USAID Serbia and Montenegro
Youth (Serbia): Junior Achievement in 90 schools in 2009. USAID supports efforts of the Ministry of Youth/Sports to better prepare youth for post-graduation work opportunities. | Agribusiness (Serbia): Serbian companies assisted made $16.7m in registered sales in 2008. Recent trade shows expected to bring over $17m in contracts. | Local Economic growth (Serbia): Municipalities in USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Activity attracted over 800m Euro in investments and created over 11,000 jobs in two years by becoming more business friendly; 270 new businesses opened; 26 Local Economic Development offices set up to actively attract investments. | Commercial Courts (Serbia) have become more efficient and transparent with Case Management Systems in all 16 courts and the High Commercial Court. Case backlogs cut drastically. | Compete Project (Serbia): Helping to bring Serbian companies back into world market – leading directly to $20.5m in 2008 exports. Helping to introduce International Industry standards that allow companies to compete in the global marketplace. Attracted major film productions and millions in investments. | Support to companies (Serbia) in vulnerable areas increased their competitiveness. 2008 sales at trade/shows fairs for assisted companies up 42%. | Economic systems (Serbia): Helped introduce: VAT; private pensions; investment funds; sound insurance industry, bankruptcy and enforcement and modern payment systems. | Opportunity Bank (Serbia) loans created 5,000+ new jobs and ensured 40,000+ existing jobs were kept. Only lender for vulnerable people who have little access to credit. | Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (Serbia): Civil Society activities have brought together 14 major companies and an array of NGOs to establish culture of CSR. | Preparedness Planning (Serbia): USAID works with all levels of government to improve disaster risk reduction, trained 675 responders from 50 Municipalities on disaster management. | Civil Society Grants (Serbia): USAID assisted 160 Civil Society organizations with $5.2 million in 2.5yrs to better represent the needs of ordinary people & become more influential partners with businesses and government in the democratic process. | Media (Serbia): USAID media assistance has contributed to more independent, professional and financially viable media outlets and media associations. The regulatory environment now better supports the development of e-media; 2,000+ media professionals trained. | Court Reform (Serbia): U.S. assistance helped increase independence and the professional skills of judges, magistrates and prosecutors; provided legal assistance to victims of war crimes and human rights abuses. | Local governments (Serbia): Through work with a wide geographic spread of municipalities, local governments are now more responsive: 30+ Citizen Assistance Centers, E-government in 80+ Municipalities. |
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    Preparedness, Planning and Economic Security (PPES)

    The Project helps municipalities be more resilient to crises and disasters, assists businesses in difficult environments grow and expand into new markets and works with Serbia’s youth to empower them for the future.

    The program has two components:

    1) Preparedness and Planning and
    2) Economic Security.

    The Preparedness and Planning component builds a sustainable and systematic approach to local-level disaster management by strengthening municipal disaster response systems and providing municipalities' with the tools to respond to natural and manmade disasters. The Preparedness and Planning component helps municipalities meet domestic legal obligations and international standards in disaster preparedness. The program works closely with municipalities to: build and institutionalize a disaster management system that addresses preparedness, response, recovery and prevention; fulfill legal obligations by producing and/or updating plans that enable them to cope with hazards; help create and adopt municipal planning ordinances; and, establish a standing disaster management body that institutionalizes disaster risk reduction. The Preparedness and Planning Team works with the Red Cross, the Ministry of Interior’s Sector for Protection and Rescue, the Ministry of Defense’s Department for Emergency Situations and local self governments.

    The Economic Security component works to promote economic growth in underdeveloped municipalities by working with successful small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and with Serbia’s youth to equip them with skill sets required to compete in a global economy. The component’s business development strategy focuses on sector specific technical assistance to promising businesses with the capacity to expand into new markets and gain market share. The program focuses geographically on South Serbia and the Sandzak region. Businesses operating in the following three sectors are considered for assistance: 1) Apparel 2) Dairy and 3) Light Manufacturing. The component’s youth development strategy supports: Youth entrepreneurship; the Ministry of Youth and Sport’s strategy to promote youth employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship; and internship opportunities in the private sector. The Economic Security Team works with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the local agencies and governments, Junior Achievement Europe, and other USAID supported partners.

    Key results to date:

    Preparedness, Planning:

    • 17 municipalities now have standing disaster management bodies empowered by municipal assembly decisions.
    • 38 municipalities have produced all-hazards planning documents.
    • 629 crisis responders from 50 municipalities trained to improve communication and coordination in municipal Crisis Management Teams.
    • 11 municipalities and cities certified for demonstrating Level 1 ‘Enhanced Disaster Resilience’ and 2 cities certified for demonstrating Level 2 ‘Enhanced Disaster Resilience’.
    • Certified municipalities reserved 30 percent more funds in their 2009 budgets for disaster response than their non-certified peers, on a per capita basis.

            Economic Security

            • 2,700 students are participating in the Junior Achievement program.
            • 157 teachers in 90 schools implementing Junior Achievement programs.
            • 30 Youth Offices assisted to conduct entrepreneurship training courses targeting local youth.
            • 318 companies assisted and 135 new jobs created.
            • 33% increase in sales for assisted companies.
            • In 2008, support to 152 companies to attend 7 local and regional trade fairs helped them to realize $3.5 million in new sales.

            For more information, please visit: http://www.scopes-serbia.org/