Donor:

Promoting active citizenship engagement (ACTION) in combating corruption in Ukraine Project, Millenium Challenges Corporation, MSI, USAID

Role in the project:

Principal implementing body

Implementation period:

March – September 2009

The project aimed at monitoring of the websites of 176 Ukrainian cities granted with regional status in relation to transparency and access to public information. The other project objectives were to conduct trainings for municipal officials, to develop and promote the standards of information openness and Model public information openness provisions, and to publish guidebook for the municipal officials on information openness. 

The study was conducted by a coalition of NGOs (Public Advocacy Anticorruption Network aimed at monitoring access to information at the local government level represented by 7 professional organizations from Ukraine) established specifically for the monitoring purpose. The Agency played the role of a leading implementing partner (Coalition coordinator) in the monitoring process; provided expert and methodological accompaniment; managed the division of functions, tasks, and responsibilities in regards to monitoring performance between the Coalition participants; conducted the informational support to the Coalition activities; organized the Coalition prescriptive meetings. 

Project outputs and results: The Agency developed an outstanding monitoring methodology and tools - the rating of official websites of 176 cities granted with the regional status in 24 regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea of Ukraine. The subject matter of the research included the contents of the official websites in different cities, their practical use, public involvement in the work of a local self-government body, and services provided through the websites. Eventually, the evaluation was performed, the official websites of each target city were studied and rated. The Agency has prepared the National Report based on the results of the monitoring exposing the current status of information openness of local self-government bodies with respect to provision of public information through the Internet. The best practices and problems were identified. The special presentation event was organized in Kyiv with participation of city mayors, officials of local councils, analytical centres (the National Conference on Presentation of National Study (Rating) of official city websites in relation to transparency and access to public information, September 2009, 50 participants). 4 regional level trainings on principles and instruments of information openness have been organized and held in Lugansk, Odesa, Kyiv and Ternopil. The participants were the municipal officials from all regions of Ukraine (over 100 participants). The Agency also drafted, published and disseminated the special Guidebook for Municipal Officials on Information Openness. As a direct result of the monitoring, seven municipalities granted with the regional status, including Boryspil, Vosnesensk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Slavutych, Sumy and Lysychansk, after the project completion have simplified and modernized their websites in accordance with the recommendations and provided their web sites with the official status. Taking the success of the monitoring, the Agency was contracted to organize another National conference in Kyiv ‘Transparent Governance: community strengths and trust’ (November 2009, 94 participants). The participants represented the authority institutions, civil society organizations and public leaders. 

The project results played an essential role while developing the Law of Ukraine on Access to Public Information, which for the first time, introduced a normative definition of the notion of ‘public information’ and legalized official websites as sources of public information.

The Agency also was invited to present the study and its results at the 1st Global Conference on Transparency Research (Rutgers University – Newark, USA, May 19-20, 2011, www.spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/1stGCTR), the corresponding paper was included into the conference materials (www.spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/files/Transparency_Research_Conference/Papers/Fedorovych_Oksana.pdf).