Increasing Transparency in Ukraine’s Reconstruction and Public Investment Projects

Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the community of Irpin in the Kyiv region of Ukraine saw many of its schools damaged or destroyed due to repeated shelling. Among them was Radist kindergarten, which 400 children attended.

The kindergarten was reconstructed, reopened a year later, and renamed Ruta as a tribute to the Lithuanian government’s assistance in financing its restoration. Today, Ruta (named after the rue, Lithuania’s national flower) serves as an example of how communities can independently attract international support for recovery projects by utilizing DREAM.

The DREAM Public Investment Management System is a digital platform that streamlines all public investment projects into a single pipeline, allowing international partners to better understand Ukraine’s investment priorities and direct aid toward strategic projects.

The kindergarten reconstruction project was initiated in the DREAM system by Irpin City Council, allowing anyone to access the project description, budget, and all construction stages.

Initially designed exclusively as a tool for reconstruction, DREAM has transformed into a platform aimed at reforming the management of all of Ukraine’s public investment projects.

Through DREAM, the government of Ukraine works to ensure every hryvnia allocated towards the country’s investment priorities is invested efficiently and transparently. And by implementing public investment management reform, the government is aligning Ukraine’s investment management system with effective practices already in place in the European Union.

Key to implementing this reform has been training local and regional officials in Ukrainian communities, giving them the tools necessary to identify high-priority projects, attract investment, and monitor the implementation of reconstruction projects that are integral to their lives, including schools, hospitals, roads, and housing.

“No one knows their needs better than the community itself,” said Oleksii Riabykin, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories. “It is the communities that initiate projects, participate in their implementation, and benefit from them. The reform changes their role from passive recipients of aid to active participants in reconstruction.”

Enter the DREAM Academy, a training program operating under the ministry whose mission is to strengthen the capacity of public sector professionals to effectively manage public investments at all levels — from local communities to central government.

With support from the UK DIGIT Project, in 2025, the DREAM Project Office team hosted more than 35 training sessions and webinars on public investment management through the DREAM Academy. More than 14,000 participants from across Ukraine attended the sessions. Community representatives learned how to develop investment projects based on the Five Case Model, a modern approach adapted by Ukraine from British and European practices that helps quickly assess the feasibility, usefulness, and financial viability of a project.

With the knowledge gained, community and regional officials are improving their management decisions, successfully attracting funding, and ensuring transparency at every stage of project work.

Development of Investment Plans Through the DREAM System

By the end of 2025, nearly 800 Ukrainian communities had developed medium-term investment plans and strategic project portfolios thanks to the DREAM Academy’s training and hands-on support.

Communities can now prioritize reconstruction investments based on strategic goals, feasibility, and evidence, enhancing the quality of their project pipelines. The training series has strengthened local decision-making, ensuring public and donor funds are used in a more transparent, predictable, and impact-driven manner.

For more information about the DREAM Academy educational platform, visit: https://academy.dream.gov.ua/.

The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories and the DREAM Project Office carry out DREAM’s implementation and development with support from the Digitalisation for Growth, Integrity and Transparency Project (UK DIGIT), implemented by Eurasia Foundation and funded by UK Dev. Open Contracting Partnership is the UK DIGIT implementing partner for this initiative.