Kyiv, June 25, 2015. An alliance of non-governmental organizations with a rich experience of analytical activity signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and created a Coalition for Social Index of Reforms for monitoring and informing on the course of implementation of reforms in Ukraine. Representatives of the civic sector made the announcement as part of the Ukraine Reforms Communications Taskforce project during the press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
According to Valeriy Pekar, coordinator of Nova Krayina [New Country] Civic Platform, members of the coalition will regularly monitor the progress of reforms that would correspond to the specialization of the participating NGO. “Together we will create a product recognized both in Ukraine and abroad, presenting to the Ukrainian citizens and the international community with fair, unbiased and detailed evaluation of what is happening in Ukraine in key areas,” said Valeriy Pekar.
Experts pointed out the lack of thoughtful discussion and public consulting of reforms. “It creates a certain gap between understanding of goals and results of reforms among ordinary citizens, the elites and expert groups,” emphasized Angela Bochi, senior expert at the International Center for Policy Studies.
Lyubov Palyvoda, president of CCC Creative Center, said that monitoring data shall be presented in a clear and simple manner. “In contrast to the state-led National Council for Reforms, the NGOs decided to join their efforts and create an instrument representing collective opinion of various experts on reforms in Ukraine,” said Vitaliy Sharlay, public policy expert at Ukraine Reforms Communications Taskforce.
Civic activists expressed an opinion that fundamental social changes, and not merely introduction of laws, should be at the core of reforms. The monitoring will only complement other measurements conducted by the state. “Only constructive cooperation is going to produce results. It is by no means an opposition or struggle,” added Iryna Kravchuk, Chair of the Board of Ukrainian Evaluation Association.
Head of Ukraine Reforms Communications Taskforce Taras Kachka agreed that there is a need for both internal state and external civil monitoring. Speaking of reforms evaluation index, he said that the more distant they are from the evaluated, the better. “Any index is an aggregated object that provides possibility for making decisions and correcting actions. In the end, the main objective is how society perceives those things,” he concluded.
