PARASOL Project: Developing a Methodology for Effective Community Recovery

Many communities have great ideas for recovery but often face a challenge: how to turn these ideas into projects that are clear and attractive to investors? This creates a “gap” between community needs and the real opportunities for financing them.

The PARASOL project was launched precisely to address this challenge.

We began with a detailed analysis of successful and unsuccessful project proposals, which allowed us to identify the key factors influencing investors’ decisions. Based on this data, we developed and refined a comprehensive assessment methodology that allows us to objectively measure the readiness of any project.

At the core of our approach is the step-by-step guide “12 Steps to Community Recovery.” This tool helps communities systematize the project preparation process, covering everything from building political will to finding sources of funding.

The central idea of our methodology is to assess projects based on the “Three Cs” principle:

• Strategy: Does the project align with the long-term development plans of the community, region, and country?

• Sustainability: How environmentally responsible, inclusive, and viable is it in the future?

• Capacity: Does the community have all the necessary resources (documents, team, co-financing) for successful implementation?

Eight communities from different regions of Ukraine have already joined our initiative, actively testing and helping to improve the methodology. Alongside them, a team of expert researchers from various fields is working on the project to ensure its maximum effectiveness and relevance.

We are now finalizing this methodology to transform it into a convenient and intuitive tool. In the future, it will allow communities to independently and quickly develop and assess their investment portfolios, receiving clear recommendations on what needs to be improved to attract funding.

We believe our methodology will become a reliable partner for every community on the path to sustainable and effective recovery.

Stay tuned for updates to find out when the assessment tool will be available.

The project is being implemented with the financial support of the Bankwatch Network (https://bankwatch.org/)