The issues of institutional and administrative capability for the purpose of successful implementation of municipality investment projects were topical at the key session of the second day of the conference by U-LEAD with Europe 2021 International Expert Discussion: Partnership for Development. Professor of the London School of Economics Andres Rodriguez Pose, a leading modern scientist in economic geography and regional planning, was the speaker of the session. In 2021 Mr. Rodriguez Pose was recognized to be one of the most cited researchers in the world.

The session was moderated by Nataliya Starostenko, the head of the regional and local development sector of the EU Representative Office to Ukraine, who claimed that the EU had been supporting decentralization in Ukraine from the very beginning via U-LEAD with Europe – a flagship programme by the EU, working with scientists and practitioners from different countries for the purpose of enhancing local and central authorities’ capacity to efficiently perform their functions and powers.