During the annual Bucha Forum ‘Reforms. Decentralisation. European Integration’, Oksana Harnets, President of DESPRO, presented a unique tool – the e-consultation platform with local governments (KOMS), which already provides direct dialogue between state authorities and communities.

How the KOMS platform works

The KOMS platform (https://consultoms.in.ua) is an innovative digital tool created on the initiative of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.

‘The purpose of the platform is to facilitate open dialogue between state authorities and local governments, which is essential for building mutual trust and resolving a wide range of political and socio-economic issues,’ Oksana Harnets emphasised during the presentation.

Key principles of the platform:

• Voting based on the principle of ‘one local government – one vote’
• 1,451 authorised representatives of communities (99% of the total number)
• Confidentiality of responses and openness of summarised results
• Analytical notes based on the results of each consultation

Real results today

The platform has already hosted five national consultations, including:

• ‘On the Law of Ukraine “On Self- Organisation Bodies of the Population”’
• ‘On the Concept of Local Self-Government Reform’
• ‘On Guarantees for the Activities of Local Councillors’
• ‘On the Problems of the Powers of Community Leaders under Martial Law’

‘The Verkhovna Rada Committee is already using the results of consultations to prepare draft laws for the second reading, identify problems, and develop new legislative initiatives,’ said Oksana Harnets.

Prospects for development

Although the platform is currently operating in test mode, it is already demonstrating its effectiveness. The committee has planned eight new consultations on key draft laws concerning decentralisation.

A significant development was the adoption of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Public Consultations’, which establishes electronic consultations as a compulsory means of engaging with the public.

‘The KOMS platform is not just a technological tool; it is a real mechanism that enables communities to influence decisions that directly affect their development,’ concluded Oksana Harnets.

Bucha Forum ‘Reforms. Decentralisation. European Integration’ was organised by the Committee on State Administration, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.

The event was held with the assistance and support of the U-LEAD with Europe, the Swiss-Ukrainian ‘Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education’ (DECIDE) Project, implemented with the support of Switzerland, the ‘E-Governance for Accountability and Participation’ (EGAP) Programme, implemented by the East Europe Foundation, the Swiss-Ukrainian ‘Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development’ (UCORD) Project, the Swedish-Ukrainian ‘Support for Multilevel Governance in Ukraine’ (Polaris) Programme, the RELEVE Project, implemented by Expertise France, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and the DESPRO public organisation.