Regional Development in Policy and Action experts of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme have developed a manual on state support for territorial development in 2019 (DOWNLOAD 2,1 MB).

The implementation of the state regional policy cannot be considered separately from the issue of reforming the administrative-territorial system, fiscal decentralisation, development and stimulation of competitive economy principles, strengthening the role of local self-government. That is why the State Regional Development Strategy for 2020 defines “decentralisation of state powers by delegating them to the local level with simultaneous transfer of appropriate financial resources” as one of the key instruments of state governance of regional development, which helps to solve the problems of the regions.

Due to fiscal decentralisation, regions have received significant financial resources, both in taxes and duties, and other sources of revenue. At the same time, since 2014, by implementing the state regional policy, the Government of Ukraine has been annually increasing the amount of state financial support for the development of regions and hromadas, said expert Yanina Kazyuk. This is confirmed by the analysis of the budget programmes of the state budget, which shows that in 2019 the Government is implementing 79 programmes of state support for the development of territories for which more than UAH 84 billion is provided (in 2018, such support amounted to over UAH 66 billion).

State support for territory development is allocated in different directions:

• regional development (including development of innovative economy and investments, development of human potential, rural development, tourism development, all-Ukrainian solidarity, development of problem areas, effective regional development management),
• development of road and transport infrastructure,
• rural development,
• energy efficiency,
• environmental safety and sustainable development,
• development of sports infrastructure,
• development in the educational sector,
• cultural development,
• healthcare development,
• development of administrative service infrastructure (ASC),
• infrastructure development (social security), etc.

The state directs all these financial resources to the local level in order to create conditions for dynamic and balanced development of territories.

The central executive bodies are the main administrators and responsible executors of budget programmes, the beneficiaries of which are regions, in particular, local executive authorities and local self-government bodies.

The expert noted that by combining all the possibilities of cooperation between state authorities, local self-government, business and civil society in order to fulfill the tasks defined in the strategies, it is possible to achieve sustainable development of regions and hromadas, improve the quality of life of people regardless of their place of residence. Representatives of regional and local authorities need to learn how to make the most of their opportunities.

For full information on opportunities for attracting state support for territory development, see the State support for territory development manual prepared by the Regional Development in Policy and Action team of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE