On September 30, Transparency International Ukraine's Transparent Cities program will present in Kyiv the results of the first annual European City Index study. The study shows how close Ukrainian cities have come to European standards of good governance, which strong practices are already in place, and which systemic gaps remain.
In 2025, the Transparent Cities team completed the Transparency Ranking of the 100 largest cities and launched a pilot of a new study, the European City Index. Over 2025–2026, the program assessed 11 city councils across six areas: openness, e-services, open data, public finance, integrity and anti-corruption, and accountability.
At the presentation, Olesia Koval will share the overall findings of the European City Index: key patterns and problems, cities' good practices, and the changes communities have already begun making in response to the recommendations. The team will also outline plans to scale up the European City Index.
The event will also feature a panel discussion, “European Standards and Ukrainian Realities: Turning Individual Practices into Sustainable Systems.” Panelists will discuss how to move from isolated successes to sustainable institutional practice, how cities can use assessment results to plan change, and what role local self-government, the state, and civil society play in this process.
Panelists:
- Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director, Transparency International Ukraine
- Dmytro Zahumennyi, Chief of Staff, Kyiv City State Administration
- Kateryna Yamshchykova, Secretary of the Poltava City Council
- Oleksandr Solontai, expert on local self-government and regional policy
- Pavlo Lisnichenko, investigator
The discussion will be moderated by Olesia Koval, Transparency International Ukraine's Transparent Cities Program Manager.
Date: September 30, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Kyiv. The exact location will be shared once your participation is confirmed.
Format: in person + livestream
We invite representatives of local self-government bodies, civil society organizations, the media, and international partners to attend.
Registration: https://forms.gle/5kkc13ekydf9CsPi6
Registration deadline: 5:00 p.m., September 29
Seating is limited. To attend in person, you must receive confirmation from the organizers after completing the registration form.
This research is made possible with the support of the MATRA Programme of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, and with the financial support of Sweden within the framework of the program on institutional development of Transparency International Ukraine. Content reflects the views of the authors and does not necessarily correspond with the position of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine or the Government of Sweden.