EUROPEAN PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT: EXPERIENCE FROM UKRAINE

Abstract

The study presents a generalised European experience in the development of participatory democracy through the study of European regulations and strategies. The purpose of the 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 the study with the use of application of analytical tools it is planned to confirm or refute this hypothesis. The 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 decentralisation processes in Ukraine. The proposed method of assessing participation in the pilot region of Ukraine (Zhytomyrska Oblast as a leader of domestic decentralisation processes) was tested. The connection between the level of participation and the level of economic capacity of the community is investigated based on comparison of indicators of integrated level of participation and results of ranking and 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 in the management of territorial development.