Electronic government helps communities solve problems, access resources in wartime Ukraine

More than three years into the war, Ukrainian cities like Lutsk, situated in the northwestern corner of the country, have had to find creative ways to carry on with municipal services. Cities must handle requests from thousands of people, including internally displaced newcomers, with the ever-present threat of Russian missiles. For Lutsk, the Open City electronic-government platform has been indispensable.

When the Kyiv-based East Europe Foundation launched Open City in 2013, it never would have imagined that its country would be living through war — and that a tool designed to build better relationships between residents and local authorities would have such a far-reaching, unanticipated impact.

Community problem-solving

A spin off of the Eurasia Foundation, EEF was established as an independent, charitable organization in Ukraine in 2008. While it has since run programs all over the country to advance democracy, civil society, social entrepreneurship and electronic government, it is the latter work that has put the organization on the map.

Electronic government (also called e-government) refers to platforms that use information and communication technology to provide government services to residents and other entities. Many of these platforms were initially designed for desktop computers and have become increasingly popular after being made available as mobile apps.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation was an early supporter of this type of electronic government in Ukraine, believing the tools could foster civic participation in a country transitioning from Soviet-era authoritarianism. Through three grants to the EEF totaling $540,000 from 2012-18, the Mott Foundation helped the organization create, in partnership with the Association of Open Cities, an online platform called Open City.

Originally piloted and launched as a website, Open City was a place where people and local governments could work together to solve issues in their communities. The vision behind the platform was to empower people to become active in local decision-making.

“Before the platform, residents would tell us they found it difficult to bring issues to the attention of city officials. The process of writing a formal letter, mailing it and waiting for a written response from the city was long and cumbersome,” said Victor Liakh, the EEF president who oversaw the creation of the Open City platform. “All of that changed with Open City. The platform allows residents to report community issues directly and efficiently to local government officials, while officials can easily write back to residents on the status of their issues.”

The Open City initiative started in 10 pilot cities. Today, 101 communities are connected to it. While it took time to educate the public and officials on how to use the platform, more than 31,000 citizens’ appeals have now been received and successfully resolved through the app.

Fixing the street through Open City

Lutsk, with a population of over 200,000, was one of the first cities to use Open City to improve residents’ relationships with local authorities. So far, more than 5,000 resident requests in Lutsk have been processed through Open City.

One of those requests was from Mykola Ivanov, a resident of Lutsk.

“There were no sidewalks on Horodetska Street and only partial lighting,” said Ivanov. “Drivers had to dangerously swerve around potholes almost a foot deep scattered all over the street, while drivers and pedestrians avoided the area in the evening due to a lack of lighting.”

Ivanov filed a request through Open City to repair the damaged portion of the road. The request was automatically forwarded to the appropriate municipal department.

“We received a notification through the platform,” said Mykola Osiuk, director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services. “We informed the citizen that we agreed to look into the matter.

“That’s what’s great about the platform. We can communicate back with applicants, like Mr. Ivanov, to clarify information or to notify them of progress on repairs. It saves us time and allows us to stay in touch with residents,” explained Osiuk.

The department realized that fixing the road required additional funds. As resources were found, the road section was repaired in the spring of 2024.

“While a success story, the Horodetska Street repair project is just one of many competing demands our city has,” said Osiuk. “We always worry about our infrastructure getting damaged in the war. The Open City app helps us to prioritize where to focus our energy and to stay up on repairs in these challenging times.”

Electronic government in a time of war

Today Open City is part of something even larger — and very timely.

Open City is just one of several e-government tools that make up the larger e-DEM platform (which is short for United Platform of Local e-Democracy), which includes participatory budgeting, local e-petitions and public e-consultations. Almost 600 communities and 2.5 million people in Ukraine use some aspect of the e-DEM platform — from small towns to large regional metropolises.

“What’s more, e-DEM laid the groundwork for other e-government and e-participation initiatives, such as the development of the award-winning Diia app and the DREAM platform,” explained Liakh.

The Diia app allows Ukrainians to do everything from register a business to get a driver’s license on their phone. It’s been applauded by former USAID Administrator Samantha Power as more advanced than any e-government tools currently available in the United States. The DREAM platform plays an equally important role, bringing transparency and accountability to reconstruction projects all over the country, once plagued by widespread corruption.

“One small seed blossomed into something beyond what we ever anticipated when we first made the grant for e-government in 2012,” said Ross Maclaren, the program officer with Mott’s Civil Society team who oversaw funding for the project.

Open City and other apps that have developed from it proved to be essential after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We thought the use of e-platforms would wane during a time of war, but we found that internally displaced persons, local governments and others impacted by war have found them especially helpful,” said Liakh.

“Municipalities use the platforms to show residents where they can find bomb shelters and resilience points to charge their phones during long blackouts. Residents have come to rely on them to find out where they can receive food assistance and other forms of help. They are also being used to match volunteers to wartime needs — all unexpected uses of the platform.”

Open City has come a long way from the 10 cities which piloted it a decade ago.

“It is almost as if it were created for a time such as this,” said Liakh.