Identification of the governmental policy priorities in education and its needs on the level of local communities enables the substantiation of advantages of the network approach to the regulation of educational institutions’ competitiveness. Since the network approach stipulates the creation of political, professional, labor resources, and international and functional networks of stakeholders in education, there can be informational, service-providing, problem-settling, and social responsibility-related functional networks. Taking into account the need for educational institutions’ transition to the activity-related paradigm of social institutes’ development increasingly relevant in force majeure (COVID-2019 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war of 2022), the up-to-date practices of social responsibility in education, including in martial law, should be determined. Therefore, the governmental policy of the educational institutions’ competitiveness maintenance in Ukraine is a topical issue nowadays. The article aims to substantiate the priorities of implementation of the governmental policy in education in conditions of authorities’ decentralization and current events. The article develops theoretical and practical foundations for making and implementing the governmental policy of the educational institutions’ competitiveness maintenance. The identified features of introducing the publicity principle in administrative processes enable the substantiation of the need to involve educational institutions in systemic interaction with the institutions of power. The special role of educational institutions in the development of communities and opportunities for their cooperation with local governments is emphasized. Other dimensions and opportunities for interaction between educational institutions and businesses, science, social infrastructure, society, and the population are determined. A matrix of interaction priorities relevant for educational institutions in Ukraine is suggested. The advantages of the establishment of multifunctional educational centers are mentioned among the most sought-after priorities. The article focuses attention on the importance of civic engagement and media activity of educational institutions and integration of educational institutions and community development strategizing. 

educational institutions, competitiveness, governmental policy, decentralizaiton, martial law