Intersectoral Cooperation in the Context of Social Development of Territorial Communities of Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the social aspects of the organization of intersectoral cooperation as one of the sources of the development of territorial communities and their adaptation to the complex socio-political and socio-economic conditions of the war period. The need to speed up recovery processes and successfully develop the country’s economy in combination with the European integration tasks currently makes this area of scientific research relevant. The purpose of the article is to determine the transformational changes in the development of intersectoral cooperation in territorial communities with the substantiation of stimulating mechanisms in the context of their social development tasks. The novelty is the generalization of the results of changes which took place in the organization of intersectoral cooperation in the field of social service provision in communities during the war period. The article uses the methods of system analysis, generalization and comparison, economic and statistical analysis. It was revealed that intersectoral cooperation in the territorial communities of the country has not yet acquired a systemic nature with appropriate legislative and regulatory support and is practiced only in case of critical exacerbation of local socio-economic or socio-ecological problems. The specifics of the modern organization of intersectoral interaction in the communities of the country was considered and the main trends of its development in the field of social service provision, as well as the possibility of overcoming the wartime barriers, were identified. It was found that the main obstacles to the development of intersectoral cooperation are related to its informal nature, the low level of complementarity of interacting parties’ interests, and the lack of platforms for communication. In the absence of a comprehensive concept of the development of territorial communities’ social sphere in the war period, an assessment of the sphere of social service provision in the communities was carried out, and the problems of its digitalization and staffing were determined from the perspective of the possibilities for development of various social interaction forms. The need to transition to a new format of intersectoral cooperation based on partnership, social responsibility, and constructive dialogue between participants in order to successfully implement local initiatives and minimize the negative consequences of competition between various entities and social groups has been proved. Actively spreading the possibilities of cross-sectoral cooperation, formed on collective efforts and joint responsibility on a partnership basis, to the social development of communities will ensure the successful solution of local socio-economic, information & communication, environmental protection problems, taking into account the interests of local residents. The article defines directions and conditions of the organization of intersectoral cooperation that are strategically significant for the social development of the country’s territorial communities and suggests appropriate mechanisms capable of strengthening its potential in the near future.