FOSI ROM STRATEGY FOR 2005 – 2007

COUNTRY CONTEXT

Results of recent public surveys are highly illustrative of the current political scene in Montenegro by showing that the country is still suffering from the year long division between two different political options. One is represented by the orientation towards an independent state, while the other is in favor of strengthening the union of Serbia and Montenegro. Deeper analysis of survey results indicates the values that the respondents attach to each of these two options – establishment of a modern state and civil society in case of the former, and authoritarian social values and rather strong nationalistic attitude in case of the latter.

Sharp and long lasting as it is, such division does not seem to exist when it comes to the issue of European integrations. Namely, 83,4% of the citizens responded positively to the question whether Montenegro should become part of the European Union. Again, further analysis would show that majority of citizens are only superficially familiar with the concept of EU standards. For them, EU integration is a way out of poverty and unemployment, as two burning issues of the Montenegrin society.

Two problems can be easily identified here:

• that a significant percentage of the citizens of Montenegro are not aware of integration with Europe being only possible through continuation and quality implementation of reforms that have already been started, and

• that we cannot integrate with Europe without first relieving of the burden of xenophobia and nationalisms of all kinds.

In order to overcome these problems and develop the capacity of the country to come closer to the process of European integrations, there will need to be not only a strong political will and solid consensus for respecting the principles of rule of law, but even more so stronger state institutions and human resources. This is why Montenegro will need to gather together all existing local expertise as well as mobilize additional donor support for the purpose of implementing reforms and developing institutions in a way that they may take over new responsibilities. What should by all means be born on mind regarding these reforms is their strong values-based dimension. Namely, our society is still very much operating within the authoritarian communist mind-set systems, additionally burdened by poverty, nationalisms and xenophobia brought by the recent transition years. It is encouraging, however, that most citizens have expressed support for education reform according to recent public polls, and it is through education reform exactly that we hope to re-affirm the traditional Montenegrin values, such as multiculturalism and solidarity, as well as to introduce the values of a modern open society – social justice and equity of all kinds.

In the last two years four reform areas have been pinpointed as major priorities for the development of Montenegro: economy, education, judiciary, and public administration and local government.  In order to fulfill the goals set by reform strategies, Montenegro had to first develop new legislation in line with EU standards. This phase is expected to be complete by end of 2004.

During the period of legislation development, Montenegro has had a stable parliamentary majority and a stable government. However, the process of reforms has faced many obstacles, one of the major ones being the rejection of opposition parties to take part in the process of adoption of the new legislation, thus imposing, at the very beginning, a serious threat to the forthcoming implementation phase. While acting uniformly only in its boycott of the parliament and in its request for extraordinary parliamentary elections, opposition does not offer any political or economic program that could bring about positive changes, such as establishment of the rule of law, institution building and economic development. On the other hand, some top position members of the governing coalition, are facing increasing attacks for their alleged involvement in corruption affairs. All above-mentioned facts have resulted in the permanently declining confidence of the citizens in the political parties and state institutions.

Although decision-making process in Montenegro still lies to the greatest extent at the hands of the existing political parties, the fact is that the some of the initiatives from the civil sector have recently become more intensive and influential in terms of creating the attitude of the public towards economic and social issues in this country. This is also reflected through the high popularity rates of certain civil society representatives at recent public surveys. Although there are speculations as to the possibility of certain civil initiatives to become political parties, it cannot be reasonably anticipated whether it is going to be so in the next couple of years.

In the sphere of executive branch positive developments took place in 2003 in terms of developing strategies for main areas of reforms in Montenegro in the fields of public and local administration, education, legislation and economy. However, state institutions suffer from underpaid and inadequately trained and knowledgeable human resources who would be capable of implementing the new strategies. The problem is followed by inappropriate organizational structures of the Ministries, as well as lack of technical and technological facilities.

Although these problems have not been solved yet, it must be noted that in the last two years intensive education activities aimed to strengthen the capacity of civil servants have been conducted. Both the Government and donors in Montenegro have recognized the importance of civil servant’s professional development as the most important way to perform their new roles in the legislation implementation phase. Also, more intensive information campaigns were also used as a tool for communicating the new reform developments to the citizens.  NGO sector highly contributed to boosting the cooperation between civil servants and citizens, especially at municipal level.

In the realm of judiciary, a wide variety of activities are being conducted in the implementation of new legislation aimed at strengthening independence and impartiality of the system of judiciary. However, independence and impartiality of courts are bound to represent for a long time a major challenge in a transition towards democratic and open society. This is because of, on one hand, institutional weaknesses of the Montenegrin courts, as much as the fact that judiciary has remained prone to political pressure.

All of this has given clear directions for the Foundation to develop its long-term mission and define goals corresponding to the needs of Montenegro to become a modern and democratic society.

FOSI ROM MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES IN 2005 - 2007

OSI Foundation has been active in Montenegro for already a decade. The focus of operation has been changing depending on the political and social environment. At the time when there were very few donors present in Montenegro, the foundation contributed substantially to the creation and development of the civil society and provided support to other key sectors of the Montenegrin society. The foundation has had and still have a leading role in policy development in areas such as education reform and had done a pioneering work in addressing issues of the protection of marginalized group, such as Roma.

In April 2002 OSI foundation in Montenegro went through an overall transformation process. The number of programs and total budget was reduced or spun-off (network scholarships program was spun-off in 2004), the number of staff downsized, and the system of operation partially changed. The new International Advisory Board of the foundation proposed that the new mission be developed based on previous experience and achievements, yet with a special focus on areas in which we could achieve greatest impact in terms of policy development. These are: education, public administration/local government, law reform and protection of marginalized groups.

In 2003 the Foundation placed through all of its programs special emphasis on the need to take into consideration the European dimension of all reforms that we support. Promotion and introduction of EU standards in all areas of reforms has thus gradually transformed from a cross-cutting initiative of the foundation into a new program of its own and an integrated part of our long-term mission – support to the Montenegrin society to develop in compliance with EU standards and good practice and to reach its developmental goals by relying and respecting open society values and principles.

FOSI ROM mission fits in well within the overall social and political environment, both in terms of the positive attitude of citizens towards EU integrations as well as the official political orientation of relevant institutions and leading representatives of civil society. However, we must not forget that part of the support for EU integrations also comes from those who still advocate retrograde ideas, as already mentioned above. It for this reason that we believe that, besides development of institutions and human capacities, strengthening of open society values is extremely important for the continuation of reforms and the European orientation of Montenegro. The Foundation intends to pursue its mission and goals regardless of the final solution of the statehood issue. Moreover, we firmly believe that introduction of European standards and good practice would be of greatest benefit to the citizens of Montenegro no matter when (and whether) the formal process of European integrations will start.

We also support OSI regional initiatives for integration of Western Balkans countries into EU. The Foundation will therefore welcome and be ready to participate in them.

In light of the long-term mission adopted, the Foundation will be working towards achievement of three strategic goals:

1. To contribute to quality implementation and sustainability in line with already adopted EU standards in education and law reforms, as well as the reforms of central and local governments;

2. To help introduce EU standards and good practice and strengthen open society values, all aimed to provide for equity and quality of education and justice for all, with special focus on marginalized groups and minorities;

3. To support increasing of the efficiency and transparency of institutions at central and local levels.

In this context, our objectives in the period 2005 – 2007 will be the following:

• Recruitment and development of local expertise from the civil and state sectors,

• Encouraging and supporting systemic cooperation between the civil and state sectors in order to make the most of resources available within Montenegro,

• Supporting implementation of the concept of inclusive education and the principle of quality education for all,

• Strengthening the monitoring initiatives of the civil sector in the implementation of the new legislation (i.e. free access to information, anti-corruption laws, etc.),

• Supporting introduction of efficient mechanisms of institutional management,

• Development of human resources for quality implementation of new regulations and standards at central and local levels.

These goals and objectives are to be achieved through the Foundation’s regular programs (Education, Public Administration and Local Government, Law, Roma, Women) as well as through the new European Program to be formally established in 2005. As has been the case so far, the Foundation will apply an integrated, systemic approach to dealing with issues related to relevant reform areas, by treating them from the aspect of a particular reform (i.e. education, law, or public administration/local government), as well as from the perspective of introduction of EU standards and institution building.

Through the European Program we intend to increase level of local knowledge on European standards among civil servants, NGOs and citizens. We will be relying on the knowledge and experience of countries that have recently become EU members. Special focus will be placed on establishing cooperation between the governmental and civil sectors related to EU standards. Our ultimate goal is to mobilize all available resources in Montenegro to help develop a feasible and sustainable policy for the Europesation of the country.

On the other hand, Capacity Development Program as a partnership project of OSI, UNDP and Government of Montenegro has for its primary purpose development of modern and efficient institutions in accordance with benchmarks of best European practice. In particular, CDP is designed to improve capacity within the Government of Montenegro for making and coordinating of policy and legal harmonization related to integration with Europe. Activities started in 2004 within the CDP for the purpose of strengthening of the vertical structure and functions of target Ministries will be continued in the period to follow. However, as of 2005 these activities will be extended to cover the area of horizontal coordination within the Government, as a necessary precondition to dealing with issues of fiscal and social impact of reforms and harmonization with EU standards.

