Theoretical and Methodological Support for the Regional Development Strategy of Ukraine

The paper notes that one of the current priorities of Ukraine’s regional policy is to identify regional development problems and implement measures to solve them. At the same time, the actual absence of particular ways, both theoretical and practical, for addressing these problems, the outdated regulatory framework significantly limit the ability to comprehensively consider the wide range of issues related to regional development in Ukraine. In the course of the research, theoretical bases are generalized, and methodological support for the regional development strategy of Ukraine is developed. It is pointed out that today the strategic planning of regional development in our country is only being formed. Unfortunately, the practices and experience of European Union countries are not fully taken into account, there is no sufficient theoretical and methodological support for strategic planning of the development of territories, and the regulatory support for this process is being improved very slowly. It is established that a very important condition for the implementation of the regional development strategy is coordination and concurrence of actions of all subjects in the regional economic space – business and government of all levels – and the unification of all the positions necessary for strategic planning based on reliable information about their intentions. It is concluded that the current system of strategic planning, unfortunately, does not ensure the coherence of the macroeconomic, regional and sectoral aspect. In this regard, there is a need to improve the management system at the regional level, which should occur through reforming the public administration system and the development of local self-government as the most priority area for the implementation of public policy. The study confirms the practicality of searching for new approaches to achieve an effective formation and implementation of the regional development strategy to solve problems of territorial development, taking into account the positive experience of other countries, especially regarding measures aimed at reducing territorial imbalances, creating regional industry complexes and stimulating their development.