Developing a new approach to social service delivery
Since 2023, the Ukrainian government has been restructuring the country’s system of social support, prioritizing community-based, inclusive and targeted assistance. This transformation is defined by three complementary strategic shifts. The first shift is a broad departure from the Soviet-era, status-based model of provision (which focused on cash payments over practical assistance) in favour of a holistic, human-centric approach tailored to individual needs. Examples of this shift in practice include the new system mandating a transition from institutional orphanages to family-based care (aligning with EU accession requirements), and First Lady Olena Zelenska’s accessibility initiative to foster the reintegration of veterans and civilians with disabilities.
The second shift is intended to reduce the bureaucratic burden for war-affected populations through digitization, anchored by the ‘Diia’ app/portal and the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere (UISSS). Diia enables rapid registration of IDPs, emergency payments and applications for compensation for property damaged by war in one place. Users can also apply for child support, housing subsidies, pension services, and unemployment benefits directly through the app or portal. The UISSS consolidates a disparate collection of databases into a unified system for efficient case management of social assistance, payments and services for citizens.
The third shift – and the most significant in the context of this paper – is that the state no longer acts as the sole provider of social services. A new model for purchasing social services allows local communities to identify their specific needs and choose between private, civil society and municipal service providers on a competitive basis, with state compensation available for the costs. These innovations are reflected in the Social Recovery Strategy for 2024–26 presented by the Minister of Social Policy, Oksana Zholnovych, at the 2023 Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in London.
Ukraine has adopted a comprehensive legislative framework to formalize the role of local authorities and CSOs as primary partners in delivering recovery projects and social services on the local level. According to the ‘Law on Social Services’, the responsibility for assessing and providing social services lies with local self-government bodies (such as village, settlement and city councils).
Parliament introduced legislative amendments in April 2022, increasing the powers of local authorities and specifying that social services are to be provided on an emergency basis under martial law. In April 2023, the Ministry of Social Policy issued guidance for local authorities on how to determine social service needs among communities through the formation of working groups. These working groups can also include representatives from civil society and affected vulnerable people. Local communities are encouraged to use local government funds to contract CSOs, allowing them to cover capacity gaps and better tailor social services such as psychosocial support, family-based care and services for veterans to local needs.
The government has also facilitated the process of involving CSOs on the local level through several legislative acts. In 2021, the National Strategy for Promoting the Development of Civil Society in Ukraine for 2021–26 had been published. This strategy adopted the principle of ‘no solutions for civil society without civil society’, encouraging active cooperation between state authorities, local government and CSOs at all stages, from identifying problems and solutions to monitoring progress.
This principle was also reflected in the Action Plan for 2025–26 approved by the Ukrainian government in March 2025 as part of its National Strategy. The action plan was developed in close cooperation with civil society representatives, and includes 34 key measures on how to strengthen civic society’s engagement, improve local decision-making and align the process with EU standards. In particular, Task 24 explicitly recognized the importance of increasing civil society actors’ capacity to act as social service providers using state funds. In 2022, draft law No. 8084 aimed to simplify registration and expand the legal rights of CSOs. A 2024 law codified the introduction of participatory tools such as public discussions and roundtables to strengthen cooperation between hromada residents and local authorities. In January 2026, a new procedure was approved by the government to simplify the provision of social services at a local level, further expanding opportunities for civil society to cooperate with local authorities on a contractual basis to provide social services.
As shown a report by the NGO Ednannia showed, the main advantage of developing social services and recovery projects at the community level is the knowledge of and proximity to those who will benefit from them, effectively representing a ‘tool for community development’, strengthening social cohesion and trust in local institutions. However, despite these legislative advances, CSOs and charitable organizations still represent a minority (roughly 14 per cent) of formally registered social service providers on the Ministry of Social Policy’s register.
Providing vital services
Civil society as an institution retains high levels of trust among Ukrainians. According to a December 2025 survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 79 per cent of respondents reported trust in civil society institutions – a figure that mainly reflects support for volunteers and is surpassed only by the armed forces. This high level of trust is a valuable asset for the country’s social recovery and indicates that the non-profit sector would have a high legitimacy to delivery various social services, including sensitive services such as mental health support (see below).
Overall, 55 per cent of Chatham House survey respondents reported ‘providing social, educational, health services for citizens’ as part of their activities. Significantly, in this instance, the proportion is much higher among CSOs operating regionally (61 per cent) than among Kyiv-based/national level CSOs (29 per cent).
The survey shows that regional CSOs play a vital role in sustaining both immediate humanitarian and long-term community social needs. 35 per cent of respondents operating regionally reported ‘providing basic humanitarian assistance in crisis and emergency situations’ as part of their activities, compared to just 14 per cent of CSOs working on the national level (see Annex, Q5).
Regional CSOs also reported working with key vulnerable groups (including IDPs, children, veterans and their families) in higher numbers compared to those at the national level (see Annex, Q4). However, the disparity does not apply to work with veterans and their families, with CSOs operating at the regional and national levels reporting similar rates of engagement (28 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively).
Responding to Ukraine’s mental health crisis
With an estimated 15 million people requiring some level of psychological support, the mental health crisis has expanded beyond displaced populations to the general public. In response, the Ukrainian government – in an initiative championed by Olena Zelenska and the Mental Health Coordination Centre – is mainstreaming mental health services across medical and educational sectors as part of its ‘How are you’ programme.
By April 2026, the Ministry of Social Policy had established 386 ‘Centres for Resilience’ to provide psychosocial support and family counselling across the country, with additional facilities planned. Under this national programme, ‘mobile rehabilitation modules’ have also been set up across Ukraine. These units provide specialized, affordable and high-quality physical rehabilitation care and socio-psychological support to veterans and civilians in remote areas. The modules operate with the support of regional state authorities, international humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross and private actors.
In addition, the Catholic aid charity Caritas operates 40 local crisis centres that in 2025 provided various assistance to 90,000 people. The charity has also joined the initiative to open local Centres of Resilience. In 2026, its team was operating 72 such centres. These centres serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ for veterans, IDPs and families in crisis.
These services are the beginning of a new model of provision that is closer to the end user. But greater clarity is needed on what high-quality ‘resilience services’ can and should be. Such services also need to be distributed more equally across Ukraine, as smaller communities will currently struggle with access and awareness of such assistance.
Our survey shows that regional organizations play a vital role in the provision of these services and will be vital to the development of the new model. 55 per cent of the regional CSOs providing social services now include mental health support in their remit – twice as many as national CSOs (27 per cent). Similarly, 40 per cent of regional CSOs operate community spaces essential for social connectivity (a proven factor in mitigating PTSD). Again, this proportion is twice as high as the rate among national CSOs (19 per cent) (see Annex, Q6).
Maintaining Ukraine’s education system
The toll of the war on Ukraine’s educational infrastructure is staggering. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, Russian attacks have damaged over 4,500 institutions and completely destroyed 400 schools, with the World Bank estimating direct losses at $13.4 billion. Currently, 85 per cent of children in Ukraine study in a face-to-face and hybrid format, while 15 per cent of children rely completely on online learning.
The human cost is particularly acute in front-line regions, which are frequently disrupted by power outages and air raid alerts. 83 per cent of young children in those regions exhibit signs of emotional distress and delayed development. This disruption not only creates immediate mental health challenges, but also threatens Ukraine’s future labour market participation and economic growth by depleting the skilled workforce necessary for recovery.
Regional CSOs are providing a vital service in keeping these services going. Our survey shows that, in 2026, 45 per cent of regional CSOs work with children and young people, while 17 per cent provide extra-curricular activities in or outside schools (see Annex, Q4 and Q6).
