GAP Helps BiH Municipalities Improve Capital Planning Process
Big expenses demand careful planning, and one of the most important and expensive activities a government undertakes on a regular basis is the planning for and financing of major capital projects. From roads and bridges to water and sewer systems, these projects absorb much of the available resources within a community, helping provide for services critical to the health, safety and well being of a community’s residents. If poorly planned, scarce resources may be inefficiently allocated and the health and well being of a community may suffer.
The Governance Accountability Project (GAP) works with its partner municipalities to develop a systematic approach to identify, plan, implement and evaluate capital projects following international best practices, helping ensure that resources are assigned where they are most needed. This methodology, commonly known as capital improvement planning (CIP), assists municipalities in more effectively planning for future investments and, through its participatory approach that includes all major stakeholders, helps develop clear public understanding of these priorities. The systematic use of CIP methodology that helps create accountable and transparent municipal governments will bring Bosnia and Herzegovina’s municipalities closer to European Union standards.
With the beginning of the second phase of the GAP project this year, another eleven municipalities have elected to join the current 22 municipalities that are already meeting GAP standards for capital improvement planning. These new municipalities are Bihac, Breza, Bugojno, Foca, Kalesija, Konjic, Prozor-Rama, Rudo, Srebrenica, Velika Kladusa and Vukosavlje; each of these municipalities has taken the steps needed to begin the process, and their municipal councils or assemblies have adopted enabling resolutions.
Two examples show the practical value of the use of CIP methodology, one old and one new. This year, Bihac was the first new municipality to accept this approach, and in do doing so showed great understanding of its value. Following GAP’s initial presentation, the mayor stated that this approach was “excellent … exactly what we need,” and went on to explain how Bihac has many ideas for capital projects but has heretofore lacked a mechanism for their selection and prioritization. As a result, the municipally appointed CIP Coordination Team is currently scoring 180 collected project proposals and will soon develop their first project priority lists. Bihac’s Coordination Team has further decided to include in their capital improvement plan all priority projects from the Municipal Development Strategy, adopted in July of 2008, and will therefore have one combined list of all capital project investments needed in the municipality for the first time ever.
In comparison to Bihac, a new CIP municipality, Velika Kladusa has been successfully implementing CIP methodology for the past four years, and is currently in the process of updating their plan for 2009-2013. Their determination and their successful use of CIP methodology is demonstrated by the fact that 25 of the 95 projects in their initial 2007-2010 CIP, have been or are being implemented, over one fourth of the total. The secretary of their CIP Coordination Team was very enthusiastic about the process this year, noting that in addition to the regular media campaign through which they collect applications for projects, this year they also held separate meetings with all major stakeholders, including school and public institution directors, company leaders and key community representatives with a goal of obtaining as many views of community priorities as possible. In this way, Velika Kladusa plans to ensure that priority projects listed in their Capital Improvement Plan truly reflect the needs of the entire community.
The Governance Accountability Project is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN). Its objective is to build democratic governance through improving the capacity of municipalities to better serve their citizens. Please contact the GAP office should you wish more information on GAP or its activities, including its work in capital improvement planning.
