NEXPO Sarajevo 11-12/3 2011
PEP International is presenting the current community development project for Bosnia & Herzegovina, PERA project; Peoples Empowerment in Rural Areas, at the municipal association fair NEXPO in Zedra Sarajevo on 11.-12. March 2011.
The participation in the fair is twofold. A joint promotion at the Sida stand with 6 other organisation funded by Sida, and direct engagement of PERA staff in the presentation and promotion provided by 6 partner municipalities.
During the preparation and prior to the opening of the fair a detailed information on the location of the stand and PERA staff engagement and avilability will be announced.
A short overview of PERA Project main partners and influence: The main actors in PERA project are 5 apart from the implementing organisation, PEP International.
Swedish Government through Sida is the donor organisation which can at any given time terminate the contract and stop the implementation of the project or grant extension if found of importance. Sida participates in the Panel Group discussions about the development of the project and receives monthly update on project activities and results. Although highly involved in project discussions and direction taken, Sida avoids influencing the daily administration of the project apart from following up on that the project agreement is honoured.
Government Accountability Program, GAP is a formal partner and as such included in the Panel Group regular discussion about the development of the project and the direction taken. The regional offices are now more engaged in project discussions as they are located closer to the field activities and have more direct role in the local government issues within their particular areas. It is expected that the synergy effects of these two projects will come clearer during 2011 as PERA focus is now more on the Local Governments and their capability to facilitate the communication with villages.
Partner Local Governments are now 20 and have a clear role in the implementation of the project. They provide access to the administrative departments and individuals who directly are engaged in the implementation. Each municipality has assigned Contact Persons to accompany PERA team on all activities in the villages. These CP do have influence on the daily administration of the project and as such provide valuable information on which direction and focus the activities will take. A formal agreement defines the role of each party and in most cases the Local Governments are holding up to their obligation according to the MoU. Few LG have actually showed interest to participate in discussion on how to disseminate the lessons from PERA project.
Associations of Municipalities and Cities in both entities are vital partners on the general development issues of the project. While establishing the project it was suggested that the AMC would be involved in the Panel Group semi annual discussion on behalf of the Partner LG. During the second year of PERA the cooperation with the entity AMCs has continued to such extend that representatives of PERA were being involved in the activities of the AMC RS working group on the topic - Strengthening civic participation at the local level (in Teslic, July 2010).
Partner Villages are represented by a work group selected internally in each village. These villages are key stakeholders in the project as the bulk of the work is carried out in the villages. They do influence the daily administration of the project and as such provide valuable information on which direction and focus activities are taken. A formal agreement defines the role of each party. Active villages are the core of the project and already few provide a very good example on how communication can by simplified and improved between villages and Local Governments. An interesting experience is that on several occasion now, PERA has managed to bring together villages across the entity lines for constructive discussion on villages needs and priorities.
