DECENTRALISATION AS A FACTOR OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY RESILIENCE: IMPROVING PUBLIC MANAGEMENT MECHANISMS IN CRISIS SITUATIONS

Abstract

Introduction. This article examines the problem of ensuring the resilience of territorial communities in crisis situations through the lens of decentralisation. The relevance of the study is determined by the incomplete nature of decentralisation reform in Ukraine, institutional duality at the oblast and raion levels, low levels of trust in authorities, and insufficient integration of civic initiatives into the public management system.

Aim. To provide a theoretical and methodological substantiation and to develop practical recommendations for improving public management mechanisms for territorial communities in crisis situations by harnessing the potential of decentralisation.

Materials and Methods. The research materials comprise scholarly works by Ukrainian authors devoted to the issues of decentralisation, interaction between state authorities and local self-government, financial support for communities, passionarity, and social interaction. The following methods were employed: theoretical generalisation, systematisation, comparative analysis, as well as tabular and schematic methods for visualising the results.

Results. The key factors of territorial community resilience have been identified: institutional-legal, socio-psychological, financial-economic, and information-communication factors. A scheme for the interaction between state authorities and local self-government in crisis management has been developed, along with a model for the financial and managerial provision of community resilience. A quadrant of financial resilience (active budget management, adaptive managerial decisions, state preferential regimes, and digital transparency) has been constructed. It has been found that front-line communities and communities with incomplete decentralisation are the most vulnerable. The necessity of completing the administrative-territorial reform, introducing a prefectural model, creating mechanisms to support passionarity, and institutionalising local initiatives has been substantiated.

Prospects. Further research should be directed towards forming a comprehensive model of public management for the development of territorial communities capable of ensuring their adaptability under conditions of uncertainty, in particular through quantitative analysis of the impact of the components of financial resilience, studying mechanisms for diversifying funding sources, and transforming spontaneous civic initiatives into sustainable management practices using digital tools.