Ukraine’s eRecovery programme, which helps people receive compensation for homes damaged or destroyed as a result of Russia’s aggression, has been named a finalist in the Innovation in Politics Awards 2026 – one of Europe’s leading awards recognising political innovation.

The programme has been shortlisted in the Digital Innovation & Governance category, one of eight award categories recognising the most impactful political initiatives across the Council of Europe. This category celebrates digital solutions that make public governance more effective, transparent, and resilient.

We are especially pleased that two Ukrainian initiatives have reached the finals in this category this year: eRecovery and Kyiv’s Wartime Digital Governance. It is encouraging to see Ukrainian digital innovations recognised alongside Europe’s leading public sector initiatives.

📌 Learn more about this year’s finalists:
https://awards.innovationinpolitics.eu/best-practices-hub/

The eRecovery programme (https://erecovery.diia.gov.ua/) is the world’s first digital compensation programme for damaged and destroyed housing designed and scaled during a full-scale war. By combining digital public services, the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, and a transparent compensation mechanism, it helps people rebuild their homes while enabling the government to deliver an accountable, efficient, and resilient recovery process.

This international recognition reflects the work of a large team. We would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution of Member of Parliament Olena Shuliak and Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Natalia Kozlovska, whose leadership played an important role in the programme’s design, legislative framework, and further development.

Founded in 2017, the Innovation in Politics Awards recognises political innovations from Council of Europe member states that address pressing societal challenges and create positive change. Finalists and winners are selected by an international Citizens’ Jury of more than 1,000 citizens from across Council of Europe member states. Over the years, the Awards’ Best Practices Hub has grown to include more than 2,000 initiatives from over 40 countries.

The final conference and Awards Ceremony will take place on 30 October 2026 in Cascais, Portugal, the European Capital of Democracy 2026, where the winners in all 8 categories will be announced.

Reaching the finals of the Innovation in Politics Awards is not only international recognition of the eRecovery programme, but also of Ukraine’s approach to digital governance. Despite Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the country continues to develop digital public solutions that meet the highest European standards of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.

The eRecovery is implemented by the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The development of the service and the register was supported through the UK DIGIT Project, implemented by Eurasia Foundation with funding from UK International Development. The project partner is the East Europe Foundation.