Background

The Regional Programme for Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 2 (ReLOaD2) is a continuation of EU-supported initiatives - Local Democracy Strengthening Project (LOD, 2009-2016) and the subsequently expanded Regional Program for Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD, 2017-2020).

As the previous ones, this project is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). ReLOaD2 is implemented in the Western Balkans, in particular Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

In the Western Balkans, the collaboration between local governments (LG) and civil society organizations (CSOs) is still underdeveloped. Lack of transparency in financing of CSOs out of public sources is perceived as one of the main obstacles for the development and functioning of civil society, given that there is no clear responsibility in the distribution and spending of these funds. Models in use are often insufficient and discriminatory, do not contribute to positioning and stronger influence of civil society in communities and delay further development of participatory democracy.
 

Objectives

The overall objective of the project is to strengthen participatory democracies and EU integration in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society and encouraging young people to actively take part in the decision-making process, and by improving a supportive legal and financial environment for civil society.

The specific objective of the project is to strengthen partnerships between local authorities and civil society in the Western Balkans, by scaling a successful model of transparent project funding of CSOs (LOD methodology) from LGs budgets, which is aimed at greater civic and youth participation in decision-making processes and at improved service delivery in local communities.