On July 9 in Kyiv, the GovTech Alliance of Ukraine (GTA UA) and CDTO Campus held a professional discussion titled “GovTech Procurement: Choosing the Right Approach” with the support of the European Union within the DT4UA project implemented by the e-Governance Academy (eGA). The event became the first in a new series of practical discussions for the GovTech community focused on real challenges of digital transformation — from procurement and contracting to the implementation of digital products in the public sector.
Maria Muzyka, COO at Kitsoft, joined the discussion and shared the company’s practical experience in delivering digital public services.
A space for practical discussion on GovTech procurement
The new discussion series launched by GTA UA, CDTO Campus, and eGA is designed to become a permanent platform for open dialogue between government institutions, GovTech companies, international partners, and the expert community. Its focus is not abstract conversations about digital transformation, but practical questions that public institutions and technology providers face when launching and scaling digital services.
The first event in the series focused on one of the key issues for the GovTech sector: how to choose an effective procurement model for digital projects. The discussion covered questions that directly affect the success of public digital services — when it makes sense to involve external contractors, how to distribute risks between the contracting authority and the vendor, what should be considered at the planning stage, and how the new Law of Ukraine “On Public Procurement” changes the procurement framework for digital projects.
What the participants discussed
The event opened with short speeches from representatives of different parts of the GovTech ecosystem. Vasyl Zadvornyi, CEO of MK-Consulting and a Board Member of GTA UA, presented the shared position of Alliance companies on the procurement of digital solutions. Ivan Reva, Director of the Digitalisation Department at the Defence Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, outlined the perspective of a public contracting authority. Mykhailo Kornieiev, Senior Expert at eGA within the DT4UA project, shared experience of implementing a public-private partnership model through the Digital Competence Center.
The panel discussion then focused on several core topics:
choosing the right cooperation model for GovTech projects, including outsourcing, outstaffing, hybrid formats, and other approaches;
planning a procurement process, including how to define the expected result, scope of work, and possible changes during implementation;
risk distribution between the contracting authority and the contractor, especially in the context of changing requirements, budget limitations, and long approval cycles;
new opportunities introduced by the Law of Ukraine “On Public Procurement” for digital products and services;
the specifics of digital projects supported by international partners, where funding, reporting, and delivery rules often require a different implementation logic.
The moderated discussion brought together Mykhailo Mokhnia, Deputy Director of the Public Procurement Department at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, Yuliia Zaplavna, Senior Programme Manager of EGAP at the East Europe Foundation, Oleksii Dorohan, Executive Director at BRDO, and Maria Muzyka, COO at Kitsoft.
Kitsoft’s practical perspective: there is no universal model
During the panel, Maria Muzyka shared Kitsoft’s practical observations from implementing digital projects for the public sector and stressed that GovTech does not have a one-size-fits-all cooperation model.
“Discussions like this are especially valuable because they allow us to talk not only about legislative changes, but also about the practical challenges of applying them. During the panel, we shared real project cases that once again showed that there is no universal cooperation model in GovTech. Both outsourcing and outstaffing can be effective – if they match the specifics of the project and the internal capacity of the contracting authority,” said Maria Muzyka, COO at Kitsoft.
According to her, the success of a digital project depends not only on the contracting model itself, but first of all on how clearly the expected result is defined, how collaboration between all parties is organized, and whether the project is ready to handle change during implementation.
“The success of a digital project depends to a large extent on how clearly the expected result is defined, how well the interaction between all participants is organized, and how effectively change management is built. These factors often determine the outcome regardless of the cooperation model chosen,” Maria added.
What comes next
One of the practical outcomes of the event was GTA UA’s initiative to launch a working group in autumn 2026 to develop a GovTech procurement guide. The group is expected to bring together representatives of public authorities, GovTech companies, international partners, and the expert community.
The future guide is expected to systematize practical recommendations on:
choosing procurement models for digital projects;
using procurement instruments предусмотрені by legislation more effectively;
contracting approaches for digital products;
distribution of roles, responsibilities, and risks between all project stakeholders.
For Kitsoft, discussions like this are an important part of building a mature GovTech ecosystem in Ukraine. Open dialogue between government, business, and partners helps not only to better understand the constraints on each side, but also to develop shared approaches to delivering digital services that are sustainable, manageable, and results-oriented.