THIS IS THE SECOND QUARTERLY DIGEST ISSUED BY THE SECRETARIAT OF THE DONOR BOARD ON DECENTRALIZATION REFORM AT THE MINISTRY OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNAL SERVICES OF UKRAINE (MINREGION).

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Decentralization
Reform in Ukraine
Donor Board on
THIS IS THE SECOND QUARTERLY DIGEST ISSUED BY THE SECRETARIAT OF THE DONOR BOARD ON DECENTRALIZATION REFORM AT THE MINISTRY OF REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNAL SERVICES OF UKRAINE (MINREGION).
During October-December 2017, the main efforts of the Donor Board Secretariat were streamed to
а) activating the work of sectoral Working Groups (WGs), including establishing cooperation between MinRegion and
relevant line Ministries and state agencies on decentralization in such sectors as social welfare, health care and
public security;
b) ensuring cross-fertilization between priorities discussed by the different WGs under the Donor Board and drafting
the MinRegion’s Action Plan for 2018 with the support of the U-LEAD project.
In November/December 2017, first discussions were held between the EU Delegation (incoming Co-Chair), the Swiss
Cooperation Office (outgoing Co-Chair) and MinRegion on the future terms of reference and staffing of the Donor
Board Secretariat.
The Secretariat has been participating in the work of the Task Force established by U-LEAD to support MinRegion in
setting up an integrated automated monitoring system that will combine tracking of decentralization reform
achievements across the country, including the indicators of the Common Results Framework, and key sectors and
regional development dynamics.
Below is the summary of priority themes stemming from the different WGs that will require the Donor Board’s
attention in 2018.
Digest
October-December 2017
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ADMINISTRATIVE TERRITORIAL REFORM
AND DECENTRALIZATION LEGAL
FRAMEWORK
The group members advocate for accelerating the pace
of the territorial-administrative reform and the
completion of voluntary amalgamation processes by the
end of 2018, in order to be able to conduct local
elections scheduled for 2020 on a new administrative
and territorial basis. This will imply passage of a number
of key laws allowing maximizing the coverage of the
territory of Ukraine with amalgamated hromadas,
activating the work of Local Self-Government
Development Centers, and introducing measures to
stimulate the amalgamation process.
In November 2017, the donors and international
organizations represented on the Donor Board
submitted a joint statement to the Speaker of the
Verkhovna Rada, stressing the need for advancing
legislation in particular areas to further advance the
reform of local self-government and territorial
organization of power in Ukraine. A follow-up meeting
with the Verhovna Rada’s Committee on State Building,
Regional Policy and Local Self-Governance is planned for
February 2018.
LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT FINANCES
AND BUDGETING
The WG on Local Self-Government Finances and
Budgeting expanded its membership to the Ministry of
Finance and the Investment Promotion Office. The
group has been discussing the importance of the
transition of all newly formed hromadas towards direct
intergovernmental fiscal relations with the State Budget
of Ukraine in 2018, and refinement of the draft Law on
the State Budget for 2018 – both issues are attended by
the Ministry of Finance. Among other pending issues the
group raised the following: capacity building on
program-based management for hromadas in the
context of the recent changes in the Budget Code that
require formation of budgets on the basis of
program-based planning; stimulating the increase of
local budget revenues through favorable conditions for
economic development, including settling the issues of
land management competencies of hromadas and
improving their spatial planning abilities.

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5
LOCAL DEMOCRACY
The responsible WG has been discussing the
Democracy Modernization Concept elaborated with the
support of the Renaissance Foundation, following its
presentation at the 12th All Ukrainian Conference on
Local Democracy in November. It also discussed the
need, on the one hand, to find the right balance
between setting key principles and providing guidance
to hromadas and, on the other hand, to secure
flexibility and independence of hromadas in ensuring
local democracy. It was proposed to discuss further
improvement of the legislation of Ukraine regulating
the issues of local democracy in the framework of the
working group created by the Committee of Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine on the issues of state construction,
regional policy and local self-government.
5.1 Administrative Services
The group has been closely following the results of
monitoring of the CNAP formation process, conducted
by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade,
and has initiated a national survey on administrative
services quality. The issue of coordination of
approaches to software provided to CNAPs by different
technical assistance projects will be a priority in the first
quarter of 2018.
5.2 Municipal Services
The WG has been advocating for inter-sectoral
coordination and launching of the work on the
elaboration of a National Water Strategy (water and
sanitation). This issue has been pending for six months
and requires closer attention of the Donor Board and
the MinRegion.
5.3 Humanitarian policy
Coordination between the Ministry of Education, the
Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and
the MinRegion regarding the establishment of
educational-humanitarian districts in hromadas is under
way. Integration of social welfare issues in the Common
Results Framework (CRF) in the work of this WG was
initiated by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and
will be among priority items on the agenda in January
2018.
The work on decentralization of orphans care
(inter-agency coordination on this topic was launched
successfully with the support of the Donor Board
Secretariat) is now framed within a WG formerly
established under the Child Ombudsman Office.
5.4. Healthcare Services
Coordination between the Ministry of Health and the
MinRegion of technical topics related to the
implementation of state subsidies for rural primary
health care is currently under way. In early 2018 both
Ministries will decide if the establishment of a formal
WGs with a wider focus is necessary. Both the Ministry of
Health and the Health Care Committee of the Verkhovna
Rada appealed to the Donor Board for financial support
of a round of regional presentations on the health care
decentralization reform in early 2018.
5.5 Public Security
The newly launched WG on public security defined the
following priorities for 2018: a) elaboration of a guide on
the organization of integrated civil protection and public
security services at the local level for hromada
managers and sector specialists that will list main
regulatory obligations, contain advice and
recommendations on key organizational issues; b)
piloting and showcasing pilot public security centers at
the local level; c) promotion of decentralization in the
PUBLIC SERVICE PROVISION
REGIONAL
AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
In the fourth quarter of 2017 WG 4 has focused on two
key agendas:
а) Support the development of an advanced national
architecture of development planning documents.
b) Assist the Minregion in finalizing their operational
planning for 2018.
The operation of the WG 4 directly related to the
support of the Minregion staff on a few specific tasks of
policy making slowed down at the end of 2017, due to a
prolonged process of the re-organization of the
Minregion’s structural units responsible for regional
development. In the context of on-going work on
establishing a unified monitoring system, the issue of
monitoring regional development will be a priority in
early 2018.
Digest October-December 2017

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Decentralization
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public security sector with the use of existing
information channels (including the Minregion’s
decentralization site); d) promoting the concept of
community policing at local level; e) coordination and
intensification of provision of training to hromadas on
6.1 Communication
The WG 6.1 has been focusing on coordination of
communication activities between different
stakeholders and the government for 2018 in the
framework of the Communication Strategy and Action
Plan elaborated at the end of 2017, including monitoring
their implementation.
6.2 Training System and Knowledge Management
The need for establishing a coordinated system of
training provision to hromadas in the regions by
different actors, based on well-defined training needs
and priorities, was raised by many WGs and requires
urgent attention. Discussion of this issue with the WG,
U-LEAD and the Central Reform Office is under way.
COMMUNICATION, TRAINING SYSTEMS AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
public security issues (with the focus on an integrated
approach and on ToT through the existing system of
training); f) advocacy for state subsidies/capital
investment schemes in decentralized public security
infrastructure for hromadas.
Digest October-December 2017