86% of the population and 81% of entrepreneurs believe that Ukraine needs to have a strategy for reconstruction in advance — a sociological survey

In the opinion of the population and the business, the future reconstruction should be based on the following basic principles: early strategy, decentralization of inflow of funds, transparency and openness, engagement of citizens and the business in discussions, quality and reputation of recovery works contractors. Ukrainians consider the objects of critical infrastructure and restoration of housing for those who lost it to be among the priorities in the reconstruction. 

Such data were published by Transparency International Ukraine in a sociological study conducted by the Info Sapiens research agency with the support of the USAID Project Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions (SACCI). The survey was conducted among the population and representatives of Ukrainian business about the needs and expectations of the future reconstruction of Ukraine. 

For the vast majority of respondents, the success formula of the future reconstruction consists of the following basic principles:

• Development of reconstruction strategy in advance. Ukraine should develop plans and reconstruction strategies now, so as not to waste time after the victory. 86% of Ukrainians and 81% of business representatives agreed with this opinion. 
• Decentralization of funds. Each affected community has its features, so the plans should be individual. 76% of Ukrainians and 78% of business representatives agreed with this opinion. Accordingly, budgets should be allocated to each project and not distributed centrally — this is the opinion of 50% of Ukrainians and 68% of businesses.
• Transparency and openness of reconstruction. 79% of the population and 62% of business representatives believe that all processes and stages of the country’s recovery should be as transparent and open as possible, for example, using the Prozorro system. Respondents are also interested in access to data on responsible persons, results of control over work performance, control of receipts and expenditures of funds. 
• Citizen and business engagement. Respondents insist that in the process of reconstruction, the authorities should consult the public and the business — this desire is demonstrated by 94% of the population and 91% of entrepreneurs.
• Quality and reputation of contractors. The population clearly supports the idea that the selection of contractors for reconstruction works should be based on the principle of “better longer/more expensive, but better.” More than half of the respondents name high quality of work, reputation (good reviews), and experience in project implementation among the main criteria. At least one of these criteria was mentioned by 93% of respondents. The business fully supports the population in the desire to rely on reputational criteria in the selection of reconstruction works contractors, as well as on factors of experience and proven quality. To be more precise, the propensity to rely on reputation criteria among business representatives is significantly higher than among the population — 71%-73% among the businesses compared to 56% among the population.

Reconstruction priorities

Both the population (59%) and the business (63%) are convinced that housing for those who lost it should be built now, and not wait for major construction after the victory. At the same time, respondents believe that the priority should be to restore the critical infrastructure of the country, and houses come second. 

The population expects that the reconstruction will affect not only the destroyed objects, but will also cover the construction of what the country needed before the war and the modernization of old objects. For example, villagers expect that as part of the reconstruction, roads and social infrastructure (hospitals, schools) in their area will be built / repaired. 

In general, the population and the business share the position that the reconstruction of Ukraine will last up to 10 years or more — this opinion was expressed by 60% of business representatives and the population.

“Ukrainian society pays an extremely high price, fighting for its freedom. Thus, the population demonstrates its growing demand for the future, while declaring its readiness to actively engage in processes and be part of changes. On the one hand, Ukrainians want to get a “magic wand” and build everything better than it was, with strategic planning and comprehensive solutions. On the other hand, they understand the importance of rebuilding housing and infrastructure wherever possible and the relevance of these works today,” said Anastasia Mazurok, Deputy Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine. 

For reference:

Transparency International Ukraine is an accredited chapter of the global movement Transparency International, helping Ukraine grow stronger since 2012. The organization takes a comprehensive approach to the development and implementation of changes for reduction of corruption levels in certain areas.

TI Ukraine helped create and subsequently transferred Prozorro, Prozorro.Sale, eHealth, and Prozvit systems to the state. The team also implemented City Transparency and Accountability Rankings, developed the DOZORRO community to control public procurement, and co-founded the RISE UACoalition, which protects integrity and efficiency in the rebuilding process.

*This research was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the SACCI project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

For reference: The Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions Program in Ukraine (SACCI) is a seven-year initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which aims to assist Ukraine to combat corruption and increase accountability and transparency of governance in Ukraine. The program seeks to empower key government institutions to fight corruption, build public support for and engagement in anti-corruption efforts, reduce citizen tolerance to corruption, as well as ensure maximum transparency and accountability of Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and recovery.