Tag: Serbia

IREX Serbia

DONOR
IREX is an international nonprofit organisation providing leadership and innovative programmes to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society development.

IREX has supported independent media in Serbia since 1997. IREX works with over 30 independent media outlets and organisations to support the development of the skills and capacity of journalists through training, consulting and small grants. The Serbia Media Assistance Program in Serbia is funded by USAID.

Since becoming involved in the region, IREX has supported numerous BIRN Serbia projects, including the most recent report “How media are financed by local governments”, which is available for download on the BIRN website.

Web: https://www.irex.org/region/europe-eurasia/serbia 

NALED

PARTNER
NALED is a business association in Serbia that brings together representatives of all three sectors of society – companies, municipalities, and NGOs, who work together on improving the conditions for local economic development and doing business in Serbia.

By organising a large number of events and business meetings, NALED has been promoting dialogue between the public, private and civil sector.

Web: www.naled-serbia.org

Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

DONOR
The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organisation, with 56 states from Europe, Central Asia and North America.

It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of its participating States into practice through its unique network of field missions.

The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and  human aspects.

It addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism, and economic and environmental activities.

Web: http://www.osce.org/mission-to-serbia

Reporters Without Borders Germany

DONOR
Reporters Without Borders Germany is the German section of the international human rights organisation Reporters sans Frontières.

Reporters Without Borders Germany aims to defend human rights, in particular freedom of the press and the right to inform and be informed anywhere in the world.

For this purpose the association aims:

To raise public awareness of the issue of human rights and mobilise the public to support journalists and media that have become victims of repression;

To gather, process and diffuse information by all appropriate means, in particular by investigative missions and the support of newspapers and TV and radio stations that have been threatened or are oppressed for political reasons, thus hindering the free formation of public opinion;

To support media persecuted for their research.

Web: https://www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/

The Centre for Free Elections and Democracy, CeSID

PARTNER
CeSID is a non-partisan, non-profit organisation founded in Serbia in 1997. The organisation deals with election monitoring in Serbia and the parallel counting of votes.

The organisation aims to disseminate knowledge about democratic institutions, to enhance citizens’ awareness of the importance of free and fair elections,  and to raise awareness of the importance of the efficient functioning of state institutions in the period between elections.

Web: www.cesid.org

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

DONOR
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is a government agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, with the mission to reduce poverty in the world. Through their work and in cooperation with others, they contribute to implementing Sweden’s Policy for Global Development (PGU).

They work in order to implement the Swedish development policy that will enable poor people to improve their lives. Another part of their mission is conducting reform cooperation with Eastern Europe, which is financed through a specific appropriation. The third part of their assignment is to distribute humanitarian aid to people in need of assistance.

Sida carries out enhanced development cooperation with a total of 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. The selection of cooperation countries is based on political decisions made by the Swedish government.

Sida’s mission is to allocate aid and other funding. Their operations are managed by the government’s guidelines, describing the goals for each year’s operations and the size of the development aid budget.

Three thematic priorities determine the direction of Swedish development cooperation and all interventions should relate to them. Those are democracy and human rights, environment and climate, and gender equality and women’s role in development.

In the period 2015-2019 Sida provides core support to BIRN Hub for implementing cross-regional programmes and enhancing the capacity of the Network.

Web: http://www.sida.se/English/

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

DONOR
The United States has a long history of extending a helping hand to people overseas struggling to make a better life. It is a history that both reflects the American people’s compassion and support of human dignity as well as advances U.S. foreign policy interests.

In order to support these goals, President John. F. Kennedy created the United States Agency for International Development by executive order in 1961.

U.S. foreign assistance has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America’s interests while improving lives in the developing world. USAID carries out U.S. foreign policy by promoting broad-scale human progress at the same time it expands stable, free societies, creates markets and trade partners for the United States, and fosters good will abroad.

Spending less than 1 percent of the total federal budget, USAID works in over 100 countries to:

  • Promote broadly shared economic prosperity;
  • Strengthen democracy and good governance;
  • Protect human rights;
  • Improve global health,
  • Advance food security and agriculture;
  • Improve environmental sustainability;
  • Further education;
  • Help societies prevent and recover from conflicts; and
  • Provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural and man-made disasters.

Web: https://www.usaid.gov/

Eye on Public Finances

BIRN Serbia

BIRN Serbia’s Eye on Public Finances programme aims to increase government transparency and accountability in the sphere of public finances by generating public demand and creating opportunities for constructive debate among stakeholders, and increasing citizen participation.

Summary

In 2012, this programme ran a number of projects from its Belgrade headquarters, including the Resource Center, Social Audit, National Budget Forum, Citizens Budget, Make Your Budget Application, and Citizens Participation in the Budget Process.

The multi-year programme aims to foster fact-based debate among stakeholders, resulting in changes in attitudes and policies. It also looks to increase the transparency of state institutions and agencies and their policies while increasing the capacity of the media for in-depth analytical reporting. In addition, Eye on Public Finances seeks to improve the government’s budget planning process and develop sustainable mechanisms for citizen participation in the budget process.

