The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government has issued a public call for the 2019 Annual Award for Best Municipal/City Government. The deadline for submitting applications is 20 days from the date of publication of the public call in the Official Gazette of the RS (Number 7/20 of January 29, 2020).

The first National Annual Best Practice Award for the Implementation of Good Governance at the Local Level in 2018 was initiated by the Ministry and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM), which was supported by the program “Support of the Government of Switzerland by Promoting Good Governance and Social Inclusion – SWISS PRO". The Ministry's conducting of the call for applications for the second year in a row makes the Annual Award a long-term measure of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, which encourages and empowers local self-governments to continuously improve the quality of services provided by the public sector to the citizens and the economy. 

The Annual Best Practice Award is presented in four areas: efficiency and effectiveness, transparency and public participation in local self-government’s work, accountability and the rule of law, and equality and anti-discrimination. The funds that will be awarded to the winners of the call by the Ministry from the Budget Fund for the Local Self-Government Program amount to 10,400,000 dinars. Winners in each of the four areas will be eligible for a financial prize of 2,600,000 dinars.  

In addition to funding from the Ministry's Budget Fund, and in order to strengthen support for the development and implementation of the principles of good governance in the work of local self-governments, the winners of the call will also be awarded additional funding allocated by the SCTM from the SWISS PRO program budget. The total fund from this additional source of funding of the Annual Prize is 3,840,000 dinars and will be distributed equally to four winners, according to the terms of the public call.

Applications for the annual award for the best municipal/city government are submitted exclusively by electronic mail, to the email address godisnja.nagrada@mduls.gov.rs, on the relevant application form, which is downloaded from the Ministry's website. Local self-governments do not apply in a special procedure for additional funds, but submit a single application, explained in the application form, according to the terms of the public call.

The applications received will be evaluated on the basis of predefined criteria by a committee composed of representatives of the Ministry, the SCTM and the SWISS PRO program. After the evaluation, the committee will formulate a proposal for a decision on the award of an annual award for each of the above areas and submit it to the Minister responsible for local self-governments, who makes the decision.

The Ministry will conclude contracts on the use of grants from the Budget Fund with the local self-governmental units to be awarded the prize and transfer the approved amounts to them.  Also, the SCTM will sign with the winners of the call special grant contracts on the funds allocated from the SWISS PRO program budget.

The text of the public call and the application form are available on     http://mduls.gov.rs/obavestenja/16534/,   while the official notification for the local self-governments applying for the annual award is available on http://www.skgo.org/storage/app/media/uploaded files/Godisnja%20nagrada%20za%20najbolju%20opstinsku-gradsku%20upravu%20u%202019.%20godini.pdf

Source: Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and Coordination Body