The Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) has developed the Participation Index in Urban and Spatial Planning – an analytical tool intended for local self-governments, decision-makers, and the professional public, providing a clear insight into how and to what extent citizens and other stakeholders are involved in urban and spatial planning processes at the local level.
The Index enables systematic and comparable measurement of the level of public involvement in the preparation and adoption of urban and spatial plans, taking into account different forms of participation – from formal, legally prescribed and mandatory procedures, to expanded, voluntary, and innovative practices that go beyond the legal minimum.
It was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and represents one of the indicators for monitoring the Sustainable Urban Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia (2019), as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically indicator 11.3.2 – participation of civil society in urban development. Methodologically, it relies on the recommendations of UN-Habitat, which emphasize the importance of the active involvement of all relevant stakeholders, particularly those directly affected by planning processes.
The Participation Index was developed within the project “Institutional Support to SCTM – Phase Three” and the Programme “Partnership for Good Local Governance,” with the support of the Government of Switzerland.
The INFORMATION SUMMARY on the Participation Index is available in the Library section of the SCTM website, in Serbian and English.