The Odessa Initiative: A Model for Institutional Reform in Eastern Europe

• Author: Caroline Mascarell
• Position: Institutional Development Specialist in the Human Development Unit

An initiative that involved local residents in reforming Odessa's housing and water sectors demonstrates how popular participation can contribute to the success of development projects.

Known as the "Pearl of the Black Sea," the 200-year-old city of Odessa, with its ethnically diverse population of more than one million, wide range of industries, naval base, fishing fleets, and large port, is Ukraine's most important city for external trade. But living standards plummeted after the onset of transition and, by the mid-1990s, Odessa was in the midst of a severe social crisis. The city lacked basic affordable housing and its water supply was contaminated.

The Odessa Participatory Initiative was conceived in 1995 to enhance the effectiveness of two World Bank-supported operations: (1) developing a housing market that met the needs of Odessa's residents while encouraging home ownership and responsibility for maintaining the housing stock, and (2) transferring water and wastewater management to the local government and recovering costs from consumers to achieve a cost-effective, sustainable use of water. The approach was to develop institutions at the local level to support market reforms in the housing and water sectors. The Initiative was unique in a region in which citizens have little opportunity to tell their governments what services they need or how well these services are being delivered. In fact, one of the major problems threatening the sustainability of development efforts in the countries of the former Soviet Union has been the lack of public voice in decision making.

Approach and methodology

The objective of the Odessa Initiative was to provide a framework that would allow the local government and World Bank staff working on the two projects to obtain information from Odessa's residents on their needs and priorities and to encourage the residents to become active stakeholders in the reform of municipal services. Odessa was a particularly promising site for a participatory initiative because of its strong local institutions-a reform-minded city council, grassroots associations representing a wide range of interests, a growing community of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and major media outlets.

Activities during 1995-96, funded by an interim grant of $150,000 from a Japanese grant facility, were devoted primarily to assessing demand for, and delivery of, housing and municipal water services, and to carrying out a public awareness campaign. Qualitative and quantitative surveys were conducted, primarily by local staff and consultants. The latter included specialists in social surveys from the Department of Sociology and the PULS Research Institute (local survey research institute) of the University of Odessa and from the Department of Housing and Communal Services in the Odessa City Council; specialists in condominium formation from the Housing and Municipal Reform Support Center (a local NGO); and communications specialists from several media and press organizations active in Odessa.

The research was supported by Odessa's mayor, whose special advisor on social issues eventually became the local project coordinator. The latter's strong advocacy was critical in overcoming the skepticism of some city officials about the participatory approach. Also critical was the mayor's creation of a steering committee that monitored the research to ensure that it was relevant to the concerns of city officials and residents. The steering committee included the principal stakeholders in the housing and water sectors, representatives of target groups, faculty members of the Department of Sociology at the University of Odessa, agents of the NGO community, and media representatives.

The Odessa Initiative became effective in...