Bosnia and Herzegovina Governance Accountability
“[The] local administration finally created one place for all service delivery!” a citizen exclaimed in the comment book at the new Citizen Service Center (CSC) and Urban Permit Center (UPC) in Ilidža, a large municipality bordering Sarajevo. Before the Government Accountability Project (GAP) assisted the Ilidža municipal government to construct and equip these centers, services were dispersed across four separate locations, allowing government officials to work with little accountability, and permitting low-quality customer service delivery. To promote good governance and streamline bureaucratic processes, GAP partnered with Ilidža to establish the CSC and UPC, which opened on May 13, 2009. They operate as a one-stop shop that uses modern technology and specially-trained staff to promote transparency in the issuance of vital records and urban-related permits.
Picture 1. The new home of the CSC and UPC in Ilidža municipality
To improve service delivery, GAP also provided the Ilidža CSC with case management software, allowing managers to track employee performance, set goals for improvement, and then measure the impact of changes made to meet these goals. As a result of GAP assistance, birth, death, and citizen’s certificates are now issued within two minutes of making a request, compared to approximately 30 minutes in municipalities where GAP has not provided technical assistance. Because Ilidža issues approximately 30,000 certificates annually, the software solution provided by GAP will not only increase bureaucratic transparency, it will also increase efficiency by saving over 180 working days for the citizens and the local government administration.
