From September till December 2017, CEP gave its contribution and help Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit (SIPRU) to achieve that policy-making relevant to social inclusion become better coordinated within central government and to improve monitoring of policy implementation and use of funds. In order to strengthen the capacities of civil society for informed participation in the process of development, implementation and monitoring the above-mentioned ERP priority structural reforms and improve the communication between the Government and CSOs in this process, in the following period we regularly communicated with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy and SIPRU. CEP also organised consultations and workshops, meetings of relevant Working groups of the National Convention on the EU (NCEU), worked on the dissemination of online materials (infographics, presentations and reports) as well as the dissemination of useful information through social networks, our website and the media.

European Policy Centre (CEP) is also among the signatories (within NCEU) of the Platform for Monitoring the Implementation of the next ERP (2018-2020) and the Employment and Social Policy Reform Programme (ESRP).

You can access ERP 2017-2019 here.

Članak Coordination of monitoring the implementation of Economic Reform Programme (ERP) in the area of four priority structural reforms se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Within this grant, knowledge and ability of civil society to advocate for the best solutions have been improved on the basis of a fundamental research on environmental financing at the local level and by improving public participation. The survey was conducted on the basis of data obtained from state and provincial authorities and 145 local self-governments. Results of the research and recommendations for improvement of the situation are given in the Study Local Finances and the Environment: What are the key issues and possible solutions (in Serbian), and three Policy Briefs: Financing of the Environmental Protection at the Local Level: Relationship between Revenues and Expenditures, Financing of the Environmental Protection at the Local Level: Planning Budget Funds and Local Finances and the Environment: What are the key issues and possible solutions?  written by the Researcher of Environmental Center Stanište Dejan Maksimović and CEP Researcher Stefan Šipka.

The knowledge and skills of civil society representatives on communication methods, the EU accession process, policymaking and environmental protection have been improved by 12 training sessions for representatives of environmental CSOs, and awareness of the importance of the environment was lifted for the general public through media appearances, short animation and 17 lectures for elementary and secondary school students.

The dialogue between representatives of civil society, the public and the civil sector is strengthened through eight public events for representatives of the public, civil and private sectors on the key issues related to environmental protection. The Final conference organised under this grant was attended by the highest representatives of state institutions and the EU representatives in Serbia, with a total of about 60 participants.

Institutional grant is financed with the funds provided via the CSOnnect Institutional Grant which is implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre (REC). Programme is financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

Članak Institutional Grant of the CSOnnect Programme for Support to the Civil Society in the Area of Environmental Protection se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

This assignment was commissioned by the sector network working group on Reform Processes. The guiding questions for the working group’s focus were:

• How can a positive and sustainable impact on complex reform processes be supported through GIZ interventions?
• What role does civil society play in reform processes and how can the GIZ support and facilitate the cooperation between CS and the State?
• Have the EU standard formats for civil society coordination and civil society engagement strengthened civil society in EU association countries? Or has the engagement been strengthened through endogenous influences?
• What can different civil society platforms from the countries in the region learn from each other?
• How can the GIZ projects support these learning processes?

The guiding questions reflected the issues in other countries where the prospect of EU membership could offer incentives but also pressure for reforms. In order to maintain the social consensus for reforms it was essential to ensure that the benefits of the reforms are extensively communicated and stronger cooperation with CS can be a conduit for improving communication.

The assignment had two major objectives:

1. Developed case studies of the engagement of civil society players in reform processes within GIZ projects in the governance sector in the SENECA sector network region;
2. Based on the case studies, developed lessons learned for other GIZ governance projects on how to involve civil society stakeholders more effectively in the on-going or future interventions.

Članak Accompanying and shaping reform processes with the involvement of civil society se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Taking into account the specificity of these positions, which represent a bridge between politically appointed officials (ministers and state secretaries) on one hand, and civil servants in executive positions on the other hand, we are certain that men at this position need to be a professionals with expertise in a relevant field, but also possess other specific skills in order to perform managerial tasks in the administration. Within this research, a Study with specific recommendations for improvement of the current system and creation of an ideal civil servant was made.

Within this project, a Round table was held. The purpose of this Table was to open the debate about the status, role, responsibilities and accountability of civil servants in office. A special significance of the Round table was the opportunity to consider the experiences of the French model, which was outlined by the current and former French civil servants.

Članak Towards Depoliticisation and Professionalisation of the Serbian State Administration se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The preparation of the ESRP implied the active participation and contribution of relevant stakeholders, in order to provide an overview of the current status and reach a consensus on priorities and measures for the following period. Therefore, the Platform for monitoring of the implementation of ERP and ESRP in the European Integration Process. The main objective of the Platform is to establish effective dialogue between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the civil society in the RS about the implementation of the key reform measures for the Republic of Serbia’s economic and social development, contained in the relevant areas of the ERP and ESRP.

The specific objective of the assignment is to contribute to strengthening civil society organizations’ capacities for informed participation in the development, implementation and monitoring of ERP priority structural reforms area 3.1,3.2,3.3 (Industry Sector Development and Development of the Services Sector) and 3.6; communication with Government bodies in the development, implementation and monitoring of relevant ERP areas and promoting good local practices in the implementation of the document.

