The City of Sremska Mitrovica was the host of the 20th regular assembly of the RDA Srem founders, held on June 30, 2017.
After determining the quorum and the election of the Chairperson of the Assembly, the minutes from the previous session of the Assembly was adopted. In accordance with the proposed agenda, director Milan Miric reported on RDA Srem work in 2016.
The basic activities of the RDA Srem in 2016 related to the implementation of the Standardized Services Sets (SSS). This set is implemented by accredited regional development agencies in Serbia, in accordance with the Program adopted by the Government, implemented in cooperation with the Development Agency of Serbia. Within this activity, the following services were implemented: Mentoring (enrolled 17 beneficiaries), there were 20 promotional events, which covered 313 users. Thirty trainings were held through which 431 persons were certified. Advisory services covered 179 users, which were realized through 387 working hours. Within the framework of three public calls announced by the Development Agency of Serbia (DAS), 50 requests were received and 40 were approved worth 7,009,812.00 RSD.
In the previous year, the employees of RDA Srem attended significant professional trainings of domestic and foreign programs for which they were certified for further work and improvement of project activities. In addition, the development and strengthening of institutional and organizational capacities in the RDA Srem in 2016, as well as the implementation of regional projects, was also presented. It was further noted that RDA Srem has a unique system of organization when it comes to the preparation and implementation of regional projects, as it is defined in the Inter-municipal agreement signed in 2013.
When it comes to implementation of projects in 2016, it is important to note that out of the seven projects implemented last year, the projects “Establishing a regional cycling route Srem-setting a bicycle traffic signalization”, “Marking and infrastructure equipping the cycling route Srem” are highlighted. A project with the German organization GIZ DKTI is also significant in terms of biogas plants. In accordance with this project, four agricultural holdings were selected for which feasibility studies for the construction of biogas plants are being carried out. In 2016, RRA Srem was involved in the implementation of the project “Emergency response – ERNOW” obtained in the cross-border cooperation BIH-SER, with the Municipality of Šid as a leading partner on project regarding the Serbian side. The project envisages the procurement of equipment intended for Public Utility Companies (PUC) in the Municipality of Sid and the City of Sremska Mitrovica, which is a partner in this project. After the approval of regional projects applied to the Swiss Organization for Development and Cooperation (SDC) within the framework of the Rural and Regional Development Program, in the forthcoming period, the signing of contracts for two projects is expected. The first to be approved is “Integrated Regional Development Model based on consensus and Wide partnership of stakeholders in the field of rural tourism development in Srem” with emphasis on cyclotourism and accompanying services in the field. Another approved project is the Biomass Empowerment Initiative integrated into the regional support system for the development of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in the region of Srem. The project envisages the training of energy management for all municipalities of Srem that have over 20,000 inhabitants (five municipalities of Srem), to implement energy efficiency plans, to perform energy audits of public buildings on the basis of which the necessary technical documentation will be obtained. The second phase of the project is the preparation of the Study for the Center for Sustainable Development, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Šimanovci, which will present its phases, functions and its sustainability, as it will as such have the function of a regional center.
RDA Srem was financially positive in 2016 and showed a business profit. The report on the work of the RDA Srem for 2016 was adopted unanimously.