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In 2025, as part of the broader EU support to public administration reform in Ukraine (EU4PAR 2), ToP experts undertook a strategically important study to explore the impact of integrity assessment practices on the recruitment of top-level civil servants (Category A positions).

Ukraine has made significant strides in building a professional and politically neutral civil service. One of the key instruments in this transformation is the introduction of merit-based recruitment, with a strong emphasis on transparency, integrity, and accountability — principles that align with OECD and EU standards. However, as Ukraine continues to adapt its public service to meet international expectations and its own internal challenges, concerns have emerged that the current interpretation of “transparency” may produce unintended negative effects.

This study addressed a core policy dilemma: Does maximum transparency in recruitment always lead to the best outcomes — or can it deter strong candidates and reduce the quality of public leadership?

The research specifically examined whether practices such as early public disclosure of candidate information, mandatory asset declarations, open interviews, and intense media scrutiny discourage highly qualified individuals — particularly from the private sector — from applying to civil service roles. It also questioned whether integrity assessments today measure ethical leadership and professional reputation, or merely confirm the absence of past violations.

Key objectives of the study included:

• Evaluating the real-life impact of transparency practices on candidate motivation and recruitment outcomes;
• Exploring how reputational risks, privacy concerns, and long-term digital footprints influence career decisions;
• Comparing Ukraine’s approach to integrity screening with best practices from OECD countries, the EU, and selected democratic systems;
• Analyzing the gap between public and private sector recruitment standards and incentives;
• Proposing evidence-based policy recommendations for a more balanced, fair, and effective selection system.

Methodology:

• The study employed a mixed-methods research design, including:
• 25 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a total of 27 respondents, including former candidates, executive search professionals, HR directors, business leaders, civil society representatives, and members of selection committees;
• A comparative analysis of Ukrainian legislation and international recruitment models;
• A review of integrity assessment mechanisms and their application in both public and private sectors;
• Documentation of unintended consequences (e.g., loss of talent, underrepresentation of private sector experts, fear of reputational damage).

Outputs included:

• A comprehensive research report with findings and policy recommendations;
• A summary brief tailored for policymakers and international partners;
• Guidance on developing integrity screening tools that ensure fairness, preserve dignity, and enhance merit-based recruitment.

This project contributed to the EU4PAR 2 goal of strengthening Ukraine’s public administration in line with EU integration and recovery priorities. The reinstatement of competitive selection procedures for Category A positions is a commitment undertaken by Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility Plan, scheduled for implementation by the third quarter of 2026. This requires the state to develop an effective and high-quality model for conducting such competitions. A mechanical adoption of external models without accounting for the Ukrainian context, or a return to previous procedural configurations, is unlikely to deliver meaningful results. At the same time, there is currently a lack of sufficient public expertise and professional discourse in Ukraine regarding what the renewed model for senior civil service selection should look like. This study represents the first attempt at a comprehensive analysis of transparency and integrity verification practices, collecting primary data and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the existing approach. The findings may serve as a valuable foundation for future discussions and decisions on modernising the competitive selection model.The findings of the study were also incorporated into a policy dialogue conducted in the format of an Aspen seminar dedicated to the subject of this research.

The project was implemented by experts from the NGO “Technologies of Progress” with the support of the EU project EU4PAR 2. The content of the research is the sole responsibility of the experts from “Technologies of Progress” and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union

Project's goal:

• prepare a practical methodological manual for such facilities as Supermarkets, Shops and Pharmacies. Using the manual is recommended to ensure compliance of technical characteristics with the principles of inclusive design during Ukraine's reconstruction;
• to present and teach CSOs and other target groups to use the manual and to analyze and monitor the use of barrier-free principles of the relevant types of facilities.

NGO Technology of Progress launched a project “Advancing Accountability: Strengthening Ukraine’s Policy Framework and Tracking Ukraine’s Obligations before International Partners” backed by the Pro-Integrity (Promoting Integrity in the Public Sector Activity) program funded by the USAID and UK FCDO.

The Project aims to close knowledge and communication gaps among the Ukrainian and international stakeholders about Ukraine's progress in reforms and international obligations under the current financial support programs by the IMF (Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility), the European Union (Ukraine Plan under the new financial instrument Ukraine Facility), the World Bank (the Development Policy Loan – DPL), the United States of America and other foreign governments and/or international organizations.

