Ukraine needs an inclusive, trust-based and collaborative framework to deliver recovery at scale. A new trust-based arrangement would decrease the cost of transactions, contribute to burden-sharing, scale up practices of mutual aid that have emerged during war, and ultimately ensure that the recovery serves as many people as possible, to a higher standard than a top–down process would. But a genuine revision of the social contract is necessary to make this inclusive recovery happen.
Three years into the war, the government of Ukraine is establishing key elements of a new recovery framework which involves planning, selection, delivery, monitoring and coordination of recovery projects. To date, these projects have mainly consisted of rebuilding critical physical and social infrastructure. The framework must recognize that human and community recovery is also of the utmost importance.
A strong partnership between the state, business, civil society and donors is crucial if Ukraine is to mitigate the negative consequences of war on the most vulnerable, help millions of refugees and IDPs to reintegrate after displacement, and cope with the economic and mental health difficulties resulting from the brutality of conflict. Social cohesion and unity can be harnessed to positive effect if all actors work together as ‘Team Ukraine’.
Ukrainian civil society is starting to find its place in this new framework, primarily through assisting with planning, attracting donor funding and, most importantly, providing relief and assistance to those affected by the war. The sector wants a bigger role at all stages of delivery to strengthen social cohesion and the integrity of the process. But the current level of inclusion remains unsatisfactory. The barriers to greater CSO involvement are mainly related to chaotic planning, a lack of political will to genuinely engage with civil society, a lack of information about the recovery instruments, and weak capacity in local government. Donor policies already provide resources that groups can use to work in the community, but in practice the level of localization of delivery is low.
Despite strong cross-sectoral links between CSOs, significant gaps remain in terms of multi-level governance and coordination. For a positive change towards collaborative recovery to happen, Ukraine needs to connect myriad local actions into a powerful system with influence at the national level. Horizontal connections should be strengthened by the links between all levels of government and civil society networks. Each sector and each governance level must play its role. Only through partnership will the result be greater than the sum of its parts.