FOUNDATION’S PARTNERS

In order to be able to conduct the activities related to its long-term goals and objectives and for the purpose of enhancing their impact, the Foundation will continue to work closely with its local partners from NGOs, policy institutes and state institutions. These are, for example, NGOs dealing with public surveys and analysis of the value orientation in the Montenegrin society, advocacy initiatives for partnership between the governmental and NGO sectors in the EU process, information and advocacy initiatives for equity issues, monitoring of legislation implementation, etc. Our governmental partners will be relevant Ministries and agencies where we can continue to influence development of policies.

For the same purpose, cooperation will be maintained with international organizations and donors involved in reform areas of interest to the Foundation. So far the foundation has had a very good cooperation with UN agencies and bilateral donors. OSI/UNDP/Government of Montenegro Capacity Development Program will serve as an additional channel for cooperation and involvement of other donors and international financial institutions.

The Foundation will also rely on support from OSI network, particularly experiences of NFs in accession countries, OSI offices in London and Brussels and network programs.

INTERNAL CAPACITIES

Taking into account the fact that OSI legacy in Montenegro lies not only in the results we have reached through our programs, but also in the personal capacity of our staff which has developed through the operation of the foundation, the Board of the Foundation has concluded that we should rely on the existing program staff in the next three years. Board was sound in conclusion that our program people have developed a rather high expertise in their own fields. The same was concluded about the level of their multidisciplinary expertise, which was developed through recently established integrated programs (i.e., CDP, the European Program, inclusive education, etc).

The foundation budget for 2005 – 2007 is planned to remain at approximately the same level as in 2004, i.e. USD 1.041,850 core.

EDUCATION REFORM PROGRAM

Context

At the beginning of 2003, the Government of Montenegro pinpointed reforms in education, legislation and economy as top priority areas for support and implementation. The overall process of education reform, designed with the support of the Foundation, was presented then as an example of good practice to be followed in other reform areas. Also, the Government officially approved the Strategy for Education Reform in 2003 – 2005 and The Strategy for Introducing ICT into the Pre-University School System. In April 2003 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Education and Science and FOSI ROM binding both sides to increase their efforts to provide for the sustainability of envisaged changes.

It was, however, obvious that the commitment on the part of the government was insufficient without a corresponding financial component for implementing the planned changes as well as without a strategy for developing human resources, primarily within the Ministry of Education and Science and the new educational institution, i.e. Bureau for Educational Services, in order for them to be able to take over and put in place what is now a diverse and rather cumbersome ‘burden’ of reform activities.

In order to help overcome these two issues, i.e. insufficient financial resources and lacking human capacities, the Foundation invested in 2003 major efforts to develop and establish a Capacity Building Program, as a joint FOSI ROM, UNDP and the Government of Montenegro project, for the purpose of providing transfer of the necessary expertise through concrete engagement of foreign and local experts.  The Ministry of Education and Science has been selected as one of the three CBP target beneficiaries.

The CBP engaged local experts currently cover two functions so far missing in the Ministry: external communications/public information, and ICT system development in the system of education in Montenegro, both of major importance for achieving the full impact of education reform.  It is also planned for an expert in comparative law to be engaged through CBP in order to help the Ministry develop the necessary by-legislation, as well as for an expert in quality assurance to support the Bureau for Educational Services in creating the QA systems for internal and external monitoring of the implementation of the reform.

In terms of activities within the process of education reform, it can be fairly said that the year 2003 was marked by, on one hand, extensive work on curriculum revision and, on the other, intensive activities aimed at involving other donors. Also, after a three-year gap in media coverage of education reform, now - with the Government’s decision to put education as one of the priority areas, the fact that implementation phase is coming soon, as well as the fact that curriculum reform was starting to touch upon extremely delicate political issues, such as the question of language or history curriculum – education has started to get into the limelight of the media and the public.

Implementation of reformed curricula and other changes envisaged by the reform of the education system in Montenegro starts in September 2004 in 20 primary schools (out of 160) New educational legislation in place and reformed curricula soon to be fully approved by relevant educational councils, numerous and intensive activities are currently under way to prepare the schools, teachers, headmasters, as well as parents and students for the new role they are going to have in a changed school environment.

In this context it is important to mention the results of the public survey conducted by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights, with the support of FOSI ROM, according to which 52,4% of the respondents gave positive answer to the question whether, if having children aged 6, they would enrol them in the reformed primary school. Another response, highly indicative of the importance attached to education in terms of its effects to development and prosperity, is that of the unemployed – namely, it was this group among all those within the representative sample of respondents who voted most in favour of education reform.

New educational institutions, particularly the Bureau for Educational Services, are involved in a number of projects aimed at building its capacities to be able to implement new systems of descriptive marking, external assessment, quality assurance, etc. Unfortunately, implementation demands funds and capacities far exceeding those available by the state and present donor organizations, so that the issues of insufficient human resources as well as infrastructure is still acute and demands urgent action.

FOSI Representative Office – Montenegro Strategy for Education Reform Program for 2003 – 2005 was approved in November 2002. After three years of active involvement in the education reform in Montenegro, the Foundation created its three-year strategy in such a way as to make possible for the shift from an integrated to a more focused approach to the process of education reform, with the ultimate goal to help the continuation and sustainability of the education reform process. It is for this reason that the 2003 – 2005 strategy has set out the following as main areas for support:

• Donor mobilization,

• Expert help to key reform segments (curriculum, teacher training, institution building, textbooks publishing, legislation change), and

• Ensuring public information, transparency and accountability of the education reform process.

We are glad to say that the year 2003 has shown that the new approach – a focused, yet a flexible one - has proven to be a good choice in the overall context of education reform in Montenegro and preparations for its implementation in September 2004.

Progress

Activities so far have been undertaken along all of the three reform segments:

1. Support to MOE in mobilizing other donors

FOSI ROM, with the help of OSEP-SEE and OSI-Brussels, provided financial, organizational, lobbying and advocacy support to the Ministry of Education and Science to organize a large Donors Conference for Education Reform in Montenegro in November 2003, preceded by three Donor Information Meetings in Brussels, Podgorica and Belgrade.

These meetings were an opportunity for the Ministry of Education to inform potential donors on the achievements made so far in education reform, the current state of education in Montenegro and priorities for donor support. The donor events and all the work around them contributed greatly to the commitment of the World Bank to prepare a very first loan for education in Montenegro. Also, there is a strong interest of some bilateral donors, particularly the Finnish Government, to get involved in the process of education reform.

2. Expert help to key reform segments

Curriculum reform:

National Curriculum Council established Subject Commissions and held a series of seminars to enable them to embark on a demanding task of revising and developing new curricula. In December 2003, the commissions produced final draft curricula, after hard and intensive 8-month work. FOSI ROM and OSEP-SEE supported the National Curriculum Council by engaging short and long term experts and providing financial assistance for their work. Subject curricula are currently being reviewed by the Council for General Education and their approval is expected to take place by end of May 204.

Textbooks Publishing:

Department for Textbooks Publishing and Teaching Aids organized the last, out of 6 training seminar, for future textbooks authors in July 2003. The systematic and comprehensive approach of the Department, designed with the help of two international experts, to the education reform and the demand for new textbooks contributed to Montenegro being the host of an international conference on the issue of textbooks publishing in small countries. The conference gathered representatives of ministries and publishing houses from 16 countries and was organized through the EAST/EAST program.

Institution Building:

Support through the Capacity Building Program: Two long-term local experts have been engaged in the Ministry of Education in the fields    of external relations and public information and introduction of information technology in the education system in Montenegro.

Support through the FOSI ROM Ed. Reform Program: The Foundation provided expert and financial assistance to help establish the Assessment Unit within the Bureau for Educational Services, by developing its human capacities and for the first time in Montenegro introducing a system of external assessment. It is done through the project of pilot national testing of primary school third-graders in mother tongue and mathematics. The Foundation will also support the Ministry of Education in the preparatory phase – years 2004 and 2005 – for the participation at the PISA testing in 2006.

Teacher Training:

Besides the Step-by-Step program, the Foundation supported a few other teacher training projects in cooperation with other institutions and donors:

1. Yang Learners Training of Trainers Project with the British Council  

2. Training of trainers / Civic Education with the US Consulate  

3. Teacher training with the EU funded Vocational Education Training Project  

4. Training of teachers on new curricula

3. Ensuring transparency and accountability of the education reform process:

FOSI ROM provided funds and engaged prominent journalists to write for a monthly 2-page supplement on education reform in the daily “Pobjeda.” The foundation also helped the Bureau for Educational Services to publish the Info book on the New Primary School which was made available to the citizens of Montenegro through the daily "Pobjeda" and also distributed to all primary schools in Montenegro.

