Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine continues to work on updating approaches to assessing the capacity of communities.

Today, the updated model was presented to representatives of international technical assistance programmes, expert communities and all-Ukrainian local government associations. The event was attended by representatives of the Swiss-Ukrainian ‘Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development’ (UCORD) and ‘Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education’ (DECIDE), the RELEVE Project of the French international cooperation agency Expertise France, the Swedish-Ukrainian ‘Support to Multilevel Governance in Ukraine’ Polaris Programme, the Alinea International project ‘Recovery for All’ (RFA) with financial support from Global Affairs Canada, the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine, and the programme ‘Support to the Decentralisation in the context of reconstruction and EU integration in Ukraine (UDU U-LEAD with Europe – Phase III)’.

 

 

The updated assessment model was prepared by the Ministry for Development team in collaboration with RFA and Polaris Projects experts. Presented at the end of November, it marked an important stage in consultations with partners and stakeholders. As noted by Oleksii Ryabikin, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the model is provisional and requires broad discussion.

‘We need to conduct the discussion on community capacity professionally and based on clear criteria and data. To develop the fairest and most flexible assessment system possible, we need to receive feedback and proposals from communities, local government associations, experts, and authorities. We need to create a tool that considers the unique features of each territory and the impact of the war, ensuring that every community receives the support it truly requires,’ said Oleksii Riabykin.

 

 

During the discussion, participants analysed in detail the approaches to assessment and the list of criteria that will form the basis for calculating the level of community capacity.

 

 

Currently, the model includes 24 criteria with weighting coefficients, grouped into four categories: human potential (demographics, population dynamics, access to medical services), humanitarian and economic potential (economic activity, internet access, employment, construction index), institutional capacity (cost of maintaining local governments, access to administrative services, international projects and cooperation), and financial capacity (budget revenues and expenditures, tax structure, level of subsidies and transfers). Based on the aggregated indicators, five levels of capacity will be determined: critical, low, sufficient, high, and top. The assessment will be carried out separately for rural, settlement, and urban communities.

All calculations will be based on verified data provided by executive authorities and local governments. This will ensure the analysis is accurate, identify real development needs, and determine the optimal type of support for each community.

The assessment system will help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of communities, as well as the need for financial, institutional or social support.