Koryukivka Reaps Benefits of Strategic Public-Private Partnership
A small town of nearly 13,500 residents in Chernihiv Oblast, Koryukivka is home to the Koryukivka Technical Paper Factory, a public corporation that claims to be Europe's largest wallpaper manufacturer. According to Mayor Ihor Matyukha, the factory has always helped the town in some way or other. This public-private collaboration has intensified since September 2007, when the town adopted its Economic Development Strategic Plan drafted with assistance from the USAID Local Economic Development (LED) project.
Over the past nine months, the factory has sponsored completion of a natural gas service installation project which now supplies 95 percent of town residents. Koryukivka Technical Paper Factory has financed the development and upgrade of the water, wastewater, and street lighting systems, purchased a new garbage truck and 20 European-style waste containers for the town, and paid for the design engineering for a new landfill to be located further from the town than the existing one. All issues first identified in the strategic plan. "We cannot do everything at once, but it's important to start and know which way you go," says Matyukha.
The mayor described the relationship between the town and factory leadership as "somewhat chaotic" before the strategy was adopted. "When the plan appeared and the factory saw our serious intentions—where we wanted to go—we began working more closely on more serious projects," the mayor said.
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Koryukivka Mayor Ihor Matyukha (standing) speaks at the International Conference on Local Economic Development Toolkits, organized by the USAID LED project, the Kyiv Economic Institute, and Michigan State University on March 3-4, 2008, in Kyiv. Sitting to the right of him is independent consultant Valeriy Kokot, who guided the strategic planning process in Koryukivka on behalf of the LED project.
Photo Credit: Oleksandr Zheliznyak |
Nina Yakovych, Director General of the Koryukivka Technical Paper Factor—and local resident—agreed. "The strategic plan allowed us to see specific prospects for development and the end results for the town."
In 2007, Koryukivka received over UAH 1 million (about $200,000) in assistance to implement development projects from the factory. Yakovych pledges the company’s continued support of the town efforts to implement its strategic plan. The factory contributes to the economic development of Koryukivka through its business activities as well. Yakovych reports that the enterprise has invested more than $25 million in equipment upgrades and the purchase of new production lines, and created about 120 new jobs over the past four years.
Enhanced collaboration between the town and the company is not the only benefit brought by the strategic plan. Matyukha admits that collecting basic data to carry out the planning process highlighted how little the town had known about community assets and dynamics. Data gathered was incorporated into two reports, a Community Profile and a Business Attitude Survey, which can now be used to show where the town stands in terms of economic assets and potential. "Now, when investors come to us and ask for information, they can see what our town has to offer, and where its potential lies," says the mayor.
Matyukha says that the favorable opinion of the town expressed in the Business Attitude Survey tipped the scale in favor of Koryukivka for an investor from western Ukraine who decided to build a contemporary regional vehicle service station there. The station is currently under construction and will provide improved services to local vehicle owners and create 10 new jobs for the community.
Work on the Community Profile identified idle land plots suitable for residential development which had been previously overlooked. The town is now in negotiations with investors from Kyiv on housing construction on these plots.
Development strategy and collaboration with the USAID LED project has provided tangible assets for local economic development throughout Ukraine. To date, USAID’s LED project has helped 51 Ukrainian cities create their economic development strategies. Strategic plans have been approved in 50 of these cities; in the remaining city, approval of the final document is pending. In another 23 cities, the strategic planning process is underway.
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