Preconditions for volunteers’ participation in social and economic development of communities

The aim of the article.The aim of the article is the research of volunteerism as a resource for improving the efficiency of local government functioning.The results of the analysis.To improve the welfare of the community, local authorities often lack not only resources, but time to implement all intentions. On the other hand, the needs of community are quite diverse and there is not possibility to envisage all their possible variants. This situation is a significant barrier to improving of population welfare, its satisfaction of the environment. One solution to this problem is the use of volunteerism to implement plans of local authorities and civil society initiatives.Social activity in our country is at the level of leading West European countries, not far behind only the index of Great Britain. This fact testifies to the great potential of domestic civil society, which is still not fully structured, but is already ready for action.Studies have shown that more than half of Ukrainian ready free of charge to engage in cleaning and organizing the territory of the community, help the needy orphans and disabled, as well as participate in planting of greenery of the settlement. The most controversial Ukrainians relate to their participation in law enforcement. Almost half of them do not agree to participate in it under any circumstances. Insteadfifth of the Ukrainian society is ready to engage in such activities even free of charge. Approximately the same part of Ukrainians is ready free of charge to organize leisure and rest for others. About three-quarters of the population of Ukraine are categorically opposed or undecided about their participation in the activities of local self-governments, as well as associations of owners of joint apartment houses (condominiums). Citizens of Ukraine are ready and participate actively in solving national and social problems, but do not want to solve local problems as volunteers, not willing to take responsibility for solving their own municipal problems.A survey of residents of towns and villages, which was conducted by the authors in the strategic planning of cities and towns, found that in 2007-2014years at least one third of the adult members of the community believe in own possibility for solving the problems of cities.In such a situation, local authorities should learn to establish effective cooperation with volunteers formal and informal organizations to create mechanisms that would help to attract volunteers into the process of solving social and technical problems, implementation of local development programs. The high rating of trust in volunteers during their participation in the work of local self-governments, public communal institutions will increase confidence in the local authorities and therefore assist in their work.Conclusions and directions of further researches.On the basis of the undertaken study, it is possible to conclude that the regulatory framework volunteering in Ukraine began to be formed relatively recently. However, the rapid development of this activity in recent years in Ukraine should encourage local authorities to look for their own ways to attract this resource to local development, not waiting until all issues of the participation of volunteers in solving local problems will be well-regulated legislatively.The paper identified a number of preconditions (positive experience of volunteerism at the national and local levels; willingness of population of Ukraine to carry on volunteer activity even in the terms of worsening of their material position; positive attitude of the society toward participating of volunteers in making decision in relation to optimization of government authorities activities in different spheres; real necessity to take responsibility for the problems solving of own community) that encourage the intensification of the participation of volunteers in supporting social and economic development of local communities.The author vision of components of mechanism of volunteers attraction for providing of the social and economic development is offered.