WHAT WE DID
The EU PROGRES project is being implemented as a joint action of the European Union, the Government of Switzerland and the Government of Serbia to improve the competitiveness of 25 Serbian municipalities to attract development project funding. The project is being implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), over 3 years, starting from July 2010. A new project phase is expected to be launched in spring 2014, with additional 9 municipalities to be included. Therefore, in May 2013, EU PROGRES Programme initiated a Baseline Study of Competitiveness in 34 South and South-West Local Self-Governments. The specific objectives of the Baseline Study are to set up baseline indicators for measuring competitiveness of municipalities and to identify priorities for further reform of the way public resources are being managed.
ACTIVITIES
Collected and compiled baseline data on the municipal resources and potentials for growth and development
Developed an electronic, web-based portal for storing and analyzing data for all Serbian LGs
Analyzed LGs’ growth potential, public finance management, credit-worthiness and administrative capacities
Assigned a comprehensive competitiveness ranking to each of the 34 municipalities
Prepared the inception, monthly summary and final reports
Prepared a comprehensive competitiveness study with key findings, lessons learned and recommendations for future actions of all stakeholders in the process
Prepared a report on the existing and potential public-private partnerships in 34 municipalities
Prepared a Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Analysis (PEFA), an analysis of municipal credit capacity and an analysis of SME competitiveness