In the past two months IDC representatives have realized trainings in 15 municipalities in Serbia on project proposals preparation and development in the field of social services. The trainings are part of the Social Dimension Initiative project, implemented by ASB, and within which 195 project proposals will be developed in municipalities throughout the Western Balkans through mentoring support and parthership development between civil and public sector.
The project Social dimension Integration started at the end of 2018 with the signing of the Ministerial Declaration on joint efforts to improve social policy in the Western Balkans. IDC has been assigned the role of a local implementation partner for Serbia as a long-standing partner of the ASB and member of the IRIS network that brings together civil society organizations providers of social services.

The role of IDC is to provide support to actors at the local level through the mentoring work in designing ideas for projects in the field of social development and development of social services. The second step is to educate and transfer the necessary knowledge and skills to local stakeholders in order to become able to turn their ideas into project proposals. With the support of experienced IDC project managers, each of the 15 municipalities selected by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Serbia will develop 3 project proposals ready for financing, with which these municipalities will be able to apply for different funds.

In the previous period, meetings and trainings were held in the municipalities of Trgoviste, Bela Palanka, Zabalj, Apatin, Coka, Ljubovija, Kovacica, Lucani, Mali Zvornik, Kosijeric, Cukarica, Smederevska Palanka, Beocin, Bac and Negotin. Municipality employees, employees of local centers for social work, citizens’ associations and public institutions, had the opportunity to work together with IDC project managers developing their ideas, incorporating them into national development strategies and development strategies of their LSGs, while learning about the main tools and techniques for writing project proposals.

In the coming period local actors will work on the development of final project proposals. The outcome of the joint effort will be 45 projects in the field of social protection and development in Serbia, but more importantly, increased competences of relevant stakeholders at the local level and enhanced partnership between local actors, as well as between IDC and 15 new partner municipalities!