The staff of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development presented a project on Local Reform Support Teams to ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions of the G7 countries, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the EU Delegation to Ukraine. The key task of these teams is to provide local support in the areas of anti-corruption policy, investment project management, and digital tools.

“Ukraine’s effective recovery requires coordinated cooperation between the central authorities and local governments. That is why, as part of the decentralization reform, we aim to create an institutional framework for such cooperation, as well as to help hromadas improve their own management and planning.

The proposed Reform Support Teams will consist of independent experts with extensive experience in implementing modern digital tools and project management. Their main task is to adapt the work of local governments to modern challenges and help them reach a new level in managing and planning their activities,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

The Offices will also assist in the following areas:

• increasing the capacity of hromadas in designing strategic recovery and development plans;
• providing advisory support in attracting investment and implementing recovery projects;
• improving the transparency and openness of local self-government.

In addition, the Offices will provide hromadas with a tool for effective interaction with donors.

“Currently, many hromadas do not have the necessary experience and expertise in interacting with donors and implementing infrastructure projects with external financing. This problem is to be solved by the Reform Support Offices, which will help to directly communicate with donors and prepare recovery projects.

Another important dimension of their work will be to ensure transparency and openness of local self-government. We plan to achieve this by introducing modern digital tools and improving local government accountability procedures,” said Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

During the meeting, the staff of the Ministry and the newly established State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure also presented plans for recovery projects and groundwork for an effective recovery management system. All projects will take into account the best international practices of urban development, including the needs for energy efficiency, modern supply systems, security and inclusiveness.