According to the results of 2020, Mariupol became the most transparent and accountable city in Ukraine.

In the Transparency Ranking, Mariupol scored 86.6 points. For the first time in the history of the research, the city crossed the 80-point mark and received the status of “Transparent.” If we look at the first Transparency Ranking results in 2017, Mariupol took only 57th place out of 100 with a score of 28.1 points.

The city has risen by three positions, and the total transparency score has grown by 12 points compared to previous years.

Regarding accountability, the city's situation is not so optimistic: Mariupol scored only 32 points out of 100 but managed to get ahead of Lviv by almost a third. 

How did the city manage to get to the top of City Transparency and Accountability Rankings? 10 Interesting Facts

1. In the Transparency Ranking, the city received a maximum of 100 points in five areas: “Anti-corruption policy and professional ethics,” “Housing policy,” “Procurement,” “HR matters,” and “Education.” Moreover, the first two spheres are fully implemented and accountable.
2. Mariupol is the only city that publishes all data on the transfer of official housing. In particular, the city publishes information about housing whose official status has been removed. Data on the privatization of such housing are published as well.
3. In the “Education” sphere, the city has introduced an open waiting line for distributing children to preschool institutions.
4. The city is one of the few cities that publishes interactive maps and spatial data of outdoor advertising and temporary structures.
5. Mariupol has developed electronic tools for submitting and tracking applications for services in social institutions.
6. The city provides a way for citizens to participate in the meetings of standing commissions and of the city council's plenary sessions.
7. Mariupol is one of two participants of the Ranking that have a special version of the city council’s official website for visually impaired users.  
8. The city has fulfilled the basic requirements of public reporting of local government representatives on budget implementation. Also, local authorities have implemented all the winning projects of the 2019 public budget competition.
9. In the “Procurement” sphere, the city council has a registered profile in the DOZORRO platform and has responded to at least 80% of reviews and appeals.   
10. The city is connected to the Smart Business Challenge platform, which provides step-by-step instructions to start a business. Out of 100 cities participating in the Transparency Ranking, only 28 have met this requirement.

Despite all the achievements mentioned above, Mariupol still has a lot of work to do to increase the genuine openness and accountability of local authorities.

In six spheres – “HR matters,” “Education,” “Financial assistance and grants,” “Investment and economic development,” “Information on the work of local authorities,” “Social services” – the city has received zero points.

Whether Mariupol will manage to remain the leader in the two rankings and how successful the work on mistakes will be, we will find out in a year.