LOGO East: A Programme for Strengthening Local and Regional Governments through Partnerships

LOGO (Local Government) East is a major Netherlands programme for exchange of local government experiences through partnerships between Netherlands municipalities, water boards and provinces and local and regional governments and their counterparts in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, and the Russian Federation. LOGO East is financially supported by the Social Transformation Programme Central and Eastern Europe (MATRA) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

LOGO East's starting point are the existing twinning partners between the Netherlands and the above mentioned partner countries. In addition, VNG International promotes Netherlands local authorities to engage in new twinning relations with these countries and to establish tri-partite relations, the so-called trinnings. These trinnings are established by extending the existing twinning networks to third partners in the newly accessed EU countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia - for transition experience.

The main objective of LOGO East is to strengthen the capacity of local and regional governments in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, and the Russian Federation by direct, decentralised cooperation. Accordingly, LOGO East has two sub-objectives, namely:

1. Strengthening the capacity of the political level and administration of regional and local governments in the partner countries.  
2. Increasing the number and quality of partnerships between regional and local governments in the Netherlands and the partner countries.

Netherlands municipalities, provinces, water boards, public utility companies together with their equivalent partners are eligible to submit an application for a twinning or trinning project under the LOGO East Programme. Note that the Dutch organisation is considered as the applicant organisation and thus the contracting partner of VNG International.

In October 2007 Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities started with second phase of LOGO East programme in Serbia in cooperation with VNG International.

During the first phase of LOGO East programme in Serbia two projects has been implemented, project between Belgrade and The Hague and project between municipalities Valjevo and Sitar Galen. In the second phase of the programme beside continuance of cooperation between above mentioned municipalities it a new cooperation between municipalities Bela Crkva and Stinvejkerland was established.

Information sheets about all implemented projects can be downloaded here:

1. The Hague - Belgrade project: Improvement of preparation and processing of applications for funding
2. Sittard-Geleen - Valjevo project: The draft of a City vision
3. Steenwijkerland - Bela Crkva Strengthening internal management and creating citizen-oriented, modern public service desks in the City Hall of Municipality Bela Crkva