Anna IEMELIANOVA, Ukraine
PROJECT: National Research on e-Petitions

Skilled in research and project management, Anya is working towards shaping a more inclusive and just community in Kryvyi Rih. To deliver social change in her local community, Anya manages several community projects at the non-profit organization Association of the Responsible Citizens. Anna also serves as an e-democracy expert at the think-tank – Center for Innovations Development. Previously, she worked as a Corporate Lawyer at the Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade. Anya is a recipient of different international and local awards, including the highly prestigious and competitive Fellowship of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Anya holds a Master’s degree in Law (LL.M International Cooperation Against Transnational Financial Organized Crime) from the University of Teramo, (Italy) and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. In 2020 she obtained her Ph.D. at the Legislative Institute of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

“This Fellowship helped me to find new professional connections, gain new experience and create the first data to prove the effectiveness of e-petitions. The latter played a huge role in forming recommendations on e-petitions to draft national legislation on e-democracy in Ukraine.” – Anna IEMELIANOVA

National Research on e-Petitions

The action aimed to identify the effectiveness of the newly-emerged (2015) e-petition instruments in Ukraine. To do so, Anya conducted the first national fact-based e-petition research in 393 cities of Ukraine. The data was collected through electronic applications requesting public information from the local authorities. To assess the level of public dialogue between the citizens and the local authorities, the survey measured various indicators, including the number of submitted, reviewed, supported, and implemented e-petitions. To follow the standards of representativeness, the research covered the big, small, and medium-sized cities, regional cities, and regional centers. In the final stage of the action, Anya developed a list of recommendations and submitted them to the local authorities. To discuss the project deliverables with a broader audience, she presented the survey results at the Forum Practice of e-democracy, held in Kyiv on December 7, 2018.

The project produced bilingual national-wide research on e-petitions in Ukraine. First of all, the document explored the advantages and disadvantages of electronic governance and citizens’ engagement in local policy-making. Thus, the study improved public dialogue between the civil society and the government, as the local authorities agreed to cooperate and follow the shared recommendations. Also, the survey raised awareness of respective public institutions as the publication was shared with the Government of Ukraine, including the Ministry of Justice.

Research paper ‘e-Petitions in Ukraine: the National Study’:

Fellowship Programs 2018
Country Ukraine
Areas of Interest Awareness raising
Topics Democratic participation
Transparency & accountability
Project duration June 2018 - November 2018