Preconditions of the foundation
The present gap between created legal basis of local self-governing (the Law "On the local governing" has been adopted and the European Local Governing Charter has been signed) and the possibilities of its practical application becomes deeper and deeper. The reality is the increase of administrative, bureaucratic dictate of the central authority and the governors on the mayors. Consequently, Ukrainian mayors face numerous problems that can not be solved for the lack of appropriate mechanisms. The administrative reform, which has begun in Ukraine, includes change of territory order in Ukraine in direction of regions' quantity decreasing and cities authorities increasing. Under the circumstances the question of Ukrainian mayors' equipment with appropriate theoretical and practical knowledge, studying and applying the experience of the countries with stable democratic system of self-governing in Ukraine, optimal and effective relations between all the subjects of administrative-territorial society structure becomes more topical.

Understanding the necessity of strengthening the local self-governing system in Ukraine, the Institute of Society Transformation makes its best efforts due to assist to the local self-governing bodies in Ukraine in correct decision-making in difficult situations, that appear in the city development programs realization process. The Consultative Bureau will proceed its activities in this direction.

The activities forms within the frameworks of the Consultative Bureau:

• Organization and carrying out conferences, seminars, "round tables" and other events on the urgent problems of social-economic development and municipal management jointly with local self-governing bodies;
• Organization of Ukrainian mayors study visits to the countries with stable democracy system (in part, IST organized and carried out two training of state managerial elite to Brookings Institute, USA, in 1994 and 1995, and also a study visit of Ukrainian mayors to Netherlands in 1999);
• Consulting on strategic and actual issues of Ukraine policy and economy development;
• Information and analytic assistance to local self-governing authority bodies in solving difficult and contradictory situations and correct decision making in carrying out cities development programs;
• Monthly distribution of scientific-analytical journal "The Economic Annals" and the analytic materials of IST among the mayors of Ukrainian cities;
• Securing possibility for Ukrainian mayors to address through the IST communication means' system to central authority, NGOs, mass media, broad public with their proposals regarding perfection of the local authority bodies' activities in Ukraine.

Priority lines of the Consultative Bureau activities:

1. assistance to the local self-governing bodies in solving following problems:
   
   
   
   • regulation of relations, authority distribution and performance of balance between the center and the regions, regions and cities;
   • working out the mechanisms for achievement of municipalities' activities effectiveness;
   • budget formation on city level and local taxes system formation;
   • improvement of the municipal management system aimed to effective realization of the mayors' authorities;
   • establishing relations between city mayor and region governor;
   • working out methods and collaboration forms of city authorities with business circles in municipal programs' realization;
2. application of the knowledge and skills acquired during the study visits to the real practice of self-governing in Ukrainian cities-project participants;
3. establishing relations between the cities of Ukraine and Western countries;
4. actions' coordination and experience exchange of Ukraine mayor with each other;
5. publication of the cities' heads speeches and of the materials on problems and positive experience of the cities, that are users of Consultative Bureau services, development in "The Economic Annals" journal;
6. etc.

The information on the Consultative Bureau and on the cities partners of IST is placed on the Internet web-site of the Institute of Society Transformation http://www.soskin.info