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GOAL:

Reducing corruption levels in local authorities through increased transparency and accountability, under the control of the competent community and business.

 

Web-page

https://transparentcities.in.ua 

 

Activities:

  • Transparency of local authorities. We developed the Transparency Ranking of the 100 largest cities of Ukraine. We annually analyze the openness of city councils in 14 spheres. We provide recommendations on improvement of the situation and introduction of the best practices of transparency.
  • Accountability of local authorities. In 2021, the Accountability Ranking of 50 Ukrainian cities was concluded. It assessed the actual opportunity for citizens to be engaged in policymaking, to monitor and check the activities of local self-government bodies. We advise city councils on improving the situation and implementing best practices of accountability.
  • Promoting citizen-local government interaction to ensure good governance. We created an online platform of transparency and accountability of local authorities, where community residents and representatives of CSOs can assess the transparency and accountability of local authorities in 14 main spheres of activity, and the authorities can respond to feedback in the format of public dialogue and identify priority areas for development.
  • Development of local initiatives. We teach activists to promote change, instruct them on how to use tools to influence and control the activities of local authorities. We provide the possibility to influence the position of your city in the Accountability Ranking and leave real feedback on the work of local self-government bodies on the platform of transparency and accountability of local authorities.
  • Engagement of an active and competent community. We conduct educational activities for activists; create a network of competent, strong change-makers who can participate in policy formation and implementation; promote the trend of transparency among the population.
  • Transparency training. We conduct training on transparency and accountability for local authorities, activists, and business representatives. We advise city councils on the implementation of best practices and transparency tools.
  • Analytics. We develop qualitative analytics on the situation with transparency and accountability in the cities of Ukraine and in certain spheres of local self-government bodies’ activity.

 

 

 

We believe that transparency multiplied by active engagement of all stakeholders will guarantee not only absence of corruption but also maximum effectiveness of cities.

Olena Ogorodnik, Transparent Cities program manager

Current projects

Transparent Cities e-platform of interaction between citizens and local governments to ensure accountability and good governance.

Viktoriia ONYSHCHENKO
Transparent Cities Program Analyst
[email protected]
Mariia SOKOLCHUK
Communications Manager
[email protected]
Bohdan BALIUK
Transparent Cities program analyst
[email protected]
Achievements in 2017-2020
  • We presented the Transparent Cities online platform, aimed at promoting an effective dialogue between the authorities and the community. 35 city councils and 65 CSOs joined the online platform.
  • Over the five years of ranking the transparency of 100 cities of Ukraine, the average indicator increased by 62.2%. In 2021, 5 cities crossed the 80-point mark at once. The leading city is Mariupol (91 points). The top five leaders included Lviv (85.5), Dnipro (84.2), Drohobych (83.2), and Mukachevo (81.3).
  • In 2021, 40 cities received more than 50 points in the ranking. In 2018, there were 27 such cities, and in 2016 — only 6. The average level of transparency in 2021 was 48.5 points.
  • 54 cities raised their scores.  ChervonohradNovomoskovskMykolayivMukachevo, and Okhtyrka gained the most points in 5 years.
  • The high position in the Ranking is considered by cities as an indicator of investment attractiveness — Mariupol and Drohobych associated the start of cooperation with large investors with leadership in the ranking. Before the full-scale russian invasion, Mariupol attracted more than EUR 160 mln of investment thanks to a high level of transparency in particular.
  • We conducted two accountability studies of 50 cities. The leaders in the Accountability Ranking were Mariupol (58.8), Dnipro(39.8), Ternopil (39.8), Lviv (33.3), Bakhmut (31). The average accountability of 50 cities in 2021 is 16 points.
  • We created the Local Government Transparency Code before the 2020 local elections. It was intended to help candidates for mayor and political parties to be guided in the first practical steps in case of election, concerning the transparency and accountability of the authorities, and to help communities to monitor changes in various spheres of activity of local councils. The Code was supported by 35 candidates in 14 oblasts of Ukraine. Among the 9 mayoral candidates, 7 mayors fulfilled the Code’s obligations by 50% or more during the first year of the term.
  • During 2019-2022, more than 100 consultations were held for representatives of city councils on best practices of transparency and accountability. 25 cities advocated for the adoption of regulatory acts on transparency. In total, 80 city councils cooperated with the Transparent Cities team.
  • The program team created a handbook Municipal Transparency: Best Practices with best practices for implementing Transparency Ranking indicators. The aim is to help local self-government bodies to learn from other cities and become more open to residents.
  • The program’s analytical team prepared 9 studies in 2019-2022.
  • Chapters of TI Latvia and TI Norway used the experience of the Transparent Cities program to develop the Transparency Index of Local Authorities, and TI Ireland — to develop its own Integrity Index.
  • In 2019, we participated in the assessment of Kyiv’s transparency in the Transparency Ranking of European Capitals by TI Slovakia.
  • The program developed a board game which teaches the public how to use transparency tools to resolve urban problems. We conducted about 20 trainings with its use.
  • The Transparency Ranking applies to cities that are not included in the initial Ranking (Pyriatyn, Trostianets, Ladyzhyn, Khmilnyk, Pereyaslav, Truskavets, Horokhiv), other CSOs use our methodology to test the transparency of local authorities locally.
  • We reviewed the Charter of Lviv territorial community.