The Kyiv School of Economics, in collaboration with UNICEF, the Ministry of Social Policy, and under the coordination of the Ministry of Finance с, is implementing a project aimed at improving the management of social expenditures at the local level. A key element of this project is a series of trainings that help local authorities more effectively manage public finances, taking into account the interests of children and a gender approach. This will contribute to enhancing the well-being of children and youth in hromadas.

During October, the sixth and seventh trainings were held in Ivano-Frankivsk, gathering participants from various regions of Ukraine. From November 12 to 14, the eighth and final training of this year took place in Kyiv, bringing together representatives from the Zhytomyr, Novoukrainka, Olevsk, Korosten, Mykolaiv, and Bashtanka territorial hromadas. Representatives from the Kirovohrad and Zakarpattia regional state administrations, the All-Ukrainian Association of Hromadas, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Social Policy, and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine also participated.

Participants familiarized themselves with the principles of proper financial management and child-focused budgeting. They discussed how child-centered and gender-oriented planning can influence local budgets and considered UNICEF’s initiatives to improve financial management at the local level.

During the training, participants, together with representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, analyzed the existing budget programs of their hromadas, worked on improving them, and received recommendations for planning local budgets for 2025. This will help hromadas use resources more effectively and meet the needs of children and youth.

“The topic of the training is especially relevant today because children are our future. The current security restrictions in Ukraine significantly affect their development, and our task is to create favorable conditions and an environment for their harmonious leisure and growth. Ukraine has chosen the path to the EU, and now we are working on bringing legislation in line with European standards. How quickly we achieve this goal depends on our joint efforts,” emphasized Oleksandr Koren, Director of the Department of Interbudgetary Policy and Local Budgets, Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.

Overall, the project will cover 47 hromadas throughout Ukraine. The trainings facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience among specialists, helping hromadas to finance social programs more effectively and develop innovative budgeting approaches that consider children’s rights.

The trainings are part of the project “Integrated Social Services for Conflict-Affected Children and Their Families in Western and Central Ukraine,” funded by KfW and UNICEF, and “Shock-Responsive Social Protection analytical study of national budget programmes including vulnerable categories affected by the war, families with children, and beneficiary perceptions of social support response in an emergency context,” implemented by the Kyiv School of Economics under UNICEF funding.