On February 6, 2026, at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York (USA), within the framework of the 64th session of the UN Commission for Social Development (United Nations Commission for Social Development), an official event took place – an international scientific discussion "The Social Quality Approach: A Holistic Framework for Fair Development" ("The Social Quality Approach: A Holistic Framework for Fair Development"), which was joined by a member of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, academic secretary of the Department of Economics of the NAS of Ukraine, director of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Valerii Heiets. He was the sole representative of the Ukrainian academic community at this prestigious international forum and delivered a report dedicated to rethinking the concept of social quality as a basis for post-war reconstruction and renewal of the social contract in Ukraine.
Ukrainian scientific results were presented from the high UN platform thanks to many years of systematic cooperation with leading international institutions. A key stage was the international scientific conference in Rome (Italy), held in July 2025, on the eve of the Second World Summit on Social Development, organized by the European Institute of Political, Economic and Social Research (EURISPES) and the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). It was there that the ideas of academician Valerii Heiets regarding the priority of social parameters in the processes of future reconstruction of conflict-affected countries received support from global experts. This made it possible to integrate the Ukrainian scientific vision into the global UN agenda.
The focus of the February scientific discussion was the necessity to shift from narrow-sector social support for certain vulnerable categories of citizens to a global strategy of socio-economic reproduction based on the paradigm of social quality. This concept, developed by the founders of the International Association for Social Quality (IASQ) and further advanced by the Ukrainian scientific school, goes beyond the traditional understanding of "social assistance." It views social quality as a holistic characteristic of society that defines citizens' capacity to participate in social and economic life under conditions that promote their well-being and individual development.
The expanded understanding of the social quality concept implies that a country's development cannot be measured solely by monetary indicators or GDP growth rates. Instead, sustainable development is determined by the integrity of the societal system, where four fundamental dimensions — socio-economic security, social cohesion, social inclusion, and social subjectivity — form an inseparable foundation of national resilience. Implementing this paradigm allows viewing the social sphere not as "ballast" or a burdensome budget expense but as a key asset of economic recovery. The quality of social relations, the level of solidarity, and institutional trust become the main determinants that define the effectiveness of economic reforms and the resilience of democratic institutions in the long term.
Analyzing the practical implementation of this concept, academician Valerii Heiets presented a systematic review of Ukraine's experience, where societal resilience manifested through a number of unique mechanisms. In particular, phenomenal network solidarity and the development of the volunteer movement vividly demonstrated the power of horizontal connections, which during critical challenges became a decisive complement to state management algorithms.
At the same time, a conceptual transformation of territorial communities occurred, which established themselves as key actors of societal regeneration and strategic centers for implementing state protection programs. Communities — thanks to the combination of administrative responsibility with strong civic initiative — ensured the necessary adaptability of the social system and targeted efficiency of population support under systemic challenges. The combination of centralized state guarantees with local resources and deep empirical knowledge of residents' needs made it possible to achieve unprecedented targeted efficiency in supporting vulnerable groups, which is a practical embodiment of the principle of social inclusion and promotes closer social cohesion.
An important component of this resilience was technological resilience, expressed in the rapid digitalization of social services. Digital inclusion in the Ukrainian context has become a tool for preserving the functionality of institutions and societal connectivity even amid physical destruction of infrastructure. Moreover, academician Valerii Heiets emphasized the critical importance of the mental resource of society, which is temporarily experiencing deep "social trauma." Psychological recovery of citizens today should be perceived not as a private matter of the individual but as a systemic factor of national social security and a necessary foundation for long-term socio-economic resilience and increased labor productivity.
The main conclusion of the report was the assertion that the social quality criterion should be recognized as a mandatory audit standard for all international investments in Ukraine's recovery. Any modernization strategy should be evaluated by its contribution to societal stability and strengthening social trust within Ukrainian society. This transforms reconstruction from ordinary construction into a large-scale "humanistic project" of national reconstructive socio-economic recovery.
This approach defines the vector for further fundamental and applied scientific research at the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the NAS of Ukraine. Scientific inquiry will focus on developing integrated social quality indicators that will enable monitoring societal resilience at various levels. Priority areas will include analyzing the processes of renewing the social contract, assessing the long-term impact of digital transformations on social stability, as well as scientifically substantiating models of fair development that meet the demands of the emerging future world order and Ukraine's integration aspirations.
According to information from the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the NAS of Ukraine
