Civil Society for Poverty Reduction in Serbia (CSPR)
CSPR is a strategic, three-year program implemented by a diverse coalition of civil society organizations representing Serbia’s most vulnerable communities:
Roma, refugees/IDPs, elderly, disabled, youth, women and children. The goal is to reduce poverty and increase economic stability among these groups by:
• Increasing civil society capacity to monitor government spending.
• Promoting government accountability, and closing the gap between policy and implementation, in meeting the priority needs of vulnerable groups.
• Removing policy and funding barriers preventing vulnerable populations from achieving their full potential.
• Increasing public participation, including vulnerable groups, in government decisions affecting their quality of life.
Activities will take place in areas across Serbia with high concentrations of target vulnerable populations. ISC will work closely with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Implementation Focal Point and local partners to identify specific target municipalities. The goal of the Civil CSPR program is to reduce poverty and increase economic stability among Serbia’s most vulnerable groups: Roma, refugees/IDPs, elderly, disabled, youth, women, and children. Our program contributes directly to the objectives of the GTF, as well as the Country Assistance Plan for Serbia, through the following objectives:
• Increase the capacity of CSOs and citizens to monitor national and local government spending to better organize and advocate for effective public policy legislation, implementation, and budgeting.
• Promote government accountability and transparency in meeting the priority needs of vulnerable populations through legislative and budgetary channels.
• Close the gap between policy and practice in meeting the needs of vulnerable groups.
• Remove the policy and funding barriers holding vulnerable populations back from achieving their full potential.
• Strengthen the capacity of CSOs to propose and influence public policy legislation that meets the priority needs of their constituent groups.
• Advance Serbia’s progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals and EU accession requirements.