Članak Support to Improve Social Inclusion in Serbia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Policymaking in the Western Balkans (WB) is characterised by weak and unsystematic involvement of the civil society organisations (CSOs). On the other side, Visegrad Group (V4) countries have more advanced policymaking systems which ensure CSOs involvement, while CSOs themselves have greater capacities and experience in that respect. However, sustainable and effective CSO participation in the policymaking based on evidence is a long­term challenge and objective for both regions.

This project addressed the deficiencies of policymaking systems by enhancing CSOs capacities from the WB to take more active part in the policymaking and advocate for a more enabling legal environment for the CSOs through learning from the experiences of the V4 countries.

How?

Through the exchange of knowledge and experience within the V4 region and together with the WB partners through a consortium of 10 partners, capacities and advocacy potential of the organisations of both regions have been raised. The knowledge gained has been shared with 180 CSO representatives in the WB countries. The involvement of the civil servants in the project from relevant policymaking institutions in WB6 increased their ownership and accountability.

A two-day regional training CSO Participation in the Policymaking: Experiences from Poland and Hungary was held in Budva, Montenegro, on May 2017. The training, which was organised by CEP, gathered member organisations of the TEN network, partners from Poland and Hungary, as well as a representative of Regional School of Public Administration – ReSPA . Participants had the opportunity to gain knowledge and insights into the features of Poland’s and Hungary’s policymaking systems, practical considerations and experiences of CSO involvement in the policymaking, as well as other good practices regarding the participation of civil society in these countries. Read more here.

CEP representative, together with representatives of each of the TEN member organisations and civil servants from each of the Western Balkan countries, participated in a study tour to Bratislava (Slovak Republic) and Prague (Czech Republic) on June 2017. Read more here.

Final conference of this project was held in Belgrade on January 30. Read more about this event here.

More about project results, including the publications that have been produced within it, can be found here.

Who?

This project has been implemented by:

TEN network:

European Policy Centre, Serbia
Group for Legal and Political Studies, Kosovo
Foreign Policy Initiative BH (FPI BH), Bosnia and Herzegovina
Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Albania
European Policy Institute (EPI) ­Skopje, Macedonia
Institute Alternative, Montenegro

Partners from Visegrad countries:

EUROPEUM – Institute for European Policy, Czech Republic

Central European University, Hungary

Slovak Governance Institute, Slovakia

Fondacja IDEA u Rozwoju, Poland

Članak Raising capacities and advocacy potential of CSOs of Visegrad Group and Western Balkans se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

At two-day Conference „EU and Western Balkans: towards greater credibility and engagement on both sides” held in Belgrade on 13-14 March 2018, results of the BENCHER project were presented. Read more about this event here.

Publications made within this project can be found here and here.

A one-page description of the Project BENCHER is also provided in Albanian, Bosnian, Macedonian.

This project was financed by European fund for the Balkans.

Članak Benchmarking for EU Reform – How Effective? BENCHER se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

“Partnership for Public Administration Reform and Public Services” was implemented by two main partners European Policy Centre (CEP) and European Movement in Serbia (EMinS) during the two-year period. The project is realised in cooperation with 12 other partners in Serbia: Pro-Pozitiv, Protecta – Niš, Youth Centre Timok i 9 members of the Network of European Movement in Serbia in Subotica, Novi Sad, Sremska Mitrovica, Lazarevac, Valjevo, Kraljevo, Kruševac, Novi Pazar i Leskovac.

The goals of the project were:

1. To ensure involvement of CSOs across the Serbian territory in monitoring the progress of PAR and in designing high quality and evidence-based proposals for reviewing/improving the PAR policy
2. To create two-way communication between citizens and responsible public authorities on PAR and public services provision, by collecting citizens’ feedback on the quality of administration and public services and ensuring the reaction of the responsible authorities
3. To deliver methodologically solid evidence on citizens’ satisfaction with three widely used and salient public services, as one of the key reform areas under the EU accession framework for PAR, and on the quality of policy making in those policy areas
4. To provide evidence-based recommendations and inputs related to PAR in the context of EU accession negotiations

Within this project, four workshops were held for local CSOs:

First workshop for CSOs in Kraljevo (in Serbian)

Second workshop for CSOs in Kovačica (in Serbian)

Third workshop for CSOs in Niška Banja (in Serbian)

Fourth workshop for CSOs in Kladovo (in Serbian)

Within this project, we produced the following documents:

Openness and inclusiveness of public policy-making in Serbia

Grey Book of Public Services

Policy briefs:

Challenges and of civil society in the process of public administration reform (in Serbian)

Human resources at the local level: The most important link for quality public services

One of the most important activities is the national ME at spotlight campaign, conducted in order to involve the citizens of Serbia in the process of public administration reform.

The final conference was held on 25 April 2018 in the Metropol Hotel. Find out more about the conference here.

For more information about the project and its results, we invite you to visit the website created within the project: www.mojauprava.rs 

Članak Partnership for Public Administration Reform and Public Services in Serbia – PARtnerships se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.