Determinants and Barriers to the Strategic Development of Territorial Communities of Eastern Podillia under Decentralization

Abstract

The chapter substantiates the determinants and barriers to the strategic development of territorial communities of Eastern Podillia under decentralization. It is argued that decentralization has transformed communities into key actors of local development, but their strategic capacity depends on the interaction of resource, demographic, infrastructural, institutional, financial and security factors. The study proves that Eastern Podillia possesses considerable agricultural, entrepreneurial, human, cultural, recreational and logistic potential; however, its development is constrained by depopulation, ageing, migration losses, infrastructural disparities, personnel shortages in local self-government, limited investment capacity, dependence on transfers, digital inequality and the insufficient quality of strategic planning. Particular attention is paid to the need to interpret strategic development not only through the category of growth, but also through the categories of resilience, adaptability and recovery. It is concluded that strengthening the strategic development of communities in Eastern Podillia requires better coordination between local and regional strategies, development of intermunicipal cooperation and clustering, support for human capital, smart specialization, digitalization of management and diversification of local economies.