Communities Engaged in the Social and Economic Development of Albania -
CESEDA
Start date: October 2003
Donor/s: World Learning & USAID
Partner/s: World Learning
IDRA’s role: implementer
Objective: Aims to facilitate the development of a powerful information loop in which bottom-up processes for prioritizing, monitoring and evaluating pro-poor programs enable civil society groups to gather raw data through report cards. This information will be then used to influence government, which, in turn, will be able to respond more effectively to the urgent needs of the people.
Activities/Events:
- Community Empowerment - CESEDA has developed mechanisms for involvement through which citizens can make their views known to elected and appointed officials and expand their role in helping to achieve sustainable social and economic development in Albania. Report cards developed for this reason help to evaluate both local and central government services delivered to citizens.
- Government Policy Feedback - The project implementers are closely collaborating with commune and/or district leaders, as well as with selected ministries, in order to enhance accountable and transparent government processes and institutions and to focus resources and services upon the intended beneficiaries of the National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development (NSSED).
- Media-Based Public Awareness - By stimulating media capacity relative to NSSED, citizens can be better informed and more able to encourage government transparency, accountability and competency as well as announce their own wishes.
Research papers/Publications:
Impact/Accomplishments: IDRA has:
- Provided 1 Lead Coordinator and 8 field coordinators that work in rural areas of the Tirana and Kavaja Districts, in the Communes of Baldushk, Petrela, Golem and Gose.
- Trained the project coordinators in local government issues and in research issues.
- Organized open budget hearings in two communes with participation from citizens and commune councils.
- Produced report cards for more than 15 villages to evaluate the current stage of public services and to identify the priorities for the community.
End date: First phase: September 2004. Second phase: ongoing
Tax Guide 2005
Objective: Highlighting and interpreting the changes induced by the government’s new Fiscal Package.
Research papers/Publications: Albanian Tax Guide 2005
Anticorruption Matrix Report
Objective: Monitoring the progress made by government agencies toward the issues laid down in their Anticorruption Matrix.
Activities/Events: On a bimonthly basis, the Anticorruption Matrix of the Albanian Government will be monitored and a report will be prepared for general distribution.
Research papers/Publications: Anticorruption Matrix Report
Public Procurement Guide
Public Procurement Guide
Export Procedures Guide
Objective: creating a guide on export procedures that will enable Albanian companies to more effectively comply with government regulations and will reduce the time needed to export products from Albania.
Research papers/Publications: Export Procedures Guide
Free Trade Agreements (FTA) – Opportunities and Challenges
Free Trade Agreements (FTA) – Opportunities and Challenges
Civil Society Reduction of Corruption in Albania
Start date: November 2000
Donor/s: Management Systems International (client); USAID (sponsor)
Partner/s: MSI, ISB, URI, Albanian Coalition against Corruption
IDRA’s role: chief local subcontractor
Objective: The main aim was to establish a private-public partnership to fight corruption in Albania. The second and third years of the contract were focused mainly on the Local Government Program.
Activities/Events: During this program, IDRA conducted the following activities:
a. Preparation of various informational materials for the Vlora Municipality
b. Preparation of posters with information on taxes
c. Update of Vlora’s community profile
d. Assisting in the project design for the Citizen Information Office
e. Code of Ethics.
IDRA worked with two municipalities to develop a Code of Ethics for their employees. The ethics training seminars conducted all over Albania were very useful in promoting the Code of Ethics for municipalities. The Vlora Code of Ethics was used as a model and several other mayors expressed their interest to apply this model in their municipalities. IDRA performed a training tour covering Durres, Shkodra, Peshkopia, Korca, Fieri and Gjirokastra. As a result, 160 people were trained on the Codes of Ethics.
f. Advocacy and Lobbying Training.
By the end of January 2003, IDRA and MSI organized the training workshop “Advocacy and Lobbying to achieve your anticorruption goals”. The workshop aimed at strengthening participant capacities to rally the public in order to compel decision makers to effectively act on anticorruption issues in general and in those related to advocacy and lobbying in particular. Participants were representatives of different municipalities and business & civil society organizations. They had all been previously involved in the corruption prevention program at the local government level undertaken by MSI. IDRA specialists and Mr. Richard Wall (MSI Consultant) compiled all the training materials and conducted the sessions of this workshop.
Research papers/Publications: IDRA published the Guide to Codes of Ethics and disseminated it to local governments.
