Skopje, 8 April 2025 (MIA) – The government at its session on Tuesday approved the proposed concept for setting up a resource centre to support municipalities. The centre aims to provide strong support in strengthening local capacities.

According to the Government, this will help foster more efficient local development and improve cooperation between local and central authorities.

“The first component of the concept is the Technical Documentation Fund (TDF) – a financial tool/grant scheme that supports municipalities and regional development centers in preparing full technical documentation for infrastructure projects. This initiative has already been piloted as part of the "Building Municipal Capacities for Project Implementation" project and is being jointly implemented by the Ministry of Local Self-Government, UNDP, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - SIDA,” the Government said in a press release following today's session.

The second component focuses on strengthening the capacities of municipal administration. The Government says this would be achieved through training programs, professional support, experience-sharing, and promoting cooperation between municipalities.

According to the Government, the third component is a comprehensive overview of project-based funding opportunities - a platform that consolidates all available project-based financing options, enables monitoring and integration of all budget allocation calls for municipalities, as well as open calls for accessing donor funds. 

Photo: MIA archive