Strategic Priorities in 2005 - 2007

As stated out in the education strategy for the period 2003 – 2005, FOSI ROM plans to continue its support in 2005 along the above mentioned key reform segments, i.e. donor mobilization, capacity and institutional building and public information/transparency of the education reform process. Also, the evaluation envisaged in the strategy paper will be conducted, but probably with a different approach due to the changed environment and extension of the education reform program into 2006 and 2007. 

The foundation will continue to have a flexible approach which will make possible for us, as one of the very few donors in education, to deliver support where most necessary, yet with a view to creating conditions for the sustainability of the reform – primarily by helping develop the capacities of teachers and educational institutions  (Bureau for Educational Services and Textbooks Publishing Department) as well as by supporting the Ministry of Education to involve other donors.

In terms of the changing focus of the Foundation's involvement in education – from the supporting, consultative and coordinating functions to those of monitoring, advocating, and policy advice – the year 2005 will mark initial steps towards this transition. Namely, since the implementation of new curricula will start in the school year 2004 – 2005, it will be necessary to develop a system of quality control in order to be able to evaluate the way in which the changes have been introduced.

The foundation will support relevant educational institutions to develop systems of quality assurance by designing and supporting projects aimed at assessing the quality of both new curricula and methods of their implementation. Also, the main study of the national external assessment project for primary school third-graders should take place in 2005 and special attention will be given to building the currently lacking capacities for results analysis, production of recommendations and policy advice. The foundation will thus help develop the monitoring and policy functions of relevant institutions (Bureau for Educational Services) and NGOs (i.e. Pedagogical Center, as the only educational NGO in Montenegro) in order for them to be able to react and affect the permanently changing educational environment.

As one of the very few donors involved in education in Montenegro, the Foundation will continue to deliver direct support to building the capacities of teachers as main implementers of reform and for the projects related to developing new textbooks. Indirectly, i.e. through the UNDP/FOSI ROM/Government of Montenegro Capacity Building Program, the Foundation will carry on with activities aimed at strengthening the Bureau for Educational Services and the Ministry of Education to conduct the reforms. Particular focus will be placed on introduction on EU standards in education, as well as establishment of internal and external quality insurance methodology.

Along with its already rather strong advocating function through the public information component, the Foundation will also monitor the attitudes of all stakeholders - students, teachers, parents and general public – on the changes related to curricula, teaching methodologies, textbooks, etc., introduced into the education system.

In this way, the Foundation will attempt to develop a balanced and flexible approach throughout 2005 – 2007 to the education reform process which will include, on one hand, grant-giving component and support to activities most necessary for implementation and, on the other, monitoring of the quality of implementation and development of recommendations for improvement. This flexibility will allow to the Foundation, as the SINGLE donor with ready funds for support to reform of general pre-university education, to respond to the needs of education reform process in a changing political, social and economic environment. The foundation would thus be able to react accordingly in case of both positive (stable government supportive of the reform, steady reform process, involvement of other donors) and negative ‘scenarios’ (unstable government, lack of donor support, obstacles to education reform process).

With the first World Bank loan for education coming in 2005, and, hopefully, extensive support from bilateral donors (the Finnish, Canadian, and Japanese governments) which will certainly contribute to the sustainability of introduced changes, the Foundation will be able to make a stronger shift towards its new role – that of a monitor, advocate and policy adviser.

The new role will be aimed primarily at preserving open society values in education – those that we have been striving for and that we have to a great extent managed to incorporate into all major documents of education reform (i.e. The Book of Changes and the new educational legislation) – by closely monitoring the implementation phase, conducting necessary research, providing policy advice and recommendations and advocating for their further promotion.

The Foundation will particularly focus on the issues of open access to education, quality of education, and the principles of decentralization and good governance in education. In the field of open access to education, the Foundation will be monitoring the degree and the quality with which vulnerable groups – particularly Roma and children with disabilities – have been included into regular education.

Issues of hidden drop-out will also be dealt with. Various factors affecting the quality of education, e.g. teaching methods, curriculum, management, etc, will be considered and recommendations provided for their improvement. Finally, monitoring and research will be done into the extent to which existing school management and organizational structure reflect the new approach to education, how and whether the process of decision-making is strategic and participatory, as well as whether and to what degree schools are open towards local community and cooperation with parents.

Research findings and recommendations related to these issues will be made available to all stakeholders as well as to the general public. The Foundation will also organize round tables, seminars, public discussions and other events in order to contribute to quality implementation of changes in education. Moreover, in monitoring the process of implementation, the Foundation will take up an open and flexible approach, which will allow us to identify and react to other issues significant for further development of the education system.

Budget (in Euro):

EUROPEAN PROGRAM

From a sub-program in 2004 to a separate program in 2005 and beyond

In the course of 2003 FOSI ROM decided to initiate a new European Program as an additional component to regular activities under the umbrella of PALG.  In 2004 the Foundation’s Board assessed the activities conducted through this sub-program and, based on this evaluation as well as a thorough analysis of the current situation in Montenegro related to EU issues, a decision was made that the main strategic orientation of the Foundation in 2005 – 2007 be support to the Montenegrin society to develop in compliance with EU standards and good practice and to reach its developmental goals by relying and respecting open society values and principles. The Board therefore recommended that the European Sub-Program become a separate program as of 2005 with an increased budget, yet relying on the existing NF staff.

The European Program is going to be a cross - cutting activity involving all NGO networks that the Foundation has helped develop through its regular programs. While relying on the existing NGOs, we intend to strengthen their capacities in networking for advocating of EU standards and open society values. In this way we hope to increase public participation in the process of political decision-making.

Context

Main strategic documents, primarily the National Strategy for Public Administration Reform, were adopted by the Government of Montenegro in 2003, envisaging changes in accordance with EU standards. First steps towards creating the necessary institutional prerequisites for this process were made by the Government of Montenegro by establishing a new ministry in charge of international economic relations and EU integrations. Also, the Council for European Integrations was created as an advisory body to the Government, consisting of representatives from civil and governmental sectors. In addition to this, a Commission for Coordination of the European Union Accession Process was formed as an expert body in charge of coordination and improvement of activities and cooperation of ministries, state authorities and institutions which are competent for enactment and implementation of policies related to European Union Accession process.

When it comes to the attitude of the citizens towards EU integrations, public surveys have shown openness towards this process. Namely, 83,4% of the citizens responded affirmatively to the question whether Montenegro should become part of the European Union. However, deeper analysis of public survey results have indicated considerable lack of knowledge on the part of respondents on what European integrations actually mean and what step are to be taken in order to achieve them. For them, EU integration is a way out of poverty and unemployment, as two burning issues of the Montenegrin society.

NGO sector in Montenegro has initiated creation of an institutional framework for the cooperation between the civil and state sectors in the phase of preparations for the process of stabilization and association. Although the Government has not yet responded to this initiative, cooperation has been established in certain sectors. For example, the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations and European Integrations has signed a memorandum of cooperation with a number of NGOs for the purpose of coordinating activities between the two sectors in the period preceding EU accession. The cooperation has already resulted in a jointly developed Communication Strategy for Preparation for the Pre-Accession Process.

However, there are a few areas that need immediate attention in order to enable Montenegro to achieve its long-term goals:

• raising of the general level of knowledge on EU standards and integrations,

• raising of the awareness that integration with Europe is only possible through continuation and quality implementation of reforms that have already been started,

• establishing of a general consensus on the need for respecting the principles of an open society,

• strengthening of institutional and human capacities,

• enhancing of the cooperation between state and NGO sectors.

Progress Report

The program started in 2004 and is expected to create a more favorable environment for understanding of the tight relation between EU Integration process and ongoing reforms. It is designed to explore the role of NGOs in the process of stabilization and EU association, as well as to increase public understanding of EU structures and standards.

• FOSI ROM organized a series of consultations with NGOs in order to assess their training need in area of EU Integrations. As result of the expressed needs of NGOs for being better informed and taking an active role in future negotiation with EU, FOSI ROM organized a seminars on Slovenian experiences in the Process of Stabilization and Association to EU, as well as on the role of NGOs in the process.

• The Foundation launched four-month training for NGOs, media professionals, and civil servants, called “School for EU Integrations”. Through a comprehensive curriculum on standards and main features of EU integration processes and their promotion, as well as European civilization and European heritage in general, the School provides a wide spectrum of theoretical and practical knowledge from the field of European Integrations.

Program Goals:

• To enable better understanding of EU standards and EU Integration process among stakeholders in the Montenegrin society;

• To foster cooperation between government and civil sector in preparatory phase for integration process;

• To support newly established “European Movement in Montenegro”, a civil initiative that intends to network local NGOs in promoting consensus around the open society values as the only way to Europe;

• To build capacity of local NGOs to participate in EU networks for policy advocacy.