Impact/Accomplishments: The Code of Ethics of the Vlora Municipality (passed in 2002) and the one from the Pogradec Municipality (passed in 2003) are now the first Chapter of the Internal Regulations passed by a special decision of the Municipal Councils. IDRA has disseminated the code to all the Municipal employees (Guide to Code of Ethics) and has worked with the personnel office to set the procedure for monitoring the code.
IDRA has:
- Worked with information offices at the local level to prepare information platforms for the general public
- Assessed and produced a set of recommendations for streamlining the procedures for licensing at local level
- Assisted in the design of the Public Information Office in Vlora, Pogradec, Lushnja and Gjirokastra.
- Trained more than 160 officials in the Code of Ethics for public employees
- Trained 30 participants from local government, media, NGOs in Advocacy and Lobbying
End date: August 2004
Needs of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises for Business Development Services (BDS) in Albania Survey
Donor/s: Southeast Europe Enterprise Development (SEED)
IDRA’s role: local consultant
Objective: Aimed at evaluating the demand for business development services (BDS). Since the same survey was also conducted in other Balkan countries (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia & Montenegro and FYROM), it contributed to the creation of a general picture on the similarities and specifics with regard to BDS in the region. Among the main objectives of the survey were:
- Identifying SME demand for BDS
- Identifying SME awareness on existence of BDS providers
- Level of usage of BDS
- SME willingness to pay for BDS Services (BDS) in Albania.
Activities/Events: The survey was focused on two categories of business services such as Consultancy Services and Trainings. In its framework, 250 interviews were conducted with directors or managers of different SMEs operating in Tirana, Durresi, Gjirokastra, Vlora, Fieri and Shkodra. SEED specialists designed questionnaires while IDRA was in charge of interviewing and data processing.
Research papers/Publications: BDS Demand Assessment Report
Impact/Accomplishments: On the basis of the survey, IDRA experts drafted a detailed report on the needs of small and medium-size enterprises in Albania on BDS. The report provided an overview on the situation with regard to BDS in our country. Many SMEs operating in Albania are not aware on the existence of the vast majority of BDS, so the expenses for such services are low. Anyway, among different types of BDS, there seems to be a greater interest on those services related to Accounting/Auditing/Taxes and this is more obvious in the construction and industrial sectors.
At a time when BDS are a legal requirement, bidders of such services should adopt more aggressive marketing strategies in order to better promote their products. They should be prepared to offer proper services at the right time as well as to increase the quality of such services. On the other hand, donors should better coordinate their programs in order to support the efforts of domestic bidders and other donors, who provide such services upon payment.
Bridges for the New Balkans
Donor/s: PRO MEDIA
Partner/s: “Search for Common Ground” Association
IDRA’s role: local subcontractor; conducted all research work in Albania
Objective: Its principal aim was to identify similarities among different Balkan countries with regard to their historical background, culture, mentality, traditions and lifestyles.
Activities/Events: The main objective of such work was the assessment of the content of CARVAN magazine and two parts of the TV documentary “Balkan Kaleidoscope and Balkan Borders”. In the framework of this project there have been conducted 5 focus groups in total, 3 for the print production CARVAN and 2 for the documentaries (1 for each part). Each group comprised 10 individuals of different ages (up to 20 years old) and academic backgrounds. The participants were selected through a recruitment poll prepared by PRO MEDIA. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with editors and journalists involved in the project. IDRA’s specialists compiled a separate report for each focus group and in-depth interview, and three summary reports on the two types of focus groups and interviews. The overall report included the evaluation results of the professional community, general public, and some conclusions and recommendations.
The “Best Practices” Symposium
Start date: September 17, 2004
Donor/s: organized within the framework of a partnership program between Tirana Municipality and Catawba County (North Carolina, U.S.A).
Partner/s: ICMA
Objective: The main purpose of this symposium was to discuss recent methods for the management of finances, assets, infrastructure development and solid waste management.
Activities/Events: IDRA, together with the Tirana Municipality and Catawba County, have worked together on different fields related to local government in order to improve municipal management processes. Such fields have included:
- Financial management,
- Assets management
- Infrastructure development
- Solid waste management,
- Building codes of monitoring at the local level.
Research papers/Publications:
Impact/Accomplishments:
End date: September 17, 2004
Preparation and Publication of the Guide on Licensing and Certificates for Conducting Business
Donor/s: USAID
Objective: The aim was to combat corruption by increasing the transparency of all the state institutions that have the right to issue licenses
Research papers/Publications: Licensing Procedures Guide
Impact/Accomplishments: The guide includes almost 120 licenses and was published in its Albanian version.
