Title of the Research Project:
Post-pandemic Paradigm of Ukraine’s Socio-Economic Development in the Coordinates of the Digital Economy

State Registration Number: 0121U109496
Project Duration: 01.01.2021 – 31.12.2023
Funding Source: State Budget of Ukraine (Order of the Ministry of Education and Science No. 1537 dated 04.12.2020)

Principal Investigator Professor, Dr.Sc. Oleksandra Moskalenko

Project Objective:
To substantiate an applied post-pandemic and post-war paradigm for the socio-economic development of Ukraine under conditions of multiple challenges and to propose urgent conceptual approaches to support the economy during wartime and ensure its resilience along the path to European integration and national reconstruction.

Research Tasks:

• To assess paradigm shifts and consequences of the pandemic crisis in society and the economy;
• To describe interdisciplinary contradictions slowing economic development and requiring non-standard governance approaches, and to identify directions for their resolution;
• To evaluate challenges (COVID-19 pandemic and war) as a stimulus for creating new and enhancing existing industrial sectors;
• To analyse the transformation process and develop adaptation trajectories for the education sector during post-pandemic and wartime periods;
• To carry out a statistical analysis of digital transformation processes;
• To examine innovative forms of social participation in the economy, in particular, crowdfunding;
• To identify directions for supporting the economy during the war and in the post-war recovery phase;
• To propose practical policy solutions for economic, industrial, and educational sectors;
• To disseminate research results through academic publications, policy briefs, methodological guidelines, etc.

Research Results:
The novelty of the research lies in identifying directions for rethinking socio-economic policy for supporting the economy and society during the post-pandemic and wartime periods and in implementing these insights through practical solutions to acute socio-economic challenges. The necessity for a renewed, evidence-based development policy was exacerbated by the socio-economic, humanitarian, and security crisis caused by the pandemic and full-scale war, the intensified influence of idiosyncratic and systemic macro-shocks on business activity and the social sphere, and the emergence of new formats of economic interaction among actors of all levels in the modern economy.

The research team prepared methodological guidelines, policy briefs, and programmatic documents, which were shared with external stakeholders. The project was also accompanied by international grants, and research results were communicated both within Ukraine and internationally.

Key Applied Outcomes:

• Oleksandra Moskalenko, as Principal Investigator, co-authored the following policy papers with Karl Aiginger at the Policy Crossover Centre: Vienna-Europe:
• Working Paper 1/2022 “Reconstructuring Ukraine: How to Design a Marshall Plan. The Future of Ukraine”
  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5780d6f1579fb375af56974a/t/6373edebafd6861f7fe937aa/1668541932204/WP1-22_Aiginger%2C+Moskalenko-2.pdf
• Working Paper 2/2023 “Reconstructing Ukraine: How To Support The Economy During Wartime? The European Future of Ukraine”
  http://europaplattform.at/working-papers-2/2023/9/20/working-paper-22023-reconstructing-ukraine-how-to-support-the-economy-during-wartime-the-european-future-of-ukraine
  The Policy Crossover Centre (http://europaplattform.at/) is an interdisciplinary forum for European policy, offering solutions to economic and social challenges in Europe.
• Collaboration was initiated with the Oesterreichische Nationalbank on Ukraine’s green transition (consulting agreement dated 03.03.2023).
• Oleksandra Moskalenko implemented an Ernst Mach Grant – Ukraine project titled “Post-War Economic Recovery Policies in Ukraine” (letter dated 17.10.2022, number MPC-2022-04365).

Contributions of Other Team Members:

