The Project "Improvement of Administrative Efficiency and Effectiveness at the Local Level" aimed to strengthen the capacity of local self-governments to manage resources and improve the quality of services they provide to citizens and businesses, while respecting the principles of good governance. The Project, was implemented from November 2017 to December 2019 by the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities – National Association of Local Authorities in Serbia (SCTM), with financial support from German development cooperation within the GIZ project “Support to Public Administration Reforms in Serbia".
The overall objective of the project was to improve the management and quality of services provided to citizens.
In order to achieve this goal, project activities were directed towards two specific goals, i.e. they are carried out through two components of the project:
Within Component 1 of the Project, through the development of the Good Governance Index, all local self-government units were provided with an online tool to identify and measure the quality of their own administrative procedures in relation to legal obligations and best practices in the areas of good governance such as: (1) predictability and efficiency of local administration; (2) accountability and anti-corruption; (3) openness, transparency and participation; and (4) equality and non-discrimination.
The Good Governance Index was developed in close cooperation with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, SCTM and UNOPS, in full consultation with other state bodies, local self-government units and non-governmental organizations/partners relevant to good governance at the local level. The Good Governance Index is methodologically based primarily on an existing instrument developed by the SCTM to evaluate the performance of local self-governments in various fields (Human Resource Management, Local Finance and Local Tax Administration, Local Economic Development, Rural Development, etc.).
Within Component 2 of the project, 15 local self-governments were directly supported in the process of improving administrative efficiency and effectiveness through the implementation of the "Municipal Support Package". Municipal support packages are a methodological tool developed by the SCTM and represent direct consultancy support tailored to the specific needs of local self-governments in a specific area within the competence of local self-government. Municipal support packages include: direct professional support to local self-government units to improve selected services, procedures and documents; training, advisory support and consultations and mentoring as needed, as well as supporting the implementation of good practices through sharing experiences with colleagues and liaising with other local self-government units.
Municipal support packages supported selected LSG to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of administrative processes and internal organization, and contributed to the standardization of local administrative procedures and their harmonization with the reformed legal framework.
Project results
The first result of the project is the development of the Good Governance Index, which includes five principles of good governance operationalized through 126 indicators that measure the capacity to achieve good governance at the level of local self-government units. Completion of the Index provides insight and provides recommendations for improving work and conduct in the areas of accountability, transparency and participation, equality, administrative efficiency and effectiveness, and anti-corruption. The index was the basis for the first research on the capacities and realization of the principles of good governance during 2018.
The implementation of project activities has led to the establishment of an internal mechanism the Instruction for improving efficiency and standardization of procedures in all 15 local self-governments. The adoption of the Instruction provides a mechanism for monitoring the flow of cases, harmonization of legal practice, informing parties and citizens about changes in regulations, reporting on the work of employees, adoption of models of administrative procedures and the like.
Finally, during the project implementation in 11 LSGs the procedures were connected, which achieved some of the preconditions for the establishment of a single administrative post.
Contact person: Marija Lukic (marija.lukic@skgo.org)