“German-Ukrainian expert exchange is effective – sustainable, practical, cooperative”: Under this motto, the Utility Platform invited municipal utilities from Germany and Ukraine to a digital workshop on 16 September 2025. The participants come from the drinking water, wastewater, waste, and recycling sector and are already involved in a German-Ukrainian operator partnership—some even since 2021, i.e., before the war of aggression.
The aim of the event was to appeal particularly to those operators who have had less opportunity to gain experience in professional exchange. Through practical input, open discussions, and exchanges with experienced colleagues, concrete success factors were identified, uncertainties addressed, and new motivation sparked.
Common understanding and clear needs
Moderator Reinhard Hannesschläger led the workshop and opened with survey results based on an anonymous questionnaire completed by participants in advance of the event: both German and Ukrainian partners rated their cooperation to date positively. Many employees from Ukrainian utilities wanted the opportunity to regularly exchange ideas on technical topics with their German partners in a structured setting. The survey results showed that many German employees were also willing to engage in more intensive technical exchanges.
Both sides identified human resources and the ongoing security situation in Ukraine caused by the war as common challenges. Nevertheless, the desire to cooperate prevailed: both sides were highly motivated to further intensify the exchange of expertise.
Learning from practicing partnership: Three powerful practical ideas
A key highlight of the workshop were three practical contributions from existing operator partnerships. All three contributions provided insights into the structure of the technical exchange, the expectations and needs on the Ukrainian side, the framework conditions for successful cooperation, and learning experiences from practice. These experience reports underscored that technical exchange based on partnership is not only possible but also effective despite adverse circumstances. Chernihivvodokanal, for example, reported that through regular exchanges with its German partner OOWV, Ukrainian employees were able to gain new knowledge that they want to put directly into practice – for example, in the introduction of SCADA systems for automated process control and monitoring, the use of trenchless technologies for pipe rehabilitation, and modern approaches to water and wastewater treatment. Such experiences, combined with targeted procurement, increase the efficiency of operations, improve the knowledge and motivation of employees, and make a measurable contribution to reducing water losses and ensuring sustainable water quality.
There was also very positive news for partnerships that have previously focused on the procurement of technical equipment: Current procurement projects in particular offer many opportunities for technical discussions that can be transformed into structured professional exchanges.
Practical guide for professional exchange: From practice for practice
Based on the many years of experience our partners have gained in establishing German-Ukrainian professional exchanges, a practical guide has been developed for setting up and implementing German-Ukrainian professional exchanges within the framework of operator partnerships. This guide is intended to support participants from municipal companies in new operator partnerships in establishing a structured German-Ukrainian professional exchange that is beneficial for both sides.
Creating synergies: GIZ and the expert program
Oksana Oliynyk, coordinator for Ukrainian partnerships at GIZ Ukraine, presented GIZ Ukraine’s projects designed to help operator partnerships achieve synergies. The BMZ program “Expert Fund for Municipal Partnerships Worldwide” was also presented. It enables qualified experts to be deployed in Ukrainian municipal companies to strengthen partnerships. Two experts are already successfully deployed: at the Ecoservice 2022 waste management association in the Poltava Oblast and at the municipal water utility in Lviv (Lvivvodokanal).
Offener Austausch in Kleingruppen und Ausblick
Finally, participants discussed challenges and opportunities relating to finding topics and implementing professional exchanges in interactive small groups. It became clear that when experts discuss among themselves, exciting topics for exchange are quickly found. However, a suitable framework must be created for this, and nothing beats getting to know each other in person on site.
The positive feedback on the workshop shows that there is a great need for exchange and networking among those involved in German-Ukrainian partnerships and that there is a high level of interest in further events on partnership work in the context of war. The Utility Platform will strengthen the growing network with additional offerings.
We would be happy to send you the workshop presentation if you would like further information. If you are interested, please contact us. utilityplatform@giz.de.