• Vira Usyk conducted research on post-pandemic education policy, submitting findings to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES), including:
• Information materials on “Best practices in education policy for organising teaching and learning in the post-pandemic period” (KNEU outgoing letter of 29.11.2022 No. 01/12-204; MoES incoming No. 199/0/3-22 of 05.12.2022).
• Sociological study on distance education and recommendations for public governance of education in emergencies.
• Participation in UNDP’s “Civil Society for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights in Ukraine” and the Erasmus+ project “Strengthening the Capacities of Young Leaders and Youth Organisations for Meaningful Civic Participation” (ref. 608809-EPP-1-2019-1_UA-EPPKA2-CBY-EP-CSF; funded by the EU, 2019–2022).
• Contributions incorporated into the budget expenditure review report on national education and science programmes (MoES reference No. 1/11-3914 of 01.06.2021).
• Larisa Lebedeva developed methodological guidelines for assessing COVID-19’s impact on Ukraine’s industrial sector. These are used by the Ministry of Economy (Letter No. 3012-06/55655-07 of 25.11.2021) for economic forecasting and policy planning. She also coordinated an Erasmus+ project on EU economic resilience (Grant Agreement No. 101083497 — EUERP).
• Oleh Redko, PhD candidate, launched a start-up in April 2022 titled “Implementation of the Crowdinvesting Platform into Digital Economy of Ukraine,” supported by Startup Portugal – R2WS and IAPMEI’s Startup Visa Programme. The project focused on supporting refugee talent and Ukrainian temporary protection holders in foreign countries through crowdfunding: https://www.bizz-bizz.com
  Recognised among the 25 most promising start-ups in Portugal, it served as a response to the refugee crisis in Europe. Redko also received a research grant from the University of Economics in Katowice (NAWA, Poland) on “Institutionalisation of Crowdfunding in the Digital Economy.”
• Alina Barvinok became a Research Fellow at the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), contributing to post-graduate research, teaching, and statistical analysis. With Yana Khrapunova, she co-developed:
• A methodology for assessing physical destruction and land suitability for reconstruction (sent to the Ministry of Reintegration; outgoing letter No. 1/015-35 of 12.12.2022), and
• Methodological guidelines on digitalisation processes (KNEU letter No. 01/13-917 of 29.11.2021 to the State Statistics Service).
• Oleksandra Moskalenko led contract-based research (Agreement No. 3/21-г, dated 02.09.2021) on “Socio-Economic Interim Results of the Medical Reform for Primary Care Physicians and their Patients,” providing recommendations for the Ministry of Health and the National Health Service of Ukraine.
• Kseniia Lopukh implemented gender research results in training at the Kyiv Regional Centre for Professional Development (Reference No. 42-11/108 of 22.09.2021) and submitted an analytical brief “Gender Inequality in Ukraine: Challenges and Solutions” (KNEU letter of 28.12.2021 No. 01.13-1031).
• Antonina Radionova collaborated with the NGO “Financial and Economic Research Council” under the project “Peculiarities of Global Economic Development in the Context of Globalisation” (State Reg. No. 118U00789).

Postgraduate Engagement:

• A. Radionova, O. Redko, V. Dovgoteles, S. Boichuk, and student B. Lavronenko actively participated, gaining experience in applied research, grant writing, and academic publishing.

Integration into Education:
Project results were implemented into KNEU named after Vadym Hetman and State University of Trade and Economics (SUTE) curricula at all levels of higher education across courses such as:

• “Economic Theory,” “Economics,” “Behavioural Economics,” “Pluralist Economics” (O. Moskalenko);
• “Macroeconomic Analysis,” “Public Administration,” “Quantitative and Qualitative Methods of Policy Analysis” (V. Usyk);
• “Macroeconomics” (L. Lebedeva);
• Academic advising at the University of the Western Cape (A. Barvinok).

Dissemination and Outreach:

• Negotiations are ongoing with the BizBiz consultancy firm for international dissemination of research results to support Ukrainian businesses abroad.

Defended and Submitted Theses:

• Antonina Radionova, PhD in Economics, KNEU, 11.05.2021: “The Potential of the Information Economy in Addressing Inequality in a Society” (academic supervisor: Prof. O.Moskalenko; PhD diploma DR No. 001808 of 31.08.2021).
• Yulia Chaliuk: Doctoral thesis submitted, “Socialisation of the Global Economy within the Post-Industrial Paradigm” (Department protocol No. 11 of 19.06.2023; academic advisor: Prof. V. Kyrylenko).

State Scholarships:
Two project participants – O. Moskalenko and Y. Chaliuk – were awarded Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Scholarships for Young Scientists (2022–2024) (Decree of the Committee on State Prizes in Science and Technology, No. 6 of 04.11.2022).

Publications:

• 9 articles in Scopus/Web of Science journals;
• Over 30 in Ukrainian and international peer-reviewed journals;
• Conference abstracts in English;
• 2 monographs in OECD or EU official languages;
• ~24 author’s sheets of monographs in Ukrainian;
• 5 author’s certificates;
• ~15 policy-oriented applications (grants, contracts, recommendations, briefs).

International Roundtable:
On 22 June 2022, the international roundtable “Post-Pandemic and (Post-)War Socio-Economic Development: Human-Centrism & Business Support” was held, discussing Ukraine’s twin macroeconomic shocks – the COVID-19 pandemic and full-scale Russian aggression – and strategic responses.
Programme: https://feu.kneu.edu.ua/ua/depts4/k_politychnoi_ekonomii/pe-dept-news/65768879900075/
Proceedings: Post-pandemic and (Post-)War Socio-Economic Development: Human-Centrism and Business Support (Ed. O. Moskalenko, Kyiv: KNEU, 136 pp.)
Video archive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1f03DWSykEEbjT7LCjmva4TgQLceedzbu