Analysts of the Transparent cities program developed a methodology for assessing the accountability of Ukrainian cities and tested it in a pilot study involving 10 cities. Indicators of this methodology will be used to form the first Ranking of city accountability 2020 in Ukraine. Active citizens and community organizations in 50 cities of Ukraine will also be able to participate in the accountability assessment.

For those who want to dive deeply into the subject, we leave a  methodology description. For those who want to get a grasp of the subject right now, we have prepared 10 facts and answers to important questions:

• The transparency methodology records access to and availability of information to the public in a timely and complete manner. Instead, the indicators of the methodology for evaluating the accountability of Ukrainian cities are designed to verify the extent to which what is recorded on paper is true.
• Accountability methodology allows assessing the community’s ability to influence decision-making, engage in dialogue with the authorities and receive an effective response.
• Accountability assessment methodology contains 47 indicators and allows us to assess 14 main areas of the city council activities.
• A set of indicators in this methodology is a universal method of assessing the readiness of city authorities to overcome corruption risks and cooperate with the community.
• In 2020, we will conclude the first Accountability ranking of 50 Ukrainian cities according to this methodology.
• There are 50 cities on the list of cities of the Accountability Ranking, including 5 leading cities of the Transparency Ranking of Ukraine's 100 largest cities in 2019, and 45 largest cities of Ukraine.
• The accountability scale is set out in 5 categories:
  • accountable city (80-100 points),
  • mostly accountable city (60-79 points),
  • partially accountable city (40-59 points),
  • mostly unaccountable city (20-39 points),
  • unaccountable city (0-19 points).
• The maximum number of points is 100 points.
• The city may potentially have the most points for the implementation of indicators in the following areas:
  • land use and construction policy (20 points),
  • Municipal Enterprises (14 points),
  • access and participation (13 points),
  • budget process (11 points),
  • housing policy (8 points).
• Methodology of City Accountability Ranking developed within the project “TransparentCities e-platform for cooperation of citizens and local governments for accountability and good governance” with the financial support of the European Union.