In the period 14 - 16 December 2015, a meeting was held, including cantonal partners who deal with the planning and coordination of preparing the development strategies of cantons with representatives of the UNDP Integrated Local Development Project and the Federal Development Planning Institution.
The aim of the meeting was to review the current status in the adoption of the cantonal development strategies, and to exchange ideas and experiences in the context of preparing the planning system throughout the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Representatives of 7 cantons introduced the processes of designing an integrated development strategy of the cantons, with all the problems that followed and follow the development of strategic documents. The current situation is that the strategies are at the end of the preparation in the following cantons: Bosnia-Podrinje, Posavina, K10-Livno and Zenica-Doboj Cantons. In the next month the development strategy is expected to be adopted by the Governments of the said cantons and referral for further procedure. The strategic platform was prepared in Sarajevo Canton and the phase of programming and defining projects for implementation is in progress, so that a relatively fast completion of the development strategy in this Canton is expected.
Furthermore, the strategies of integrated development in the past 30 or so days were adopted in 2 cantons, Central Bosnia and Tuzla Canton. Strategic documents in the Una-Sana and West-Herzegovinian Canton were adopted late last year. These processes still do not include the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, but the representative of the President of the Government was at this meeting and she expressed willingness to finally join the HNC to development of the strategic planning system in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the meeting, the federal Regulation on the planning of work and reporting on the work of federal institutions was presented, as one of the mechanisms for the future implementation of strategic documents, with current activities and problems in its implementation. Also, the meeting discussed the implementing structures of strategic documents at the cantonal level. It was especially emphasized that it is necessary to have an institutional mechanism for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the integrated development strategy, but also the need for an institution to deal with coordinated planning(among other things). All participants in the meeting agreed that the Draft Law on planning and management of development in the Federation of BiH provides a good basis for building a strategic planning system.
It was pointed out that, in January 2016, in accordance with the conclusion of the House of Representatives and House of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there will be organized further public debates on the Draft Law on planning and development management in 4 cities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: in Sarajevo, Mostar, Livno and Tuzla. The exact dates have not been determined yet, but it was agreed that the public debates will be held at the headquarters of the governments.
At the end of the meeting, the representatives of cantons presented their vision of the future and the processes and building a system of planning and co-operation of planning units, the Institute and the UNDP, and the general conclusion is that further cooperation is needed, on a lasting, sustainable basis, in accordance with the legislation and the constitutional responsibilities.