{"id":20493,"date":"2026-05-26T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cedos.org.ua\/?page_id=20493"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:12:48","slug":"cedos-annual-report-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cedos.org.ua\/en\/cedos-annual-report-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Cedos Annual Report 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, as every day, we thank the Defense Forces of Ukraine for the opportunity to continue our work. Today, as every day, we remember all the fallen military personnel and civilians. Today, as every day, we await the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians imprisoned by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In October 2025, the Cedos team came together for team building, something in between a strategic session and an informal meeting. Nobody, not even I, knew exactly what to expect from this format that was new for us. However, my first year in the position of director was coming to an end, and I felt a strong need to pause and collectively discuss who Cedos are today and what that means for each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The task that inspired me the most during this event was to think about the organization\u2019s values and share reflections on which projects embody them best. Thanks to this exercise, abstract concepts took on clear and understandable shapes\u2014for example, research on social services and rent is about solidarity, while participation is best reflected in community centers and the urban forum. This is an exercise I now often return to, especially in moments of discouragement or fatigue, as it reminds me of the importance of our work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2025, I also often turn to the idea of radical hope. I became familiar with this concept thanks to an article<\/a> by Polish researcher Joanna Kusiak and Syrian researcher Ammar Azzouz. In their work, they point out that the question of how to respond to disasters is inseparably linked to the question of how to continue living if previous ways of life are no longer attainable. The answer is through the idea of radical hope, which allows us, even in the most difficult, darkest times, to imagine the future as better than it is now, radically new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

War, on the other hand, tries to deprive us of this ability to dream and imagine the future. It creates constant uncertainty about what tomorrow will look like. And this uncertainty is justified: we really often do not know what the next week will be like. The ability to find hope even in terrible circumstances does not mean being naive or overly optimistic, it is also an act of symbolic resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creation of knowledge can also be hopeful. Kusiak and Azzouz call this \u201chopeful analysis,\u201d which, through data and information, makes it possible to think about an alternative social order or to invent a policy that does not yet exist but is urgently needed. It is knowledge that fuels our imagination of progressive change. In this sense, Cedos for me is a hopeful community\u2014and, I hope, will remain so for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anastasiia Bobrova, Director of Cedos<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Figures and Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Cedos celebrated its 15th anniversary!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illustration: Seri\/graph<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During 2025, the Cedos team implemented 16 projects, published 12 research reports, briefs, and concepts. We held 13 public events\u20145 online and 8 in person\u2014which were attended by more than 700 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the reach of our publications on social media and through newsletters exceeded 2.9 million people. In traditional media, including television, radio, podcasts, and online platforms, we were mentioned 231 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Ivan Verbytskyi, who served as the director of Cedos in 2019\u20132024, was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine. Cedos analyst Volodymyr Kudelia joined the Defense Forces of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2025, the team consists of 24 engaged experts working in the Research and Analysis Department, the Urban Studies Department, the Communications Department, or as part of the administrative team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research and Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2025, we continued our work with our three key areas: housing, education, and social protection. As a team, we talked a lot about how we see these areas, how they should be structured, which aspects in these areas should be inalienable rights for all people in our country. We worked to define which values we uphold in these areas and how we see the path to achieving them. To achieve our vision in each area, we continued working on research, policy analysis, and the dissemination of evidence-based knowledge, and also selected thematic priorities for 2026. Throughout the year, we had both research initiated by our team and research in partnership with other organizations. Such partnerships are especially valuable, as they help combine our expertise, engage a broader community, and unite our voices to promote change,\u201d \u2014 Alina Khelashvili, Head of the Research and Analysis Department.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

War Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, the Cedos team has been working on a flagship study that documents how people\u2019s emotions, thoughts, and experiences change during the war. In 2025, we continued this work and released the seventh wave of this study, Three Years of Full-scale War in Ukraine: Thoughts, Feelings, Actions<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cedos continued working to advocate for housing policy reform in Ukraine. Our team conducted research and collected data to substantiate the need for developing social housing, as well as reforming the private rental housing sector in Ukraine.<\/strong> An important step in advancing changes in the private rental housing sector was the study Rental Housing in Ukraine: Current State and Challenges<\/em><\/a>, which focused on examining the experiences of internally displaced people when renting housing. Based on the study, recommendations for changes to state policy in the rental sector were formulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, we also assessed the capacity of hromadas to build and manage social housing, and analyzed the challenges faced by rural town and village hromadas in the housing sector. We prepared the report Housing Needs and Prospects for Social Housing in the Kalush Hromada<\/em><\/a>, and conducted a study on Housing in Rural Hromadas Near the Frontline<\/em><\/a>. At the end of the year, Cedos joined the development of the local Housing Policy Strategy in Drohobych.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Protection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the field of social protection, the Cedos team focused on monitoring the reform of social services and its implementation at the local level<\/strong>. We continued to study the challenges and difficulties faced by local government bodies, as well as the working conditions of people employed in the social protection sector. In particular, the study Social Protection in Rural Hromadas Near the Frontline<\/em><\/a> examined the state of the social protection sector in frontline rural hromadas of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv Oblasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2025, a validation workshop took place, bringing together representatives of 14 rural hromadas near the frontline. Over three days, more than 20 participants discussed the problems of frontline hromadas in the areas of housing and social protection, identified possible ways to address them, and the changes needed for this. The developed proposals and ideas were included in briefs on housing and social protection in frontline hromadas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Event \u201cHousing and Social Protection in Frontline Hromadas\u201d, February 2025. Photo: Anna Vorobiova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Cedos experts contributed to the preparation of the report by the Government of Ukraine and international organizations on Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment<\/strong> (RDNA4) and worked on updating the section dedicated to the impact of the war on different social groups, in particular internally displaced people, veterans and their families, youth, older people, and people with disabilities. In late 2025, the organization\u2019s experts were involved in preparing the next RDNA5 report, which was published in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2025, Cedos began cooperation with UNICEF<\/strong> within the research project Improving the Implementation of Social Protection Reform in Hromadas of Ukraine<\/em>; the results of the study will be published during 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Cedos team strengthened international cooperation in the field of education.