“Best practices” vs. tailor-made reforms: an exploratory case study of agencification and its effects on policymaking capacity in Ukraine in 2016-2021

Abstract

International aid agencies and organisations have been promoting good governance and institutional development for several decades. Recently, however, the approach of importing “best practices” from developed Western countries and applying them as blueprints elsewhere has received substantial scepticism and criticism. Both academics and policymakers now emphasise the importance of contextualising and tailoring institutional reforms. They aim to find a good fit for each country and achieve long-term sustainable results rather than quick wins. One of the aid recipient countries for which the change of approach to institutional development is relevant is Ukraine. Among many other reforms, it is now undergoing agencification – a transformation of ministries into analytical units, freed from excessive and duplicated administrative functions. This thesis explores the case of agencification in Ukraine, endorsed and coordinated by the EU and the OECD’s SIGMA programme. As an exploratory case study, it investigates how the tailoring of agencification reform affects the policymaking capacity of ministries as its main intended result. The researcher conducted document analysis, desk research and in-depth interviews with public administration experts and practitioners. As a result, the study suggests four nuanced hypotheses which need to be further explored and verified in future research on the relationship between agencification reform tailoring and the policymaking capacity of ministries in developing countries.