For the stable development of the Ukrainian state, strong local self-government is necessary as a real instrument for decision-making by the local community. However, the functioning of this institution of democracy in Ukraine is not yet fully in order. One aspect of the problem is the lack of clear and transparent mechanisms for citizens to influence the activities of local self-government bodies, other than elections, and the low level of connection between the local community and self-government representatives. This is expressed in the fact that voters are poorly informed about the work of the deputies they elect to local councils. Another problem is the unwillingness of deputies to report to voters and, accordingly, the small number of such reports. There is an urgent need to develop clear criteria for evaluating the activities of local council deputies and to provide objective information about their activities. The results of the project confirmed this. From November 2005 to March 2006, the project "Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Activities of the Deputy Corps of the Lutsk City Council in the Context of the 2006 Election Campaign" was implemented in the city of Lutsk with the financial support of the "Voice of the Public" program. The project was carried out by the Volyn Oblast Youth Public Organization "Association of Young Reformers (AMoRe)" and the Lutsk City Organization "Center for Political Analysis and Election Consulting". The main goal of the project was to inform Lutsk residents about the activities of the city council's deputy corps and to propose certain clear criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of deputies' activities, so that voters would use them when going to the polling stations on March 26. At the first stage of the project, the Agency for Social Analysis "Socium-XXI" conducted a sociological study to examine Lutsk residents' awareness of the activities of the Lutsk City Council deputies and to evaluate the effectiveness of the deputy corps' activities. During the project, 285 residents of Lutsk aged 18 and over were surveyed, living in all districts of the city, comprising 52.46% women and 47.54% men. Only 7.7% of Lutsk residents know their representatives in the Lutsk City Council at all. 88.4% of city residents have never met with their elected representatives during the period since 2002, 4.9% had a meeting with a deputy from their district, and 2.5% with deputies from other districts. 1% of respondents do not remember whether they met with deputies. 7% of Lutsk residents sent letters to their deputies, 6% had meetings at public reception offices, 4.5% of Lutsk residents said they met with their elected representatives during appointments at the city council, 3.6% - during meetings of deputies in collectives of organizations, enterprises, and institutions. The most optimal forms of contact for voters are face-to-face meetings – 26.8% and telephone communication – 26.3% of respondents. The functioning of public reception offices of city council deputies is considered the optimal form of communication by 14% of residents of the regional center, and appointments at the Lutsk City Council by 12.3%. The least optimal forms are considered to be written appeals by letter (5.6%). The activity of deputy faction offices has not proven itself well. Such a form of communication with deputies is acceptable for 2.8% of Lutsk residents, and meetings at enterprises and through public relations departments of the city council only 2% each. 55.09% assert that deputies did not report on the work performed before their voters, another 35.8% found it difficult to answer, and 3.5% say that the deputy reported to his voters annually and monthly. The best criterion for evaluating the activities of deputies is considered by 80% of Lutsk residents to be actually resolved matters, 25.6% - the number of meetings with voters, 20.3% - the number of resolutions and proposals submitted for consideration by the council. 20% of respondents evaluate the activities of deputies by their work in commissions of the Lutsk City Council, 12.6% and 7.7% - by the number of speeches in the press and at sessions of the Lutsk City Council, respectively. Using these criteria, Lutsk residents evaluated the work of deputies as follows: The activities of deputies of their district are considered satisfactory by 32% of Lutsk residents, 28.77% call their activities mostly ineffective, and 21.4% – absolutely ineffective. Another 10% find it difficult to answer regarding the effectiveness of the work of their representative in the city council, and only 6.7% of the population consider the deputy's work mostly effective, and completely effective only 0.35% of respondents. The activities of the entire Lutsk City Council are considered satisfactory by 42.8% of Lutsk residents, 22.8% call their activities mostly ineffective, and 12.6% – absolutely ineffective. 16.8% of the population consider the work of the city council mostly effective, and completely effective only 2.8% of respondents. 2% find it difficult to answer regarding the effectiveness of the work of the city's representative body. 74% of Lutsk residents do not know about the activities of any faction in the Lutsk City Council. 