EU Integration School:

The School for European Integrations was the first initiative of this kind in Montenegro. Interest for attendance was huge and over 100 high quality applications were received, but due to lack of space only 25 candidates were selected in the first generation. Evaluation has shown that the School was a great success, both in terms of organization and quality of presentations given by distinguished domestic and foreign university professors, members of the diplomatic corps, NGO activists, and people of high reputation in the field of EU matters. We are glad to say that the first generation of students coming out from the School have turned out to be a core group of people in the newly established European Movement in Montenegro.

For the reasons said above, the Foundation has decided to continue with educational activities through organizing two 4-month courses per year on issues related to European integrations and for an increased number of students (40). Although this is an alternative model of education, the Law Faculty in Podgorica has shown interest in having its regular students participate in the course and therefore offered its premises.

The ultimate goal of this program is fostering of the future engagement of the participants in promotion and establishment of European standards in the contemporary Montenegrin society. In a long-term perspective, the School is expected to become a center which will gather together Montenegrin NGOs and assist them in initiating projects and activities in EU related areas.  We hope to help produce the critical mass of people from civil and governmental sectors knowledgeable in European institutions, standards and procedures. Advanced courses are likely to be organized for the most successful participants. 

NGO mobilization

The Foundation intends to support NGO activities aimed at exploring the value orientations in the Montenegrin society as well as to help NGOs promote open society values as a necessary prerequisite for a successful integration with Europe.

We will continue to organize seminars and conferences on the experiences of new EU member countries in preparation for EU Integrations. We also plan to support advocacy activities around the issue of implementation of international standards.  In this context we intend to support NGOs to explore the best practices of NGO networking and cooperation in new EU member states in their accession processes, for the purpose of producing recommendations and proposals for Montenegro.

Cooperation between civil and governmental sectors

The Foundation will help NGOs put pressure on the Government to accept the general framework for cooperation, based on the EU White Paper on Good Governance, between the civil and governmental sectors in relation to the EU integration process.  We also intened to foster the already established cooperation between NGOs and the Ministry for European Integrations, in terms of helping both the Ministry for European Integrations and NGOs to implement the above mentioned Communication Strategy. We will support development of a web site on the process of EU integrations which will also help access to the information on the work of the line Ministry and relevant NGOs. The Foundation will also provide support to establishing regular consultations between the Ministry and NGOs, with an aim of involving NGO representatives in the permanent and ad-hoc working groups engaged in various EU integration matters.Besides this component of our work, we intend to support the cooperation of NGOs with other ministries.

NGO Training

The Foundation intends to support various forms of training for local NGOs in understanding the EU institutional structures and policy process, as well as training for applying for EU funding and administration of EU funds. Our goal is to build the capacities to get involved in formulating concrete policies in particular reform areas. We believe that in this way capacities will be strengthened in the civil sector to monitor and evaluate the degree of the compliance of new legislation with EU standards.

Public Awareness

The Foundation will support the newly established NGO network – European Movement in Montenegro - in organizing educational and promotional activities for the general public, in the form of presentations, round tables, exhibitions, producing booklets and brochures, etc. We also intend to help launch such activities at particular target groups, i.e. high school students, university students, etc. We also hope to be able to organize public presentations with representatives from the European Movements in the region.

Budget 2005-2006

LAW PROGRAM

Context

As a follow up to the adoption of the Constitutional Charter of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, significant challenges have been posed to the judicial reform in Montenegro. Consequently, a series of legislative efforts took place, resulting in the adoption of several criminal and civil law-related laws.

Judicial reform has gained momentum being, however, mainly reflected in the changes in legislation. Simultaneously, the issue of the harmonization of Montenegrin legislation with European standards has been raised and, in that sense, relevant expertise has been used for the purpose of adjusting the above-mentioned legislative drafts with the relevant EU standards.

While general public trust in judiciary has slightly risen in comparison to last year (although still depending mainly on political preferences), it seems that now the citizens have a very clear notion of the main reasons for their mistrust in judiciary which does not apply in case of their attitudes to some other institutions. The most recent public poll carried out by the local think-tank “CEDEM” and sponsored by FOSI ROM has shown that the main reason for the public mistrust in judiciary lies in the lack of efficacy and long duration of trials as well as in the lack of independence and impartiality of judges.

The areas of legal education and judicial capacities are still in need of a thorough attention due to the fact that judiciary is gaining new responsibilities as a result of the newly introduced legislation. While judges, prosecutors and attorneys have gone through a number of training seminars on the new legislation, they very much lack knowledge on the European standards in the realm of human rights. Ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights by Serbia and Montenegro (December 2003) represents another big challenge for the judiciary representatives and the latest report of the Council of Europe on the compliance with relevant EU standards stresses the necessity of further capacity building of the mentioned professional categories. It also indicates basic directions in which immediate training should be undertaken. FOSI ROM has assisted in recognition of the relevance of this topic and has already supported part of the trainings that have taken place in this field. 

Prosecution has also come under the spotlight after the introduction of the new Law on State Prosecutor as one of the weakest professional categories operating within judiciary. After nomination of the new state prosecutor, serious changes have been announced and some of those have already taken place in Montenegro in terms of reviewing the composition of current prosecution offices and attempts to bring more transparency into the practice of general prosecutor’s office. Nevertheless, continuous training still needs to take place in order to upgrade capabilities of prosecution to meet requirements posed by the contemporary standards. Also, the framework in which training will take place needs to be defined. Office of the special prosecutor for organized crime will be established under the new Law on state prosecutor, but the technical and administrative support to this office has not been put in place yet.

Corruption still remains one of the key problems in Montenegro and NGOs have been very active in advocating legislative changes. Most of the laws – some of which have entered parliamentary procedure long ago – are still pending adoption. Apart from the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Political Party Financing (adopted through an urgent procedure in March 2004, following the NGO-led advocacy efforts and the above mentioned CoE report), no other relevant laws have been adopted lately. The Law on Free Access to Information has, nevertheless, been drafted and is pending adoption, while the Law on Conflict of Interest has entered parliamentary agenda after two years of delay, thus opening up new possibilities for monitoring activities.

Progress report

In the previous period FOSI ROM has focused its main efforts on assistance to the drafting of the new criminal legislation. Support has been given to the professional groups consisting of NGO and University representatives and coordinated by the Ministry of Justice. Results of this assistance have been drafts of the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Public Notary as well as of amendments to the Law on Execution of Criminal Sanctions. Also FOSI ROM has tried to give incentive to communicating the reform efforts to the general public, by means of assistance to the Ministry of Justice in strengthening its public relations capacities. A publication addressing both general and professional public and containing an outline of major changes introduced through the new criminal legislation is currently being prepared as a joint effort of the Ministry of Justice and FOSI ROM for the purpose of raising the level of transparency of the reform process.

Following the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights, FOSI ROM has sponsored, on two occasions in the course of 2004, local NGO “CEDEM” to perform focused trainings for judges and prosecutors on articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (together with the Foreign Commonwealth Office, Council of Europe and AIRE Center from London).

In terms of support to the legal capacity development, Foundation has further supported Judicial Training Center, making a final agreement with the Ministry of Justice as to the completion of support to JTC with the closing of the 2003 budget year. Namely, after several years of support FOSI ROM is finishing its financial commitment to JTC mainly due to the fact that JTC has become subject of a multi-annual project of the European Agency for Reconstruction bringing in high quality program and expertise into the JTC’s practice. JTC has already gained reputation and will hopefully continue its operations with direct financial input from the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice which has recognized the importance of the Center’s role and expressed interest in the continuation of its activities.

FOSI ROM will, however, continue close cooperation with the Center in certain areas of its work and observe its performance. Beside JTC, part of our efforts went toward promotion and improvement of the legal clinics project that has been carried out in last three years with support of FOSI ROM and USAID. Five clinics operating at the Law Faculty in Podgorica have become part of the regular curriculum bringing in new learning experiences to students and considering more strategic approach and possibilities of their sustainability. A promotional publication explaining the substance of the courses taught in the framework of the project and describing modalities and challenges of the project implementation was published at the beginning of 2004.

In March 2004 a joint (governmental/non-governmental) USAID –supported working group has finalized the draft of the Law on Free Access to Information, which has been made subject of expertise of the Article 19, Council of Europe and European Media Institute. Thorough discussion is now taking place over the list of exceptions as proposed in the draft law. FOSI ROM has closely followed the drafting process and has provided support to the Association of Young Journalists, an NGO that has been coordinating activities of the working group, and is currently doing preparatory activities in the light of the forthcoming adoption of the law.

In terms of raising public accountability and transparency of the main political actors, NGO “Center for Monitoring” has drafted certain anti-corruption laws and have advocated their adoption in parliament (Law on Political Parties and the Law on Political Party Financing). FOSI ROM has sponsored the same NGO in its effort to carry out a research study on the context in which the Law on Political Party Financing will be implemented, relying on the experiences of other countries. Another FOSI sponsored project of the same NGO is under way tackling concrete challenges of the implementation of the Law on Political Party Financing as reflected in the preparation of a data base which will deal with the details of concrete conflict of interest cases, privatization process details etc.

