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87 project ideas were presented for
the less developed Croatian
regions, which are eligible for
financing from EU funds
15 Dec 2014
photo: undp croatia
The Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in Croatia presented the main results of the project “Preparing grounds
for the use of EU funds: creating a project pipeline for the less developed areas of the
Republic of Croatia.”, today in Zagreb. The project started in August 2013 and lasted 18
months.
The aim was to increase the administrative capacities of local and regional self­governments
and to attract funds from structural and investment EU funds, with a focus on less developed
areas of Croatia. For the duration of the project, 87 project ideas were collected, with a
different degree of preparedness and the total estimated value of HRK 1.7 billion which was
registered in the so­called catalogue of project ideas.
Branko Grcic, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Regional Development, presented
the project results: „New jobs are one of the most important criteria of the successful use of
EU funds. With those funds we want to finance projects that will bring growth, enhance the
lives of all our citizens and will encourage development of less developed areas. The
European Commission adopted our ˝Operative programme Competitiveness and Cohesion,
2014 – 2020“ last week and now, there are no more obstacles in our way for using EUR 6,881
billion. We have also provided co­financing of projects and with this and similar programmes
we help to create a project pipeline which qualifies for financing from EU funds. I can also
announce that we are going to start with the activities of creating a project pipeline on
islands.“
Sandra Vlasic, Head of UNDP in Croatia said that quality development needs a vision and a
clear focus towards the goal, i.e. smart specialization based on available resources,
strengths and needs of the community, but with an integrated approach that extends the
boundaries of a project of a municipality or a city.
With this project we have shown how important consolidation of project ideas into
development packages with participatory approaches involving dialogue and cooperation of
all sectors is, as well as including the needs of entrepreneurs and strengthening the
Velebit Initiative
Prezentacija VIN_15­12­2014 from
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EU Project Pipeline
EU project
pipeline_FINAL_15122014 from
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2. knowledge and human resources in the community”, emphasized Vlasic.
Specifically, there are 35 project ideas in the Sisak­Moslavina County, 36 in Lika­Senj
County and 16 in Karlovac County with a potentially important effect on the development of
these counties and are aligned with existing local, regional and national programming and
strategic documents, as well as existing EU directives for the period from 2014 to 2020. For
19 project ideas the overall estimated value was HRK 552 million and additional
documentation was made; pre­feasibility studies, and where appropriate, conceptual designs,
main projects and other documentation necessary for further project development.
Most of the collected project ideas are related to the protection of the environment and to the
advancement of resource efficiency (measures for water supply, drainage and water
purification) as well as the promotion of social inclusion and the fight against poverty (support
to the economic renewal of neglected urban and rural communities and the support to the
development of infrastructure for the care of children, elderly people and long­term care).
Project ideas aimed at business development and the promotion of employment, mainly
relate to the tourism and wood processing industry since in these counties due to the war
damage, utility infrastructure is less developed, and the demographic situation is extremely
unfavorable.
Quality preparation of projects has been for many years the main problem in less developed
areas of Croatia, and therefore more than 270 people were educated on the possibilities to
use Structural and investment funds through workshops as well as general and specialized
seminars.
Also, the methodology for the participatory development of project ideas is developed, since
the series of unrelated projects, without the involvement of representatives of all sectors that
are a part of regional development, can in a significant way increase the costs of
investments and without finding a sustainable and effective solution to the existing problems
of the local communities. As an example of this kind of approach is the development of a
project package, “Velebit initiative – VN”, that focuses on adventure tourism and agriculture.
At the same time it is a good platform for the exchange and teaching of all the stakeholders
about the possibilities of the development of projects and their potential connection. The
development of integrated project units using participatory methods are also one of the major
contributions of this project in strengthening the capacity of local and regional stakeholders in
the planning of future projects.
Within this project, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) prepared Strategic
guidelines which emphasize the importance of comparative advantages for all three included
counties to determine a smaller number of priorities for investment that can be the generators
of general economic and social development.
“In the preparation of new development strategies for the period from 2015 to 2020 additional
efforts are needed in order to identify priority areas with the potential to enhance the quality
of life through employment, increased income and greater access to social services, and for
those to which it is available and needed support from EU funds,” said Nenad Kocmur,
project manager.
A long­term vision with a clear focus on development priorities based on comprehensive
analysis of the potentials is the base of future successful preparation and implementation of
projects at a local level. Thorough planning of projects and distinct prioritization, the
alignment of projects with other projects within the same priority area and the involvement of
the private sector in the planning of investments from the public sector, as well as better
education in project management and keeping high quality staff, are the recommendations
from UNDP’s project team for the successful implementation of future development projects
at a local level.
Eight years of UNDP’s Local Development programme
With this, after eight years the UNDP’s Local Development programme has officially ended.
In this period, UNDP has conducted a wide range of programs and projects of social and
economic recovery and development of less­developed Croatian regions: Banovina, Kordun,
Lika, the Dalmatian hinterland and Eastern Slavonia ­ the Danube region, the total investment
amounted to USD 33 million.
In accordance with the process of Croatian accession to the EU, the program helped rural
and less developed areas in Croatia in adapting to the EU cohesion policy, with an emphasis
on the Common Agricultural, Regional and Rural development policies and related financial
instruments (European Structural and Investment Funds).
In particular, activities were focused on the development of the rural economy, providing
@UNDPhr Ugovor o zajmu bi u Saboru
trebao biti ratificiran do 15.7.
Retweeted by UNDP Croatia
Vlada R. Hrvatske
@VladaRH
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@UNDPhr Danas je pokrenut postupak
za sklapanje zajma od 20 mil. € s IBRD‐
om upravo za osnivanje ovog fonda:
bit.ly/1dxq14p
Retweeted by UNDP Croatia
Vlada R. Hrvatske
@VladaRH
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#UNDP‐GEF 2014: 526 projects in 132
countries $2 billion in grants. #PARCS
project in #Croatia w/ @UNDPhr &
@VladaRH
twitter.com/UNDP/status/60…
Retweeted by UNDP Croatia
Sandra Vlasic
@VlasicSan
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3. social services with a focus on the needs of the elderly, returnees and marginalized groups,
the reconstruction of basic targeted community infrastructures, strengthening the capacity of
local governments for the use of EU funds, assistance in adapting to the EU rural
development policy; strengthening the competitiveness of small farms, the introduction of the
LEADER approach and the promotion of environmental protection and the use of renewable
energy in rural areas through leading participative processes of establishing LAGs (local
action groups) in the Dalmatian rural areas. Also, a series of proposals with complete
technical documentation were prepared for the development of projects in selected local
governments.
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