Problem setting. Local governments in Ukraine have been given more powers and financial resources to ensure balanced local development in the context of decentralization. Due to the decentralization of public power, strategic planning at the level of territorial communities has acquired a qualitatively new meaning. On the one hand, this was facilitated by the establishment of direct inter-budgetary relations of local self-government bodies of the basic level with the state budget. On the other hand, the stimulating factor that necessitated the introduction of the principles of strategic planning in territorial communities was the change of approaches to the implementation of state regional policy. At the same time, today there are no relevant studies of the state of strategic planning at the local level and the ability of local governments to ensure the formation of quality strategies for the development of territorial communities.
Recent research and publications analysis. The studies of the strategic planning of regional and local development have been performed by V. Kuybida, V. Vakulenko, O. Berdanova, V. Yuzefovych, A. Tkachuk, T. Zabukovets-Kovachych, V. Kuzmyn, O. Prokopenko, V. Udovychenko, N. Hrynchuk, V. Koltun, S. Shults, S. Davymuk, L. Fedulova and others.
Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. In spite of the researcher’s interest in the selected range of problems, the issue of the quality of strategic planning and the effectiveness of the implementation of local development strategies remains understudied.
Paper main body. As a result of the administrative-territorial reform, 73 territorial communities were created in the territory of Lviv region. Today development strategies are available in 18 of them. Another 33 territorial communities are in the process of developing strategies. 22 territorial communities have not started developing strategies yet.
There are certain patterns regarding the state of strategic planning in communities. It depends on their financial capacity. This is verified by the analysis of three groups of territorial communities. According to the available information, the relationship between the state of strategic planning in territorial communities, depending on the status of their administrative center (village, town or city) is not established.
The processes of voluntary unification of territorial communities had a clear positive impact on the state of strategic planning at the local level. Thus, out of 18 territorial communities of Lviv region, which currently have development strategies, 16 have developed strategies in the status of voluntarily united territorial communities.
Research institutions, public organizations, think tanks, local regional development agencies, international and domestic projects to support the institutional capacity of local self-government, associations of local self-government bodies have a positive impact on the state of strategic planning in communities.
The problem of synchronization of planning periods in the development strategies of territorial communities of Lviv region with the state planning period, which is focused on the relevant planning period of the European Union – 2021 – 2027, is one of the most common. Thus, only 5 territorial communities have strategies developed by 2027.
Thus, the results of the analysis of the state of strategic planning for the development of territorial communities of Lviv region revealed the following problems, which are grouped by different aspects:
– lack of approved strategies of territorial communities;
– the boundaries of territorial communities have been changed after the approval of relevant strategies;
– the problem of synchronization of planning periods in development strategies of territorial communities with the state planning period;
– insufficiently deep socio-economic analysis of the development of the respective territories;
– lack of conclusions on the identified trends of socio-economic development based on the results of socio-economic analysis;
– lack of described development scenarios, demographic and economic forecasts in most community development strategies;
– low level of participation of business and public representatives in the formation of the strategy of development of the territorial community;
– Lack of Action Plans for the implementation of strategies for the development of territorial communities;
– weak logical connection between the strategic objectives of the Strategies for the Development of Territorial Communities and budget planning.
Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Strategic planning in territorial communities is one of the conditions for a successful of decentralization reform. The strategies of the region and territorial communities of Lviv region for the planning period 2021 – 2027 were developed in 2018 – 2020 and are mostly in line with the State Strategy for Regional Development.
At the same time, regional and local strategies reveal an imbalance of tasks according to strategic goals. The problem is the focus on the “infrastructure component” and the lack of understanding of the need to take priority measures to increase the level of cohesion of the territorial community around common values and priorities.
Most territorial community development strategies offer typical solutions to problems that do not always correspond to the specifics of local demographic, economic and cultural development, as well as the problems of the respective territories.
Quality strategies for the development of territorial communities require a unified methodology approved by the Government. In order to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of strategies for the development of territorial communities, it is necessary to form action plans and implement monitoring. To solve the problems of strategic planning in territorial communities, it is important to provide constant support from state and regional authorities.
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