The presented article examines the use of identification tools by amalgamated territorial communities of Donetsk region, information about which is included in the strategies of their socio-economic development, in order to build an effective system of their development administration. To achieve this goal, a general assessment of the decentralization process in the region has been conducted. It is noted that the main factors of the high rating of the region for the formation of ATC are the following: the large number of their population and significant state financial support. Stable growing of the resource base in all communities of Donetsk region, functioning for more than one year, their predominant financial self-sufficiency against the background of increasing the share of expenditures for the management of financial resources and abrupt dynamics of capital expenditures that do not correlate with budget revenues рфму иуут stated. The well-established processes of providing financial resources and problems with the administration of development expenditures in the communities of the region are noted. The possible connection of such miscalculations with the lack of ATC identification or its low quality of carrying out is substantiated. In order to confirm the assumption, the strategies of social and economic development of amalgamated territorial communities of Donetsk region in the context of their use of identification tools are monitored. It is determined that the majority of communities in which strategies have been developed and approved have limited use of identification tools, paying, however, considerable attention to the formation of their own positive image. The positive experience of Mykolayivska and Lymanska ATCs, as well as the negative experience of Olekandrivska and Zvanivska ATCs have been noted against the background of the absence of significant differences among the communities of the region regarding their planning of identification application in the context of optimizing development administration. There is a positive trend in the widespread use of marketing tools in terms of creating a positive image of communities, which opens up new opportunities for their successful positioning and promotion, thus taking care of their development.