Project Components

Project activities are focused on specific areas, each covered by one of the following components:

1. Inter-Municipal Cooperation Programming
2. Public Administration Reform
3. Youth Development  and Participatory Mechanism

1. Inter-Municipal Cooperation Programming: Through this component, the Project will provide assistance to clusters of municipalities, businesses and civil society organizations/ associations to form Inter-Municipal Cooperation (IMC) areas that are able to plan, execute and manage inter-municipal economic development projects, pool and share various local services and collaboratively address common economic and social issues. 

The Project will support involvement of the private sector in area based economic development planning to yield substantial investment, revenues, and employment. It will provide local governments with needed technical assistance to be able to attract and sustain capital investments through accessing nationally available funding, European Union funding, and in particular the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funding. 

Contact person: Tamara Dundjerovic

2. Public Administration Reform: Through this component, the Project will build the capacities of local governments in the selected IMC areas, to carry out a number of inter-municipal related functions. Interventions will include support to improve the financial and technical management capabilities at the municipal and IMC area level, to create or modify laws and policies affecting local government administration and good governance and to successfully implement the created area-based policies and recommendations.  

The Project will offer limited financial and technical support to National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) and other business advocacy groups and NGOs to assist local government administration in promoting and sustaining of business related services, so that municipalities and businesses better respond to the inter-municipal economic development challenges. The Project will enable the international recognition and long-term sustainability of NALED’s Business Friendly Certification.

In addition, the Project will support the work with representatives of municipal assemblies and mayors to establish formal mechanisms for soliciting the views of local residents on key issues including the local budget, the selection of inter-municipal capital projects, and the development of local land use and area-based development plans. The Project will support approaches in agreement with the changes in municipal functions and procedures that the new Law on local self-government is expected to impose.

Contact person: Tatijana Pavlovic Krizanic

3. Youth Development and Participatory Mechanism: Through this component, the Project will support private and public actors to foster youth entrepreneurship and create opportunities for youth innovators. The Project will include the support to formal and non-formal education means to build practical employment skills among youth at both public and private sector. The Project shall collaborate with the line ministries, targeted municipal government youth departments, and local businesses to support the development of youth through trainings and offered work experiences.

The Project will offer limited financial support to youth organizations, CSOs, and non-formal educationinstitutions (such as Smart Kolektiv, Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), Group 484, etc) to promote and sustain active labor market measures as specifically related to youth employment, corporate social responsibility, and social entrepreneurship, so that municipalities and businesses better respond to internship challenges in IMC areas.

The Project will also provide limited financial and technical assistance to strengthen CSOs  in monitoring and implementation of regional economic development activities, ensuring the transparent and efficient performance of the local governments in targeted IMC areas.

Contact person: Danijela Jovic