End date: September 7th, 2004
Survey of Albanian businesses to determine the types and levels of informal payments to public sector bodies
Objective: This survey helped identify and collect information on the barriers for enterprise development, with a focus on corruption and its impact on business development in Albania.
Activities/Events: Issues addressed in the survey report included:
• Competitiveness of Albanian businesses;
• Costs of doing businesses associated with the legal framework;
• Tariff and non-tariff barriers;
• Types and levels of corruption (principally bribe payments);
• Efficiency of public sector management in Albania, as it relates to providing services to enterprises.
Research papers/Publications: Survey Report
Beneficiary Assessment and Impact Study – Community Works Project
Start date: January 2003
Donor/s: Albanian Development Fund (client); KFW (sponsor)
Partner/s:
IDRA’s role: project manager
Objective: The mains goals of this beneficiary assessment and impact study on the ADF funded infrastructure project were:
• Assessing the achievements of the projects as compared with their objectives
• Social and economic benefits of the communities where the projects were implemented
• Assessing the satisfaction level of beneficiaries with the project results to date
• Evaluating the opinion of other stakeholders for the projects carried out
• Detecting possible problems and exploring ways of improving the project for future performance
• Identifying the projects’ contribution in the development of local communities
• Identifying ideas and plans of local government for project maintenance and functioning
• Sustainability of the project and the selection process
• What are the mechanisms of Local participation and how can they be improved.
Activities/Events: IDRA specialists manage the entire assessment process and produced the final report
Research papers/Publications: Final Report
Impact/Accomplishments:
End date: April 2003
Foreign Direct Investments in Balkan Countries: Alternatives to Reduce Existing Barriers
Start date: January 2001
Donor/s: Freedom House (USAID regional funds), Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation) – East – East program
Partner/s: Center for Strategic Research and Documentation, Macedonia (CSRD); ARC Fund, Bulgaria
IDRA’s role: project leader/manager/supervisor
Objective: Creating an image of the FDI environment in Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria, making comparative analyses of the competitive advantages and designing policy recommendations for improving the receptiveness toward FDI.
Activities/events: The study – survey aimed at defining the problems that foreign entrepreneurs face in Albania. The same survey was conducted in both Macedonia and Bulgaria and the survey instrument was designed by IDRA. Other activities:
- Collecting information on FDI development since transition began
- Reviewing the legal framework on FDI issues
- Surveying foreign capital companies
- Conducting seminars (one in each country) to present research findings, draft reports and policy recommendations.
Research papers/Publications: reports/working papers on the FDI development in Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia
Impact/Accomplishments: At the end of the project, IDRA presented the findings during the “Foreign Direct Investments- Alternatives to Reduce Existing Barriers” regional conference in Tirana, in October 2001.
End date: October 2001
Local Government Budgeting in Transition Countries (Albanian case)
Start date: June 2000
Donor/s: Open Society Institute – Local Government Initiative – Budapest
Partner/s: Similar organizations in Poland, Croatia, Romania; Institute for Contemporary Studies - Tirana
IDRA’s role: Albanian implementer and lead manager on site
Objective: This was a comparative study of four transition Countries (Albania, Croatia, Poland and Romania) regarding local budget and finance issues. Activities/Events: The study produced a set of recommendations for all legislative actions expected to be undertaken as well as any other recommendations in the field of implementation of the laws and on the capacity building of local governments in the field of budgeting. The project was divided in two phases. During the first phase, IDRA prepared the study about the legal and institutional background of municipal systems and municipal budget processes. This document provided information for identifying the country specific problems and for international comparison. In the second phase, terminated on 30 of June 2001, IDRA experts focused on analyzing the local first phase and also on formulating policy issues on local government budgeting.
Research papers/Publications:
Impact/Accomplishments:
End date: June 2001
Business Associations in the Current Albanian Reality
Start date: January 2001
Donor/s: Open Society Foundation Albania (Soros Foundation)
IDRA’s role: Project implementer
Objective: Analyzing the level of development of the business associations in Albania, their problems and role in development policies etc. Part of the project was also the identification of the training needs of the executive boards and leadership of business associations.
Activities/events: Activities included:
- Analyses of the institutional and legal infrastructure and overall environment surrounding business associations
- Analyses of documentation used by main associations
- Analyses of media content related to the role of businesses and their representatives
- Face-to-face interviews with directors and members of business associations.