Strategic Goals in 2005 – 2006

As explained hereinabove, the context in which the Foundation’s Law Program currently operates in Montenegro proves its strategic positioning as the Foundation’s priority program and puts an additional responsibility to the Foundation – that of exerting adequate influence on the policy-making process, while at the same time channeling and guiding the NGO-led activities towards desirable policy outcomes. Strategic goals of the Foundation would be as follows:

• to do the utmost as to gather all relevant actors in order to enable effective implementation of the new legislation

• to strengthen further capacities of the NGOs to monitor respect for human rights

• to further build capacity of legal professionals for the implementation of the new legislation

Program priorities 2005 - 2006

National Criminal Justice Reform

Notwithstanding the fact that the drafting process was completed relatively quickly but with certain inputs from the professional public, the laws have been considered satisfactory in terms of extent to which contemporary criminal practice standards have been incorporated in the new legal texts. FOSI intends to continue its involvement in the implementation phase by its efforts in building the capacities of the relevant professional categories to tackle adequately the implementation challenges. Foundation also intends to organize events aiming at broader involvement of the NGOs and professional public in debate on the course and modalities of the implementation process. 

Substantial trainings for prosecutors also need to take place in due time as certain ad hoc trainings undertaken up to now are not sufficient from the aspect of the demanding process of new legislation implementation. FOSI ROM will support the Association of Prosecutors in all capacity building related activities. This refers to the thematic trainings and creation of a handbook for prosecutors containing all regulations/by-laws/model acts related to the prosecutors’ performance as well as to the support for the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime and the staff to be attached to that office.

The Law on Witness Protection represents yet another challenge for the judicial bodies. It has not been adopted yet but its implementation will bring new responsibilities to the judiciary. Namely, if the program of witness protection (as proposed in the draft law) does not refer explicitly to judiciary, the issue of the “protected witness” in the course of court proceedings definitely remains responsibility of judiciary representatives. New Criminal Procedure Code stipulates measures of secret surveillance and special treatment of protected witness in the course of proceedings. FOSI ROM intends to organize different events bringing relevant experiences to Montenegro, as judges, prosecutors and attorneys need to be acquainted with similar practices from the countries having much more experience in such matters and need necessary inputs in order to implement regulations appropriately.

Moreover, FOSI intends to further build capacity of the Ministry of Justice in the implementation of judiciary-related legislation (primarily by means of the Capacity Development Program) and to offer policy advice to relevant professional groups in Montenegro in terms of ways/modalities in which adopted legislation should be implemented and thus reform efforts made more effective.

Monitoring of the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights

Area of human rights remains one of the mainstream activities of FOSI ROM. As a result of the adoption of new criminal legislation (adjusted to the relevant European standards) and as a consequence of the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights, the issue of the capacity of Montenegrin judicial bodies/judiciary representatives to deal with their procedural responsibilities in compliance with the newly introduced standards has immediately come up. FOSI ROM is aware of the need for continuous action in this regard. FOSI ROM intends to further strengthen capacity of local NGOs to follow implementation of human rights standards through court procedures. FOSI ROM will also work toward further education of legal professionals on the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.

However, tailored trainings on some of the principles particularly important from the aspect of local court practice, such as the principle of a fair trial in both pre-trial proceedings and criminal procedure or the principle of trial within reasonable time, need to be provided. FOSI ROM will support relevant initiatives addressing the issue.  Moreover, Foundation will support NGO-driven monitoring of the level of compliance of the Montenegrin judicial practices with the set standards in order to compare it with desired practices and to offer recommendations as to how these practices may be improved according to the guidance of the European Court on Human Rights. 

Clinical Legal Development

In the light of the ongoing changes in the implementation of the legal clinics project it is expected that certain additional support will need to be provided before full sustainability of the project is reached. FOSI ROM intends to carry out evaluation of the project and, according to the findings, define its further commitment to the project. Center for Legal Clinics has been established and the Foundation will offer further expertise to the leaders of the clinics based on specific needs. It will be complemented by sponsored visits to network events dealing with the clinical education (as was the case before) or simple exchange of experiences at the regional level where circumstances allow for it.  

Political Party Financing

FOSI ROM intends to continue with its support to NGO-led activities aimed at comprehensive monitoring of the implementation of the political party financing process and observing the compliance with the newly introduced legislation regulating this matter, as well as other related regulations (e.g. conflict of interest provisions). Support to further development of reference tools that would advance accessibility of information to general public about different aspects of the political party financing process will be considered.

Free Access to Information

Foundation will offer support in the forthcoming period to the monitoring of the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information once it is adopted. Bearing in mind limited knowledge of the public on the possibilities offered by this legislative draft, it seems that extensive awareness raising and capacity building will need to be undertaken in the framework of the implementation process. Capacities of the NGO “Association of Young Journalists” will be used for the purpose of carrying out the trainings for targeted professional categories: local self –government officials, journalists and/or representatives of public administration when necessary (as part of the implementation process).

Areas of Possible Cooperation with Other Donors

1. OSCE:

• Assistance to judicial reform process through building up the capacity of the local judiciary and facilitating independent trial monitoring in Montenegro;

• Assistance to Montenegrin government in its activities in the criminal justice reform.

2. Council of Europe:

• Assistance to Montenegrin government in its activities in the criminal justice reform

• In-service training for professionals on all levels of the legal system who are involved in implementation of the new legislation

• Training of judges, prosecutors and attorneys on European Convention on Human Rights

3. CHECCHI (contractor of the USAID for the court management project):

• Implementation of the new legislation in civil law area where explicit connection with the criminal law exists

4. ORT MAP (contractor of the USAID for NGO capacity building):

• Complementary action (where applicable) in assistance to NGOs dealing with issues of the respect for/observance of the rule of law

Budget¹:

¹ In accordance with Memorandum of Euro Funding policy (sent April 2004), the January 2, 2004 spot rate of 0.79730 Euro per Dollar was used. (back)

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Context

In 2003 – 2004 a set of new legislation related to public administration and local government has brought about a wide spectrum of changes, which represent a prerequisite for further progress in the process of decentralization:

Public Administration:

• State administration has new organizational structure which, divides roles of policy-making and service delivering: Ministries will conduct public policy but service delivery will be devolved to the specialized Agencies

• New approach to Human resource management brings novelties in State administration by introduction of performance related level of salaries and obligation for professional development according to a specified training program plan.

Local Government:

• Devolving competences and responsibilities from central to local level give more power and independency of local authorities. New organizational structure of local government enables local authorities to exclude mayor political factor in Human resource policy: new local key positions will be held professionals.

• Direct election of Mayors provides opportunity for the citizens to elect the Mayor directly by voting for a person rather than political party lists which was the case so far.

• Principle of equal opportunity for political parties, political coalitions and groups of citizens to appoint their candidates for Mayor, which will make possible for a more active role of the civil sector in local affairs.

• Increased transparency of local finances, enable better citizens’ insight in municipalities’ revenues and expenditures: local governments are obliged to carry out public discussion on budget. This issue is very important especially having in mind that main income of the municipalities comes from property taxation.

However, implementation of new legislation related to the local government has been postponed until local elections take place. So far two municipalities have already held elections, and they are expected to happen in a third municipality by the end of 2004. Future practice will show what kind of problems will be faced in implementation of new local legislation. Since we believed that training for civil servants in local municipalities is more then necessary in order for them to be able to implement new legislation, the foundation has organized intensive training seminars for civil servants in a number of municipalities.

It should also be noted that, according to recent public opinion pool, majority of citizens are in favor of new legislations provisions.

Adoption of the new laws has also attached some new responsibilities to the Ministry of Justice in terms of overseeing the reform implementation and consultancy as regards to the Council of Europe conventions dealing with local governments. However, the Ministry has not yet provided even technical preconditions for its new role, such as a database on municipal organizational structures and local civil servants, a database of international conventions and instruments or proper IT equipment, not to mention the skilled and knowledgeable staff to face the challenges coming from new responsibilities.

Progress report 2004

A number of international agencies present in Montenegro are dealing with reform of Public Administration and Local Government in different ways (e.g. European Agency for Reconstruction has supported public administration reform mainly in the phase of legislation development; USAID is focused on fiscal decentralization and strategy planning in local communities etc.) 

In 2004, FOSI–ROM has tackled those issues in the field of public administration and local government reform that have not been in the focus of other international organizations. This is because, on one hand, we wanted to avoid overlapping, and, on the other, to enhance impact of our joint activities. We have placed special emphasis on capacity development of civil servants (both central and local), NGO activists, as well as strengthening cooperation between NGO and local authorities. Particular attention was devoted to increase citizens’ participation in local affairs and to fight against family violence at local levels.  In order to respond to the problem of inadequate capacity in the central government of Montenegro to meet its strategic priorities of law reform, educational reform and reform of public administration, our Foundation, together with the Government and UNDP, launched Capacity Development Program (CDP) at the end of 2003.

