Enhancing Municipal Services in Zhytomyr: A Lifeline Amidst Wartime Challenges
Despite the ongoing hardships caused by the russian invasion, access to governmental and municipal services remains crucial for the survival of Ukrainian citizens. With the support of ESTDEV, the eGA team embarked on enhancing municipal service delivery in the Zhytomyr region, an area receiving special attention from Estonia for its war recovery efforts.
“Estonia, together with the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration, has been implementing a number of important projects for several years in a row. This cooperation has become the key to our success in many areas. Our cooperation, based on mutual trust and the desire for innovation, will allow us to bring the Zhytomyr region to a new level of digital development,” said Vitaliy Bunechko, Head of the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration.
The project ‘Increasing Digital Capacity of Zhytomyr Administrative Service Centers in Public Services Delivery’ focused on empowering Zhytomyr Regional State Administration’s and Zhytomyr’s administrative service centre’s employees through comprehensive digital skills training and the introduction of a pioneering video consultation service.
Over the past eight months, the eGA team, in collaboration with the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration and municipalities, worked together to map the current status of digitalisation of the municipalities and administrative service centres and identify priority municipal services for digitalisation.
„This project is a major step in boosting the region’s digital capacity. Along the way, we’ve identified clear gaps in digital readiness across communities, and a strong need for better technology, training, and funding. While the challenges are significant, they also present a huge opportunity for growth. What inspires us most is the dedication of the teams at the Administrative Service Centers, local authorities, and experts. Their commitment gives us confidence that, together, we can tackle these challenges and create a more inclusive digital future for the Zhytomyr region,“ said Andres Ääremaa, Head of Digital Transformation at ESTDEV.
According to Piret Saartee, the Head of Digital Services at eGA, the Ukrainian government has done fantastic work in digitalising its public services and making them accessible via the Diia portal and app. However, municipal services need more focus. “
Municipal digital services empower communities with efficient, transparent, and user-friendly solutions. It ensures that citizens can access services anytime, anywhere—boosting trust and participation in governance at the root level,” said Piret Saartee.
Within the project, the Zhytomyr delegation visited Estonia to learn best practices in data management and public service delivery from Estonian municipalities in Tartu and Rapla. Technical assistance was also provided to three administrative service centres in Zhytomyr region.
The administrative service centres of Baranivskyi, Ovrutskyi, and Khoroshivskyi received video consultation equipment and training to provide online consultation services for displaced citizens.The video consultation service will allow citizens to get information about governmental and municipal services remotely, ensuring their safety and accessebility to the information even in these trying times. Three municipalities will start with video consultations at the beginning of 2025.
“Our collaboration with eGA and ESTDEV has been extremely valuable for the Zhytomyr Oblast Administration. It provided a clear action plan for digitalising public services, inspired us with best practices in data management and municipal service delivery, and equipped our administrative service centres with video consultation tools. This enabled us to provide essential services to displaced citizens more effectively. The partnership has truly enhanced our ability to serve the community,” said Konstantin Lopushansky, Deputy Head of the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration.
Konstantin Lopushansky
While our immediate efforts targeted the hromadas and cities of the Zhytomyr oblast, the project’s success will serve as a scalable model to bolster municipal service capacities across other Ukrainian regions.
