How the Ministry for Development Uses Data for Infrastructure Development and Ukraine’s Reconstruction — Highlights from Open Data Talks

On 21 November, another online Open Data Talks event took place within the Data+ communication platform — a meeting with the CDTO of the Ministry for Development and the Head of DREAM. The speakers discussed the current state and future plans for developing open data to support communities and Ukraine’s reconstruction.

“The team at the Ministry of Digital Transformation has been working for many years together with the Ministry for Development on opening up data and fostering dialogue with users. We appreciate our colleagues’ openness and their willingness to support these processes. The community’s interest in open data is particularly important now — during the period of post-war reconstruction. The Ministry of Digital Transformation will continue to promote the disclosure of high-quality data, especially those with significant economic, anti-corruption and social impact,” commented Yanina Liubyva, Head of the Expert Group for Open Data Development at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine is the primary data holder for nearly 50 datasets, including those in the areas of urban planning, construction and public investment. It is also responsible for the development and operation of the Unified State Electronic System in Construction (EDESSB) and the national public investment management system DREAM.

“First and foremost, we open the datasets that are most critical: the territorial community codifier, the register of temporarily occupied territories, as well as the Damaged and Destroyed Property Register. A comprehensive information audit is currently underway, including a review of all registers, their structure, API capabilities, level of publicity and compliance with open data requirements,” said Andrii Bratus, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalisation.

The Deputy Minister also separately addressed the steps towards publishing the Damaged and Destroyed Property Register in an open data format. A draft has already been prepared providing for the publication of five key data components: damaged buildings, commission inspection reports, technical inspection reports, and two datasets related to compensation for damaged and destroyed property, linked to real estate objects and the amounts of compensation awarded.

“Exact coordinates of objects will not be disclosed — this is a matter of security. A compromise solution has been found: data will be detailed to the level of a settlement, while all other information about the type of object, area, number of floors and category of damage will be available,” Andrii Bratus added.

Under the updated requirements of Resolution No. 835, 48 datasets are assigned to the Ministry for Development. The largest share — 29 datasets — relates to the construction sector. Others cover transport, housing and utilities, and additional policy areas.

The revised Resolution obliges the Ministry to publish data from the Damaged and Destroyed Property Register — a dataset essential for transparent and accountable reconstruction.

“BRDO has been working with open data for many years, particularly now when the opening of new datasets is complicated by the war. One of the key datasets whose publication BRDO consistently advocated together with other civil society organisations is the Damaged and Destroyed Property Register. It is critically important for transparent reconstruction, and we have repeatedly called for its disclosure. Work is currently underway to strike a balance between openness and security requirements. I would also like to highlight DREAM — a system built from the outset on the principle of openness. It has already become part of the public investment infrastructure, and we see opportunities for further joint work,” said Oleksii Dorohan, Executive Director of BRDO.

DREAM is the digital foundation of the public investment management (PIM) reform, which the Ministry for Development is implementing jointly with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. The PIM reform changes approaches to the planning and selection of recovery projects. Within this reform, DREAM ensures linkage between strategic objectives, projects and procurement processes. It already enables the preparation of medium-term public investment plans, project portfolios and feasibility studies.

“Following large-scale destruction, Ukraine needs to rethink approaches to planning and implementing public investments. Before the full-scale invasion, dozens of procedures existed without a unified project evaluation system. DREAM is designed to change this logic — it is the digital foundation of a reform that unifies the full investment management cycle. We are developing the system to ensure it provides not only static data but also insight into the dynamics of decision-making,” said Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office.

The DREAM ecosystem has been built from the outset according to the “open by design” principle. At the same time, certain modules remain closed due to sensitive information concerning critical infrastructure facilities. Unlike other data holders that process and publish data retrospectively, DREAM generates data directly from business processes in real time. The system is based on OCDS and OC4IDS standards and extends them to reflect the complex processes of reconstruction.

“Unlike many systems, we use OCDS not only for data publication but as an internal transactional model. That is why our data are deeper and reflect the full project life cycle,” explained Andrii Hazin, Senior Data Manager at Open Contracting Partnership.

Representatives of the Ministry for Development, DREAM and the Open Contracting Partnership emphasised their openness to cooperation, readiness to consider specific proposals from users, and the importance of prioritising datasets that have the greatest impact on reconstruction and transparency of public investments.

A video recording of the meeting is available on BRDO’s YouTube channel.

The event was organised within the project “Effective Monitoring of Open Data Legislation Implementation”, implemented by the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) with the support of the Open Government Partnership under the “Integrity Programme for the Eastern Partnership”, funded by the European Union. The content of the discussion reflects the views of the speakers and does not necessarily represent the position of BRDO, OGP or the EU.