Digital Development Ministry proposing experimental service of eDumka for online communication between citizens and local authorities

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has published a draft resolution on the launch of the experimental eDumka service for online communication between citizens and local authorities through the Diia portal.

According to the document, the project is planned to be tested over the course of two years in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zaporizhia, Ternopil, and Kharkiv regions to ensure convenient interaction between individuals and local governments and military administrations.

Key features include submitting ideas and proposals on local issues, reporting community issues, tracking the status of appeals, receiving responses, and evaluating them.

When submitting proposals, one will be able to add photos, document screenshots, and geolocation. Once processed, the proposal will be published on the Diia portal, where users will have 14 calendar days to collect votes from at least 0.1% of the territorial community's residents (this data will be taken from the State Migration Service registers).

If the proposal receives such support, the local government bodies and administration to which the idea was submitted must review the document within a maximum of 15 calendar days. An extension of the review period is possible if the issue requires consideration at a plenary session.

It is noted that users will also be able to view other people's ideas, express support or disagreement, participate in surveys initiated by local authorities, and report inappropriate comments or ideas and receive the results of such complaints.

The draft resolution specifies that a person's affiliation with a territorial community may be determined based on one of the following criteria: registered or declared place of residence; ownership of real estate in the community; payment of local taxes; receipt of a pension at the place of residence; status as an internally displaced person; education at local educational institutions; status as a founder of a legal entity registered in this community.

The requirements for eDumka include proposals and recommendations for resolving local issues, as well as reporting community problems. It is anticipated that the eDumka project will not require additional budgetary funds and will not impact state or local budget revenues or expenditures. At the same time, funding is planned to come from international technical assistance programs and other sources not prohibited by law.

However, the technical administration and operation of the Diia portal will be financed from the Electronic Governance budget program.