The Responsive, Effective, Accountable Governance is a five-year activity designed to improve legislative and political responsiveness to citizen needs. Kosovo’s relatively small geographic size and population make it possible for political institutions and elected representatives to engage people directly, yet all too often citizens do not experience meaningful engagement with their political leadership. Community priorities are meagerly addressed by political institutions, while at the same time citizens are not yet able to advocate effectively for their needs. This activity works to advance the principles of political integrity, legislative transparency, government accountability, and citizen inclusion to enrich public discourse, and increase political focus on citizens. 

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

This project’s three main objectives are to: promote political integrity and legislative transparency through increased engagement between elected officials and citizens; improve government accountability to citizens through enhanced legislative and oversight functions; and foster inclusive representation among political parties and in the National Assembly. To accomplish these goals, the project is implementing an array of initiatives and approaches, including:

Using public opinion research: conduct research to inform political parties, elected officials, and civil society of citizen priorities, helping parties develop policy-based platforms and legislative agendas that respond to these priorities.

Increasing public outreach: assist the Assembly of Kosovo, civil society, and members of parliament to provide more avenues for public access to the Assembly building, representatives, and legislative data.

Strengthening legislative oversight: coach Assembly leaders to offer more professional development to staff and to cement existing good practices that ensure a smooth and thorough legislative process, in addition to fulfilling the Assembly’s role of overseeing the executive branch.

Empowering new leaders: support women, youth, and ethnic and social minority activists to step into leadership roles through training sessions, regular small-group coaching, guided advocacy to high-level local and national leaders, and cross-party, cross-ethnic networking. Training series like NDI’s New Media School, Youth Leadership Academy, Women Political Academy, and annual events like the Week of Women, provide platforms for women, youth, and ethnic minorities to network; learn new skills, and debate policies.

Promoting inclusion: help majority and minority political parties assess their inclusion of underrepresented groups and take action to increase representation at all levels, including by considering activists trained in advanced political skills through this program. 

Increasing Interaction: youth from different ethnicities interact through group work, role-playing activities, debates and multimedia presentations including art, theater, music, and film, promoting principles of democracy, such as human and minority rights, good governance , civic activism, and youth engagement in political processes. 

Media Literacy- provide training for participants and offer room for discussion for journalists on the roles of new media in civic life. 

EXPECTED RESULTS

- Members of parliament hold more town hall meetings, hearings, roundtables, and other public forums for citizens to interact with their elected national representatives.

- The Assembly of Kosovo institutionalizes transparency mechanisms, and thousands of citizens are reached by Assembly civic education campaigns.

- Political parties include more citizen input as they design policies and draft legislation.

- The Assembly of Kosovo advances its professional capacities, including non-partisan research and analysis of draft legislation.

-  Women, youth, and other marginalized community members enhance their skills to become effective political and civic leaders.

-  Political parties take steps to better represent women, youth, and other marginalized communities by including them in decision-making, selecting them as candidates, and involving them in other party functions.

Project Duration:         November 2017– October 2022
Partner:                            National Democratic Institute (NDI)
Contact:                            Albana Kusari