Arilje Municipality Creates New Department for Managing Assistance to Elderly and Vulnerable

During December 2006, Ms. Vukana Savovic was appointed head of the new Department “Help around the House”. Ms. Savovic knows that creating a the new department is much more than just a title it represents a new era of local self government decision making in Arilje. Since 2005 She was in charge of implementing the “Help Around the House” project through the support of the Swiss government funded Municipal Support Programme (MSP) and the municipality.

The project provides much needed direct support to elderly and infirmed citizens of Arilje when no other help is available. While working with the beneficiaries Ms. Savovic quickly realized that this municipal service made a big difference in improving the quality of life for these vulnerable members of the community and should continue after the MSP support ends. The Arilje Social Welfare Centre works under the same pressures as most municipalities in Serbia today, trying to fulfil obligations according the Law(s) on Social Affairs and Local Self Government with scarce financial resources and old equipment but an acute awareness of needs of people in the municipality who require help.

Because the MSP financial support to the project would end soon Ms. Savovic looked for strategic planning support from the municipal administration and MSP to create a new department, funded through the annual budget to continue the service on a permanent basis. Together with letters of support from the beneficiaries, the citizens, the Mayor, the Arilje Municipal Change Management Team the administration received approval from the Assembly to fund the new department in 2007 and continue the important municipal service. Arilje is committed to implementing its Change Agenda to keep improving the way local government operates to create the best municipality possible for all its citizens.

Arilje Awarded First Prize in National Municipal ’Best Practice’ Competition

The Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia and the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs awarded Arilje first prize in its 2006 Best Practice competition. 76 municipalities submitted projects completed during 2006 which represent good local governance practices. Arilje was selected for the Municipal Youth Strategy project supported by the Swiss Government funded Municipal Support Programme (MSP). The Youth Strategy is one component of Arilje’s Change Agenda, an MSP supported strategic visioning document adopted in 2005. The Youth Strategy project helps prepare the municipality to create an improved environment for youth and to provide services for development of opportunities and investment in the future of Arilje.

How to design a project? Advanced Project Management Training

The six MSP partner municipalities Arilje, Cacak, Cajetina, Kraljevo, Pozega and Uzice drafted for the very first time project proposals fulfilling the demanding EU standards on their own. Based on a MSP “Advanced Project Management Training” representatives of the six municipal Change Management Teams drafted 10 proposals; nine were successfully accepted to be co-funded. In early November MSP organized for its partner municipalities an “Advanced Project Management Training”.

Based on the skills acquired in the basic project management trainings within MSP Phase II and other donor programmes, MSP provided a tailor made advanced training with strong learning by doing components. The ambitious goal was to enable the municipalities to draft for the first time on their own project proposals fulfilling the very demanding EU standards, which are a required standard already in the EU access process. The MSP provided the training by applying a unique tailor made learning-by-doing-approach to almost all municipal CMT members and project managers. The participants received inputs in plenary sessions, which they immediately afterwards applied by drafting concrete project proposals for their municipalities.

MSP provided 15 PC stations for all the project teams where they worked on their projects at the WS between the plenary sessions. The five day MSP WS enabled the municipal project teams to drafted 10 project proposals fulfilling the EU standard level on their own, not as usual by an external consultant. Participants appreciated the methodology, the synergy of theoretical and learning by practical application approach. The exercise requires substantial recourses from PSU and the municipalities but its effect and result was it definitively worth. Nine out of the 10 project proposal were accepted for implementation within 2007. Additional information is available from the programme, the WS participants.

Better and more efficient services to the citizens of Cacak – A MSP-Success-Story

The municipality of Cacak launched and implemented a comprehensive functional-ICT analysis in the municipal administration. The MSP supported and co-funded project enables a shorter ways in the municipal administration and more efficient, accountable and transparent service to the citizen. Local self governments from Serbia and neighbour countries take profit from this good practice experience.

The scope of the project is to make comprehensive functional and ICT analysis of the municipal administration involving the PUC “Gradac”, which is e.g. in charge for investment and land management. With it the municipality tackles directly the improvement of its service towards its citizens with an increased efficiency, accountability and transparency in provision of services as well as the improvement of communication and coordination of work in and between municipal departments and PUCs.

To run the results of the project capacity building for the municipal administration was provided (Ref. LogFrame overall objective). The project corresponds besides the indicated LogFrame references directly to the MSP core areas, “Modernization of Municipal Administration and Institutional Development”. Indirectly it contributes to the Programme Core Areas “Municipal Financial Management” and “Civil Society Participation” on local level. A spill over effect of this MSP supported project was the creation of an ICT department in the municipality of Cacak. Experience in the region shows, that a function ICT department is a key element to make substantial and sustainable improvements in the municipal administration. Furthermore the municipality secured funds to expand the ICT project on its own costs through the construction of a citizens’ assistance centre, the development of a GIS concept and the digitalization of municipal archives.

The project realised in cooperation between the municipality of Cacak and MSP attracts municipalities and local self governments from all over Serbia but also the region e.g. BiH to learn from it.

Increased transparency and better access to information for citizens in Uzice

The municipality of Uzice finalized with support of MSP, local and national PUC within 2006 a digitalized Geological Info System (GIS). This system, a pilot project supported by MSP in the IV Quarter, enables an easy access to municipal infrastructure and land management data as well as urban and special plans for citizens and the municipal administration / PUCs.

The infrastructure of Serbian municipalities suffered a lot in the past 15 years. There were neither major investments into the local infrastructure nor funds available for its maintenance during the nineties. The mapping of the urban infrastructure suffered in this difficult environment with a lot of illegal constructions too. Weak capacities, meagre communication and poor institutional circumstances avoided a substantial improvement of the situation. Aware of the fragile status the municipality of Uzice decided to address with support of MSP this problem and develop a digitalized GIS including infrastructure and land management data, but also urban and spatial plans. After a lot of effort, commitment and the strong believe into its success with a winning involvement of local and central PUCs (even regional cadastre), the Municipality of Uzice got a functioning vertically fully digitalized GIS by the end of 2006. One city quart is completely covered by the GIS and all data on space and infrastructure are available in digital form.

Within the MSP co-funded project 40 municipal representatives passed an advanced GIS ICT education and are able to build up and maintain the system. As a spill over effect of the MSP co-funded project Uzice decided to install as the very first municipality in Serbia an optical cable network between the municipal administration, all local PUCs and the cadastre. In addition, thanks to the project, Uzice established an ICT department and employed an ICT specialist. Experience shows, this is one of the key elements for a sustainable, efficient development of Serbian municipalities. The Uzice ICT department is ready for further development of GIS to cover all the urban area and to make the services of urban-planning department and PUCs more efficient, transparent and supportive to the citizens and local economy development. Citizens will take advantage of this project through internet and faster response to their needs regarding electricity, heating, water, waste water and data related to constructions and land management.

Through its easy access, also for citizens, the project helps fighting poverty e.g. detecting areas with poor infrastructure coverage or opens women-NGOs the opportunity to discuss based on plans with municipal officials an improvement of the public lighting to increase personal safety in the city.