Governance priorities for the post-war development and European integration of rural local communities in Ukraine

Rural local communities of Ukraine have faced serious socio-economic problems under theconditions of war. Among the most critical are the low level of entrepreneurial activity and pre-existing challenges related to the quality of governance. As a result, the resource potential utilisation of these communities has become less efficient, against a further backdrop of deteriorating human capital quality and investment attractiveness. All this creates a number of barriers to Ukraine’s further integration into the EU and limits the prospects for post-war economic development of its rural economy. This being so, it is advisable to focus on the implementation of managerial innovations that can enhance the efficiency of governance of rural local communities in Ukraine and facilitate their adaptation to EU institutional standards. Primarily, this concerns the implementation of modern project management tools, activation of cross-sector partnerships, application of effective territorial marketing and branding means, and the dissemination of democratic public administration practices, among other measures. At the same time, significant attention should be given to the educational component, which should ensure that the managerial competence of local self-government employees in rural local communities is enhanced as well as stimulate the entrepreneurial activity of their residents. This will enable Ukraine to attract additional grant and investment resources amid the further deepening of Ukraine’s European integration, particularly in the post-war phase of its development.