Project: "Strengthening the Role of Civil Society in Promoting Good Governance Principles in the Fight against Corruption in Local Government Structures and Systems"

Financed by: OSCE		Time Interval: May 2010- February 2011

The project implemented a series of activities with the aim to:

• Increase capacities of local civil society organizations to more effectively engage in local government processes.
• Improve transparency and cooperation between local government and regional CSOs.
• Increase awareness of the local community on anti-corruption issues.
  

These activities were grouped in the following tasks:

• Task 1:  Assessment on the local CSOs capacities and needs in each of the locations and the main points where they need training and assistance to improve further, more specifically: local governing, leadership, advocacy and lobbying etc.
• Task 2: Training to local CSOs and Public Information Offices staff in the selected municipalities in interactive way, by combining the presented information for laws, concepts and roles with discussion from the participants from their experiences about the problematic issues in the field of communication and transparency between municipality and civil society in each city in order to improve their capacities in fighting corruption and raising the local responsiveness towards local needs.
• Task 3:  Establishing a network of local CSOs in each of selected municipalities by appointing a CSO as a leader, that would address the needs of the local community for an effective and accountable government. The main goal in this phase was to set the networks and institutionalize them to undertake concrete actions as a network and to produce concrete products under the focus of transparency improvements and community interest.
• Task 4: Revise the institutional framework for the functioning of Public Information Offices in each of selected municipalities so that the information service could be improved together with the quality of the information materials. URI assisted in preparing a municipal newspaper in each city in terms of its content structure, the functions that covers, the process of preparation, the way how it should be promoted and distributed to the citizens etc.
• Task 5: Assisting the local CSOs network to conduct assessment on specific areas of Local Government Unit (LGU) activity.
  

URI experts and the networks of civil societies undertook a situation analysis of the sector and its public service delivery, causes of the bad performance, and set the goals and outcomes for the improved service, as required by citizens. The main focus was presentation of this service in a simple and easily understanding language, with measurable indicators so that citizens could monitor and collaborate with local governing to improve it in the future.