<\/strong> In particular, the organization is leading a study on the resilience of secondary education in countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, namely Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Albania, and Mongolia. In 2025, Cedos prepared the first report within the project, Education System Resilience in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia: Policies and Practices<\/em><\/a>, which focused on the results of an expert review of documents and showed how countries in the region understand the concept of education system resilience and how this is reflected in their policies and practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We continued to promote the importance of gender equality in education<\/strong>; in particular, in partnership with INSCIENCE, we conducted a study to identify the factors that motivate female students and researchers working in STEM to build a scientific career or leave it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, at the end of 2025, cooperation between Cedos and S\u00f6dert\u00f6rn University Stockholm<\/strong> began within the project Strengthening the Capacity of Educators to Ensure Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Ukrainian Schools<\/em>, supported by the Swedish Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the area of migration, the Cedos team studied Ukrainian refugees abroad. In cooperation with the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Cedos conducted the study on the Experience of Forced Displacement Abroad and Thoughts about Returning to Ukraine<\/em><\/a>, within which our team developed a number of recommendations on what inclusive and comprehensive support for people who return could look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urbanism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the Urban Studies Department of Cedos, 2025 became a year of strengthening hromadas through spatial projects. We advocate for people\u2019s ability to influence their environment and organize it in a convenient and inclusive way. In 2025, while working on concepts of public spaces and launching 11 community centers, we aimed to create conditions in which public places become accessible and open to everyone. This year, we will continue cooperation with hromadas, as we believe that inclusivity and sensitivity to the needs of residents in space are an integral part of social justice,\u201d \u2014 Maryana Kuzemska-Danyliuk, Head of the Urban Studies Department<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building Communities, Developing Third Places, Spreading Knowledge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Cedos team continued working on building and supporting communities, in particular through the development of third places<\/strong>. Thus, the second wave of Community reBuilding<\/a>, a joint project of Cedos and the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF), was successfully completed. During the second wave, we supported community-building centers in 11 hromadas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opening of a community center in the village of Vikno, Ternopil region, July 2025. Photo: Zoia Dolia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As part of the study The Space That Creates Community: A Study on the Functioning of Community-building Centers<\/em><\/a>, we also analyzed the impact of community centers on hromadas<\/strong>. The study highlights that the emergence of such centers contributed to the cohesion of residents, and in some hromadas the center became a key platform for interaction and communication between people. To document and disseminate knowledge about creating third places, our team published the guide How to Develop Community Centers: Examples and Practical Advice<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We continued to promote the importance of fair and sustainable urban and local development.<\/strong> In Lutsk, the seventh Ukrainian Urban Forum, Human Scale, took place, bringing together around 350 participants. During the event, we discussed how sustainable institutions, people-centered urban policies, and accessible infrastructure can contribute to social development and overcoming inequalities. Together, we looked for answers to the questions of how to mitigate the consequences of war and demographic challenges, how to strengthen human potential and ensure residents\u2019 access to housing, social protection, and mobility, and how to create urban space that supports community strengthening and high-quality leisure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opening of the Ukrainian Urban Forum 2025 in Lutsk. Photo: Karina Novak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2025, cooperation between Cedos and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future<\/strong> (EVZ) began within the eTown project, which supports the creation of third places based on cultural institutions in hromadas. A new cohort of participants will begin their activities in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support for Hromadas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a result of the termination of international funding from USAID, the Civic Participation Lab project, which aimed to support 10 hromadas in the participatory development of concepts for outdoor or indoor public spaces using the methodology of participatory action research, was ended ahead of schedule. Despite the sudden end of the project, the Cedos team managed to continue cooperation with the Ostroh Hromada<\/strong> and prepare an Urban Concept for a park in Ostroh<\/a>. The park concept was developed using the participatory action research methodology, which involves active participation of city residents in shaping the vision for the park\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Park in Ostroh, autumn 2025. Photo: Serhii Momotiuk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our team continues to support Ukrainian cities on their path to climate neutrality<\/strong>. During 2025, we worked on developing a capacity-building program for 12 flagship municipalities, namely Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Kalush, Kharkiv, Konotop, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Novovolynsk, Pervomaisk, Vinnytsia, and Zviahel. We also adapted the SNAP (Support Needs Assessment Process) methodology to the Ukrainian context and began facilitating exchanges between city partnerships Pervomaisk\u2013Parma, Dnipro\u2013Budapest, and Chernivtsi\u2013Mannheim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the Communications Department was headed by Anna Vorobiova<\/strong>, who has been working at Cedos since 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We created 5 opinion columns and 7 podcast episodes. More than 28,800 people are subscribed to our pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and our email newsletters. In 2025, the reach of our publications on social media and through newsletters exceeded 2.9 million people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In traditional media, including television, radio, podcasts, and online platforms, we were mentioned 231 times.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, we launched several new platforms for disseminating the results of our work, namely 2 social media pages. We updated the Mistosite page on Instagram and began publishing posts there regularly, and created an Instagram page for our annual event, the Ukrainian Urban Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illustration: Seri\/graph<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mistosite<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Mistosite urban online platform continued its work. During 2025, we published 32 articles, interviews, summaries, translations, excerpts from books, and blog posts. In addition, Mistosite expanded its audience: updates can now be followed on the media\u2019s Instagram page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illustration: Seri\/graph<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Community Building and Knowledge Dissemination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To build a community of change, Cedos supported 5 civil society and charity organizations in conducting research.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n