1. Support to local government reform process:

In 2004, FOSI–ROM PALG Program organized various training activities aimed to strengthen the capacities of local governments in implementation of the new legislation.

• FOSI-ROM supported series of seminars on possibilities, techniques and methods of citizen participation in communal affairs. The seminars enabled citizens to recognize legal possibilities for taking an active role in local public affairs and procedures which municipalities are obliged to follow in decision-making process. As an outcome of the project, FOSI–ROM published “Guide for Citizen Initiatives” - a publication, which is to be used in further trainings, familiarizing the participants with methods and techniques for citizen participation in local affairs and the skills needed for creating better environment for fulfilling citizens' needs/rights and obligations towards municipalities.

   

• On the other side, FOSI ROM supported local NGO in building capacity of local authorities to recognize citizens’ needs. In a serial of trainings and field works, participants collected needs/priorities, structured them and developed recommendations. They presented them to the municipal and NGO representatives and general public. As an outcome of this project, the publication “Citizens and Local government - causes of inadequate communication and proposed solutions” was developed and distributed to all municipalities.

   

• In order to build capacity of municipalities and NGOs in project proposal design and fund raising, FOSI ROM supported local NGO to organize the trainings. Beside civil servants, the project target group also involved members of women NGOs. Additional goal was to stimulate local authorities and women NGOs to produce project, aimed to address the issue of domestic violence. As a result of the training, women NGOs helped to local authorities to establish teams for the prevention of domestic violence in 5 Montenegrin municipalities. These teams, the first of their kind in Montenegro, will make an important link in the process of prevention of violence against women and children, promotion of women’s rights and sensitization of the public to gender issues. This project was created in cooperation with Foundation’s Women Program.

   

• New legislation brings more responsibilities to municipalities in development/investment projects. However, management of investment project in municipalities lacks structure and municipal investment projects are often very expensive/take long time because of the lack of proper coordination and cooperation among project implementers. All above mentioned lead to the Foundation’s decision to engage experts to help to municipalities to increase knowledge and skills on contemporary planning and managing of municipal investment projects. 

   

• FOSI ROM also supported establishment of the Citizens’ Bureau with Information Center in the municipality of Ulcinj. This project was aimed to increase the level of service delivery in the municipality of Ulcinj through establishing a bureau with an information center, equipped with modern IT and software and staffed by trained civil servants. It is important to emphasize that cooperation between FOSI ROM and Ulcinj municipality in this project was very successful and that local authorities were very efficient in providing and adapting the space and purchasing all necessary equipment beside IT.

   

• In order to assess citizens’ stands towards new legislation related to the decentralization process, FOSI ROM supported local NGO to conduct public opinion polls. It happened in the eve of extraordinary elections in two municipalities (Tivat and Herceg Novi) and we were interested to find out to what extent the citizens of Montenegro believe that implementation of local laws will help in addressing communal issues. The results of this polling are as follows: 55,30% of respondents have positive attitude towards the new laws, 19,80% expressed negative attitude and 24,90% did not have an opinion/were not informed.

2. Support to public administration:

Capacity Development Program (CDP) is so designed as to contribute to successful achievement by the Government of Montenegro of its own strategic aims. That is, to develop governance and public administration to levels of performance in line with European standards, principles of democracy and the rule of law, with the ultimate purpose of improving the quality of life of the citizens. 

Three ministries have been selected as initial partners in government: Ministry of International Economic Relations and European Integration (MIEREI), Ministry of Education and Science, and Ministry of Justice. Projects of capacity building delivered through the CDP pay special attention to adapting and preparing Montenegrin state institutions for integration in Europe. Expert advice is provided to assist the beneficiary Ministries to make an inventory of available existing resources and to select appropriate technical assistance, in accordance with international benchmarks and best practices.

CDP activities in the Ministry of Justice are designed to help the Ministry to perform its new responsibility to oversee the reform implementation and to serve as a consultant in harmonization with international standards deriving form conventions of the Council of Europe.

Program activities in the Ministry of International Economic Relations and European Integration (MIEREI) resulted in an increased level of capacity and a better organizational structure of the Ministry. Memorandum of Understanding concerning European Integration Process between Montenegro and Macedonia (FYRoM) has been signed, which is one of the immediate outcomes of these activities.

As regards the Ministry of Education, CDP is aimed to provide for an enhanced and quality communication of education reform to the citizens. Also, transfer of knowledge for the introduction of information technologies in the education system will be done through the CDP. 

Strategic goals 2005

FOSI ROM intends to continue its support to public administration/local government reform processes in order to create better conditions for new legislation implementation. Special attention will be placed on cooperation and coordination among NGOs, state institutions and citizens in order to secure involvement of all stakeholders in the reform process.

Our strategic goals in 2005 include:

1. In public administration 

• To continue strengthening relevant state institutions to implement new legislation according to European standards and best practices of EU, using Capacity Development Program as a main channel. 

2. In local government

• Local Governments Institution Building

  • To help implementation of the new decentralization-related legislation following European conventions and recommendations

  • To increase transparency and accountability of local self governments as well as level of efficiency, in order to achieve EU standards

• NGO/Local Government cooperation

  • To support cooperation between civil sector and local authorities

Program priorities 2005

1. Public Administration

Capacity Development Program (CDP) will continue to serve as a main channel for institution building of target Ministries. It will also be used for encouraging the Ministries to cooperate with NGOs and to develop mixed expert groups for stabilization and accession process toward joining to European Union (SAP).

CDP already serves as a strong mechanism for cooperation with other donors. Some recent developments promise to open more doors for it.  The most significant development so far is partnership with the World Bank. The Bank has approached the CDP with a view to providing technical assistance to help the Government meet two particular sets of conditionality for a planned Governance Structural Adjustment Credit (with Ministry of Finance as focal point for cooperation):

• Introduction of performance-related assessment of personnel in three pilot ministries (corresponding to the three ministries initially selected for CDP support)

• Design of a methodology, with related training, for legislative impact assessment. A pilot approach would be used in selected ministries, and the assessment would be confined initially to fiscal impact, expanding gradually to include economic, environmental and social impacts.

This new initiative by World Bank comes at a very opportune moment for the CDP, which is appointing expert consultants and research assistants for the Ministry of Justice, with the main aim of enhancing the capacity of the Ministry to use systematic consultation of civil society, and of state, European and international organizations in the process of legislative reform. (Improved consultation is a key aspect legislative impact assessment.)

2. Local Government program

• Local Governments Institution Building

The Foundation will continue to analyze citizen’s stands towards new legislation. Local NGO will be supported to conduct public opinion polls that will put special emphasize on implementation of new decentralization-related legislation and its impact on the level of efficiency and effectiveness of local governments. Results will serve to Foundation for making plans for capacity development of local authorities in order to implement best practices and achieve EU standards. 

We would provide support and trainings to local governments in order to strengthen their capacities to respond to the citizens needs and to increase the level of service delivery (faster and easier getting information from municipality, satisfaction of citizens’ needs and full-filling obligations towards local government according to related legislation).

We would also promote public discussions as a mechanism for creation of local bylaws to enable broader citizens participation in the decision-making process (e.g. public discussions on statute, budget etc.) based on relevant European conventions and recommendations regarding local government performance.

In order to foster horizontal communication between new key positions at local level (Chief Administrator, Development Manager), FOSI ROM will support professional forums in order to create environment for exchange ideas, dissemination of knowledge and cooperation development.

• NGO/Local Government cooperation

We would support initiatives that contribute to better communication and collaboration between civil sector and local authorities through stimulation of the joint projects of common interest. Focus will be on sharing best European practices in involvement of civil sector in local affairs, best practices of devolving local competences to NGOs (in spheres where LG lacks capacity) and capacity building of joint LG/NGO teams for addressing common issues (e.g. teams for fight against domestic violence, which includes all stakeholders on local level; mixed local teams for proposing modalities of improved school-related investments; etc.).

Having in mind importance of local community involvement (both civil sector and local authorities) in process of defining national priorities within the Decade of Roma inclusion, we also plan to support activities related to this process.

Cooperation with other donors:

The Foundation will continue to collaborate with other international donors or project implementing institutions acting in Montenegro (European Agency for Reconstruction and Development, Council of Europe, OSCE, USAID/Urban Institute, USAID/ORT etc.).

Budget 2005 (USD):

ROMA PROGRAM

Context

Following the 2003 international conference on social inclusion of the Roma, as well as the announcement of the Decade of Roma Inclusion and the Roma Education Fund, significant steps have taken place in Montenegro in terms of addressing at a policy level some of the key issues related to the socio-economic status of Roma community.