The primary goal of this project is to provide analytical support to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (including the Parliamentary Temporary Investigative Commission on Economic Security); to facilitate professional dialogue among MPs, government officials, subject matter experts and civil society; to offer qualitative policy analysis and to track Ukraine's progress in implementing its international obligations.

In pursuit of the above goal the Project will:

• Produce Weekly Newsletters to cover Ukraine’s progress and challenges in implementing reforms and its key international obligations, fiscal capacity, growth potential and other defined topics that currently lack proper research coverage and independent evaluation
• Produce Monthly Analytical Reports on the defined topics to showcase Ukraine’s progress and challenges in implementing reforms and its key international obligations
• Develop the Online Tracker of Ukraine’s international obligations before IFIs and other international partners to visually demonstrate the current status of Ukraine’s implementing these obligations
• Organize Expert Surveys on progress in fighting corruption, potential business pressure, integrity and other topics of interest
• Organize events to foster dialogue among lawmakers, government officials, subject matter experts, civil society, IFI and development partners’ representatives on Ukraine’s progress and challenges in implementing its international obligations

With this project, NGO Technology of Progress seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s policy framework and to advance transparency and accountability in Ukraine’s interaction with IFIs and other international partners.

ToP has successfully implemented a project of conducting a research and developing a report on the current status of provision of aid to Ukraine with the focus on safeguarding human rights, addressing basic humanitarian needs, creating conditions for social development and restoring economic capacity. The project was sponsored by the Save the Children International organization, was launched in June 2023 and completed in September 2023.

The project was designed to analyze some of the available research and publications on providing aid to facilitate Ukraine’s recovery from the massive losses caused by the Russian invasion and to advance the discussion forward and outline the principles of Ukraine’s recovery that is human-centric, child-centric, transparent, and built back better for future generations.

The developed report has provided a clear Ukraine’s economy snapshot, focusing on forecasts on a gradual recovery of the Ukrainian economy, with the EBRD’s estimates for external financing to be sufficient to cover large external and fiscal financing gaps and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) improved its economic growth forecast for 2023 (from 0.3% to 2.0%), as well as the World Bank expecting 0.5% GDP growth in 2023.

The paper also provided the timely assessment of damages and recovery needs, addressed the current and target recovery mechanisms and proposed key principles of recovery as a set of criteria that may be used to test specific recovery mechanisms, ideas and projects, which include:

1. Ongoing financial support is needed to keep the Ukrainian economy running in parallel to any major reconstruction.
2. Aligned with EU accession (reconstruction plans should be used to bring the country’s infrastructure as well as institutions to the EU standards and the recovery process must be aligned with critical reforms)
3. Owned by Ukraine coordinated by the government and partners.
4. Transparent and accountable. The recovery process should use open and efficient systems that allow international donors to follow along, monitor spending, and be assured that their money is being spent fairly and efficiently.
5. Equitable and inclusive. Recovery should be human-centered and child-centered. It should include extensive consultations to respond to the needs of affected populations.
6. Renewal and not repairs.
7. Balancing urgent needs and medium- to long-term goals.
8. Maximising private financing for green and resilient recovery. The scale of investment needed for Ukraine’s reconstruction will be substantial and will require leveraging limited public and donor funding with private investment.

The report developed key human-centric recovery suggestions:

1. Participation of affected populations in relevant decision-making processes.
2. Setting specific human-centric objectives related to the inclusion of children, women, IDPs, and other marginalized groups in decision-making processes in various program documents and the National Recovery Plan.
3. Prioritizing policies and measures that will protect and ensure equitable access of children, women of all ages, girls, and marginalized groups to services they need and opportunities to rebuild their lives.
4. Expanding community engagement activities, such as focus-group discussions, as well as sharing relevant data and analysis by civil society, and local and international humanitarian actors, who currently have the greatest access to communities affected by the war.
5. Educational activities aimed at accelerated and catch-up learning.
6. Mental health and psychosocial support.
7. Ensure care reform efforts are holistic and inclusive of persons with disabilities.
8. Build-Back-Better approaches to ensure reconstruction beyond pre-war capacity - i.e. restoring public services, and rural and urban infrastructure with regard to children, immobile people, girls, and women’s needs.
9. Increasing the volume and improve on the quality of funding to CSOs representing marginalized groups, including to WROs/WLOs, to help them restart their pre-war programs, ensuring hard-won gains on gender equality are not lost while continuing to deliver critical life-saving services as long as necessary.

