UNDP BMCPI - Building Municipal Capacity for Project Implementation Bygga kapacitet för projektgenomförande på lokal nivå (UNDP) Together with local institutions in Macedonia, UNDP will build municipal capacity for planning and preparing for infrastructure investments in line with requirements of investment financiers while taking various relevant aspects into account (f.ex. environment and climate, gender and regional balance). In this way, also resource-poor municipalities can access available investment finance. The project that Sida supports aims at,
1. establising a Municipal Development Index, where indicators objectively show municipalities' level of development in various areas,
2. conducting a functional analysis of local governance in Macedonia, to identify structural inefficiencies and recommend changes,
3. establishing a Technical Documentation Fund, that will assist resource-poor municipalities undertake necessary preparations for local infrastructure investments. Tillsammans med lokala institutioner i Makedonien kommer UNDP att bygga och stärka kommuners kapacitet att planera och förbereda för infrastrukturinvesteringar på ett sätt som följer de krav investeringsfinansiärer har och som tar relevanta aspekter i beaktande (t.ex. miljö och klimat, jämställdet och regional balans). På så vis kan tillgång till tillgängliga investeringsmedel nås även för mindre kommuner med lägre kapacitet. Projektet som Sida stödjer ämnar att,
1. inrätta ett kommunalt utvecklingsindex, där indikatorer visar olika kommuners utvecklingsnivå inom olika områden
2. genomföra en funktionsanalys av lokalförvaltningen i Makedonien för att identifiera ineffektiva strukturer och rekommendera ändringar,
3. inrätta en fond för stöd till förberedelser, ffa teknisk dokumentation, i syfte att bistå resurssvaga kommuner med nödvändiga förberedelser inför lokala infrastrukturinvesteringar. The problems that the project seeks to address constitute three key difficulties in capitalizing on local development opportunities; i) lack of reliable and comparable municipal level development data, ii) ill-equipped and inadequately structured municipal administrations, failing to effectively plan, design and implement development policies and optimise available scarce funding; iii) inability of municipal administrations to make use of available donor/national investment funding, due to deficient preparatory work. The response will focus on the following three complementary activities/outputs:
1) Create a Municipal Sustainable Development Index in partnership with the Ministry of Local Self-Government and the Association of LSGUs (ZELS), allowing for an objective and comparative view on development progress in all municipalities.
2) Carry out a simple functional analysis of the local governance system, focusing on the ability to deliver development progress at local level, and proposing realistic structural changes that should be piloted in entities expressing interest to do so.
3) Establish a Technical Documentation Fund, which would provide resources to less-developed municipalities for undertaking long-term investment projects. Support should be provided during the whole investment cycle (planning, prioritization, application, implementation).
The theory of change for the Project is formulated as: Better informed local/national institutions will be better equipped to create realistic and relevant evidence-based local development policies and plan expenditures, especially on local infrastructure. Improved technical capacity of municipalities and better coordination between relevant institutions will be prompted by initial funding and development of technical documentation and progress in data collection and dissemination of information leading to municipalities that are better prepared to use structural funds from funding institutions and effectively satisfy their community needs.
The UNDAF outcome that the project contributes to is: "By 2020, national and local institutions are better able to design and deliver high-quality services for all users, in a transparent, cost-effective, non-discriminatory and gender-sensitive manner."
The project can contribute to improving the quality of life for local inhabitants and to improve the country's readiness for EU membership.