Project number: #53320

Project period: 2020-2022

Overall budget: 32 000 000 NOK

Funding agency: UD (MFA), Norway

The number of dismissed military officers and the combatants of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine (termed 'veterans'), who need social and professional adaptation, is rapidly increasing. There is no coherent state system of professional adaptation of veterans and their family members in Ukraine.

The objective of the project is integration of the model of professional retraining and social adaptation of veterans and members of their families, carried out by the Ukraine-Norway project in the period 2003-2019, into the state system with coordination with Ukrainian ministries, especially Ministry of Veterans of Ukraine.

To achieve this main objective, Nord University (Norway) and the International Foundation for Social Adaptation (Ukraine) cooperate to transfer the project competence by delivering training to representatives of the Ministry of Veterans across Ukraine, local authorities and non-governmental organizations that are involved in professional and social adaptation of veterans. Existing retraining program will be carried out as a platform for learning and improvement. Thus, a close work is to be conducted with five other Ukrainian ministries: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to support the policy formation on professional retraining and social adaptation; Ministry of Social Policy and Service, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry for Communities and Territorial Development to secure their involvement into the model of professional retraining and social adaptation.

NUPASS Working Group – a coordinating unit of the project

The objective of the NUPASS project is integration of the model of professional retraining and social adaptation of veterans and members of their families, carried out by the “Ukraine-Norway" project in the period 2015-2019, into the state system with coordination of Ukrainian ministries, especially Ministry for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.

To achieve this objective, the Working Group is established to maintain efficient coordination with all Ukrainian ministries that directly (Ministry for Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Defense) and indirectly (Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Healthcare and Ministry of Education) responsible for the professional adaptation and social adaptation in Ukraine.

The NUPASS Working Group works to address the following issues:

1. Integration of the model developed in the “Ukraine-Norway" project into the state system based on dialogue with key state decision-making institutions in Ukraine (most importantly, the Ministry for Veterans Affairs);

2. Integration of “best practices" into the Ministry of Veterans' concept “Veterans Spaces", creating the conditions for the comprehensive solution to the problem of professional retraining and social adaptation of veterans;

3. Evaluation of the integrated model for its compliance with the requirements of legislative acts of Ukraine;

4. Organization of on-line and off-line training for leaders of NGOs, representatives of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs in the regions and local authorities, further called as Social Adaptation Managers (SAMs) of Target group 1 (TG1);

5. Continuation and expansion of the project's operations to all regions of Ukraine, forming in all 24 regional entities stable pair of partners: a university and an NGO;

6. Maintenance of the professional retraining, social adaptation and assistance in self-/ employment of at least 3,500 veterans and their family members – Target group 2 (TG2) (with co-financing from the side of Ukrainian ministries);

7. Efficient coordination with international donors so that all international projects do complement the development of different elements of the state system and not compete with each other;

8. Attraction of additional co-financing from other sources, as international donors, NGOs, local governments and businesses;

9. Continuous monitoring of the quality of all activities and the targeted use of funds through the “Social Audit" conducted by High North Center, Nord University Business School.

The Working Group consists of representatives from the key ministries and other stakeholder representatives and NUPASS project management.

The Working Group is established in 2020 and will run during the project period in order to maintain the dialogue with representatives of the key stakeholders in Ukraine to secure their involvement into the model of professional retraining and social adaptation. The members of the Working Group will also participate in meetings of various ministries and departments on the development and adjustment of the legislative framework. These measures should ensure project's compatibility with the emerging state system.

Since 2003, for Nord University Business School, the key Ukrainian partner has been the International Foundation for Social Adaptation (IFSA).

For 2003-2019, the previous project “Retraining and Social Adaptation of Military Officers and their Family Members" (termed the “Ukraine-Norway" project) has been implemented, with the support of the Kingdom of Norway. Since 2003, 10,636 people have received professional and social adaptation in frames of the “Ukraine-Norway" project.

From perspective of the “Ukraine-Norway" project that was running for 16 years, currently it is the right time to be integrated into the emerging state system. Thus, the new NUPASS project focuses on close cooperation with the Ministry for Veterans Affairs and other Ukrainian ministries in order to share the long-term experience accumulated and to integrate it into the developing system of professional adaptation in all regions of Ukraine. The new project will also ensure that the project executes the proper exit strategy by transferring the competences and knowledge to the Ukrainian state institutions.

For more information about the current stage of NUPASS project execution, unique core-components of the project and recent news, visit the IFSA webp​age​. 

The role of the High North Center for Business and Governance (NOS)​ at Nord University Business School in cooperation with IFSA is to organize the system of financing and internal control over the targeted use of funds, universities and public organizations participating in the Ukraine-Norway project, and it is transparent.

To ensure a continuous monitoring of the quality of all project activities and the targeted use of funds, team from NOS, Nord University Business School, will develop theoretical understanding of “social audit" and implement it in practice.

Social audit

The main idea behind “social audit" concept is to establish a procedure for recognizing, measuring and reporting the moral, social and environmental effects and impacts of a project.

The main impact of the Ukraine-Norway project was the reduction of negative consequences of military reforms and actions in Ukraine as well as consequences of increasing number of redundant military officers, veterans and their family members experiencing problems of social adaptation to civil life. The overall objective of the NUPASS project is the integration of the professional and social adaptation model, developed by the “Ukraine-Norway" project during 2003-2019 into the state system of Ukraine for more efficient professional adaptation and social adaptation of veterans and their family members into the civil society.

In order to achieve those aims, three preconditions are identified:

1) The system of professional adaptation is designed to fit State System of professional adaptation of former military officers and veterans;

2) Target Group 1 (i.e. SAMs, including representatives from the Ministry of Veterans, NGOs and local authorities, etc. that are involved in the professional adaptation of veterans “get equipped" with skills and knowledge how to work with veterans and their family members);

3) Target Group 2 as a platform for training of and learning for the Target Group 1. At the same time, veterans and their spouses (Target Group 2) obtain new skills and knowledge in civil career-oriented education, have adequate psychological conditions to work in the civil sector and get either self-employed or find employment after the program's completion.

Thus, the main indicator, that defines achievement of the long-term goal of the project, is access of the larger number of veterans to the professional adaptation program that is integrated into the State System, and consequently improvement in the living conditions of retrained candidates.

Monitoring through regular surveys of TG1 and TG2 should show:

1. TG1's preparedness and ability to deal with issues of professional retraining of veterans; and

2. that personnel retrained and socially adapted by the state system based on the new integrated model obtain the similar result in employment/self-employment as well as improvements of living conditions as those retrained by the project.​