To enhance possibilities of the civil society to exercise oversight over recovery processes, ToP has designed and is currently implementing the project of Creating risk-management possibilities for civil monitoring of the reconstruction in Ukraine. The Project sponsored by the USAID Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions (SACCI) Program in Ukraine was launched in April 2023 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

The idea is to incorporate a supplementary anti-corruption and risk management mechanism into the Big Recovery Portal (BRP) development of which is a part of a separate EU-backed project (Big Recovery Watchdog). The Big Recovery Portal (BRP) will collect data on recovery processes, their lifecycle, and financing and will present this information in a user-friendly and understandable way.

Civic engagement is critical for effective recovery spending. It is vital to provide civil society with digital instruments and data to engage in monitoring and controlling Ukraine’s recovery. This will help stakeholders manage the risks of corruption, fraud, and potential misuse of public and donor-provided funds; advocate for effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the recovery; and, hence, build trust and cooperation among potential donors, investors, and the Ukrainian government.

The main goal of the Project is to strengthen transparency and accountability of future recovery initiatives by developing a risk-management methodology and Online module for risk management that will be further integrated into the BRP. The expected results are as follows:

• to develop a risk-management methodology to detect potentially risky or low-quality projects based on input from different pre-existing data systems (i.e. Prozorro, spending.gov.ua, Dozorro, Geoportal, RISE’s DRMS, etc.), CSOs, media reports, citizens, etc. This information may be used to identify risk levels of selected recovery projects to provide donors, anti-corruption bodies, journalists, and Ukrainian citizens with clear actionable information needed for further monitoring, improvement or investigation them.
• to implement the above methodology as an online tool for calculating, tracking, and comparing risk profiles of different reconstruction projects to prioritize and automate monitoring. The user will have the possibility to search for and review detailed information on specific objects, filter data by certain risk criteria, recalculate metrics at selected time intervals, receive alert notifications for risky procurements and other potentially risky developments, etc. The online module will provide properly visualized analytics to all key stakeholders (CSOs, journalists, anti-corruption activists, law enforcement bodies, NACP, etc.).
• to educate BRP users (especially CSOs, journalists, local community, anti-corruption/ law enforcement representatives) on the BPR risk-management and anti-corruption toolkit and mechanisms for corruption and other wrongdoing reporting.

To sum up, the project team will:

• Provide risk-management capabilities to identify potentially risky/underprepared reconstruction projects for further review or investigation, and
• Increase awareness within the CSO, media, local community, and anti-corruption/ law enforcement bodies on the BRP risk-management toolkit to ensure transparency and accountability.

ToP has successfully implemented the project Damage assessment for Mykolayiv on verifying the information collected by authorities on damages sustained by the city, calculating the damages and providing a basis for most critical emergency relief aid and post-war recovery support. The project was conducted with the help of the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI), implemented by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DMFA), launched in October 2022 and completed in June 2023.

The project was designed to verify information collected by city authorities using recent satellite imagery from MAXAR, map and compare geospatial data on damages, calculate the amount of damages by different sectors and provide initial estimates of reconstruction needs.

The project team selected 3 high-quality (50 cm per pixel resolution and low clowd mask) images from the commercial MAXAR satellite imagery, combining them to receive blended image of the 100% of the city territory, cutting and replacing pieces covered by clouds, smoke or other visual defects. A proprietary AI model was used with a twofold goal: a) preliminary object detection - attempt to automatically find polygons corresponding to buildings, and b) preliminary damage detection - attempt to automatically find polygons that may have characteristics that correspond to damage pattern. Further, the received data has been used to determine damaged buildings (under the methodology developed by International Working Group on Satellite-based Emergency Mapping) and conduct the evaluation of damages on a per-sector basis using the damaged.in.ua key methodology principles and approaches to calculations.

The results of the project have established damage evaluation to Mykolaiv’s infrastructure amounted to €852m, including €220m of damages that can be independently verified using satellite image. The project also allowed independently to confirm visually from 30% to 90% of destruction. The project has showcased the recovery needs assessment for the city - urgent needs in 6 key sectors (power supply, water supply, heating, healthcare, housing and public safety) and a need for long-term recovery in infrastructure, green transition, urban planning, transport, maritime sector, business development and investment attraction, youth, education and culture and good governance.

