Online training in monitoring the activities of the State Customs Service

The Institute of Analytics and Advocacy in partnership with the NGO “Technology of Progress” invites representatives of civil society organizations, media, journalists, and civic activists to an online course aimed at enhancing capacity and increasing awareness in the field of monitoring the activities of the State Customs Service and its territorial bodies, with the opportunity to receive funding for their own projects.

About the Project

The project “ACCORD: Accountability and Capacity-building for Customs Oversight and Reform Development” is implemented by the Institute of Analytics and Advocacy and Technologies for Progress with financial support from the European Union to enhance transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, as well as to align customs policy with EU standards.

About the Online Course

The educational course created within the project will promote awareness and increased interest in monitoring the operational activities and key indicators of the State Customs Service in the context of Ukraine’s preparation for EU accession and the implementation of a clear set of measures to harmonize customs processes with European standards.

The program aims to strengthen the capacity of regional civil society organizations, investigative journalists, and opinion leaders who are already working at the local level on analyzing and covering the activities of the State Customs Service or plan to monitor and analyze the customs sector.

The goal of the program is to teach proper monitoring and the basics of communication and advocacy for changes in the work of the State Customs Service by providing necessary knowledge and tools; improve awareness of the availability of customs data for monitoring the activities and operations of the State Customs Service; draw attention to the importance of customs reform in terms of tax and customs collection and Ukraine’s obligations within the framework of Eurointegration.

The training program includes three modules, each spanning five instructional days (sessions are expected to run from 15:00 to 16:30).

The entire training program will be conducted online.

Opportunity for Funding

The next stage of project implementation will be a sub-grant competition for non-governmental organizations. Sub-grants will be provided with the aim of disseminating information about the operational activities of the Customs Service, its effectiveness, the reform process, success stories, and to engage NGOs in dialogue on this topic through monitoring and analysis.

Following the competition, we will select 4 non-governmental organizations with sufficient levels of organizational and programmatic capacity to implement their own projects over a period of 2.5 years for monitoring the activities and operations of the State Customs Service. Participants of the training course will have an advantage in the selection process.

We encourage regional organizations operating in the Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Chernivtsi, Zakarpattia, and Volyn regions – regions with customs posts with the highest throughput capacity – to register for the online training.

Please note that the project does not support activities outside Ukraine.

Here are the established timelines:

• Until March 20, 2024 – Registration for participation in online training is mandatory.
• March 26 to April 5, 2024 – Period of training sessions (sessions are expected to run from 15:00 to 16:30, spanning 5 instructional days).
• April to May 2024 – Project competition.
• June 1, 2024 – Planned start of sub-grant implementation.

The online training is conducted with the financial support of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the NGO “Institute of Analytics and Advocacy” and the NGO “Technologies for Progress” and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.