Activities

Objective 1:
Municipal capacities for fostering sustainable development and inter-municipal cooperation are increasingly sustained, particularly with regards to local economic development, in accordance with the principles of good governance and human rights.

MDPi will follow implementation of all MDP-supported policy instruments: LED strategy in DO, DI, PE, US; Spatial plan in DJ; Regulation plan in MA; Communication and Human Resources Managment strategies in DO, DI, DJ, GR, MA, MO; Youth Policy in DO; action plan for tourism in Ozren region (DO, PE).

Capacity-building of Municipal Development Teams and inter-municipal groups will be done on the topics prioritized by partners, as follows: EU integration, public-private partnerships and project cycle management. MDPi team will start developing the first training modules; the priority will be given to the topics of PCM.

The communication aspects remain important and will be addressed through follow-up of communication strategies, capacity-building, exchange of experiences between members of the inter-municipal PR group. The focus will be given to improvement of internal communication in municipal administrations.

In future, the EU/IPA funds will be a good source of financing inter-municipal and multi-stakeholder initiatives. MDPi will explore potentials for cooperation with existing structures, such as LAG. Apart from local partnerships, MDPi will continually promote regional cooperation. At this stage, potentials for cross-border cooperation between MDP partners and municipalities in the neighbouring countries (Croatia, Serbia) will be assessed with view of utilization of EU/IPA funds. Some exchanges have already taken place between MDP Initiatives and MSP Consulting Ltd. (in charge for MSP implementation in Serbia) and efforts will be made to facilitate cooperation between partner municipalities of these two SDC projects.

Objective 2:
Mechanisms and processes of public and community-based participation, with special emphasis on gender issues and provision of equal opportunities to all citizens, are developed and institutionalized.

On the side of the civil society, further institutionalization and promotion of municipal decisions for fostering citizens’ participation and transparency of municipal councils will be done in all partner municipalities. Some municipalities (like Doboj Istok) expressed high interest in further adaptation of these decisions. In addition, potentials for developing new municipal decisions and procedures, based on MDP experiences, will be explored.

The concepts of action planning and training cycles in MZs, successfully piloted in 2006 and 2007, will be improved by MDP Initiatives by end of 2008. In 2009, the training modules for civil society organizations and the MDP model of community-based action planning will be packed as “products” and offered to the partner municipalities. MDPi will update the existing database of civil society organizations and their training needs paying specific attention to the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups (women, youth).

Regarding Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) and gender, specific capacity-building and sensitization will be organized for all MDPi employees. On the side of partner municipalities, MDPi will make initial assessments to identify marginalized and vulnerable groups and municipal services (areas of work) that are failing to meet standards. HRBA

The concept of multi-sector partnerships will be promoted as a mechanism for efficient local development and regional cooperation.

Objective 3:
Experiences are capitalized and good practices disseminated at sub-national, national and international levels, meanwhile opportunities are taken for influencing relevant national, entity and cantonal policies.

In many aspects, the Objective 3 activities lean on the MDP Phase II experiences related to horizontal dissemination and vertical cooperation. The prerequisite for both processes will be continual documentation of good practices. In 2008, the MDP Annual Report 2007 will be disseminated and a brochure about municipal projects supported in Phase II will be produced. Ideas for further capitalization will be collected and planned for the following year.

It is expected that the establishment of the policy dialogue group, affiliated to the Steering Committee, will intensify policy dialogue (Output 3.1). The group will systemize several good practices of MDP and make a plan for their institutionalization.

Objective 4:
The establishment of MDPi as service provider for the municipal development is supported.

The local MDP project team got registered as a BiH NGO, called Center for Management, Development and Planning – MDP Initiatives (MDPi), and concluded the contract with SDC COOF for implementation of the MDP Phase III. The Objective 4 is a new dimension of the project and an important part of the MDP exit strategy.

Within this goal, MDPi will develop internal rules and procedures, and start with establishing professional network. MDPi Media Guide was developed in order to enable adequate promotion. The potential for cooperation and joint implementation of activities with other organizations and bodies within governance sector will be proactively researched. A market research will be conducted with the leading support from Intercooperation. Research results will give basic guidelines for positioning of MDPi and its team.