Fostering Participative Democracy

LDA Struga is local partner to Local Community Development Foundation (LCDF), Stip for the implementation of the project “Fostering Participative Democracy”, financed and supported by the European Commission trough EIDHR Programme.

Overall objective: Contributing to institutionalization of sustainable mechanism for consultations with the citizens in the process of public policy making on local level

Specific objective: To analyse the situation regarding the current mechanisms for consultation with citizens in the process of public policy making on local level; To facilitate discussion among local stakeholders (LGUs, CSOs, BS); To stimulate sharing and replication of good practices for mechanisms for consultations among LGUs; To lobby at LGUs for institutionalization of the proposed mechanisms;

Estimated results:

Comprehensive analysis of current practices of consulting citizens in the process of public policy making on local level;
CSOs, municipalities, business sector and citizens consulted for the mechanisms for bigger involvement in decision making processes on local level;
Recommendations for institutionalisation of the process of consultations;
Raised awareness of the authorities and the citizens for citizen’s participation in the processes of public policy making on local level;
Good practices shared among all municipalities;
Policy brief prepared and distributed;
Increased level of transparency and accountability of the LGs;
Empowered community for bigger involvement in public policy making on local level;
Different (existing and new) tools for citizen’s involvement in public policy making used.

Main activities:

Analysis of the current practices of using the mechanisms for consultations with the citizens in the process of public policy making on local level and its effectiveness;
Regional debates
Working groups for recommendations for establishment of consultation mechanism between citizens and LGUs
Policy paper
Meetings with the relevant institutions for lobbying for accepting and implementing the proposed recommendations
Closing conference

Time frame: February 2016 -July 2017