The role of scientific and organizational support in ensuring regional (and local) development, as well as in creating the prerequisites for managing the development of the territorial economic system (region, community) has been investigated. The experience of European Union countries in forming a systematic approach to ensuring scientific and organizational support in the formation and implementation of EU cohesion policy (also known as EU regional policy) at the pan-European, regional, and local levels in EU countries has been examined. As part of the study of EU experience, four generations of programs of the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) are presented, representing a set of approaches and methods for implementing scientific and organizational support in the context of the formation and implementation of EU territorial policy. The article also examines the domestic experience of scientific and organizational support in the development of socio-economic development strategies in Ukrainian communities and the role of international technical assistance projects in this context. The experience of involving institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the development of development strategies for Ukrainian territorial communities and the main problems arising in this context are examined separately. The article also proposes the application of a systematic approach at the national level to ensure scientific and organizational support from specialists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine to improve regional and territorial development strategies at the national and local levels. 

regional development, territorial development, scientific and organizational support, cohesion policy, regional policy, instrument, EU