Together towards transparency: ASVIDA’s results in 2024 and plans for 2025

2024 was a very difficult year for the development of open data in Ukraine. Yet thanks to your support and participation, the NGO ASVIDA implemented a number of initiatives that, we are convinced, will bring us closer to transparent governance and effective public oversight. We are sharing the key achievements of the year and invite you to continue working with us!

The NGO “Open Data Association” consistently pursues its ambitious mission of strengthening democratic institutions by ensuring maximum transparency in public administration. In 2024, we did not simply continue our work but reached a fundamentally new level of influence on the system of public governance — throughout this period, we focused our efforts on protecting citizens’ right of access to public information, strengthening public oversight of state bodies, and introducing concrete tools that help detect corruption risks.

This report reflects our belief in the ability of civil society to be a genuine catalyst for social transformation — every mechanism we have introduced, every journalist we have trained, and every tool we have developed is a concrete contribution to systemic change.

We are working to create effective mechanisms of influence that gradually change established practices of public administration. Our goal goes beyond short-term tasks — we are working towards a new culture of transparency, in which accountability and efficiency turn from declarative slogans into everyday operational reality.

Educational series on the Diia.Education platform

In February, an educational series devoted to open data advocacy appeared on the Diia.Education platform. Its central idea was to teach civic activists, journalists, business representatives and public institutions how to design and run advocacy campaigns aimed at improving access to public information.

One of the key speakers was the head of the Association, Nataliia Chornohub, who shared expert methods for analysing the success of advocacy campaigns, highlighting the nuances of preventing poor decisions and the risks of professional burnout. Particular emphasis was placed on understanding the deep responsibility in the public sphere, where every decision has the potential to affect a broad social environment.

The project was unique in its comprehensive approach to developing participants’ professional competencies — viewers of the series gained not only theoretical knowledge but also practical tools for influencing social processes and mechanisms for building transparent communication between government, business and the public.

Personal data protection: an expert view

Last year, the Open Data Association focused on the fundamental issue of the legislative regulation of personal data in Ukraine. In May, the Chair of the Board of the Open Data Association, attorney Danylo Hloba, presented an in-depth analysis of draft laws on personal data protection intended to implement European standards for the protection of personal information — his expert assessment revealed systemic risks in the proposed initiatives that could not only complicate business operations but also potentially dismantle existing mechanisms of transparency and public oversight.

The key message of the assessment: the proposed draft laws contain serious corruption risks and provide for the creation of an excessively controlled body with draconian fines of up to UAH 150 million, potentially turning the new regulator into an instrument of administrative pressure rather than a mechanism for protecting personal data.

The Open Data Association’s principled position is that a comprehensive, balanced approach to implementing European personal data protection rules is essential. Adapting legislation is not mechanical copying but deep, substantive work that takes into account the national context, the interests of business and civil society, and security challenges. It is important to strike a balance between protecting personal information and the principles of transparency, without creating excessive bureaucratic barriers and potential corruption risks.

Launch of the Data+ communication platform

In July 2024, the Data+ communication platform was launched in Ukraine to unite the efforts of government bodies, business and the public in developing the open data sector. The Open Data Association actively joined this initiative, using its own analytical and advocacy experience to foster constructive dialogue among all participants in the process.

The overall benefit of launching Data+ lies in the centralised collection of requests to open socially important datasets and in stronger interaction between stakeholders — such cooperation makes it possible to integrate open data practices more deeply into the economic and administrative environment, which in the long run strengthens trust in public institutions and expands opportunities for business and civic initiatives.

For the Open Data Association, participation in the platform confirmed its leading role in promoting standards of openness and responsible governance. Jointly developed initiatives help create a favourable investment climate, improve the quality of local projects and lay a solid foundation for partnerships with international donors.

Discussion of the Open Data Development Strategy for 2025–2027

The Open Data Association was a key participant in the online discussion of the draft Open Data Development Strategy for 2025–2027 and the Operational Plan for its implementation, presented by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in August and put up for public consultation. Participants discussed approaches to adapting Ukrainian legislation to European standards, comprehensive improvement of the Unified State Open Data Portal, and better cooperation between the state, business and the public.

The Association’s experts stressed that even in the difficult conditions of the full-scale invasion, security considerations cannot serve as grounds for irreversibly restricting information of public value. They also emphasised the need to set up an inter-ministerial working group to improve budget legislation, which would allow a systematic approach to funding open data work in state authorities and local self-government bodies.

The solutions presented during the discussion go far beyond technical optimisation — this is a plan for Ukraine’s digital transformation that takes into account both current security challenges and the strategic priorities of European integration. The proposed mechanisms not only modernise the paradigm of public administration but also create a powerful tool for increasing the country’s international competitiveness amid global technological change.

Supporting the anti-corruption work of regional journalists

In 2023–2024, the Open Data Association rolled out an educational and journalistic project that responded to the need for transparency and accountability in post-war reconstruction: almost 70 journalists and civic activists received in-depth theoretical training in analysing public procurement, monitoring public spending and investigative journalism techniques. Of the initial group of participants, the 15 most motivated moved on to the practical part of the programme, and 10 of them successfully completed all assignments and produced high-profile investigations into infrastructure reconstruction in their regions.

