Removing bureaucratic obstacles to business and increasing government accountability provide communities with real benefits: small and medium-sized businesses are developing, the business climate is improving, and the volume of investment, including from international donors, is increasing. To increase economic viability of cities, the Transparent Cities program, in cooperation with the Lviv Regulatory Hub, has developed new indicators for the sphere “Investment and economic development” as part of updating the accountability methodology.

What has changed? Ranking-2021 will evaluate:

• Whether city councils publish expert opinions on draft regulatory acts on their websites. This, by the way, is a requirement of the law.
• Whether mayors report annually on the implementation of state regulatory policy by executive bodies.
• Whether resources are allocated to support entrepreneurship on a competitive basis with a preliminary announcement, online broadcast, and engaging the public in the commissions.

The updated accountability methodology can be found in more detail here.

Why are these changes important?

According to Olena Ohorodnik, head of the Transparent Cities program, transparent and accountable cities have a better chance of receiving an additional source of income — the financial support from international donors and creditors. The experience of the leading cities of the previous Accountability Ranking — Mariupol and Lviv — clearly demonstrates this. “The introduction of additional indicators in the accountability methodology is sort of a guide for city councils. These are practical recommendations on what cities should pay additional attention to and what mechanisms should be introduced so that a potential investor chooses precisely their community to implement the project,” emphasizes Olena Ohorodnik. In turn, Taras Khavunka, head of Lviv Regulatory Hub, notes that local economic development should begin with the development of adequate and understandable “rules of the game” for entrepreneurship. “It is a favorable regulatory environment that can make communities attractive for investment, fill their budgets, and encourage residents and businesses to actively solve their problems,” sums up Taras Khavunka. We believe that high-quality interaction of specialized qualified organizations will give real results that will be felt by both businesses and city residents.