On 14 May in Kyiv, the Polaris Programme ‘Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine’ held a final conference for partner hromadas in the field of ‘Administrative Services’. The conference brought together over 70 hromadas representatives, including officials from local government bodies, regional military administrations, central executive authorities, heads of Administrative Service Centres, and experts.
Susanna Dellans, Head of the Polaris Programme team and SALAR International’s representative in Ukraine, addressed the audience with a welcoming speech, noting that the vision for the role of the Administrative Service Centre in the hromada is based on a people-centred approach to citizens’ interactions with the state.
”We often say that the ASC is the face of the state. But today, I would like to add: it is the place where trust is built. In a rapidly digitising world, the physical space of the ASC is taking on new significance. It is a place where people come not for a ‘piece of paper’, but for a solution to their problem, and a sense of respect and support,” said Maryna Bobranitska, Director of the Directorate for E-Governance and Public Services at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
Polaris Programme experts, together with their partners, discussed the results of their work, opportunities for scaling up best practices, and current challenges relating to devolution, staff development and service integration. Participants paid particular attention to hromadas support tools – ranging from ASC audits, development roadmaps and the work of the expert Help Desk to training programmes, material and technical support, and the development of the ‘ASC Development Guide’ e-service, which has already been used by over 300 ASCs in 2025–2026.
Another part of the event was the presentation of the results of a nationwide survey of ASC staff, conducted by the Polaris Programme in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The survey involved 1,315 respondents from all regions of Ukraine. The results showed that the main challenges for ASC staff remain pay levels, excessive workloads, difficulties in recruiting new staff, and the need for additional support and training.
”Despite the war, hromadas continue to provide services to people, look for new solutions, develop mobile services and ensure accessibility for all sections of the society. This is extremely important work that has a direct impact on the resilience of the state. Today, we must not only preserve the system for providing administrative services, but also make it more modern, accessible and people-centred. And it is very important that partnerships such as the cooperation between hromadas and the Polaris Programme help hromadas not to be left to face these challenges alone,” said Larysa Bilozir, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and Chair of the Subcommittee on Administrative Services and Administrative Procedures of the VRU Committee on State Power Organization, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.
The Polaris Programme supports 35 hromadas in the area of ‘Administrative Services’; 14 of these have established Administrative Service Centres with the Programme’s expert and methodological support, another 15 hromadas have received support to develop mobile services, and 6 hromadas - support for strategic planning of ASC development. In addition, Polaris partners have received crisis relief to improve service delivery to residents.
