Policies Beneficial to All / Reforms Beneficial to All

The Center for Democracy Foundation contributes to ensuring a better understanding of the social aspect of Serbia’s EU accession process and reforms

Policies Beneficial to All: Measuring the Social Impact of Public Policies through Empowerment and Inclusion of Citizens is a one-year project organised by the Center for Democracy Foundation and supported by the Open Society Foundation, Serbia (2019-2020).

The social aspect of EU accession is critical to improving the quality of life of the citizenry and in supporting them in the reform process as well as the further movement towards the European Union. Quality education, healthcare, a healthy labour market, quality employment and healthy earnings, social protection, a healthy environment, reduced levels of inequality, and access to justice are just some of the issues that the people of Serbia consider priority in terms of quality of life.

Although efforts have been made to build clear criteria used to measure the social effects of reforms, the application of these criteria has been scant and insufficient, and public administration lacks the capacity necessary to dedicate more attention to assessing the impact of public policies on society. Existing instruments put into place in order to monitor the effects of public policies such as the Guidelines for Social Impact Assessment, the Guidelines of the Economic Reform Programme and the Law on the Planning System of the Republic of Serbia are not utilised. This project is managed by the Center for Democracy Foundation and is guided by the need to improve the methodology applied to measure the impact policies have on society, but also emphasises the need for methodologies to be participatory, involving the people in the evaluation of public policy. Interested organisations, citizen groups and movements will participate in developing the methodology, aiming to contribute, through collaboration with the Center, to the applicability and relevance of the new methodology at the local level, and will be openly available to the public.

As part of the project, consultative workshops will be held with local civil society organisations with the aim of identifying the needs of local organisations, in particular, those representing the interests and needs of specific citizen groups, such as, vulnerable groups in the labour market. In collaboration with these organisations, the Guide to Analysing the Social Impact of Public Policies will be drafted.

In conclusion, a document entitled A Scoreboard of Serbian Economic and Social Trends will be drafted and subject to regular monitoring and updating of information which will serve to monitor adherence to the economic and social rights of the population.

Reforms Beneficial to All: Public Participation Toward Better Public Policies and Sustainable Socio-economic Development, is the continuation of the project implemented by the Center for Democracy Foundation in 2021, with the support of the Open Society Foundation Serbia.

Project objectives:

1) To contribute to the opening of dialogue and advocacy of socially sustainable policies, solidarity and justice, in particular, in the areas of protection of social and economic rights and urban development;

2) Affirmation of democratic and European values and contribution to the improvement of policies and legislation in the process of European integration by strengthening the social aspect of the process of Serbia's accession to the EU;

3) To enable the direct participation of citizens and their organisations in public affairs at all levels - by applying the following methodology: to analyse the effects of policy proposals on society: a) at the local and national levels, through direct participation of citizens in the analysis of reform impact, and: b) in analysing reforms, primarily within the context of exercising social and economic rights.

For all additional information, please contact: Milena Mićović Trajković

Phone: 011 3627 780 ili 3627 790; e-mail: milena@centaronline.org