The project “Training of local self-government units in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the use of EU pre-accession funds” was created thanks to the initiative of members of the Balkan Network for Human Rights from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The specific reasons for the implementation of this project are pre-accession funds that can be used by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and have been available since March 2008, as well as research on human resource capacities in BiH municipalities for the preparation and implementation of projects.
The aim of the project was to provide adequate training to the employees of the municipalities who perform the tasks of identifying, designing and formulating projects. The training consisted of training in three areas that it is necessary to know how the municipality could approach the application process for the use of IPA funds:
• Getting acquainted with pre-accession funds, purpose and character of IPA funds
• Project cycle management and project development according to existing EU documents and formats
• Introduction to the method of logical approach and the use of the project matrix in the design and implementation of the project.
The fourth phase of the project was related to writing a concrete project proposal and assisting the municipality in applying for IPA funds.
Within the framework of the long-term project of education of local self-government units, the first phase of the project was financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI) Sarajevo, in the period from September 2007 to March 2008, implemented education of employees in two municipalities in BiH, the Municipality of Vitez and the Municipality of Bijeljina.