Our team presented an updated methodology for assessing the transparency of cities in late December. This year, it has been supplemented with new indicators, adapted to wartime conditions, and information on local self-government. You can read more about all the changes here.
While our analysts work on a study of transparency, we have prepared answers to the most frequently asked questions by municipal representatives.
1. What key changes have been made to the methodology for researching the transparency of cities in wartime?
This year's study will involve 80 cities included in the list of the 100 largest cities in Ukraine (instead of 70 cities in 2022). Occupied cities or those where military administrations have been established by presidential decrees are not considered in the study. However, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Netishyn will be evaluated because, despite the military state administrations, city councils have not stopped exercising their powers and continue to perform their functions.
This year's assessment will be based on 50 adapted indicators (instead of 40 in 2022). Among them: 19 indicators are legal requirements, 17 are best practices in municipal governance, and 14 combine legal requirements and best practices.
2. Will points be awarded for fulfilling the indicators this year?
No. The adapted methodology for studying cities’ transparency during martial law does not provide points for indicators, only levels of implementation.
3. Will the answers to the questionnaire be verified?
Yes, analysts will verify the answers of city councils to the questions in the questionnaire.
4. How will the indicators that involve announcing meetings of the city council or its bodies be evaluated, in particular, taking into account the security aspect?
In indicator K09, we check for announcements of meetings of the city council, executive committee, standing commissions, and a coordinating body (if any). Announcing council meetings is a legal requirement while announcing meetings of other bodies is a best practice designed to ensure equal access to the political process for residents.
It is important to note that the Program deliberately does not ask for information about the place and time of the meeting in the announcement indicator, so as not to put cities at risk.
5. How will the community transparency assessment be affected by the fact that the front-line regions are currently unable to publish their data sets on the Unified Open Data Portal?
Although most of the indicators are based on the requirements of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 835, they are formulated in such a way that they do not require information to be published exclusively on the Open Data Portal. Among the 50 indicators, only K08 requires publication of the city council effective regulatory acts list and its executive bodies on the official website of the local self-government body and the Open Data Portal. In case of a malfunction of the state Open Data Portal, the relevant information should be published on the city Open Data Portal (if available). Publishing the regulatory acts list on the city council website alone already allows for partial fulfillment of this indicator.
6. If we do not broadcast the city council meetings and its bodies for security reasons, do we need to make the recordings of the meetings public?
If a city council does not broadcast meetings of the city council, executive committee, or standing committees due to security risks, recordings of the respective meetings should be made public no later than within 24 hours.
7. Do local governments have to register in the Register of Humanitarian Aid Recipients (hereinafter RHAR)?
The current methodology does not have indicators that check the city council's registration in the RHAR. Registration on this portal is provided for by the effective regulatory legal act. The program encourages cities to comply with the law.
8. How will the fact that the indicator is irrelevant for a particular city (the city council has no housing on its balance sheet, did not sell land during the war, or did not receive humanitarian aid) affect the score?
If there is no housing on the community's balance sheet, no land or property that can be sold, and no humanitarian aid provided, this should be indicated in the relevant section on the city council's official website. In this case, the indicator is assigned the status “cannot be determined” and is excluded from the calculation of the city's overall result and its category.
We would like to remind you that the Transparent Cities program is always open for cooperation and dialogue. In case of questions or clarifications on specific indicators, city councils can contact the program. We will analyze what the city can improve and send personalized recommendations.