With these goals in mind, the programme takes an innovative approach to communicating macroeconomic policy and public financial management to the people of Serbia, while providing know-how to the Ministry of Finance and setting the groundwork for creating a sustainable framework for communicating the budget to the people of Serbia.

Under the programme, BIRN Serbia conducts social audit research (in education and health) and develops online databases. BIRN Serbia’s journalists contribute analysis and investigative journalism reports, and the team produces and promotes a Citizen’s Budget and organises the National Budget Forum. BIRN Serbia has also developed the web application Make Your Budget.

BIRN Serbia partners with ProConcept for the Eye on Public Finances programme. The British Embassy to Serbia and the USAID BEP Programme are donors.

Information Sheet

Main Objective:
To increase governments transparency and accountability in sphere of public finances through generating public demand and creating opportunities for constructive debate among stakeholders and for citizens participation
Specific Objectives:
  • Fact-based debate among stakeholders fostered, resulting in changes in attitudes and policies
  • Increased transparency of state institutions and agencies and their policies
  • Increased capacities of media for in-depth analytical reporting
  • Improvement of the budget planning process and developing sustainable mechanisms for citizens participation in budget processes
  • To take an innovative approach to communicating macroeconomic policy and public financial management to the people of Serbia and various interest groups.
  • Providing know-how to the Ministry of Finance and set the ground for creating a sustainable framework for communicating the budget to the people of Serbia.

Main Activities: 

  • Social Audit research (in education and health) production and promotion
  • Development of on –line data bases
  • Analytical and investigative journalistic reporting
  • Production and promotion of the Citizens Budget
  • Organization of the National Budget Forum
  • Development of web application Make your Budget

Target Groups:

Expert community, public administration, journalists, general public

Social Audit in Education and Health

BIRN Serbia – past programme

As part of its programme to increase government transparency and accountability in the sphere of public finances, BIRN Serbia runs a social audit project.

Summary

The project, which runs from August 2012-December 2012, aims to foster fact-based debate and strengthen evidence-based policy making using the examples of the health and education sectors.

The social audit is a tool for improving policy making by evaluating the quality of public budget implementation against key government programmes.

As part of the project, the BIRN Serbia team will draft a social audit report and recommendations which will provide an analysis of the impact of current policies and input for future policy proposals. The report will be presented to the National Assembly of Serbia during public hearings.

The social audit project, which targets lawmakers, the expert community and the general public, is supported by the British Embassy to Serbia.

Information Sheet

Main Objective:
  • To increase governments transparency and accountability in sphere of public finances

Specific Objectives:

  • Fact-based debate among stakeholders fostered, resulting in changes in attitudes and policies
  • Strengthened and promoted evidence-based policy making, based on the examples of health and education

Main Activities:

  • Social Audit development and execution: The Social Audit is a tool for improving evidence-based policy making through evaluation of the quality of public budget implementation against the key government programs (within the selected policy areas)
  • Social Audit Report and Recommendations: The Social audit Report will provide analysis of the impact of current policies and input for future policy proposals.
  • Awareness and competence building: Social audit Report will be presented in the NA of Serbia – at the public hearings in parliamentary boards for health and education.

Target Groups:

  • Members of Parliament
  • Expert community
  • Media
  • General public

Highlights:

  • Media reports

Resource Centre

BIRN Serbia – past programme

As part of its effort to increase government transparency and accountability in the sphere of public finances, BIRN Serbia has launched a resource center for journalists and state workers, as well as the general public.

Summary

As part of the project, which runs from April 2012-April 2013, BIRN Serbia is developing an online database that will be posted on the existing SkockajteBudzet web portal.

The team is collecting documents from state institutions and requesting targeted documents/reports.

In addition, BIRN Serbia is working with a group of journalists to produce quality analytical media reports using documents that have been gathered for the resource center.

Finally, the team will promote the database among journalists throughout Serbia via workshops and meetings.

Through this project, BIRN Serbia aims to increase the capacity of the media to carry out in-depth analytical reporting and augment the transparency of state institutions and agencies.

The project’s target audience is Serbian journalists and the general public. It is supported by the British Embassy to Serbia.

Information Sheet

Main Objective:
  • To increase governments transparency and accountability in sphere of public finances

Specific Objectives:

  • Increased capacities of media for in-depth analytical reporting
  • Increased transparency of state institutions and agencies and their policies

Main Activities:

  • Development of online database on the existing SkockajteBudzet web portal – special application will be added boosting its Resource page
  • Collection of the documents – BIRN will be working on collecting documents from state institutions, sending requests and demanding targeted documents/reports
  • Production of analytical media reports – BIRN will work with team of journalists in order to produce quality media outputs using documents gathered.
  • Promotion – Database will be promoted among journalists throughout Serbia via workshops and meetings

Target Groups:

  • Journalists
  • State administration
  • General public