The Public Investment Watchdog №2, March 2026

The Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, the Centre for Economic Strategy, and Technologies of Progress present the second issue of the “Public Investment Watchdog” monitoring report.

This issue examines the ongoing implementation of public investment management reform and how the new approaches are being put into practice.

In particular, the report examines the new procedure for preparing sectoral strategies, adopted by the government to establish a unified framework for their development. The procedure is intended to link each public investment to the relevant sectoral development plan – in education, healthcare, energy, and other sectors – helping prevent fragmented and uncoordinated public investment funding.

The issue also covers the update to the state’s Unified Project Portfolio. As part of the regular quarterly review, the Strategic Investment Council added 20 projects, with priority given to the energy sector, which is critical to the functioning of the economy and has suffered significant damage from Russian missile and drone attacks since the beginning of 2026.

The report also examines the allocation of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) subsidy under the new public investment management approach. Funding is available only to municipalities that have the relevant areas and public investment projects included in their strategic and project documents.

The monitoring also analyses construction procurement in February 2026. Both the number and total value of procurements were lower than a year earlier. This may reflect both efforts to conserve state and local budget funds amid uncertainty over international financing in 2026 and delays in launching new projects under the public investment management rules. The main areas of procurement were energy infrastructure protection, school and hospital repairs, and urban improvements. The Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions recorded the largest number and value of construction procurements.

More details are available in the March issue of the “Public Investment Watchdog” monitoring report.