INTERIM ACTIVITY REPORT
BY ANDREI MARUSOV, 2001 FELLOW
The activity within the Project framework can be summarized in two broad
areas. The first one covers an activity focused on cooperation with the Ukrainian
NGO “The Land Reform Policy Center” (and, through the Center,
with Ukrainian state institutions and international organizations) and research
agency “The Center for Social Expertise and Prognosis” at the
Institute of Sociology of Ukraine. The second one covers an activity related
to the implementation of the research project itself.
The structure of the interim activity report
1. Cooperation with Ukrainian NGOs and research
centers
2. Research project implementation
Research work
Compiling
information resources and research materials of the Project
3. Seminar/Conferences Participation
4. Publications
1. COOPERATION WITH UKRAINIAN NGOs AND
RESEARCH CENTERS
- The Concept of the Ukrainian NGO “The Center for the
Land Reform Policy” has been drafted in close cooperation with the
Land Reform Information Support Project (the Project manager Natalia Korchakova
myland@iatp.kiev.ua) (March 2001)
- The project proposal titled “National Media Competition
“My Land” has been drafted (in close cooperation with the Land
Reform Policy Center, director Natalia Korchakova myland@iatp.kiev.ua) and
submitted to the U.S. Embassy Media Fund (March, August 2001). The final
decision is pending
- Dissemination strategy for the information brochure “The
Land Reform: questions and answers” published with financial assistance
of the USAID office in Ukraine has been developed (in cooperation with the
Land Reform Policy Center, director Natalia Korchakova myland@iatp.kiev.ua)
and submitted to the USAID (March 2001). The copy of the strategy draft can
be found here
- The research project proposal titled “Reform potential
of the Ukrainian rural self-government: successes, problems and failures
of its realization in the process of agrarian and land reforms in Ukraine”
has been developed (in cooperation with the Center for Social Expertise and
Prognosis at the Institute of Sociology of Ukraine, director Jurij Privalov,
csep@csep.kiev.ua) and submitted to the International Renaissance Foundation
in Ukraine (May 2001). The Project has not been supported by the Foundation.
The Foundation did not explain the reasons of the denial
- Information and evaluation components of the Land Title Issuing
Project (to be launched by the State Committee for Land Resources with financial
assistance of the World Bank) have been drafted (in close cooperation with
the Land Reform Policy Center, director Natalia Korchakova myland@iatp.kiev.ua)
and submitted to the State Committee for Land Resources (May 2001)
- Preliminary talks with deputies of the Kyiv city district
council have been held with the purpose to identify the possible projects
in the sphere of the IT tools application for facilitating citizens’
access to the services of the local district government and citizens’
input into decision-making of the district council and state district administration.
The talks have not yet been finalized because of the lack of time
2. RESEARCH PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION
The activity directly related to the implementation of the research
is divided into two parts: the research work and development of database
of the information resources and research materials of the Project.
Research work
- Expert survey at the national level has been almost completed.
32 journalists, representatives of international technical assistance projects,
Ukrainian NGOs, leading agrarian educational institutions and state officials
have been interviewed. Implementation of the expert survey included the following
steps:
- Developing the concept and analytical scheme of the expert
survey
- Developing and piloting the questionnaires and interview
plans for interviews with national and local experts
- Identifying the national experts in the following groups:
- journalists of the national electronic and
printed mass media,
- activists of the Ukrainian NGOs working
in the sphere of the land and agrarian reforms,
- scholars (lawyers, economists,
etc) in the leading agrarian educational institutions, representatives of
the business community,
- state officials (Ministry
of Agrarian Policy, the State Committee for the Land Resources, the Cabinet
of Ministers of Ukraine, the Administration of the President of Ukraine)
- Conducting and transcribing
interviews with the chosen sample of national experts (selected interviews
in Ukrainian/Russian and English will be placed on the website). The list
of organizations/institutions etc in which experts were interviewed can be
found here
- Analyzing the results of
the expert survey and developing the report. The preliminary draft of the
report is available on the website. The version for the state officials and
journalists is being drafted.
- The preparation of the regional
expert survey is at its final stage. Up to now, the following measures have
been undertaken:
- Developing and piloting
interview plan in Donetsk oblast
- Identifying regional
experts in Donetsk, Lviv, Chernigiv, Sumy oblasts and the Republic of Crimea
- Analyzing the legal
acts regulating the sphere of the information policy, the land and agrarian
reforms in Ukraine
- Analyzing the sociological
research and surveys exploring attitudes towards and perception of the land
and agrarian reforms, land reform awareness level of the Ukrainian peasants
and Ukrainian population at large
- Analyzing the sociological
research and marketing surveys exploring patterns of information flow to
the peasants, level of people’s confidence to various state and local
government agencies, mass media outlets, the most popular newspapers, TV and
radio stations in rural area
Before conducting an
analysis of existing sociological and marketing literature, the literature
survey has been accomplished. Internet search for relevant scholarly literature
and research done by analytical centers in Western Europe and the United
States of America, and international organizations has been conducted. Contacts
with leading Ukrainian sociological institutes and agencies have been established.