A key feature of the project was its unique training methodology, which combined theoretical preparation with practical work under the guidance of leading investigative journalists from such reputable media as Bihus.Info, NGL.Media and other influential anti-corruption platforms. The mentoring programme not only passed on technical skills for working with open data but also developed systematic critical thinking and the ability to recognise manipulation and hidden corruption schemes in the complex processes of post-war reconstruction — the result was journalistic materials that exposed a number of questionable tender procedures, potential collusion between contractors and inefficient use of budget funds. In several cases, the trained journalists prompted additional inspections by oversight bodies, confirming the effectiveness of the approach and the real potential of open data as a tool of public influence.

The project demonstrated that independent journalism is a powerful mechanism for ensuring transparency and accountability amid complex social transformation, while also serving as a key tool for building the institutional capacity of civil society. The trained journalists gained a new understanding of their role as agents of social change, capable of influencing the quality of public administration through transparency and the exposure of abuse. The Open Data Association consistently works to shape a new generation of journalists — critically minded, technologically skilled and socially responsible professionals.

Public Oversight Module for Reconstruction (2024)

In 2024, the Open Data Association took a significant step towards transparency and accountability in post-war reconstruction by developing, together with partners, a powerful tool for monitoring and exposing potential abuse — the Public Oversight Module for Reconstruction.

The module does not merely record violations; it builds a comprehensive picture of potential abuse by checking tender participants for links to sanctioned companies and verifying their reputation and compliance with legal requirements. This approach allows journalists to obtain irrefutable evidence for further investigation, state bodies to carry out preventive oversight, and civic activists to conduct independent monitoring.

The tool provides partner access for media, anti-corruption organisations and public sector representatives after verification. This means they can check a procurement participant simply by entering a link to the tender in the Prozorro system or its identifier — the system automatically highlights risk factors, providing transparent and up-to-date information about potential contractors.

The introduction of this module by the Open Data Association not only makes it possible to analyse the country’s post-war reconstruction processes but also provides a universal mechanism of public oversight that can be applied to other areas of public procurement. This fosters a new culture of accountability in which technological solutions become a key means of countering corruption. In the long term, this approach could become a new standard not only for Ukraine but also for other countries developing mechanisms of public oversight and digitalisation of the public sector.

Fostering transparency, accountability and justice through open data

An important area of the Association’s work in 2024 was its involvement in expanding the functionality of the YC World analytical system, which has become an effective tool for countering cross-border corruption and sanctions evasion schemes. Thanks to the integration of data from more than 200 sources (including European Union registers and political party financing data from the Netherlands, Latvia and Italy), the system now makes it possible to identify links between companies, politically exposed persons and sanctioned entities. Particular attention was paid to updating data on the Russian penitentiary system — this made it possible to identify the involvement of specific individuals in war crimes, which is critically important amid ongoing Russian aggression.

As part of the project, the Association held five training sessions for 272 representatives of law enforcement and security agencies, including NABU, the SBU and the Ministry of Justice, teaching them to use YC World to uncover complex corruption schemes and sanctions violations. At the same time, the number of journalists and researchers with access to the system grew from 12 at the start of the project to 54. This made it possible to publish a number of investigations into the influence of Russian lobbyists on European decisions and to expose mechanisms for circumventing international restrictions.

The recognition of YC World as a tool for international transparency was confirmed by media publications with a total reach of over 2.8 million readers and by the system’s inclusion in Forbes’ list of the 25 most promising startups in Ukraine. These achievements underlined the Association’s leading role in the field of open data and laid the foundation for further scaling — from expanding EU country databases to introducing artificial intelligence for forecasting corruption risks.

Results and plans

The Open Data Association’s comprehensive work in 2024 demonstrated a systematic approach to transforming public administration, in which technological solutions, expert analysis and civic engagement become a powerful instrument of social change. The projects and initiatives implemented are compelling evidence of the organisation’s institutional capacity to influence the quality of public governance amid complex security and transformational challenges.

The mechanisms introduced not only increase the transparency and accountability of public institutions but also shape a new type of professional culture, in which openness, technological proficiency and social responsibility become the defining characteristics of effective public administration. This approach is particularly important in the context of Ukraine’s European integration, demonstrating the ability of civil society to be a genuine catalyst for institutional reform.

The Association’s immediate plans involve further embedding open data practices, expanding its partner network and deepening its methodological work in the field of public oversight. Priority areas will include further implementation and adaptation of European personal data protection standards, the development of educational initiatives for journalists and activists, and the scaling of successful technological solutions for monitoring government processes. The key task remains building an ecosystem of openness in which every stakeholder — from civil servant to civic activist — understands and shares the values of transparency, accountability and social responsibility.

[note] The Open Data Association team is grateful to everyone who joined our initiatives during the year, promoted our analytical materials or funded our projects — thanks to these combined efforts, significant results were achieved in 2024. In 2025, the Open Data Association plans to continue developing and scaling its projects, expanding its partnerships and strengthening the impact of public oversight in order to contribute to the transparent and open society that every Ukrainian deserves.

Learn more in our 2024 activity report in the Reports section.