The results of the analysis are an important evidence of Russia’s aggression and the scale of destruction as well provide a basis for providing most critical emergency relief aid and post-war recovery support.

"Technology of Progress" in cooperation with the "Kyiv School of Economics" started implementation of a fundamental research project on the readiness of Ukraine`s construction materials market for the recovery process. Russia`s military invasion has led to an unprecedented scale of destruction in modern Ukrainian history, primarily due to daily missile and artillery attacks. In this context, it is crucial to analyze the current state of Ukraine`s building materials market and its ability to meet the needs of both ongoing and future rebuilding efforts, taking into the account the following priority goals:

• Rebuild better than before, considering key principles of urban planning, human capital development, comfort, and safety;
• Ensure that reconstruction complies with environmental standards at all stages of construction;
• Increase the capacity of Ukraine`s construction industry to meet current needs;
• Enable immediate start of emergency reconstruction.

The project research will include an analysis of the main types of construction materials, key trends, and construction companies. Each construction materials sector segment will be analyzed according to the following structure:

• What was the state of the industry in general (as well as details on specific types of materials) before the full-scale invasion?
• How has the full-scale invasion impacted the construction materials industry?
• What is the extent of the destruction caused by Russian aggression from the perspective of the construction sector?
• What materials will be in the highest demand during the recovery process?
• What is the current demand from construction companies for various types of materials?
• What are the main challenges facing the construction materials industry (or specific types of materials) in the context of recovery?
• What measures should be taken to avoid materials shortages in Ukraine?
• How to take into account not just the restoration of old facilities but the development of a new Ukraine vision with a strong emphasis on ecology and sustainability? Who are the frontrunners in this process? What are the prospects for development?

The research also includes providing recommendations pertaining to the building materials industry as a whole to avoid risks that existing production capacities may prove insufficient during the recovery process. Potential shortages could be addressed through import, which may be less efficient in terms of logistics and cost. Consequently, research will partially cover collaboration needs with governmental bodies to support local construction materials producers and jobs creation.

ToP is currently implementing a project of incorporating inclusivity principles into the future post-war recovery activities. The project sponsored by the Prague Civil Society Centre was launched in June 2023 and is expected to be completed by March 2024.

The project was designed to contribute to the inclusive development of Ukrainian society as a response to the needs of the growing number of people with disabilities. The inclusivity approach aims to remove barriers that create undue effort and separation. Such an approach enables the disabled to participate equally, confidently, and independently in their everyday activities – to move freely, see, hear, and communicate effectively.

Inclusivity design is the way spaces/ facilities to be (re-)constructed should be designed. There will be numerous post-war reconstruction projects in Ukraine. Inclusivity design should be enshrined in those reconstruction initiatives at the stage of planning.

The project of inclusivity design will be incorporated in the Big Recovery Portal (BRP), the development of which is part of another EU-funded project implemented by the ToP. As an important part of the post-war recovery infrastructure, BRP will accumulate information about the lifecycle of post-war recovery/ reconstruction initiatives, their financing, and results. The portal will allow for civil engagement in the recovery processes. BRP will provide easier access to all these information materials for potential users within the CSOs and business community through business intelligence visualization (BI module).

So, the goal of the Inclusivity Design project is:

• to develop practical methodological guides to ensure alignment of reconstruction technical specifications with inclusivity principles. The purpose of this guide is to give clear and understandable instructions, metrics and recommendation for ensuring barrier-free public spaces;
• to incorporate barrier-free risk criteria into the BRP Online module for risk management (BRP RMS module) (developed by the ToP under a separate USAID SACCI-backed project)
• to incorporate functions of civil monitoring and reporting on the quality of reconstruction activities under the Inclusivity Design and barrierless approach in the BRP;
• to increase awareness of the barrier-free principles for CSOs and other target groups to be used for further analysis and monitoring in the recovery processes.

ToP implemented the first-level assessment project on the “DIIA.ENGINE” EXPORT strategy. The project aimed to support the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine initiative to export governmental IT solutions and public services abroad. The GIZ-backed project was launched in October 2023.