I have subscribed to the information bulletin of the Ukrainian Institute
of the Social Research and held preliminary talks with representatives of
Socis-Gallup Ukraine about acquiring their media monitoring materials
- Analyzing existing
institutional framework of the information policy in the sphere of the land
and agrarian reforms and, in a broader sense, of the institutions called
upon to provide information support of the on-going and prospective reforms
and state programs
- Identifying and contacting
Russian leading sociological institutes conducting surveys and research of
the peasants’ and Russian citizens’ attitude towards agrarian
and land reforms in Russian Federation. Conducting an analysis of the results
of relevant sociological surveys.
I have subscribed to the Russian Public Opinion Foundation (www.fom.ru)
information bulletin
Compiling information
resources and research materials of the Project
- The list and characteristics
of Ukrainian mass media, information agencies and TV and radio broadcasts
covering agrarian and land reforms in Ukraine
- The list of the
Ukrainian ‘agrarian journalists’ (as interviews with journalists
have been conducted on the condition of anonymity, the list will not be available
on the website)
- The database of
legal acts regulating the sphere of the information policy, land and agrarian
reforms in Ukraine (the database of translations will be placed on the website)
- The list and characteristics
of the Ukrainian research institutions active in the area of sociological
research of the agrarian and land reforms, information flow patterns in rural
area (ratings and popularity of mass media outlets, etc)
- The list and characteristics
of the Ukrainian NGOs being active (or having been) in the sphere of the
agrarian and land reforms in Ukraine
-
The list and short overview of the international technical assistance
projects in Ukraine with significant rural information campaign components
3. SEMINAR / CONFERENCES
PARTICIPATION
During the first half
of the Project, the following international conferences have been attended:
1. “The Role
of Agrarian Information in the Transition to European Integration”,
Kyiv, Ukraine, 21-26
May 2001
The conference has been organized by the The Ministry of Agrarian Policy
of Ukraine, The Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences, Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Association of the
Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD), etc.
The following topics
have been addressed by the conference participants:
Role of agricultural statistical, scientific, technical and market information
on path to European integration
International organizations and development of agricultural information
systems;
European cooperation in creation and distribution of agricultural information;
International exchange by agricultural information using WEB-technologies
and its standardization
Creation and utilization of banks (bases) of agricultural statistical
and scientific and technical information of mass using
Library resources: development and exchange. Cooperation between National
agricultural libraries;
The development systems of information and consulting service (Extension
Service)
The distant agricultural education and consulting
The purpose of my attending
this conference has been to receive first-hand information about recent initiative
of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine to deploy the network of agricultural
consulting centers throughout the country.
Raison d’etre
of the centers is to provide business, legal, financial, technological etc
advice and consulting services to the whole range of agricultural business
entities, from large agricultural enterprises to small private house holdings
conducting profit-oriented activity.
2. 5th Conference
of the Polish Association “Cities on the Internet” titled “Information
Society as a Guarantee of Democracy”, 20-23 June 2001, Zakopane,
Poland
The conference was
held under the honorary patronage of DG INFSO of European Commission, Council
of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), European Local Authorities
Telematic Network Initiative (ELANET), President of Poland, Parliamentary
Commission of Self-government and Regional Politics, State Committee of Scientific
Research and Ministry of Telecommunications.
It has been organized
by Federation of Municipalities and Regions, Krakow, Poland, "Cities on Internet"
Association, Tarnów, National Contact Point of 5 th Framework Programme
in Poland - Institute of Basic Technological Problems at Polish Academy
of Science, Warsaw, Municipium S.A., Warsaw, Tatrzanski District, Zakopane
and Association of Polish Cities, Poznan.
The purpose of my participation has been to acquire the insight into the
recent developments and experience of information society building and ICT
applications in local government-citizens communication, ICT component of
the state information policy in Poland and European Union, and to explore
opportunities for launching similar projects in Ukraine, forming the partnerships
of Ukrainian
and Polish local governments, and
securing funding for such activities from the EU, international organizations
During the first half
of the fellowship I published (as a co-author) the following article:
N.Korchakova, A.Marusov. The Fifth Wheel in a Peasant Cart? The Role of
Public Organizations in Land Reform in Ukraine // National Security and
Defence, # 5 (17), 2001
The journal “National
Security and Defence” is published by the Ukrainian Center for Economic
and Political Studies, the leading Ukrainian think-tank. Its characteristic
by one of the interviewees gives a clue to some patterns of the state-NGO
relations in Ukraine.
As the research is moving forward, the materials for possible journalist
and analytical publications are being compiled and opportunities for publishing
them are being explored.