The UN SCORE for Eastern Ukraine (USE) is an analytical tool that improves the understanding of societal dynamics in conflict-affected societies and identifies entry points for interventions aimed at increasing levels of social cohesion. USE is based on the Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Index methodology, originally developed in Cyprus by UNDP and the Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD). The SCORE Index has since been implemented across several countries in Europe, Africa and Asia to assist international and national stakeholders in the design of evidence-based solutions that can contribute to strengthening social cohesion and reconciliation.

According to SCORE, social cohesion refers to the quality of relationships between groups in society and between people and the institutions, while reconciliation refers to the propensity of conflicting groups to come closer to each other.

USE results will inform the UN, national, oblast and raion level authorities, civil society and development partners in designing solutions that will help to strengthen social cohesion. Implementing USE on an annual basis will, in addition to identifying social cohesion needs and entry points, track development and help adjust interventions as needed.

USE is a joint effort of UNDP, UNICEF and IOM and will be implemented on an annual basis in the government-controlled areas of five eastern oblasts of Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. USE is gathering the views of some 10,000 people, but with a specific focus on Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. This will be done through the following four components:

1. A face-to-face survey of residents. The total sample size is 5,300 respondents, out of which 3,500 are located in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts;

2. A survey of commuters at all operating checkpoints with a total sample size of 1, 500 respondents, which captures the views of the commuting population from the non-government controlled area;

3. A school component, which engages over 3,600 adolescents in 24 schools in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; and

4. In-depth interviews at the rayon level in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, involving approximately 75 participants.

The USE process started with a series of consultations with authorities and civil society in Kyiv and all five oblasts to ensure that USE was designed and calibrated to fit the context of eastern Ukraine. In this process, special attention was given to identify gender-specific factors that may contribute to or undermine levels of social cohesion.

Once the data gathering is completed, the implementing UN agencies will conduct a second round of detailed consultations that will allow for a participatory discussion of the data before the analytical work is completed.

The results and analysis of the first USE wave will be made publicly available in August 2017.

USE results and analysis will be publicly available. The main source of information about USE will be an interactive online platform with all the information, results and analysis.

The platform will also provide a tool that gives access to all the results, allowing the users to focus on information of particular interest.

SCORE is not completely new to Ukraine. USAID conducted a nation-wide SCORE survey in 2016 and USE builds upon these results to ensure complementarity. While the methodology is the same, USE provides a specific insight into eastern Ukraine that will allow for a detailed comparison between not only oblasts but also clusters of raions.

This will allow the UN agencies, partners and stakeholders to identify targeted needs and to suggest both policy directions and programmatic interventions based on specific localities.