About BACID I+II

BACID II - Building Administrative Capacities in the Danube Region and Western Balkans“ (2018-2021) The Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (AACT) and KDZ (Public Administration Research Center) implement the programme „Building Administrative Capacity in the Danube Region and Western Balkans“, co-funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). BACID started 2014 with the support of ADA.

Main project partners are the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) of the Western Balkans and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities in South-East Europe (NALAS).

Background

The BACID programme is a follow-up of the LOGON Network - Local Governments Network of Central and Eastern European Countries, an EU funded project implemented by the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns in patnership with the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and 24 local government associations from 19 countries. It lasted from 1998 to 2005. The purpose of the project was exchange of know-how of local governments in EU Member States on how to build capacity for effectively dealing with EU policies and the challenges and opportunities of EU membership, where local governments and their associations from "old" EU members supported "new" EU members in accession process. Publications developed during the Project on the role and obligations of local governments in the EU are available on the webpage Publications.
The associations of local governments of the Western Balkans, that participated in the LOGON Network as partners or associates, are all members of NALAS - Network of Associations of Local Authorities of the South-East Europe (www.nalas.eu). AACT and KDZ are close partners to NALAS from its beginnings, and in 2015, AACT became an associate NALAS member. Through this cooperation, as well as other partnerships with municipalities, local government associations, ministires and international organisations in the region, AACT and KDZ continue the know-how transfer in the fields related to European Integrations and modernisation of public administrations.

Programme Objective

The objective of BACID is to strengthen the governance structures of the target countries and to support the European Integration process with focus on local and regional governments. The Programme is based on two relevant regional strategies, EU Strategy for the Danube Region and SEE 2020 Strategy.

Who will participate in the Programme

While the main target group are local governments and their associations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and Moldova, other institutions and organisations active in the field of local governance will be invited to participate in some activities. Additionally, partners from Austria will be involved in knowledge sharing, as well as colleagues from other EU countries from the region such as Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. Around 1500 persons shall be directly involved in the programme, while all citizens in the region will have benefit from it.

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Programme Milestones

• BACID Funds: ~ 20 Projects funded by the BACID small projects funds
• Regional Quality Center implemented within RESPA
• Several CAFs implemented to increase quality of Public sector organisations and Public Administration Reform in different countries of the Western Balkans
• Governance Forum on Quality and Transparency
• Regional Decentralisation Observatory implemented
• Report on local budgets in Western Balkans
• Platform for Budget Transparency
• 5 successful applications for EU Projects
• Cooperation activities of NALAS with EU-Institutions and actors

Programme Components

1. BACID Fund: more information on the page: BACID Fund - Info.
2. Danube Governance Hub: more information on the page: Danube Governance Hub - Info.
3. LOGON: more information on the page: LOGON - Info.

Brief information about the Programme and its components:
BACID Programme Leaflet
BACID Fund (English)
BACID Fund (German)