Deadline: 16-Jun-25
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is inviting local self-government units (LSGs) in Serbia to apply for participation in the “Regional Programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 3 (ReLOaD3)” for the period from 2025 to 2028.
Objective
- The overall objective of the Programme is to strengthen participatory democracies and the EU integration process in the Western Balkans, contributing to the accelerated sustainable development of the region. The Programme aims to empower civil society to actively engage in decision-making and citizen oversight, while stimulating governments to create an enabling policy, legal and financial environment for civil society.
- The specific objective of the Programme is to strengthen coordination between governments and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Western Balkans, contributing to a more enabling environment for CSOs, supported by transparent public funding, a supportive legal framework and increased citizen engagement in policy design, implementation and monitoring. The Programme aims to capitalise and scale up results and ensure the sustainability of good practices introduced during its implementation.
- Working across the WB region, ReLOaD3 will enhance the capacities of local government units (LGUs) and CSOs to engage in productive partnerships and contribute to improved service delivery and the implementation of local priorities, in line with local development strategies and needs.
- The aim of this competition is to select three partner local government units (LGUs) in the Republic of Serbia, which will be provided with technical support to adopt and implement a more transparent, development-oriented and project-based approach to financing citizens’ associations. This process will contribute to strengthening participatory democracy and EU integration, and empower civil society to participate more actively in decision-making processes at the local level. The selected LGUs will undertake to allocate financial resources for citizens’ association projects in a more transparent manner, i.e. to apply more transparent criteria and procedures in the distribution of public funds and enable a participatory approach in defining local priorities. LGUs selected through this competition will be included in the ReLOaD3 program.
What are the benefits of participating in the ReLOaD3 program?
- Participation in the ReLOaD3 program will enable LGUs to:
- Significant financial support for projects of citizens’ associations that will be implemented in the territory of partner local governments and that will respond to the needs of citizens in the local community;
- Technical support for improving the process of allocating funds for financing projects of citizens’ associations and implementing the LOD Methodology for transparent allocation of funds for civil society organizations;
- Building and improving the capacity of citizens’ associations in the local community;
- Building and improving the capacity of local government representatives in accordance with the needs assessment;
- Regional networking and exchange of experiences with other LGUs from the other five IPA beneficiaries where ReLOaD3 is being implemented;
- Promotion of its good practices and procedures throughout Serbia but also in the Western Balkans region;
- Working on greater citizen participation in decision-making;
- Cooperation through the use of various applications and technologies;
- Support projects to citizens’ associations that provide quality and diverse services in accordance with local strategic development plans. In this way, partner local governments will improve their work, become even more efficient and effective in providing services to citizens, and additionally contribute to better development results.
Duration
- The program continues to be implemented in six IPA beneficiaries in the Western Balkans, for a four-year period from 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2029.
Eligibility Criteria
- This public competition is open on an equal basis to all local governments in the Republic of Serbia, except for local governments that have previously participated in the ReLOaD program.
Elimination Criteria
- The local government has not previously participated in the Regional Programme for Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD)
- Local governments will adopt the LOD methodology for allocating funds to civil society organizations and apply it to public calls for funding CSO projects during 2026, 2027, and 2028.
- The local government expresses its willingness to increase the involvement of CSOs and citizens in policy creation and implementation.
- The local government expresses its willingness to establish/strengthen and institutionalize mechanisms for citizen involvement.
For more information, visit UNDP.