The Transparent Cities program is aimed at increasing the level of transparency and accountability of cities, as well as establishing an effective dialogue between the authorities and society. We are interested in spreading information about the best practices of openness of local authorities and launching new digital services; that is why we have prepared a digest of regional news for you regarding changes that are implemented at the local level. Please welcome the new issue No. 3.

VzaemoDiia. Electronic local petitions in ten cities of Ukraine

Residents of ten cities of Ukraine got the opportunity to submit electronic petitions to city councils using the Diia mobile application. The pilot project is already available in Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Uzhhorod, Dnipro, Ternopil, Cherkasy, and Kherson. Users can easily share petitions on social networks or print out a QR code to collect signatures. Signatories will receive notifications about the status of consideration of petitions supported by them, as well as see responses to them. Learn more https://vzaemo.diia.gov.ua/

Launching the Diia.Open Data portal

Open data help the public monitor the work of state and local governments and create new services. Using the new Diia.Open Data portal, https://diia.data.gov.ua/ in particular, communication between the community and the collection of proposals from the public are simplified. Do you prefer Telegram? The Ministry of Digital Transformation has also launched the @DataGovUa_bot chatbot, where the notification function for updating selected data sets will soon be available.

The SVOI platform for interaction between local authorities and communities in nine regions

The SVOI platform covers a municipal chatbot and a website builder for communities. The chatbot already operates in 21 communities in nine regions of Ukraine. Among the largest cities are Odesa, Lutsk, Vinnytsia, Kamianske, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, and Sievierodonetsk. Thanks to the chatbot, citizens can communicate with local authorities, get advice on public services, support local petitions, participate in surveys, and learn news from the community through their smartphone.
Chatbot in Telegram: https://t.me/smart_town_bot
Chatbot in Viber https://cutt.ly/KbqHjdY

Kropyvnytskyi. Launching the Educational Navigator mobile app

In Kropyvnytskyi, the Educational Navigator mobile application has been launched which contains up-to-date information about the city's educational sphere. The app has such sections as “preschool education,” “my first grade,” “specialized education,” “extracurricular education.” Using the app, citizens, for example, can enroll a child in a kindergarten. There is also an opportunity to get acquainted with students' distance learning, catering, and educational map.

Poltava and Vinnytsia. Development of environmental public initiatives

Acceptance of projects for the competition of environmental public initiatives has been completed in Poltava oblast. A total of 121 projects from 45 amalgamated communities of the region were submitted. The total budget of the program is UAH 2 mln. All projects can be found on the SmartRegion portal at the link. The competition of projects Ecological City has started in Vinnytsia. Applications can be submitted by non-profit civil society organizations and initiative groups in cooperation with NGOs. The total budget of the competition is UAH 45,000. The competition is designed to support environmental projects/initiatives through grants for conducting information and educational events on environmental topics. Learn more here.

Drohobych. Development of civic tech tools

The project Promoting the Introduction of Digital Technologies in the Process of Interaction between Society and Local Authorities in the Drohobych and Novovolynska ATC has been launched in Drohobych. This project is relevant for people who, due to the lack of basic knowledge and skills regarding the latest technologies, do not use digital products. The goal is to simplify the provision of online services for these groups, improve communication between citizens and authorities, and promote public engagement in local decision-making processes.

Lviv. Sale of municipal property through Prozorro.Sale for UAH 60 mln

Lviv has become the leader among other cities of Ukraine to raise funds from small-scale privatization through the ProZorro.Sale auction system. In May, thanks to transparent auctions, the city received UAH 20 mln, and since the beginning of 2021 — more than UAH 60 mln.

Odesa. Opening the Diia.Business center for entrepreneurs

In June, a new Diia.Business center will start working in Odesa on the basis of which entrepreneurs will be able to get free advice on business digitalization and transition to online, financial management, marketing, sales, HR, legal support, etc. The center will also provide educational services and services from leading practitioners and business experts in Ukraine.

Rivne. Payment of the administrative fee via QR code

The city of Rivne took part in a pilot project to introduce payment of an administrative fee for services in the field of state registration of real property rights using a QR code in the Diia app.

Kyiv. Intelligent transport system

Kyiv plans to introduce an intelligent transport system (ITS), which, according to capital's officials, will save up to 30% of the time for road users. The capital has started consultations with global companies that have experience in implementing intelligent transport systems and can build a system for analyzing and managing intelligent traffic.