This issue is relevant because of the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Democracy at the Local Self-Government Level” that came into force in 2025. It empowers residents to participate in the municipality’s life. Local councils must now also adopt the Municipality Charter and hold public hearings on a broader scope of issues.
Mykhailo Shelep, a Policy Advisor for Decentralisation and Local Self-Government at the Regional Office, spoke about these changes and how to apply them.
However, many municipalities were still looking for ways to enable public participation. The settlement municipality of Rokytne introduced participatory budgeting in 2023. Even in wartime, the village council has found an opportunity to allocate funds for residents’ projects every year so far.
As explained by Hryhorii Tarhonskyi, the Head of Rokytne Settlement Council:
“Participatory budgeting is a direct democracy tool through which every resident of the municipality can propose a project and, following a vote, receive funding for its implementation.”
This experience was the focus of the meeting. The participants learned how to organise participatory budgeting and finance projects, as well as about the previous years’ results. They also visited the village of Masevychi and observed already implemented projects.
According to Mykhailo Shelep, the issue was of interest to the meeting participants because, among the municipalities present, only Rokytne continues to implement participatory budgeting even in times of war.
In addition, the village council employees shared their experience in using the “open municipality” tools. What are those? The “open municipality” tools are a user-friendly and informative website, as well as the VOICE registered electronic voting system. The municipality also implements electronic document management in the council and is connected to the EDEM e-democracy platform.
Rokytne municipality is among the leaders in the region in terms of transparency and digital transformation, notes Ruslan Syvyi, the Head of the Regional Office:
“We saw great examples of management decisions made by the senior municipal officials, including those related to the implementation of the participatory budget, which can be used in other municipalities in the oblast. The U-LEAD with Europe is eager to scale up these practices in the region and across Ukraine.”
Maryna Lobova, the Deputy Head of Regional Operations Unit at U-LEAD with Europe, also joined the meeting. She summarised the event as follows:
“Indeed, building trust by reaching out to residents is a crucial task for every local self-government body, especially during wartime. Therefore, these participatory practices must live on and further reinforce our European values, where every person in Ukrainian municipalities is important and their opinion matters when making administrative decisions. These tools should not be avoided or feared, as every municipality has its own budget and allocates funds anyway. The only difference is whether the authorities consult with their people and whether it will be their joint decision.”