Research papers/Publications: IDRA prepared and published the report which was widely discussed and disseminated among the Business organizations. This report served Soros Foundation to shape their program to assist business organizations.
Impact/Accomplishments: The seminar “Business Associations in the Current Albanian Reality”, held in March 2001 and attended by representatives from business associations, governmental institutions, NGO-s and donors, focused on:
- Business associations and their role in development policies
- Main barriers for business associations and some critical suggestions to overpass them.
End date: March 2001
Determinants of Economic Growth
Donor/s: World Bank, Global Development Network
Objective: To support and develop indigenous research capacity in emerging and transitional economies.
Activities/events: Preparing analyses of the growth history and prospects in Central European countries. IDRA assessed the Albanian economy and its growth factors starting with the pre-war period, but mainly focusing on the transition.
Research papers/Publications: A set of recommendations was developed based on the results of the study.
Training program “Working together to improve public service management”
Start date: March 2002
Donor/s: South East Europe Municipal Training Program, financed by USAID and the Dutch Government
Partners: Partners for Democratic Change
Objective: The main goal of the training programs was the improvement of public service management.
Activities/events: The 2 day training program, organized in two municipalities - in Vlora and Pogradec, was finalized with the preparation of an detailed action plan by the staff of the municipality of Vlora and Pogradec with actions to undertake in order to improve the existing system of public service management in their municipalities. IDRA has conducted these trainings. The training modules were prepared and delivered by IDRA staff.
Training on “Building NGO and Local Government Cooperation”
Start date: April 2002
Donor/s: South East Europe Municipal Training Program, financed by USAID and the Dutch Government
Partners: Partners for Democratic Change
IDRA’s role:
Objective: The main purpose of the “Building Local Government & NGO Cooperation”, conducted in the Vlora Municipality, was to help municipal officials and NGO representatives to understand the role of the Municipality in local economic development by focusing on understanding the conditions of the city, to develop partnerships among stakeholders in community and to involve citizen in economic development issues.
Activities/events: IDRA prepared the training manuals, as well as instructions for specific issues.
Strategic Planning for Local Economic Development in Albanian Municipalities
Start date: November 2000
Donor/s: Fiscal Decentralization Initiative CEE/ World Bank
Objective: The project consisted in designing a process of strategic planning for economic development in the Vlora and Kukes Municipalities. This process aimed to involve all the interested groups starting from the municipality, prefecture, city council, business associations, civil society organizations etc.
Activities/Events: First step – elaborating a micro survey that was conducted by the staff of the two municipalities in order to evaluate the local managing capacity concerning their local level economic development as well as their training needs. After the identification of those needs, IDRA prepared and conducted a seminar entitled “Strategic Planning for Local Economic Development”, attended by majors and other local officials.
This project also included a survey of 200 businesses in Vlora and Kukes. The survey dealt with the main concerns and suggestions of local businesses on policies for local economic development as well as the problems they face in their local environment.
Research papers/Publications: Community Profiles and Economic Development Plans - medium-term plans for the economic development of the cities, both published and distributed among interested groups.
Impact/Accomplishments: In this project IDRA:
• Designed a program for the cities of interaction with the civil society in order to prioritize the development issues of their regions
• Designed the survey of local businesses and produced a report which included survey results for the municipalities.
• Assisted the municipal staff in preparing the community profiles and the medium-term plan for economic development.
End date: June 2001
Resource Cities Program
Donor/s: USAID
Partner/s: International City/County Management Association (ICMA) - administrator
IDRA’s role: local partner
Objective: Sharing experiences and best practices between Tirana and an American city.
Activities/Events: IDRA’s main responsibilities:
- Giving advice and insights on how to guide the partnership between the cities in order to achieve optimum results
- Logistical support for the US delegation.
Comparative Study of Family Farms in three Geographical Areas of Albania
Start date: February 2002
Donor/s: Albanian Foundation for Civil Society; DANIDA
Objective: The study of family farms in three geographical zones (mountainous, hill zones, and plain field) aimed at:
i) Evaluating the farms’ producing capacities, type, size and perspective
ii) Evaluating the level of production intensification, constraint factors,
iii) Evaluating the level of commercialization of farms, situation and social-economic factors,
iv) Assessing the impact of formal and informal financial institutions in supporting family farms in each of the determined regions.
Activities/Events: IDRA specialists collected the data, organized the focus groups in the regions and processed the statistical data.
Research papers/Publications:
Impact/Accomplishments:
End date: April 2002
