Within the project “Support to rural and regional development in the Republic of Serbia” (Project) funded by the Swiss Development Agency (SDC) Belgrade – Hotel Park, introductory workshop was held 17 – 18 March 2016 aimed to confirm relevance of program activities in relation to the ongoing reforms in the Republic of Serbia, taking into account the needs of local governments. The representatives of the national and regional levels of interest for rural and regional development attended the workshop was attended, as well as the local governments of the region covered by the project.
As an implementation area for the realization of the program were selected the region of Srem and RDA Srem associated with Mačva and Šumadija associated with Kolubara district. One of the goals of this program is to improve cooperation and coordination between relevant institutions and organizations at the national, regional and local level of government in the field of rural and regional development with the aim of establishing a common vision of development based on the concept of functional space.
The second goal of the workshop is that the work on the creation of at least three rural regional initiatives in these regions, whose support of the project was allocated 1.62 million CHF. At a later stage of this initiative, developed and applied models will contribute to the development of new partnerships and their projects which meet the criteria for EU funding. According to Branko Milic, one of the consultants on this project, Regional Development Agencies have been recognized as a key link in the identification of relevant stakeholders at all levels which will inter-sectoral coordination of their needs to provide greater capacity for innovative problem solving.
RDA Srem has already made significant strides in terms of targeting, functional and territorial connectivity of stakeholders. Projects in agriculture, to which the River Sava is a common resaurce, are just one of the priorities of RDA Srem to deal with in the future.