This is the first analysis in a series of case studies focused on measuring the anti-corruption and social impact of open data in Ukraine and creating guidelines for effective open data publication. The case study was conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and with the support of the USAID/UK aid-funded Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) project.
For many years, Ukraine has faced challenges in the urban development industry, including violation of urban development laws, real estate investment risks, post factum legalization of unlawful construction projects, and incompetent renovation of historic buildings, among others. A primary reason for these violations is that for many years, access to data of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine (SACI), the main authority in the construction and urban development sector, was closed to the public. The inaccessibility of this information contributed to government opacity and nurtured corruption, which is still estimated to cost the state budget UAH 3-4 billion per year.[1]
SACI maintains the biggest database of new development projects in Ukraine. The register includes information on all building permits issued between 2012 and 2020.
In December 2019, information from the SACI database was published for the first time on the Single State Web Portal of Open Data.
A new case study evaluates the impact of SACI open data on the construction and city development sector, focusing in particular on its effect on the public, business and government. The case study was conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and with the support of the USAID/UK aid-funded Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) project.
The authors conducted direct interviews with individuals linked to both the open data and urban development sectors in Ukraine. Interviewees include managers of services created using open data, former and current SACI employees, and journalists and representatives of the general public. The study is divided into seven thematic sections, grouped by social issues that can be resolved using open data, including:
- Combating violations of urban development law;
- Raising awareness of real estate investment risks;
- New opportunities for the analysis of judicial disputes in construction;
- Optimization and effective planning of State Urban Development Inspectorate workflows;
- Development of macroeconomic indicators for construction market forecasts;
- Monitoring the condition of historic and architectural heritage buildings; and
- Achieving greater transparency and accountability surrounding SACI operations.
The publication of SACI open data has spurred reform of Ukraine’s construction and city development sectors. It has also helped to improve the quality of the SACI database itself.
In July 2020, as part of ongoing efforts to reform Ukraine’s construction and urban development sector, a new Register of Construction Activity was launched. The Register contains declaratory documents and building permits. These new datasets will not only have a significant anti-corruption impact, they will also encourage new, data-driven innovations to solve social problems and improve government and private sector performance.
More information about the role of open data in resolving
urban development issues in Ukraine, as well as cases and services based on
open data, can be found here.
[1] From the interview with Oleksiy Vyskub, The First Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine:
From the interview with Oleksiy Vyskub, The First Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine: https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/interview/681949.html