16.3% know that there is a "Our Ukraine" faction in the city council, 8% name the "Batkivshchyna" party faction, 1.4% - the "Lutsk European" faction. The rest of the voters named factions that have not been created in the city council. 60.4% consider the political affiliation of deputies important for themselves. The division of deputies into factions, according to 39.5% of respondents, will not affect the effectiveness of the city council's work in any way. Instead, 28.8% believe that the creation of factions will hinder the work of the council. 23.8% of the city's voters have the opposite opinion and believe that the work of factions will contribute to the deputy corps in its work. Along with evaluating the factional division of the council, 52% do not know by which electoral system the city council deputies will be elected in 2006. Only 34.4% name the proportional election system. Another over 12% of Lutsk residents believe that city council deputies will be elected by a mixed or majoritarian system. Regarding personal characteristics, 62% of Lutsk residents would like to see an honest and decent person as a deputy of the next convocation, 21.4% - a young person, 19.65% - an experienced deputy, 19.3% - a businessman. 13% of Lutsk residents believe that deputies should be elected with the qualities of a good manager, 11% - representatives of one party. The next stage of the project was an anonymous survey of Lutsk City Council deputies, in which incumbent deputies were asked to evaluate their work and the activities of their colleagues. Of the 45 deputies of the Lutsk City Council, only 15 people sent their answers to the project organizers. This is also a kind of indicator of deputies' readiness for public accountability regarding their activities. And although the obtained results are not representative, they still demonstrate trends in the deputy corps. Based on the analysis of the received questionnaires, the following was obtained: 28.57% of deputies claim that they reported to voters at least twice during their time as a deputy, the same number say they reported at least twice a year (8 times during their term of office). 21.4% say they reported annually. 7.14% of deputies reported quarterly (16 times during their term of office), the same number never. The most common forms of communication with voters, according to deputies, are personal meetings (64.3%) and telephone communication (42.9%). Other forms of voters' appeals to deputies were distributed as follows – 35.7% each at public reception offices, appealed during appointments at the Lutsk City Council, and sent letters. Deputies evaluate the activities of the Lutsk City Council less critically than voters. 64.3% of respondents claim that the council's work is satisfactory, 21.4% - say it is mostly effective. 7.14% each call the city council's activities mostly ineffective and absolutely ineffective. Not a single deputy took the courage to say that the activities of the council of which he is a member are completely effective. The best criterion for evaluating their activities, deputies consider the number of actually resolved matters (93%), 50% of deputies claim that the criterion for evaluation should be their work in city council commissions, 28.6% name as such a criterion the number of proposals and resolutions submitted by the deputy. The number of meetings with voters is considered a criterion for evaluation by 14.3% of surveyed representatives of the deputy corps. 35.7% of deputies of the Lutsk City Council corps are convinced that they fulfilled most of their pre-election promises, 28.57% believe they did a lot for the city. 28.57% of respondents said that while serving as city council deputies they managed to implement little of what was promised, and 7% believe they did not fulfill a single pre-election promise. There is not a single deputy who fulfilled his entire program during his term of office. 50% of surveyed representatives of the Lutsk community believe that those who already have experience in this position should be elected to the next city council. 35.7% are convinced that the city corps needs to be rejuvenated, and 28.6% - believe that the council lacks women. 21.4% each assert that lawyers, leaders of public organizations and politicians should be elected to the Lutsk City Council, 14.3% - that heads of enterprises and institutions should be. The third stage of the project was a round table with the participation of deputies, political experts and interested persons, during which the results of both studies were discussed. As a conclusion, it can be said that the vast majority of Lutsk residents do not know the surnames of their elected representatives in the Lutsk City Council, have never met with them and do not know about their work. Therefore, deputies of the next convocation should systematically organize meetings with city voters in order to report on the work performed. They should also constantly inform voters about their activities, in particular through local media. Deputy factions need to open their own public reception offices and more widely practice "hot" telephone lines in working with Lutsk residents. We call on voters to take a careful approach to choosing the political force that will represent them in the city council, and after the elections to monitor the activities of city council deputies in order to compare pre-election promises with real deeds.