The overall objective of the project was to contribute to the economical and social cohesion of all the population groups in Serbia through promoting regional development strategies. The technical assistance supported the development of public – private partnership for programming in the selected regions, the diffusion of a collaborative culture between various actors, and the enhancement of the capacity of local institutions to promote social-economical activities, including integrated approaches to territorial local development. The established partnership structures, assisted by the project team, were steering, implementing and monitoring the whole range of project cycle. In parallel, to facilitate the partnership building process, the preparation of Regional Development Strategic Plans for each region was performed through the contribution of public and private stakeholders based on partnership principles. Other specific objectives of the project included the enhancement of local government capacity to improve the territorial infrastructure of the regions in order to secure the provision of adequate business services and the creation of favourable conditions for the development of entrepreneurship in all productive sectors of regional importance with particular emphasis on tourism development. The project also aimed at encouraging local productive initiatives. The experts have been also engaged in co-operation with local actors in designing an integrated programme in order to foster the development of human capital in the region, to promote the local socio-economic development and to create pathways to employment for vulnerable groups. The consortium also assisted the beneficiaries in designing and implementing a pilot regional development fund, taking in due account EU best practices, structural fund principles and the EU Practical Guidelines for local development.

Type of service

Partnership development.

Awareness raising of institutional and socio-economic stakeholders and local population.

Capacity building of local authorities and social actors.

Development Plan preparation, in strict co-operation with local institutions and partnerships.

Training needs assessment of different groups of beneficiaries.

Provide qualified training to different groups of beneficiaries.

Provide on the job training and counselling services on different topics of local development.

SWOT analysis and needs assessment to support project actions, including tourism development.

Preparation of manuals and best practices based on EU regional development and SF experience.

Monitoring, evaluation and reporting.