Public and private finance for development - Ensuring sustainable local communities by improving local development planning in the Republic of Serbia

The project is the second phase of the local development program in Serbia, which deals with the implementation of public policy coordination in local self-government in accordance with the Law on Planning System, and which is financed from the Slovak Development Assistance Grant (SlovakAid) and implemented through the United Nations Development Program in Serbia (UNDP), with the SCTM being the implementation partner for the subject piloting.

The aim of the project is to improve the planning process in local self-government units in the Republic of Serbia and to raise the capacity of local self-government units for the preparation and implementation of projects according to the procedures of the European Union. The project is being implemented in the period from October 2020 to the end of March 2022.

The target groups are local self-government employees in charge of local development, as well as representatives of civil society, the private sector and the wider local community. The end users are ten (10) LSGs, as well as their citizens who will benefit from the improved planning and services provided by local self-governments.

The project has TWO components:

Under the first component, FIVE new LSGs (Prokuplje, Blace, Tutin, Nova Varos and Bac) will be supported to develop Development Plans in accordance with the Law on Planning System, and also strengthen their capacities by assessing their internal organization and increasing knowledge on preparation and implementation of projects according to EU procedures.

Under the second component, FIVE LSGs supported in the previous phase (Sjenica, Kursumilija, Petrovac na Mlavi, Mali Zvornik and Bački Petrovac) will be supported to develop their medium-term plans in accordance with the Law on Planning System and the Regulation on Medium-Term Planning, as well as to strengthen capacities through accredited trainings (for medium-term planning, program and capital budgeting, as well as monitoring and evaluation) in order to integrate the planning and budgeting process.

Of great importance for the success of the project will be the cooperation with the competent national institutions, primarily the Republic Secretariat for Public Policies (RSJP) as a state administration body responsible for the coordination of public policies.

Contact person: Milica Railić, project coordinator