ibser-receives-appreciation

On September 29, 2026, a dialogue event titled “Children’s Interests at the Center of Decision-Making: Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Management in Communities” was held in Kyiv. The event was organized by the Institute for Budget and Socio-Economic Research (IBSER) within the framework of the Project “Strengthening Child-Oriented Budgeting at the Subnational Level.
The event brought together representatives of UNICEF, territorial communities, government authorities, and experts to discuss how the needs of children, their families, and young people can become the basis for strategic, programmatic, and budget decisions.

During the meeting, IBSER presented the key results and practical outputs of the Project. Particular attention was paid to the experience of communities and to how data on the needs of children, their families, and young people can be used in day-to-day management.

Presenting the Project’s results, the practical experience of communities, and opportunities for further mainstreaming child-oriented approaches was the main objective of the event. In particular, participants discussed how data can help communities:

identify strategic development priorities;
develop local and budget programs;
plan financial resources;
identify the need for services;
assess the extent to which planned measures correspond to the actual needs of residents.

A separate part of the discussion focused on scaling up successful practices.

Representatives of the national level, communities, and the expert community discussed the conditions necessary for child-oriented approaches to become part of the management system rather than remain individual initiatives.

Key issues included:

the availability and quality of data needed for decision-making;
the link between identified needs and budget decisions;
financial and regulatory mechanisms that affect the capacity of communities;
cross-sectoral cooperation between different services and institutions;
conditions for disseminating successful practices to other communities.

Representatives of the Andrushivka, Novyi Rozdil, Kehychivka, Oleksandriia, and Korosten communities shared their own experience.

The discussion focused not only on results and achievements but also on practical challenges. In particular, communities raised issues that they cannot resolve on their own and that require further dialogue, improvements to regulatory and financial mechanisms, and systemic solutions at the national level.

This format made it possible to combine the experience of communities with a broader vision of how child-oriented planning and budgeting can be developed at the subnational level.

One of the key conclusions of the meeting was that child-oriented budgeting does not mean creating a separate budget for children.

It means taking a different approach to management decisions — one in which the needs of children, their families, and young people are taken into account when carrying out strategic planning, setting priorities, developing programs, planning resources, and organizing services.

It is important not only to answer the question “How much does the community spend on children?”, but also to understand what needs exist, what decisions are required, what resources are needed, what results are expected, and whether those results have been achieved.

Such an approach helps connect data, planning, budget resources, and the results of community policies.

The meeting provided a platform for sharing practical experience and continuing the dialogue between communities, government institutions, and experts.
The event was organized by the Institute for Budget and Socio-Economic Research within the framework of the Project “Integrated Social Services for Conflict-Affected Children and Their Families in Western and Central Ukraine,” implemented with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and funded by the Government of Germany through KfW.

Training presentation materials are available for review and use at the link.