eGA continues digitalisation of municipal services in Zhytomyr Oblast with ESTDEV support: new project launched
On 1 October, eGA, together with the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration and with the support of Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), launched a new phase of cooperation — the project Development of Digital Municipal Services for Vulnerable Groups in Zhytomyr Region. Its aim is to strengthen communities’ capacity to provide local public services online while upholding the principles of digital inclusion and accessibility.
eGA and ESTDEV have been cooperating with Zhytomyr Oblast on the digitalisation of municipal services since 2024. During this time, the team has assessed community needs and, together with its partners, developed the Local Public Services Portal and the first digital services for veterans for further digitalisation. The new project builds on this work and focuses on scaling up the solutions already developed.
“Estonia has chosen Zhytomyr Oblast as one of its key focus regions for supporting Ukraine’s recovery and development. This is why, alongside our own initiatives, we are committed to supporting strong partners who can deliver sustainable and impactful results on the ground,” said Andres Ääremaa, ESTDEV’s Head of Cybersecurity and e-Governance Programme. “eGA has become one of our most trusted partners in advancing digital transformation in Zhytomyr, helping communities develop accessible, user-centred digital services that improve people’s daily interaction with local authorities. We are pleased to continue this cooperation and support the scaling of solutions that bring tangible benefits to citizens across the region,” Ääremaa added.
During the kick-off meeting, the team presented the new project and the Local Public Services Portal of Zhytomyr Oblast. The Portal is intended to become a single point of access to local services online: users will be able to select the service they need, submit an application and track its status through their personal account.
The new project will digitalise an additional five municipal services and roll out the Portal in around ten communities in Zhytomyr Oblast. The Portal is also planned to be integrated with the Vulyk system, connecting online services with the work of Administrative Service Centres. These three areas form the core focus of the new project.
“Zhytomyr Oblast is consistently advancing its digital transformation and developing modern services that make interaction between people and public authorities simpler and more convenient. Importantly, we are not starting from scratch today — we are building on solutions that have already been developed and expanding them to new communities. The next step will be to digitalise another five municipal services and connect around ten communities in the region to the Portal. This means that more and more residents of Zhytomyr Oblast will be able to access local services online, without unnecessary time costs or the need to visit public institutions in person,” said Kostiantyn Lopushanskyi, Deputy Head of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation.
Another important area is strengthening the capacity of local teams. Staff from communities and Administrative Service Centres will receive training on platform administration and working with digital services. The project also includes communication campaigns and the collection of user feedback to ensure that the services respond to people’s actual needs.
“Over the previous two projects, we have progressed from assessing the needs of communities to creating the Portal and the first digital services for veterans in Zhytomyr Oblast. Our task now is the full-scale launch of the Portal and scaling up what has already been developed: adding new services, connecting more communities, and integrating the Portal with the Vulyk system. It is important that digitalisation at the local level becomes a system that makes services easier for people to access and helps communities work more efficiently,” said Serhii Karelin, Senior Expert at eGA and Project Manager.
The Development of Digital Municipal Services for Vulnerable Groups in Zhytomyr Region is the third phase of cooperation, which began in 2024. The project is implemented by eGA in collaboration with the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration and funded by ESTDEV. Kitsoft is the technology partner responsible for the development of the Local Public Services Portal. The Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration coordinates engagement with communities, provides technical support and hosts the platform.
“We designed the Local Public Services Platform to enable communities to bring their services online faster and launch new ones independently. For residents, this means easier access to local services without unnecessary visits to public institutions. For communities, it provides a way to gradually expand the range of digital services and make them available to more people. The next phase of the project will build on this by connecting new communities and launching new services,” said Oleksandr Iefremov, CEO of Kitsoft.
ESTDEV’s total support for the digitalisation of Zhytomyr Oblast under this project and the two previous initiatives has now reached EUR 600,000. It forms part of Estonia’s broader support for Ukraine’s recovery, with a particular focus on Zhytomyr Oblast.