Supporting municipalities in the promotion of social inclusion
Public Policy Research Center, in partnership with the Educational Center Leskovac and Centre for Social Policy as a leading organization, has implemented the project "Supporting municipalities in the promotion of social inclusion through employment of vulnerable and marginalized groups" from October 2015 to March 2017. The project was implemented in 34 underdeveloped municipalities in Serbia, in Sumadija, West and Southwest Serbia.
However, there are some good examples, such as municipalities of Knjazevac and BelaPalanka, in which local management is very functional and LAPs are producing good results. These municipalities often hire employees with strong personal motivation and previous work experience in both government and non-for-profit sector. In certain municipalities, such as CrnaTrava, Trgoviste, Blaca and Medvedja, “Progress program” is the only source of additional funding and its employees are very motivated to continue its implementation.
National Employment Service branches play a special role in above-mentioned municipalities. Survey respondents indicated that these Services often ignore or sabotage the collaboration in different programs initiated by local governments.
The main objective of this project is to build the capacity of local institutions and increase their capacity to improve the delivery of social services, a better understanding of the needs of vulnerable groups and improve access to social protection, employment opportunities and social inclusion .