Executive Summary

Ukraine’s post-war recovery is taking place under conditions of limited financial resources, high security risks, and the need to simultaneously implement structural reforms. This increases the importance of effective planning and project implementation. The education sector is one of the key recovery priorities, as ensuring the continuity and safety of the learning process remains critical amid ongoing threats.

The implementation of relevant measures is supported, in particular, under the Ukraine Facility program, which provides project funding and sets enhanced requirements for transparency and accountability. This report summarizes the results of a survey of representatives of educational institutions regarding practical barriers to the implementation of projects funded under the program.

The survey was conducted between September and December 2025 among representatives of educational institutions involved in procurement processes within Ukraine Facility projects. Its purpose was to identify practical barriers in the implementation of educational projects. A total of 149 respondents from 21 regions of Ukraine participated.

The findings indicate that awareness among implementers plays a key role in smooth project implementation: institutions that received clear guidance on Ukraine Facility requirements reported fewer difficulties with entering data into DREAM, conducting procurement, and generally encountered fewer barriers.

For 80% of respondents, funding at the implementation stage was sufficient. At the same time, the most frequently cited financial barriers were rising equipment costs (27%; 40 respondents) and delays in fund disbursement (16%; 24). For 11% (17 respondents), this resulted in the need to adjust project budgets or timelines.

A separate risk concerns the sustainability of operations after donor funding ends: 57% (85 respondents) are not confident in their ability to ensure continued operation and maintenance of project outputs, while another 8% (12) reported only partial or no available resources.

Among technical barriers, the most common were shortages of required equipment and materials (34%; 51), logistical challenges (21%; 31), and a lack of qualified contractors (13%; 20). These findings highlight the significant impact of market constraints on project implementation timelines.

Overall, the survey results show that project performance depends not only on the adequacy of funding, but also on the clarity of guidance, procedural requirements, and market conditions during procurement. Particular attention should be given to early planning of resources for the continued operation and maintenance of project outputs after the completion of donor funding.