The final Expert Session of the year by the Mayors’ Club took place on the topic: “The Digital Ecosystem for Recovery Management DREAM and Its Benefits for Communities” – practical aspects of project placement and obtaining funding

Informative and concise — that’s exactly how the Mayors Club Expert Session on December 21 went. The speaker, Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office, presented the DREAM platform as a comprehensive IT solution — a digital ecosystem for recovery.

Viktor noted that, as of today, the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property contains over 256,000 officially recorded objects. According to the latest estimates, Ukraine will need $411 billion for reconstruction — and this figure is expected to grow in February 2024.

DREAM is a key element of the end-to-end digitalization concept for reconstruction. It is already integrated with the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property and is continuously being improved and expanded. Aligned with the Build Back Better principle, DREAM is planned to be used not only for reconstruction but also for development projects. Following the testing phase, 494 administrative bodies are now registered in DREAM, including 270 communities that have already submitted at least one project.

The platform primarily features investment profiles of communities, which are highly valuable and informative for potential investors. In addition, the system allows communities to create their own projects, with the entire project lifecycle visible in accordance with international standards. In the future, it is planned that all projects requiring budget funding will be created exclusively within DREAM.

A nationwide project bank is one of DREAM’s major long-term goals.

Engaging local communities and promoting them abroad to attract funding are also among DREAM’s key objectives.

In terms of project financing, DREAM is implementing the integration of international partners and coordinating a multi-donor platform. Profiles of international partners are already being registered, and functionality for submitting applications to various funding programs is being developed. For example, next year it is planned to fund shelter and food service facility projects through DREAM, with a total budget of 4 billion UAH, covering the entire process from application submission to project implementation. In this way, DREAM will serve as a structured tool for informing communities about all available project funding opportunities registered on the platform.

DREAM also functions as a tool for e-democracy by engaging citizens, external experts, and providing project monitoring. Plans include the introduction of a risk management system for different user groups. The platform supports multiple languages in addition to Ukrainian, making it accessible and convenient for international partners. The DREAM Academy — a user competence center — is already operational, and several online courses are in development. For many international partners, such as GIZ and U-LEAD, DREAM has already become the platform through which they engage with local projects. The DREAM support service is available on Telegram and Facebook to ensure quick responses to questions and issues. The speaker demonstrated the platform using the example of Borodianka, including a project that has already been funded.

The platform stands as a model of trust and transparency. Any taxpayer — whether from Ukraine or a partner country (such as Lithuania, which funded the reconstruction of a kindergarten in Irpin) — can access open data about any registered project. Representatives of the Irpin and Trostianets communities, who are already using DREAM, shared their experiences and expressed their gratitude to the entire team for their excellent work.

• You can watch the video recording of the Expert Session on the YouTube channel

• The presentation is available via the provided link

• Use the feedback form to share suggestions for improving the DREAM Analytics module

• Access the chatbot of the digital ecosystem for accountable recovery management – DREAM.

For any inquiries, you can contact us at info@dream-office.org

Please note that participation in the event and full access to expert session materials and video recordings are exclusive to members of the Mayors Club — city and community leaders, as well as their teams. If you are a mayor or community head but not yet a member of the Mayors Club, please follow the link and register.