New coalition RISE Ukraine launches plan for transparent and efficient reconstruction

Lugano, Switzerland 5 July — Today, a new coalition of Ukrainian organizations and international partners — RISE Ukraine — has been launched at the Lugano Ukraine Recovery Conference to promote a vision of integrity, sustainability and efficiency for the country’s reconstruction. 

The coalition, which unites more than 20 Ukrainian organizations working on open government and anticorruption reform, has unveiled 10 principles for Ukraine’s reconstruction and modernization. It is supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Economy, National Agency for Corruption Prevention, and other leading government institutions.

RISE Ukraine will lay the foundation for digital solutions and build accountable, transparent and inclusive processes to enable the participation of all actors and a fair level-playing field for businesses, while ensuring decisions are accountable and fast. The coalition promotes open and constructive dialogue across Ukraine’s civil society and civic tech community, government agencies, international partners, donors and other authorities to achieve these objectives. 

Viktor Nestulia, Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Open Contracting Partnership: “We are putting Ukraine’s open government and open data ecosystem to work on the reconstruction. We want to build a compelling example of smarter, more open government to inspire people as much in the reconstruction as our brave soldiers and citizens have done during the conflict.” 

One of the models for a successful open government reform is Prozorro, a fully digital, transparent, agile and award winning e-procurement system. RISE Ukraine plans to build on that open government and open data driven approach to track and support the whole chain of assessing needs, planning, procuring and delivering public works to boost the reconstruction. 

Vasyl Zadvorny, CEO of state enterprise Prozorro: «The reconstruction of Ukraine, which has been suffering enormous human and material losses due to Russian aggression, will require huge resources. But the decisive factor of success will be not only money, but also trust. The trust of our international partners, the trust of the private sector and investors, and above all, the trust of the Ukrainian people in how this money is spent. The use of advanced electronic systems built on open data will ensure transparency and accountability of the state at all stages of the country’s recovery.»

Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director, Transparency International Ukraine: “Every Ukrainian will have to be involved in the reconstruction process, whether it is by ensuring inclusive and equitable project planning and prioritization, monitoring implementation of projects, or reporting potential corruption.”

Oleksii Dorohan, Executive Director of Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) and advisor to the Ministry of Infrastructure: “Ukraine should own and coordinate the reconstruction, prioritizing projects and documenting the full procurement process. But we also want to ensure that citizens and international donors are able to verify all of the resources dedicated to the reconstruction through open and efficient systems.”

Ukraine also needs to increase its institutional capacity as well as coordinate the efforts of all the agencies involved. 

Oleksandra Azarkhina, the deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine charged with the reconstruction explained: «The most effective way to fight corruption is to build effective public institutions. At the same time, anti-corruption tools and methods should be applied all along the entire cycle of every infrastructure project. Therefore, with the support of international partners and civil society, we strive to build not only new infrastructure, but also a new infrastructure project management architecture.»

Citizens and businesses should be involved in the planning, monitoring and oversight of recovery spending, building on existing citizen feedback approaches, such as using the Dozorro network of civic monitors. One of the key aims is to create a full accountability chain through publishing complete, timely, and open data in line with international best practices and open data standards such as the Open Contracting Data Standard for public procurement and the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard for information on businesses winning contracts. 

To further prevent corruption and misuse of funds, we will advocate for effective mechanisms to prosecute corruption and violations in the process of reconstruction. 

Notes for editors: 

• The coalition website featuring the principles for reconstruction and modernization, goals and current members is available here: https://www.rise.org.ua/
• The coalition is non-political and committed to the highest ethical standards and principles to ensure Ukraine’s development. Its members have a long history of building and running efficient and transparent open government approaches creating maximum social and economic opportunity for citizens. More details about the members of the coalition.
• Background on some of Ukraine’s civic technology-driven reforms, including its e-procurement platform Prozorro, the state asset sales platform Prozorro.Sale, and the Dozorro citizen monitoring network.