The country has shown a great level of interest and decisiveness when it comes to education of Roma and is currently considering possible courses of action in regard to some other areas of Roma community involvement. National Working Group has been nominated by the Government of Montenegro in order to develop the National Decade Action Plan and coordinate all Decade related tasks. Given the lack of the national strategy on Roma in Montenegro, FOSI ROM understands that the National Decade Action Plan may be acting in the near future as the strategy addressing some of the most relevant/urgent Roma related issues¹.

The project “Roma Education Initiative in Montenegro” has been initiated in March 2004 as a joint effort of FOSI ROM, OSI Network Roma Education Initiative, UNICEF’s Office in Montenegro and the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro (hereinafter referred to as MoE). Project was subject of long but successful negotiation on the modalities of its implementation between the main actors and it will substantively mark MoE’s future engagement in the realm of Roma children education.

As a result of the cooperation between the MoE, University of Montenegro and the OSCE, a comprehensive project for the professional development of Roma educators is also currently being developed, addressing the lack of highly qualified/university educated Roma in Montenegro and complementing our efforts within the Roma Education Initiative project.

In spite of significant financial resources previously and currently vested in enhancing of the capacities of the Roma NGO community in Montenegro it remains mainly inconsistent and characterized by the lack of sense for sustainable action and prioritisation. Moreover it tends to remain, hand in hand with the issue of Roma education, one of the most challenging tasks of FOSI ROM in the forthcoming period.

Progress report

In the previous period FOSI ROM has invested most of its capacities in developing a more systematic approach to the issue of education of Roma, in terms of raising the quality of educational programs offered to Roma children in both formal and non-formal education. Implementation of the Roma Education Initiative started in March 2004, with an aim of developing three model sites of Roma children’s education in Berane, Niksic and Podgorica. The project is based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the MoE, UNICEF and FOSI ROM in February 2003, which defines responsibilities of the Ministry and involved donor partners in education of Roma children.

The project has been recognized by the Ministry as an efficient tool of increasing quality of education offered to Roma children and level of their school performance and the Ministry will act as the implementing partner in the part of project dealing with the formal educational system. Experience and resources of the Step by Step Program will also be used in the project through engagement of the NGO “Pedagogical Center of Montenegro” (local Step by Step Program) as an implementing partner covering training/community related segment of the project implementation. Four Roma/non-Roma NGOs have already been engaged to act as a link with the Roma community and to assist in motivating and awareness raising of Roma parents in regard to education of their children (which has been recognized as one of the major problems in most of the Roma education related initiatives in Montenegro).

FOSI ROM has also given certain assistance to NGOs that may in the near future, depending on the level of their development and performance, complement “Roma Education Initiative in Montenegro”. Projects addressing education of Roma in the selected sites (other than those which are made part of REI) have been supported in order to help increase Roma community involvement and bring related sites to the level acceptable from the aspect of the common REI criteria and concurrent from the aspect of possible territorial extension of the ongoing REI project in Montenegro. 

Scholarship scheme for high school and University Roma, as implemented by FOSI ROM, remained in place covering, however, small number of Roma students. More structured mentorship is currently being considered which would be put in place and potentially implemented by MoE and which would make Roma students more competitive in terms of employment.

FOSI ROM has also worked toward raising awareness of other donors on the need for specific interventions in regards to problems identified in the course of our practice as the sources of the current social status of Roma. OSCE has, in this sense, conceived its project (as explained hereinbefore), which is made compatible and complementary to the ambitions of our Foundation within the Roma Education Initiative project.

Given the available financial resources in the Roma National Program, we have also relied on the resources of the Foundation’s Women’s Program in order to tackle issues of gender integration and skill development of young Roma women in Montenegro. Psycho-social workshops, free legal aid and awareness raising sessions dealing with the issue of family violence were some of the activities supported by FOSI ROM in this respect

Strategic goals of the program in 2005

• further advocating at the policy level for sustainable action in regard to Roma

• further strengthening of the existing network of Roma NGOs in Montenegro, aimed at creating necessary preconditions for their more effective involvement in the development of governmental policy for Roma

• monitoring/development of the project “Roma Education Initiative in Montenegro” to the level competitive from the aspect of the forthcoming Roma Education Fund

Program priorities in 2005

Educational programs for Roma children/youth

In 2005 FOSI ROM intends to closely follow implementation of the project “Roma Education Initiative in Montenegro” which will become the main strategic priority in the Roma Program. Notwithstanding the assignment of concrete responsibilities within the project to MoE and the Pedagogical center, it came out that coordination had remained to a great extent within the domain of the REI Advisory Committee whose work will be coordinated and hosted by FOSI ROM. FOSI ROM will monitor achievements and do necessary policy level actions in order to improve the quality of the project implementation. Last but not the least, all programmatic and financial plans will be reviewed by the Advisory Committee and the activity of FOSI ROM in this regard will be focused on assessing overall achievements, monitoring (together with the implementing partners) quality of educational performances and recommend further activities in the project implementation process.

Further capacity building of Roma NGOs

FOSI ROM will closely follow the Roma Decade related activities and the level of Roma community involvement in this process. One segment of the Roma program will remain dedicated to the support for the newly established “Roma circle”- the network of Montenegrin Roma NGOs – in order to enable them to articulate their needs and priorities in the light of the forthcoming Decade plans. In difference to the practice in previous years, FOSI ROM will rely more on network resources available for Roma in order to complement our Foundation’s activities related to the capacity building for Roma NGOs. 

Addressing needs of Roma women

As explained before, Foundation’s Women Program has been extensively used for the purpose of support to certain Roma women related projects – mainly dealing with the violence against women issues and certain workshops for young Roma women activists. Resources available in the Foundation’s Women program, together with those available in the related network programs will be used in order to build in a gender component within the work of the newly established community center at a Roma site in Podgorica and the Roma Education Initiative project in Montenegro.

Areas of possible cooperation with other donors

UNICEF remains our strategic partner in all Roma related initiatives and we seem to share understanding for the most urgent and challenging problems of the local Roma community. This fruitful cooperation will continue throughout the forthcoming period, mainly in the implementation of the Roma Education Initiative, where UNICEF remains a financing partner and a member of the REI Advisory Committee (formed as a supervisory Board in charge of monitoring the project implementation).

OSCE has recently entered directly the local donor scene in the related field with a comprehensive program of professional development intended to address lack of highly qualified Roma teachers, journalists and Roma NGOs. Program is focused on professional development of the mentioned professional categories of Roma with an ambition to systematically bridge the deficiencies identified as major drawbacks to sustainable action in increasing employment opportunities for Roma and, consequently, of their more successful integration. With its political influence OSCE will certainly contribute to quality implementation of our joint Roma-related program agendas.

Budget²:

¹ Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, finalized by the Government of Montenegro in late 2003, addresses the relevant Roma community problems in Montenegro but it cannot be used as a strategic framework for a sustainable policy action. (back)

² In accordance with Memorandum of Euro Funding policy (sent April 2004), the January 2, 2004 spot rate of 0.79730 Euro per Dollar was used. (back)

 

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WOMEN’S PROGRAM

Progress Update for 2003/4 and Strategy for 2005

Context

Promotion of women’s rights, educational and research initiatives as well as pressure on state institutions to develop gender sensitive policies have for a long period of time in Montenegro been to the greatest extent conducted by the NGO sector and international organizations. Several WNGOs have developed into serious and reliable organizations and quality service providers in all areas of struggle for gender integration.

In terms of the social, political and economic context within which Women’s Program operates in Montenegro, little (or, more precisely, no progress) has been made which could bring about positive changes in terms of improving the status of women in Montenegro. Certain positive developments have taken place in the field of legislation with, for example, domestic violence being included in the criminal law (previously it was treated only by the family law), but there is still a lot that needs to be done in order to cover all related legislation.

In this context it is important to note no strategic document – with the exception of the National Plan for the Prevention of Domestic Violence - related to the issue of gender equity has as yet been made by the state. Nor does the Poverty Reduction  Strategy Paper (PRSP) tackle in any way the issue of gender equality although it abounds with statistics which clearly show the urgent need for it.

However, a positive development in the women's scene in Montenegro is the establishment in July 2003 of the Office for Gender Equality within the Government of Montenegro which, in the short period of its existence, has conducted a number of important projects related to compiling gender related statistics, and, so far, shown great openness and readiness to cooperate with the WNGO sector.

FOSI ROM Women’s Program has been operating in 2003 and 2004 line with the Foundation’s main strategic guidelines. It will continue to follow the priority subprogram lines and aspire to contribute to the sustainability of projects that have been systematically developed in the previous years of the WP operation in Montenegro.

Progress

In 2003 and 2004 the Foundation supported projects within all three subprogram lines, i.e. in the fields of violence against women, education and gender integration.

• Violence Against Women

In the field of prevention of domestic violence activities have been undertaken to establish links between the NGOs and the institutions dealing with this issue at municipality level, with the ultimate goal to create teams in charge of fighting against and prevention of domestic violence at local levels. A series of awareness raising and advocacy seminars were held in March 2003 with the support of FOSI ROM by the SOS Telephone - Podgorica covering police, social centres and healthcare staff in almost all Montenegrin municipalities. They were followed by a second round of seminars supported by the foundation in Novemer 2003 in a number of selected cities where greatest interest and willingness was shown for establishing cooperation with NGOs.

