From 24 to 27 May, seventeen organizations that received grant support from the Foundation under the EU4USociety project conducted four days of intensive training from the School of Budget Advocacy.
The School of Budget Advocacy is a unique training module designed to enhance the analytical and advocacy capacity of civil society organizations to influence decision-making and shape responsible policies that address the needs of citizens. The training program was developed by a Ukrainian team of trainers and is taught in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The training for organizations consisted of two modules – the basics of advocacy and the structure of campaigns and the budget and cost monitoring. Each of the modules contained both a set of focal blocks and practical work with the areas of activity of the participants. The coaches were Maksym Demchenko, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Anastasia Bezverkha and Olena Dmytrenko.
Olena Dmytrenko 
Anastasia Bezverkha
Among the topics covered during the training were:
• Formation of government priorities;
• Analytical documents as an element of advocacy and adaptation of information for the end user;
• Budget process and budget system of Ukraine;
• Development of a budget advocacy plan;
• Budget advocacy and social accountability as tools for the influence of civil society on government policies and activities;
• Policy-making and tools of local democracy: development, monitoring and analysis of targeted programs and other strategic documents that set priorities;
• Tools and approaches for working with the community, the media and decision-makers.
The task of the experts was not only to teach the organization to attract budget funds and participate in tenders but also to influence the formation of programs and effective targeted use of public funds in the field of their projects and broader work. All organizations supported in our joint EU4USociety project with the European Union have the opportunity to participate in such training events.
