Presenting Ukraine’s PIM Reform and DREAM to the International Community: Key Takeaways from the Vienna Workshop
An international Peer Learning Workshop: Public Sector Staffing and Digitalization for Public Infrastructure Investment Results was held in Vienna, focusing on strengthening public sector capacity and digital solutions for Public Investment Management (PIM). The event brought together representatives of ministries, local governments, state-owned enterprises, and international institutions from across Europe, the Balkans, and Central Asia.
The workshop was co-organized by the World Bank, the European Commission, the Austrian School of Government, the Federal Public Administration Academy, and the Vienna Development Knowledge Center.
Discussions centered on how strengthening public sector competencies, digitalizing processes, and implementing institutional reforms can improve the preparation, selection, and delivery of public investments.
The event was attended by Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office, Head of Ukraine Support, OCP, who presented Ukraine’s approach to implementing the PIM reform and the DREAM digital ecosystem as its practical backbone.
Why This Matters
Effective Public Investment Management is increasingly seen not merely as a technical function, but as a combination of leadership, institutional capacity, and digital tools. Workshop participants discussed common challenges countries face when transitioning to a systemic PIM framework, including skills shortages, fragmented IT solutions, a lack of end-to-end processes, and limited analytical capacity to support decision-making.
In this context, Ukraine’s experience stood out as an example of a comprehensive approach, where digital solutions do not operate in isolation but support the entire reform logic — from strategic planning to project implementation and monitoring.
Ukraine’s Experience and the Role of DREAM
During the workshop, the DREAM ecosystem was presented as the digital foundation of Ukraine’s public investment management reform. Participants were introduced to key elements of the system, including integrated project preparation workflows, transparent procedures, analytical tools, and the approach to developing a Medium-Term Plan of Priority Public Investments, sectoral pipelines, and the Single Project Pipeline.
The Ukrainian case generated strong interest among participants. In their concluding discussions, representatives of participating countries expressed a desire to further explore the DREAM approach and consider it as a reference model for the development of their own PIM systems.
Key Takeaways from the Workshop
The main takeaways included:
- Human capital and institutional capacity are critical to successful PIM reform, alongside regulatory frameworks and IT solutions
- Training and competency development must be systematic and continuous, rather than ad hoc
- Digitalization, data integration, big data, and artificial intelligence are reshaping public investment management practices
- The effectiveness of PIM should be assessed based on real outcomes, including adherence to timelines and budgets, infrastructure quality, and environmental and climate impact
Special attention was given to economic appraisal tools, particularly the e-CBA solution developed by the World Bank to support decision-making in public investment.
Outcomes and Next Steps
Following the workshop, the Ukrainian delegation was invited to engage more actively with the World Bank’s international PIM community, which is working on transforming PIM functions across the region. Agreements were also reached on methodological cooperation, with a view to potentially integrating selected international tools and approaches into the DREAM ecosystem and Ukraine’s PIM methodology. Participation in the workshop confirmed that Ukraine’s PIM reform and the DREAM ecosystem are already recognized internationally and can serve as a practical reference for other countries undergoing public investment management reforms.