By the end of June 2004  mermoranda of cooperation were signed between state institutions and NGOs aimed at creating local teams for the prevention of violence against women in five municipalities. Teams have received training in project writing/management and fundrasing (with the financial support of the NF's PALG program).  The foundation hopes to organize training in Duluth Model by the end of 2004, also with the support of the NF's program for Public Administration and Local Governance.

What we hope will contribute to the success of these projects is the fact that at the end of 2003 the National Plan for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (including the development of a coordinated state/NGO response to this issue) was adopted by the Government of Montenegro. Two members of the team who designed this document come from the NGO sector, i.e. from the SOS Hotline - Podgorica.

The foundation's Women's Program has also supported participation of Montenegro in the UNIFEM, MHRA, OSI Budapest National Violence Against Women Monitors project by providing funds for the training and honoraria of two selected monitors.

• Gender & Education

In Montenegro, similar to many countries in the region and elsewhere, there is no formal education related to gender issues either in the form of regular or extra-curricular courses at the University and faculties which, by the nature of their studies, could include this sort of program in their curriculum. In 2003, the foundation supported the one project applied by the the Faculty of Philosophy, which was the organization of a range of lectures and seminars on various topics related to the improvement of status of women. The fact that the lectures and workshops did happen at the University was a success in itself.

On the other hand, a series of seminars and workshops covering a wide range of topics related to Women’s Studies have been organized with the foundations support by the NGO Anima / INDOC in Kotor. The courses have so far proved to be a great success and are considered so by both the participants (students from the University of Montenegro and NGO activists) and the lecturers (coming from UoM and centres for women’s studies in Belgrade, Zagreb and Novi Sad). Together with Kvinna Till Kvinna, the foundation will support the continuation of the course throughout 2004.

The Information and Documentation Center based in NGO Anima officially became member of the REWIND NET (Regional Network of Women's Info-Doc Centers) at the INDOC Conference in Zagreb in December 2003. In order to enable the INDOC to achieve its long-term goal, i.e. cooperation between the national and regional women’s info centres which will promote gender equity and influence the work of the media, women’s activists and policy makers at all levels, the foundation will continue its support to this initiative in the next year. The foundation also intends to help enlarge the group of activists from various walks of life gathered around INDOC for the purpose of contributing to both its quality and sustainability.

A publication with the results of the research initiated by the Foundation into gender stereotypes in the Montenegrin primary school textbooks was presented to the public and distributed to textbook authors at a capacity building seminar organized for them in July 2003. The publication seems to have been rather seriously taken into account by the Department for Textbooks Publishing and Teaching Aids. Since implementation of changes envisaged by the education reform process starts in 2004 and a large number of new textbooks will have to be produced in the next couple of years, the foundation intends to organize a seminar together with UNICEF for future textboooks authors on the principles of writing gender-sensitive textbooks.

Finally, a pilot project aimed at collecting women’s testimonies and experiences from their lives during the establishment and collapse of socialism has been conducted and a book with the first twelwe interviews presented to the public.

• Gender and Integration

WP has been working with the Foundation’s Roma Program on a joint project aimed at providing health, social and education services to Roma women and children at a Roma site populated by IDPs from Kosovo. The NGO Trauma Center involved in this project also helps Roma women get jobs outside the site and is generally rather very well received. Unfortunately, the needs of Roma women far exceed the budgets, both local and international, currently available in Montenegro.

The foundation also supported organization of a mini-school on gender equality for young Roma women who are NGO activists. The project was conducted by the NGO Roma Center from Niksic and, hopefully, will be only a beginning for futher work on raising the capacity of Roma women to become leaders in their communities.

The foundation is currently trying to develop a gender component around the activities conducted through REI (Roma Education Inititative). Also, the foundation has supported establishment of a community center at one of the Roma sites in Podgorica as a support to REI and funds have been provided for work with Roma women and girls.

Strategic goals in 2005

The strategic goal of the FOSI ROM Women’s Program in 2005 is to further contribute to the positive changes in the way women issues are treated in Montenegro in the following ways:

• strengthening of the women’s groups that have in the past years of WP operation proved to be our strategic partners to conduct activities in their respective fields (VAW, gender education, information-documentation/monitoring),

• capacity building of teams established at local levels to respond in a quality and coordinated way to issues of gender violence, and

• fostering of the cooperation between women’s groups and relevant central and municipal institutions.

As it has been the case in 2003 and 2004, the Women’s Program will cooperate with other foundation’s programs, particularly with the Education, Roma and Community Centers Programs in order to enhance the impact of projects conducted within the WP. The WP of the FOSI ROM also intends to rely on the initiatives and activities going on region-wide as well as to help foster the cooperation of local NGOs with their counterparts in the region.

Program priorities

In 2005 the foundation will continue to work along three strategic lines: gender and education, which will include both educational/research  initiatives and  the support to INDOC, violence against women, focusing primarily on training and building the capacities of the local teams in charge of preventing domestic violence, and gender integration, aiming at strengthening Roma women and girls.

• Gender and Education

Support to the program of alternative Women’s Studies

FOSI Representative Office – Montenegro will continue to support organization of women’s courses as an alternative educational program aimed at achieving two main goals, i.e. building of the capacity of women’s NGOs and activists and the development of the critical mass of women capable of producing change in the status of women in Montenegro. In pursuit of this goal, the foundation will rely on the NGO Anima / INDOC as a reliable partner capable of delivering quality programs and cooperate with other international organizations, such as Kvinna Till Kvinna.

However, discussions have started about the possibility of changing in 2005 the present 12-weekends format of the alternative women’s studies into a shorter but more intensive course (and take a form of a summer/winter school). We also hope that the regional component of the program will become stronger, particularly in terms of the target population.

The foundation will also be open to women’s studies initiatives from the University of Montenegro. WP is fully aware of the women’s studies position within the broader context of university reform and will be ready to support quality projects of this kind to the extent allowed by our rather limited budgets. Certain initiatives have been undertaken by the University of Montenegro with the support of the Center for Women’s Studies and Research of the Oslo University with an aim of introducing a postgraduate course in women and law as well as conducting a few smaller research and translation projects. Yet, there does not seem to exist the necessary core group of enthusiastic and knowledgeable university teachers ready to commit themselves to doing more in this field.

Based on the results of the research into gender stereotypes in the Montenegrin schoolbooks, the foundation will try to link this program with the education reform currently taking place in Montenegro, particularly in terms of the need for introducing the issue of gender in the process of textbook production. We hope to be able to further enhance our cooperation with the Dept. for Publishing Textbooks and engage our INDOC experts to monitor and provide recommendations during the process of preparation of new textbooks.

Support to the development of Information – Documentation Centre

FOSI Representative Office – Montenegro intends to continue its support to the Information-Documentation Centre established within the NGO “Anima”, for the purpose of contributing to its sustainability after the closing of the WP in Montenegro. We hope that a strong Info-Doc Centre will become a link between the NWP and the Montenegrin WNGO scene. Our long-term goal is to strengthen the INDOC to monitor and influence from the aspect of gender issues the changes taking place in the education, legal and other reforms in Montenegro. In order to enable it to undertake – besides its regular information collection, educational and research activities – the functions of monitoring, advocacy and policy advice, INDOC activists will be invited to attend the policy writing/analysis courses organized by the NF’S PALG program.

The Foundation intends to conduct in the fall of 2004 a feasibility study, i.e. needs assessment analysis, for the purpose of exploring into the best ways of developing and strengthening INDOC and providing for its sustainability. This study should help develop the WP strategy for 2006 and 2007 and  will also be used as an advocacy tool with other donors and institutions.

• Violence Against Wome

The foundation will focus its activities on raising the capacity of teams for the prevention of violence against women and children at local levels. In 2004 and throughout 2005 local teams will need to receive additional training of both general nature (i.e. trainings for fundraising and projects writing) and on topics specific for the field of violence (i.e. training in the Duluth Model for coordinated community response to violence against women).

In this context it is important to mention that the foundation’s program for Public Administration and Local Government is going to support joint capacity building seminars for local government staff and WNGO’s members which we hope will help contribute to the cooperation between the two.

The foundation also plans to continue support to the participation of Montenegro in the STOP VAW Project in 2005. However, due to limited budgets, we also intend to help National Monitors fundraise additional budgets for this purpose.

• Gender and Integration

This subprogram line will primarily focus on projects with Roma women and girls, by providing the necessary social, psychological and healthcare services as well as education and training needed for their easier employment. These activities will be carried out in cooperation with the foundation’s Roma Program in order to develop a gender component within REI. Also, activities will be organized around those We also intend to rely on the work of the Community Center which is to be soon established at a Roma site in Podgorica.

Budget in 2005 (in USD)