The Government of Ukraine has approved a new procedure for using the funds of the State Fund of Regional Development (SFRD). This measure enables the revival of support for community projects after a three-year hiatus caused by the full-scale war.
For 2025, one billion hryvnias is allocated to infrastructure restoration and development projects. These funds will be provided to communities in the form of a subvention from the state budget to local budgets.
Selection will be conducted among projects entered into the DREAM system that are part of public investment projects included in the Single Project Pipeline for 2025, in accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 903 of August 9, 2024.
Applications will be submitted through DREAM from September 1 to September 10, 2025, 6 p.m.
Main eligibility criteria for community projects:
- Alignment with the priorities of the State Strategy for Regional Development for 2021–2027, regional development strategies, and community development strategies;
- State or municipal ownership of the asset;
- The project implementation plan must not exceed 18 months;
- Availability of up-to-date project documentation developed in compliance with current DBN (State Building Norms), DSTU (Ukrainian National Standards), and guidelines (incorporating energy efficiency, inclusion, etc.);
- Co-financing from local budgets – at least 10%;
- Capacity of authorities to ensure subsequent maintenance of assets at the expense of local budgets and other legally permissible sources;
- Assets must remain in the state or municipal ownership of the respective territorial communities and be used for their intended purpose for at least 20 years from the project completion date.
“We are pleased to return to the operation of the State Regional Development Fund. Today, our priority is front-line communities, but other regions will also be able to receive support. We strive to make the project selection process as open and transparent as possible so that funds are used efficiently for the reconstruction of our communities,” said Oleksii Ryabykin, Deputy Minister for the Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.
Note! Only assets located in territories of Ukraine, excluding active combat zones or territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, and included in the list of territories approved by the Ministry for Development by Order No. 376 dated February 28, 2025, are eligible to participate.
Priority sectors for selection include public investment projects in:
- Municipal infrastructure and services: water supply, wastewater, and heating facilities;
- Education: pre-school, primary, and secondary education institutions; Healthcare: hospitals, outpatient clinics, etc.;
- Civil protection: civil protection shelters are located in educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and social protection centers, and serve community needs, safety centers, alert systems;
- Public services: administrative service centers, administrative buildings and premises, etc.
- Proposals for public investment projects to be financed from the SFRD may be submitted by local self-government bodies, local executive authorities, and executive bodies of village, settlement, and city councils of territorial communities
Prioritization criteria include:
- Projects requiring funding of up to 70 million hryvnias;
- Project readiness for implementation (availability of current design and estimate documentation, completed procurement procedures, concluded contracts);
- Status of development/approval of regional and local development strategies;
- Community capacity is based on the tax capacity index of the relevant budget;
- Project implementation timeline.
Application stages in DREAM:
1. Updating information and documents in the relevant sections of the user’s electronic cabinet;
2. Submitting proposals with an electronic signature of the authorized person;
3. Automatic project prioritization based on established criteria by the DREAM system’s software;
4. Formation of a ranked list of projects with a unique identifier (ID) assigned to each project;
5. Analysis of the ranked list of projects formed based on prioritization results and issuance of relevant conclusions.
The DREAM Project Office team will support project initiators at every step of application preparation. On Thursday, August 28, a training session will be held for project initiators on updating data and preparing applications for the funding program. You can register for the webinar via this form: https://forms.gle/VpZ4iq3dw7u2dkVLA.
In the medium term (2026–2028), 90 billion hryvnias are planned for the SFRD. Ukraine is developing a new public investment management system that meets EU standards and brings the country closer to using European Structural Funds.
