Europos piliečių dalyvavimas valdant teritorijas – metodų ir patirties diegimas Ukrainoje

Abstract

This study presents generalized European experience in the development of participatory democracy through the study of European regulations and strategies. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of community participation in the pilot region of Ukraine, on which the development prospects of this region are based, using the European tools of territorial administration. There is an objective relationship between the level of participation in the community and the state of its socio-economic development; therefore, increasing the level of participation can improve the welfare of citizens. During this study, with the application of analytical tools, this hypothesis will be confirmed or refuted. This study analyses the main methods of assessment of participation, based on which an original method for estimating the integrated level of participation in united territorial communities is offered, taking into account the specifics of decentralization processes in Ukraine. The proposed method of assessing participation in the pilot region of Ukraine (Zhytomyrska Oblast as a leader of domestic decentralization processes) was tested. The connection between the level of participation and the level of economic capacity of the community was investigated based on: the comparison of indicators of the level of integrated participation; the results of ranking; and the multifactor grouping of united territorial communities according to the level of economic efficiency of their functioning. Measures to increase the level of participation in specific united territorial communities are proposed, taking into account the results of the assessment and European participatory approaches to the management of territorial development.