The Parliamentary Development Project for Ukraine II (PDP II), funded by USAID since 1994, in the second phase of its work with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VRU) has expanded its activities through the Legislative Policy Development Program since September 2008 to the executive bodies in Ukraine – the Cabinet of Ministers and individual ministries as well as the President’s Secretariat. (www.iupdp.org)

In 2009, PDP II was asked by USAID to also include in its program, cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Three general primary goals proposed for such cooperation include:

• Objective 1:   More Effective Sub-national legislation through improved legislative policy development

• Objective 2:   More Effective Governance through enhanced communication between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
  
  
• Objective 3: Increased Opportunities for  Citizen to Contribute Effectively to the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea

The primary vehicle for achieving these objectives are would be to apply lessons learned through PDP II’s ongoing activities with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC.  The proposed program intends to strengthen the connections between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC. It is planned that PDP II assistance will include work with the VR ARC members and staff to find solutions to the challenges they face in drafting effective and implementable normative acts for Crimea and in providing appropriate and considered input to legislative proposals in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. PDP II will also work to increase access to research and analytical resources and assist in the development of an analytic capacity for the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. This includes identifying opportunities for citizen expertise to be made available to VR ARC members, committees and staff.

Proposed Activities Include:

• Workshops and trainings for members, staff, the media and the public
• Analytical and Research Support
• Analysis and Research Publications
• Needs Assessment of VR ARC Staff Capacity
• Peer-to-Peer Exchanges between the VR ARC and VRU
• Study Tours and Exchanges
• Expert Consultations Crimean, Ukrainian and International
• Organization of VR Committee Field Hearings in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
• Website Enhancement
• Internship Program