Skopje, September 2026 – Within the framework of the project “Municipalities as Drivers of Sustainable Development”, the Third Call for Inter-Municipal Cooperation Projects was officially announced on 14th May 2026 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Bureau for Regional Development (BRD).

The call was published through the official websites and social media channels of UNDP, BRD, ensuring maximum outreach and visibility.

The call attracted 13 project applications involving a total of 26 municipalities.

The evaluation process was conducted in two phases:

Pre-selection phase – verification of the administrative compliance of applications against the checklist defined in Section 17.1 of the Operational Guidelines.

Selection phase – technical evaluation of the applications based on the criteria outlined in Section 17.2, with scores assigned by the evaluation team.

Following the evaluation, the Committee proposed the following projects for funding:

• Municipality of Chair and the City of Skopje

“Zelena Carsija – A Joint Initiative of the Municipality of Chair and the City of Skopje for Sustainable Waste Management”

• Municipality of Kumanovo and Municipality of Lipkovo

“Inter-Municipal Mechanism for Prevention, Protection and Rescue in Crisis Situations”

• Municipality of Zelenikovo and Municipality of Petrovec

“Eco Report: Inter-Municipal Waste Management and Digital Services”

• Municipality of Krushevo and Municipality of Krivogashtani

“IMC for Sustainable Municipal Services”

The implementation of these projects will foster strengthened cooperation among municipalities and contribute to balanced regional development, improved public services, and long-term sustainability.

These initiatives once again confirm that inter-municipal cooperation represents a key mechanism for delivering more efficient and innovative solutions at the local level. The supported projects will contribute to enhancing the quality of life of citizens and to stronger, more inclusive, and sustainable local development.

The call is part of the project “Municipalities as Drivers of Sustainable Development”, implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Bureau for Regional Development.