Kharkiv Oblast has started preparations for the implementation of the public investment management (PIM) reform, which will have a significant impact on municipalities requiring new knowledge and skills from them. To effectively launch this process, the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe together with the Department of Economics and International Relations of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration hosted a meeting with the senior municipal officials of the oblast.
Together with representatives of 30 municipalities of Kharkiv Oblast, including village, settlement and town mayors, heads of military administrations and specialists of designated units, they discussed effective management of public investments by municipalities, knowledge and skills are needed for this and the support they can receive from the regional authorities and U-LEAD in this process.
"This is a new level of managerial maturity. Formation of medium-term public investment plans, development of priority projects and effective work with the investment portfolio – all this requires an integrated approach and is essential for the recovery of territories,” Maryna Honcharenko, the Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD, said at the beginning of the meeting.
Yevhen Ivanov, the Deputy Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, also highlighted the importance of public investment for the region’s recovery and sustainable development: “We must be ready to implement the ultimate reform algorithm. First, we need to create or identify designated structural units at the local level. The development of a medium-term plan requires special attention. It sets priorities that allow funds to be effectively allocated to projects that are the most significant to the municipality. This is an important area of work, as public investments are aimed at achieving the goals of the Strategic Municipal Development Plan.”
The key expert presentation was delivered by Olha Shamaieva, the Deputy Director of the Department of Economics and International Relations of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration — the Head of the Municipal Development Office. She spoke about the main directions and stages of the PIM reform, highlighting the development of the medium-term plan of priority public investments of municipalities.
Speaking about the priority steps to implement these changes, Maryna Honcharenko urged municipalities to focus on several key tasks in 2025:
Step 1. Establishing a local investment council that will coordinate all investment processes at the municipality level.
Step 2. Elaborating a medium-term plan of priority public investments, which will strategically identify development areas.
Step 3. Initiating investment projects and programmes that will meet the real needs of the municipality.
Step 4. Forming sectoral project portfolios and assessing them.
Step 5. Selecting the key priority projects for implementation and combining all initiatives into one project portfolio.
“The new reform opens up opportunities for municipalities to engage in high-quality development planning and is part of a broader system of strategic planning and budgetary processes in Ukraine. It provides for transparent and effective planning, assessment, financing and follow-up of investment projects at the municipality level,” said Maryna Honcharenko.
Maryna Honcharenko also outlined key expected outcomes of the reform: funds will be spent more wisely, only truly necessary projects will be implemented, and decisions will be based on analysis, not vice versa.
