Name: Creative Union "TORO"
Organization mission: introducing democratic procedures of citizens’ participation in forming and realization of state policy.
Status: Contact group of Transparency International in Ukraine (since September, 2009).
Main fields of activity:
- public policy analysis;
- civic control and advocacy (representation of community interests);
- involving community in the development of authorities’ decisions;
- fighting corruption at all levels.
Main types of services, provided by the organization:
- organization of advocacy campaigns (campaigns of civil representation);
- conducting civic expertise and monitoring;
- involving community in the decision-making process by the authorities;
- administration of grant programs and projects, re-granting;
- organization and conducting of public events of all levels (logistics and facilitation);
- conducting trainings in the following fields: development of the capability of the civic sector (Foundations of self-organization”, “Team work”, “Fundraising basis”, “Social projects development”, “Strategic planning”, “Promotion of the civic organization”, “Competence of leaders in social work”, “Organization and conducting of informational campaigns”, “Project management”, “Community work”, “Community leadership”); participation of the community in governing (“Planning of civic monitoring campaigns”, “Participation of the community in state issues management”, “Realization of the citizen’s right to information access”, “Planning and realization of advocacy campaigns”, “Effective negotiations”, documents analysis (“Foundations of sociological surveys”, “Analytical reports writing”, “Business correspondence/creating business documents”)
Geographical scope
Organization works within Kirovohrad region, as well as on the territory of the whole Ukraine.
Place and year of registration and re-registration: TORO was registered by Kirovohrad regional Department of Justice in 1999, re-registered by the Executive Committee of Kirovohrad city council in 2005 (Certificate on re-registration AOO №077891)
Sources of financing: voluntary donations of legal and natural persons (including foreign), statute activity, passive incomes.
Data on the bank account in the local bank Kirovohrad regional department of “Privatbank”, account 26005312335001, EDRPOU code 23906275, MFO 323583
Coordinates:
- legal address: 25005 Kirovohrad, Dobrovolskiy Str. 13. ap.8
- actual address: 25006 Kirovohrad, Yegorov Street 17, ap.4
- postal address: 25005 Kirovohrad-5, postal box №48
Telephone: +38(0522)27-27-54
Email:
Work experience of the organization (examples in the fields of activity)
| Field | Short description of the initiative and the obtained results |
| Fighting corruption at all levels | National monitoring of the entrance campaign to higher educational establishments of Ukraine during 2008-2009. Monitoring presupposed study of the general level of organization and conduction of entrance campaign; discovering possible abuses from the representatives of educational establishments during entrance, as well as research of the level of transparency and openness of the work of educational establishments. Monitoring was conducted in 30 leading regional higher educational establishments from 14 regions of Ukraine by the effort of coalition of civic organizations, which was joined by 12 local organizations. Based on the results of monitoring, recommendations of the community as for organization of the entrance campaign were taken into account by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in Terms of enrolment to higher educational establishments; tools for conducting civic observance over the work of entrance commissions of higher educational establishments were developed, probated and improved; constructive cooperation among the community and Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as well as management of the majority of regional higher educational establishments was established. |
| Involving community to the decision-making process by the authorities | A work group of civic experts, whose members were Oleksii Khmara (TORO), Oleksii Orlovskiy (OSN Association of Ukraine), Maksim Latsyba (Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research), developed a project of the Order of assistance in the conduction of civic expertise of the activity of executive authorities. On the 5th of November, 2008 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted this Order by its decree, where the majority of civic suggestions were taken into account. At present, executive authorities are obliged to assist institutes of civil society in the conduction of civic expertise, consider the results of the expertise according to the special transparent procedure and publish their decision in various sources, including Electronic register of public expertise. |
| Civic control and advocacy | Independent civic monitoring of children summer recreation of Kirovohrad region in 2007-2008. Based on the results of independent civic estimation of the recreation process (starting from tender conduction and up to distribution of the purchased recreation vouchers) Kirovohrad department of Family and Youth sufficiently improved its management both in the part of organizing tenders on purchasing recreation services, and in the organization of the recreation itself. Thanks to the effort of civic activists, changes into the Regional program of children recreation were made, which include conducting annual independent estimation of the program. Besides, prepared civic activists, capable of conducting civic monitoring of the executive authorities’ activity at an appropriate level, appeared in each district of Kirovohrad region. |
| Public policy analysis | Research of the real practice of interaction of local authorities of Kirovohrad city and organizations of civil society in solving urgent problems of territory community. The research had a complex nature and presupposed both polling of civic experts and analysis of legal and practical activity of city and district councils during the last 10 years. The research showed that in the sphere of relations of NGOs with local authorities of Kirovohrad lack of informational openness of the activity of city authorities and its departments is observed; weak and often formal involvement of NGOs to the preparation and adopting of socially relevant acts of city council and its organs; unfavorable legal and organization-technical conditions for the activity of existing NGOs and establishing of the new ones; the community in the face of NGOs is almost deprived of real influence on the current activity of city services. Based on the results of the analysis, civic experts developed a draft Program of assistance in creation and activity in Kirovohrad of civic organizations and population self-organization organs and their involvement in the decision-making process for 2009-2011. The Program went through the preliminary consideration of the special council commission. At present advocacy campaign in support of adopting the Program by Kirovohrad city council is in action. |