The digitalization of the public sphere is a global mainstream today. Hence, there is a high and constantly growing demand for relevant IT solutions and services to guarantee the sustainable and smooth functioning of the state’s bureaucratic machine, economy, and society. The widespread adoption of digital services creates a market for G2B/G2C IT solutions worldwide.

Ukraine is well-known for its huge IT potential and boasts a wealth of internationally acclaimed IT solutions that are used by the government (Diia, Prozorro, Prozorro.Sale, eHealth, and others). The Ministry of Digital Transformation has accumulated substantial expertise and experience in efficient (both cost-wise and time-wise) digitalization of public services.

The idea of the Project is to leverage accumulated expertise and to meet the growing demand for IT solutions and services worldwide, that is to promote the export of DIIA.ENGINE as a Ukrainian-developed IT solution and to position Ukraine as a global player in providing G2B/G2C digital services.

The project aims to analyze the needs of key stakeholders and verify the following assumptions: Political stakeholders: governments worldwide seek competent advice, cost-effective solutions, turnkey implementation, local business engagement, and guarantees of ongoing IT support. Civil society/business/media: these non-governmental participants welcome the digitalization of the public sphere, seeking access to convenient, inexpensive, and transparent public services. International stakeholders: financial agencies and donors aim for clearly defined results in reform projects, reducing dependence on local capability, and control over project outcomes.

The Project aims to analyze the needs of key stakeholders and check following assumptions:

• Political Stakeholders: governments worldwide seek competent advice, cost-effective solutions, turnkey implementations, local business involvement, and guarantees of continuous support.
• Civil Society/ Business/ Media: these non-government actors welcome digitalization of public sphere, aspiring for user-friendly low-cost and transparent public services.
• International Stakeholders: funding agencies and donors seek clearly defined outcomes in reform projects, decreased dependency on local capacity, and control over project deliverables.

The Key Value Propositions assumptions:

• the solution Itself: easy and fast implementation, reliability, adaptability, open data, transparency, standardized design patterns, and a value-for-money concept;
• implementation advantages: cost efficiency, short implementation time, and reduced vendor lock-in risk;
• technical features: hosting platform independence, high security, widespread technologies, and addressing interoperability issues.

ToP team (possessing huge expertise in investment banking, sales, managing implementation of large-scale IT projects, and relations with international financial and funding institutions) is providing consultancy for the Ministry of Digital Transformation, namely:

• to analyze DIIA.ENGINE export potential, its strong features, adaptability, and limitations;
• to define perspective and priority markets, key stakeholders - including clients and export partners - and their needs, etc.;
• to analyze DIIA.ENGINE export bottle necks and key risks - to be mitigated;
• to define the value proposition, the scope of product/ services to be proposed for export
• to define main avenues of partnerships (for example, with international financial and funding organizations, institutional and private donors, etc.).

Project objectives:

Established in 2023, the Agency is responsible for implementing reconstruction projects and procuring the respective works needed for the country’s rapid recovery and post-war reconstruction. Given the substantial recovery budget and the complexity of procurement procedures, such activities shall be in the public sector’s and international donors’ spotlight. Thus, the Project enhances governance and accountability in the Agency’s public procurement processes.

The Project aims to achieve:

• Enhanced competitive environment and transparency,
• Prevention of fraud and corruption,
• Identification of weaknesses in procurements,
• Enhanced monitoring of Agency procurements.

Integrated with the Prozorro public e-procurement system, the Procurement Risk Management, Monitoring, and Efficiency Evaluation System will have the following core functions:

• Rapidly identify high-risk procurements by automated checks of the tender data versus predefined risk-criteria,
• Automatic verification of tenders for procedural violations and highlighting such tenders for the Agency’s management team,
• Comprehensive evaluation of procurement results in comparison with average/median procurement metrics,
• Monitoring and evaluating contract execution,
• Generating reports for stakeholders to assess procurement quality.

This Project aligns with the NGO ToP efforts to digitalize public services, fight corruption, and bring efficiency and transparency to public recovery spending. We believe that this Project is vital for fostering a culture of integrity and accountability in public procurement, which is essential for rebuilding and strengthening trust in public institutions.

**The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) in Ukraine that is a joint EU and Government of Denmark financed programme aimed at supporting Ukraine in its efforts to reduce corruption through the empowerment of citizens, the civil society, businesses and state institutions.