Support to Service Accessibility in Ukraine through "Prosto"

When the Prosto project launched in July 2021, its main mission was to support Ukrainian municipalities, hromadas, establish and modernise Administrative Service Centers (ASCs), ensuring citizens could access vital services close to home. Following the Russian military invasion in 2022, project activities were adapted to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian population. Built on SALAR International’s earlier experience with U-LEAD with Europe, Prosto continued until May 2024.

Decentralisation has been one of the top priorities in the extensive reform programme launched by the Government of Ukraine after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. Decentralisation and local government reform aims to develop Ukraine’s sub-national public administration structures and functions in line with the European Charter on Local Self–Government. The Swedish Government has supported these efforts since 2014.

In 2015, changes in law gave hromadas the mandate to deliver administrative services and to create ASCs. The finalisation of the administrative territorial system and the adoption of Law 943 on Service accessibility in 2020 required all hromadas to open ASCs by the end of 2023. According to the law, ASCs were to be established in all areas with more than 10 000 residents.

At the start of the Prosto project in 2021, 1055 ASCs were operational nationwide. By the end, this number had risen to 1,318, covering 90% of all hromadas. Prosto played a crucial role in opening and providing institutional support to these new ASCs.

Adapting in the face of crisis

From its inception, Prosto worked with hromadas across every region of Ukraine. Support packages were adapted for municipalities that had already established ASCs as well as those that had not. After Russia’s invasion in 2022, the project increasingly focused on hromadas most affected by the war or that had previously been occupied, with crisis support.

Prosto consisted of eight activity areas, all aimed at enhancing the capacity of local authorities to deliver administrative services:

1. Support hromadas in establishing or modernizing ASCs.
2. Create Help Desks to provide expert consultations on establishing and improving ASCs, including the quality and quantity of services.
3. Train political leadership, ASC staff, and management to ensure more effective service delivery.
4. Provide policy advice to advance legislation and public policies that improve access to high-quality administrative services.
5. Strengthen citizen engagement and information sharing, helping municipalities communicate about ASC services and involve residents in democratic processes.
6. Facilitate peer-learning exchanges between hromadas with ASCs, including relocation programs for ASC staff in frontline or previously occupied areas.
7. Support Starostas, who play a key role in delivering services to remote settlements.
8. Provide crisis and recovery support to hromadas most affected by the conflict, focusing on maintaining public service provision.

Gender equality was integrated across all activities through targeted training, analysis, and project management.

Strengthening communities when it mattered most

Despite war and disruption, Prosto delivered results that directly improved lives.

It supported the establishment or significant modernization of 48 ASCs, serving more than 561 655 people across partner hromadas (based on pre-war statistics). Near the northern border and areas of intense military action, 21 psychological group consultations were organised for ASC staff assisting IDP’s, veterans, and families in challenging conditions.Additionally, 43 reallocation and internship programs connected hromadas in the East and West during the early phase of the war. Material support, including IT equipment and vehicles, was provided to 162 Hromada's, serving a population of around 3 million people.

The project also contributed to the creation of an ongoing Help Desk service, developed in close coordination with the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MinDigital), which now provides on-demand support to more than 200 municipalities. To improve the quality of the help-desk service, 91 open-call training sessions were held, attracting more than 5 221 participants from over 500 hromadas, of whom 87.9% were women and 12.1% men. In addition, 489 Starostas from 44 hromadas across 17 regions received specialized training on administrative service provision under wartime conditions.

Monitoring and evaluation formed an integral part of the work. Three rounds of monitoring targeted 140 hromadas particularly affected during the first year of the war, providing comprehensive data on service provision and restoration in liberated municipalities. These insights ensured that support remained responsive to local needs.

Citizen engagement was another central focus. Through initiatives such as crisis communication and information-sharing grants, 32 hromadas were supported, and 1,105 representatives were trained to strengthen local outreach and participation.

Finally, Prosto developed essential methodological and policy resources to guide long-term improvements in administrative services. These include The White Book on Administrative Service Provision Policy, Starosta in the Community (focusing on institutional capacity), and practical guides on crisis communication, service provision during emergencies, and integrating gender into wartime administrative services.

Conclusions

The Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022 significantly shaped project implementation, requiring rapid adaptation to meet emerging needs. This included the growoing demand for support to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and address destruction in hromadas. These challenges were adressed through strong partnerships with local governments and ministries, which ensured that both material and institutional support were effective and responsive to community needs.

Decentralisation of administrative services, being a central aim of Prosto, proved to have a significant influence in the resilience of local governments during the war. Local communities were able to maintain service provision and coordination despite the challenges brought upon by the conflict.

Nonetheless, even after the conclusion of Prosto, the need for additional support is high. SALAR International’s new program Polaris, aims to continue strengthening decentralisation in Ukraine. Supporting multi-level governance will be essential for creating synergies across sectors such as finance, education, and inter-municipal cooperation.

Polaris

Alexander Mazurkin
alexander.mazurkin@skr.se

Sanna Rosén
sanna.rosen@skr.se