint work, defined areas of cooperation, and a foundation for further decisions.

“Systematic work in the regions where we are present is based first and foremost on understanding people’s actual needs, engaging local partners, and creating conditions for project results to remain effective after the projects have ended. We follow the principle that every project is a contribution to the resilience and capacity of an individual community,” emphasizes Enrique Menendez, Director of Projects and Programs at the NGO Responsible Citizens.

107 partnership agreements represent a network of working relationships that allows us to stay closer to people, better understand the local context, and respond to the challenges faced by communities.

Because effective humanitarian response begins where there is strong, reliable partnership with those who work in communities every day.