On 7 September, the RISE Ukraine Coalition presented its shadow report, “Ukraine’s Reconstruction Architecture” — an independent assessment of how reconstruction is governed in Ukraine amid the full-scale war. The report was prepared by experts from Coalition member organisations, with the work coordinated by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER).
The analysis examines the institutional architecture of reconstruction, financing mechanisms, the public investment management system, transparency and accountability, the capacity of local communities, and civil society participation. It also assesses the extent to which the reconstruction process is aligned with the “Build Back Better” principles.
Ukraine’s reconstruction financing needs for 2026 are estimated at more than €10 billion, but the full amount has not yet been secured. “Under these circumstances, prioritisation becomes the key issue — and it is precisely in this area that the system is currently performing the worst, both at the national and local levels,” said IER Lead Expert Oleksandra Betliy during the presentation of the report.
A key conclusion is that Ukraine has taken significant steps since the beginning of the full-scale war to establish an institutional framework for reconstruction. However, this framework remains fragmented.
The institutional framework for reconstruction includes the Ministry for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport of Ukraine, the Agency for Restoration, the DREAM platform, and line ministries. Interagency coordination needs to be strengthened: according to Oleksandra Betliy, ministries sometimes take different positions on the same reform, particularly in areas such as public investment management and decentralisation.
The report also recommends reorganising the Agency for Restoration. Its regional offices are currently separate legal entities with limited accountability to the central government. The report proposes consolidating them into a single legal entity, following the model used to consolidate the State Tax Service in 2019.
A significant part of the report focuses on the capacity of local communities. The authors identify a shortage of qualified staff in local governments: some communities simply lack specialists capable of preparing high-quality projects for DREAM, resulting in projects being submitted without a proper assessment of priorities. Communities that have received international technical assistance to develop investment strategies and priorities have achieved noticeably better results. However, providing such support to more than 1,000 communities simultaneously is not feasible. The report therefore calls for standardised approaches that would enable communities to learn from one another.
The findings show that the level of transparency in public procurement and expenditure in Ukraine remains among the highest in Europe, despite some deterioration during the full-scale war. Open data from Prozorro and Spending enables civil society to analyse reconstruction processes and develop policy recommendations for the government.
At the same time, some data that were publicly available before 2022 remain closed. This includes the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, which is legally required to be made public but has yet to be opened. During the discussion, Anton Antonenko, Vice President of DiXi Group, also highlighted problems with access to data in the energy sector, which hinder effective reconstruction planning in the sector.
“Transparency is important not only for identifying shortcomings in reconstruction planning and financing, but also for developing measures to improve efficiency. It is also essential for building trust among the various stakeholders involved in reconstruction,” said Oleksandra Betliy.
The report also highlights the lack of alignment between the funding cycles, procurement procedures and reporting requirements of different donors, which complicates the work of both local communities and ministries. Synchronising donor procedures and funding cycles is therefore particularly important given the limited capacity of communities to implement reforms and other changes at present.
Another challenge is the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector. Architects, designers and construction professionals are already in short supply, and demand for them will increase significantly as large-scale reconstruction gets underway. Bringing professional standards and Ukrainian construction codes (DBNs) closer to European standards is seen as an important condition for enabling foreign professionals to participate in reconstruction according to standards they are familiar with.
Key recommendations:
The full report is available here.
RISE Ukraine brings together civil society organisations that monitor Ukraine’s reconstruction, analyse related policies and contribute directly to the recovery process — from research and advocacy to the practical reconstruction of buildings and public spaces. The report was prepared with financial support from the European Union and the governments of Denmark, Lithuania and France.
Media contact: shkarpova@ier.kyiv.ua
The initiative aims to assess the extent to which Ukraine’s recovery governance system aligns with the principles of good governance, the Public Investment Management reform, and European standards and approaches
