Announcement of the Launch of the Project on Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility in Ukraine Through Publications and Trainings

Date 27.10.2007 Place: "Opera" Hotel, 53, Bohdana Khmelnytskogo St., Kyiv at celebrate the 10th anniversary of NGO "League of Professional Women" http://www.lpw.iatp.org.ua/

Launch of the Project on Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility in Ukraine Through Publications and Trainings
The project supported by the Democracy Grants Program of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government

Project Summery
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION/ PROBLEM STATEMENT
A well-functioning democracy depends to a high degree on the continuous promotion of democratic values and principles, as well as on the development and strengthening of democratic institutions which are able to assist citizens in promoting human rights, skills and competence building, equal opportunity and diversity, innovation and entrepreneurship. These are also the priorities of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has described CSR as the business contribution to sustainable economic development. Building on a base of compliance with legislation and regulations, CSR typically includes "beyond law" commitments and activities pertaining to:

• corporate governance and ethics
• health and safety
• environmental stewardship
• human rights (including core labour rights, gender equality)
• human resource management
• community involvement, development and investment

According to CSR Europe research 2006, two trends on CSR more important: Equal Opportunity and Skills &Competence building. This new LPW project will be focused on them.

In February 2007 Ukrainian NGO "League of Professional Women" (LPW) successfully completed a micro project called "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Role of Government, Expectations of Civil Society and Practice of Ukrainian Commercial Sector» (donor: Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives, Canadian Embassy in Ukraine). Among the project’s outputs was around table discussion on CSR, development of recommendations and a book "Corporate Social Responsibility in Ukraine: Experts’ Opinion" published in Ukrainian. The book was quickly disseminated and the LPW continues to receive requests for both Ukrainian and English versions of this book, as well as other materials on CSR. The project confirmed that CSR is a topical issue for many Ukrainian organizations. In order to continue activities devoted to CSR, LPW decided to develop best practices and trainings of trainers on this topic, based on experience, recommendations and publications developed earlier.

Project Media PARTNERS: Expert Ukraine, General Director, Internet portals "VlasnaSprava.info", Civic Space

Project NGO PARTNERS: Confederation of Employers of Ukraine, the Centre of Philanthropy, UK-Ukraine Professional Network under British Council (UUPN); U-Media Project, Internews Network whose members will be involved as experts or/and volunteers in the project.

Project Activities.
The project purpose is to develop the professional vision of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Ukraine and to set up a permanent and regular dialogue on this issue by:

1. conducting two workshops for 30 experts and two thematic trainings for trainers (ToT) for 30 representatives of selected interested organizations (NGO leaders, professional organizations, business support funds, business companies, public authorities, and mass media);
2. development and publication 500 samples of a "CSR Practitioner’s Guide" which will include CSR best practices and training for trainers materials;
3. presentation of project publishing materials and dissemination results among target audiences

PROJECT DATES (month/year - month/year): September 2007- April 2008

The project is directed to the following social groups: NGO Leaders; enterprises,
social partners, public authorities, employment service organizations, mass-media representatives.

Project Activities & Timetable. MONTHLY WORK PLAN

• September - October 2007: Analysis of CSR best practices in Ukraine in two areas: equal opportunities, and skills and competence building. Preparation of a methodological module for best practices analysis.
• November-December 2007: Organization and delivery first ToT programs for 1 target groups. ToT 1- Target group of 15 people- NGO leaders, representatives of professional organizations, mass media. Conducting first training (22.11.2007) for 15 participants.
• Organization and delivery first experts’ workshop (3.12.2007) for a total of 30 participants. Workshop 3/12/2007 from 10/00 to 13/00 and Focus Groups 14/00-17/00
• Survey data processing from focus group and preparing portfolio of materials on CSR (thesis, statistics, articles, expert survey results).
• Collection of information for "CSR/HR/PR Practitioner’s Guide" following the scheme: Introduction and background; key drivers for change: the best practice; promoting gender diversity; policies and programs; change attitude and behaviors; conclusion.
• January- February 2008: Preparation of Training of trainers (ToT) program ToT 2 target group. ToT 2 -Target group of 15 people- representatives of business support organizations, business companies and public organizations. Conducting second training for 15 participants.
• March - April 2008: Organization and delivery second experts’ workshop. Design, lay-out and publication of "CSR Practitioners Guide" (500 samples). Start for dissemination "CSR/HR/PR Practitioners Guide".
• Dissemination of results and reporting.

Project Steering Group
Project manager O.Lazorenko
Publication manager L.Magduk
Events coordinator (volunteer)- M.Kobalinova
Trainer1 S.Kuts
Trainer2……
Accountant N.Chuprikova
Speakers- Volunteers