USAID KEU Program presented the rating of cities participating in the Competitiveness Index of Ukrainian Cities 2019/2020

11.09.2020

Six cities – Khmelnytsky, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Ternopil and Chernihiv are cities with the most favorable business climate and efficient economic management. These are the results of the study “Competitiveness Index of Ukrainian Cities 2019/2020” conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” Program together with Info Sapiens, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting. The full list 2019/2020 report and the rating of all cities can be viewed at the link www.ier.com.ua/ua/mci/Report_19-20.

To measure ICM 2019/2020, the USAID KEU Program in partnership with Info Sapiens conducted a large-scale survey, the first wave of which covered 23 regional centers of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv. 5 thousand 115 business entities were interviewed who expressed their opinions about the business climate and the efforts of the city authorities to create a favorable environment.

Based on the results of the survey and the collected statistical data from cities, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting prepared a report and a rating of the participating cities. The difference in the PCM value for the 1st and 24th places is more than double, – 72.69 to 31.62, which indicates a significant difference in the business climate, the policies of local councils, and, as a result, the competitiveness of each city. The next two waves of the survey are planned for 2021 and 2023 in 45 and 60 largest cities of Ukraine.

At the opening of the presentation, USAID Mission Director to Ukraine and Belarus, James Hope, said: “This index marks a milestone in the US Agency for International Development’s efforts to help the Ukrainian economy to make it more competitive and attractive to investors. It is an unbiased and data-driven business climate assessment tool that targets both the public and private sectors. “

Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, Iryna Novikova, emphasized: “ICM is an applied tool for the Ministry for planning and developing more targeted, accurate economic policies that will be based on reliable, and most importantly”, live “data received directly from the main stakeholders – local businesses, which are overwhelmingly small and medium-sized”.

Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, Vyacheslav Negoda, noted: “It is very successful and useful in ICM to conduct research in cities, taking into account the unique characteristics and context of each of them, clearly identifying strengths and weaknesses, and this is extremely important for the effective operation of urban authorities in ensuring sustainable economic development of society and unlocking its potential. I hope that the methodology and results of the study will become an example for all again communities in developing their development strategies, in particular in terms of economic management”.

Presenting the results of the ICM 2019/2020 in the context of cities and components, Oksana Kuzyakiv, Executive Director of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, noted: “ICM is not just data, it is, first of all, an opportunity to learn from the experience of others in creating a favorable environment for developing business and share their own successes, tell the whole country about the attractiveness of their city for work and life”.

The Mayor of Khmelnytsky – the leader of the ICM 2019/2020, Alexander Simchishin noted that the ICM is a useful tool for further work in the city, and the city authorities want to see the dynamics of further changes in relation to the city of Khmelnytsky and other cities as well, because strong cities are strong Ukraine. Andriy Sadovy, the mayor of Lviv, which is the number one city in terms of Resources for Development and Support for Innovation, added that they are working to improve the business climate and are ready to share their experience with other cities. Deputy Mayor of Kramatorsk Svetlana Nikonenko, who is the leader in the “Business Security” component, thanked for the opportunity to join the ICM and expressed the city’s readiness to take part in the support program for the ICM participating cities. The Mayor of Kropyvnytskyi, who is the leader in the “Starting a Business” component, Andriy Raikovich, added that the city authorities are removing corruption and barriers to business, as well as expanding the range of administrative services.

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PCM is an analytical tool for assessing the local business climate and the effectiveness of economic management. Its goal is to stimulate the leadership of local authorities in economic development, to identify regulatory barriers, corruption and non-transparency, overcoming which will increase the success of the business. For investors, ICM can become the basis for making decisions on the feasibility of investments in cities participating in the ICM. And the city government ICM will allow identifying the best practices and differences in the business climate of cities, to identify “weak points” and opportunities for improvement. The Index can become a tool for dialogue between cities and the Government of Ukraine, which will help improve the business climate and disseminate best regulatory practices at the local and national levels.

The PCM consists of 10 components for assessing various aspects of urban competitiveness: