General Election in BiH is due to take place on October 12, and the public is very interested both in the election and the post-election process. The Project “… because we care!” aims at organizing and conducting civil, non-party monitoring of 2014 BH General Elections. 7 non-governmental organizations have formed a Coalition for Free and Fair Elections - Pod lupom (Under a Magnifying Glass) in order to make contribution to free and fair elections in BiH. More…

All the information about colalition and programs at http://www.podlupom.org/bih/

The goals of the Coalition are the following:
•    Raising the awareness of election irregularities, manipulations and frauds;
•    Encouraging the expression of voters' free will;
•    Objective and timely reporting on election process; and
•    Issuing recommendations on the reform of election legislation and process in BiH.
The following organizations make up the coalition:  
- Centres for Civic Initiatives;
- Center for Civil Cooperation Livno;
- Association of Citizens DON Prijedor;
- Forum of Citizens of Tuzla;
- Infohouse;
- OIA – Youth information Agency ;
- Perpetum mobile – Institute for development of the young and the community.
The Coalition will carry out its activities during pre-election, election day and post-election periods. .
In pre-election period we will focus on monitoring the work of election administration (central and municipal election committees), the voters registration process and (pre)election campaign of political subjects and on reporting the irregularities and dealing with them.
On the Election Day itself, the Coalition will monitor opening the polling stations, the process of voting and determining the results of voting as well as the work of the election administration throughout the country.
During the post-election period, the Coalition will carry out monitoring of the objections and complaints made against the election process, as well as monitor of forming of the new governments and make recommendations and advocate improvements of the election legislation and process in BiH.
All this will be done with generous support of several thousands of out-of-party observers and 42 long-term observers on the ground. For the sake of selection, training and distribution of observers throughout BiH, the Coalition set up the Head office and 7 regional offices that will collect information on the ground and inform the BH public about all the stages of the election process.
The project „...because we care!“ is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the British Government, the American Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Delegation of the European Union in BiH. 

Forming the sector network of civil society organizations and identification of the problems specific for each of 12 sectors is part of the CSSP program CSSP – Civil Society Stability Program.  Meetings, focus groups and workshops were started in August by 22 selected civil society organizations aiming at expanding the existing sector networks. These activities will contribute to forming of a single advocacy base for solving the top priority problems in BiH. CSSP program is supported by USAID and the British Embassy in BiH. More...

Over 120 priority problems were identified in the problem identification process. This represents a unique base for advocacy of the problems for the solution of which the citizens and representatives of stakeholders from both BH entities believe to directly influence the improvement of life quality in BiH.
The organizations that are implementers of the activities in each of 12 identified fields were selected after publishing the public call.

        
FIELD    APPLICANT    KEY PARTNER
1.Employment and labour market    Institut za razvoj mladih  (Institute for Development of the Young) KULT, Ilidža    -------------------------
2. Economic development policies    Nezavisni biro za razvoj (Independent Development Bureau) (NBR), Gradačac    Udruženje za poduzetništvo i posao (Association for Entrepreneurship and Job) LINK, Mostar
3. Public finances management (planning and realization of the budget)    Centar za zastupanje građanskih interesa  (Center for Advocating Citizens’ Interests) (CPI), Sarajevo    Centar za informativnu dekontaminaciju mladih (Center for Informative Decontamination of the Young) (CID), Banja Luka
4. Education    Omladinski komunikativni centar (Youth Communication Center) (OKC), Banja Luka    ------------------------
5. Health sector    Partnerstvo za zdravlje (Partnership for Health), Sarajevo    Inicijativa i civilna akcija (Initiative and civil action) – ICVA, Sarajevo
6. Environmental protection and energy efficiency    Centar za razvoj i podršku (Development and Support Center) (CRP), Tuzla    -------------------------
7. Agriculture and rural development    Agencija za saradnju, edukaciju i razvoj (Agency for Cooperation, Education and Development) (ACED), Banja Luka    ------------------------
8. Justice sector    Forum of Citizens of Tuzla, Tuzla    Fondacija lokalne demokratije, (Local Democracy Foundation) Sarajevo
9. Culture    Akcija, Sarajevo    Fondacija MEDIACENTAR (FMC), Sarajevo
10. Human rights – marginalized groups    Fondacija za socijalno uključivanje u BiH Social Inclusion in BiH Trust) (FSU u BiH), Sarajevo    Inicijativa za bolju i humaniju inkluziju (Initiative for better and a more humane inclusion) (IBHI), Sarajevo
11. Women's rights    Žene ženama, Sarajevo    HUG „Žena Trnova“,  Istočna Ilidža
12. Fighting corruption    Transparency International BiH (TI BiH), Banja Luka      Centar za istraživačko novinarstvo (Center for Investigation Journalism) (CIN), Sarajevo


Through the CSSP project, for the first time in BiH, the assessment of the capacity of 22 local NGOs was done, that will serve as a basis for strengthening the sustainability and competitiveness in the work of local organizations. The said capacity assessment was carried out by the external consultants from Macedonia with the assistance of the consulting company from USA which formatted currently the most adequate methodology of capacity assessment, the so-called OCA methodology.
In the forthcoming period, through CSSP project, the process of approval of applications of grantees included in the CSSP project will start – the applications designed on the bases of the problems described above.

The floods in that struck BiH in May and August showed all the inefficiency of the protection /system. What is the situation in the system of protection against natural disasters, who is responsible for what, are just some of the questions to which the latest CCI analysis “Floods in BiH – Natural Disaster and/or Institutional Inefficiency” provides the answers. These activities are a part of the CSSP program, enabled thanks to the support of USAID and the British Embassy in BiH. More…

The analysis has shown that it is evident that the current system of protection and rescue is not capable of providing a quality answer to the needs of Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens, and that in the case of natural and other disasters, it does not offer safety for citizens' lives or for their properties. This and much more can be read in the summary of the analysis in the English language, available at http://www.cci.ba/dokumenti/CCI-Floods.pdf

Successful cooperation of CCI and RS Ministries of Labour and Health. These ministries adopted the CCI's proposals on amendments to the Law on Mediation in Employment and Rights during the Time of Unemployment. These activities are a part of the project „Improving the efficiency of public employment services, financially supported by the Delegation of the European Commission in BiH. More.....

 Official initiatives for the interventions in the concerned legislation that were made by CCI in BH Federation, the Republic of Srpska and Brcko District at the beginning of 2014 aim at: a) adjusting the definition of employed and unemployed person in the concerned law, in accordance with ILO standards, b) reform or amendment to the model of servicing employed persons' health insurance, and c) redesigning of the model of payment of benefits for the unemployed, in accordance with the best regional and EU practices. In line with the mentioned CCI initiatives and in cooperation with the ministries and employment bureaus, the working material on the package of amendments to the laws governing the fields of records of unemployed persons and regulating the right to health protection was proposed.
Cooperation with the representatives of RS Ministries of Labour and Health should continue after the beginning of the legislative procedure for amendments to the Law on Mediation in Employment and Rights during the Time of Unemployment,  which was announced in writing for the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015. The cooperation will include consideration of the initiative and the working material of the amendments proposed by CCI. Likewise, amendments to the Law on Health Protection and Law on Health Insurance in 2015 have been announced.
The negotiations on the initiative and acceptance of the offered working version of the amendments in BH Brcko District and in BH Federation are currently ongoing. The representatives of target institutions took into consideration the recommendations contained in the initiative, so that during the period after the elections the advocacy campaign and implementation of the initiative are expected to be intensify.
The Government of Federation of BiH adopted Strategy of strengthening the intermediation function of Public employment services in the Federation BiH.
In this document CCI analysis Efficiency of employment politics in BiH, obstacles and chances, which as publish in 2013, was quoted many times. This document was used by the Government of Federation of BiH as one the resource in process of creating the Strategy. This makes us proud and give us a clear feedback that the job that was done by CCI was good enough to make an influence to Government. Recommendation created by CCI were accepted in the Strategy. We hope that this measures will make public employment bureaus more efficient and more oriented towards the unemployed citizen needs. CCI will continue the monitoring if the public employment bureaus in BiH and implementation of the Strategy in Federation of BiH.
The website www.posaonarodu.ba has been regularly updated since the beginning of the campaign until today with the information about current job vacancies and the news related to the implementation of the campaign. Such an approach had an effect of constantly attracting more and more visitors and users of the site. From 18 June 2013 to 27 August 2014, according to the data of Google Analytics, 26.540 visits to the site were registered as well as 19.585 registered users. During that time 111.244 sites were viewed. It was also noted that 26.2% of visitors regularly visited the site again, while 73.8% are new visitors. In June, July and August 2014, about 100 to 200 users visited the site on a daily basis.
Since the beginning of 2013, CCI has been implementing the project „Improving the efficiency of public employment services“, i.e. the campaign „Job to the People“ aimed at advocating reforms in the field of employment, and especially at amendments to the existing legislation defining the work of public employment services (PESs). The goal of CCI's activities on monitoring the work of the said institutions, their policies and practice is to help increase responsibility and efficiency of PESs. More about the project on www.posaonarodu.ba

The street campaign in Zenica aimed at intensive advocating of the adoption of the Adult Education Act in Zenica-Doboj Canton.  During the campaign CCI promoted the concept of life-long learning. The stand was organized immediately before the session of ZDC Assembly, in August at which the delegates were supposed to vote on adoption of the Adult Education Act.  These activities are part of the project “Education and Job” implemented by ALDI and CCI and supported by the Delegation of the European Commission in BiH. More…

The activities in Zenica were a part of the efforts to intensify adoption of the laws that define the education of adults. The result of these activities is that in Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDC) the Adult Education Act was adopted, at the ZDC Assembly session held on 13 August 2014.
CCI in cooperation with the Agency for Local Development Initiatives (ALDI) started in 2014 the implementation of the two-year project „Education and Job“, that aims at improving the workers' rights and workforce mobility by setting up a legal framework for education of adults, i.e. by designing, advocating and monitoring the legislative for adult education at the level of entities, canton and Brcko District. The Project will focus on passing of a coherent and harmonized legal framework throughout the country, that will deal with education, requalification and additional qualification of adults in order to improve the situation in the labour market, i.e. to reduce unemployment and improve the position of socially marginalized groups.
At the beginning of July (07 July 2014) CCI held a press conference on which the results of the analysis that lasted for several months, of labour market, structure of the unemployed, and opportunities and obstacles for creation of new jobs and strengthening the labour market by way of quick requalification, training and adult education were presented.
The importance of the passing of the cantonal laws on adult education was underlined, as they should ensure that every BH citizen has at least completed the primary education. More importantly, these laws will ensure fast requalification, assistance to employers and the jobless, and creation of new jobs as well as self-employment. By this event, the campaign Learn and Work© was launched. For the same purpose a separate website www.uciradi.ba was designed that will help the jobless people, journalists, students, analysts and all the others better understand the importance and opportunities for life-long learning.

CCI Report on Monitoring Anti-Corruption Measures in the Field of the Prevention in Target Health Sector institutions presented. Monitoring health sector institutions and prevention of corruption in general have been in focus of the project „Combating Corruption in Health Sector“, financially enabled by the Delegation of the European Commission in BiH. More...

Report on Monitoring the Anti-Corruption Measures in the Field of Prevention in Target Healthcare Institutions, for the period March – August 2014 was presented on 28 August 2014 in Sarajevo. The report generally showed that most target healthcare institutions in BH Federation had carried out an assessment of corruption risk, identified risk processes in their work and defined the measures for improvement of the institution's integrity.

The report is available on the following link:
http://cci.ba/download/docs/Treci+izvjestaj+o+progresu+usvajanja+antikoruptivnih+mjera.pdf/0c67eb037f43cc058208685b1715b338

As part of the same project, at the end of July, a Round Table was organized in Sarajevo by CCI on the subject Channels for Reporting Irregularities within the Public Health Institutions. The Round Table was organized for the representatives of the health ministries, cantonal and federal health insurance institutes, BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of Combating Corruption.

In order to raise public awareness with the citizens about the problems caused by corruption, street stands were organized in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka, in July and August, where information materials with simple messages to the citizens concerning the corruption problem, possible solutions and their own role, were distributed..

An analysis of all regulations relating to the process of appointment in BH public sector was performed The results of the analysis were presented on the website  www.drzava.ba How many political as opposed  to management functions within the public administrations there are in BiH, are only some of the questions to which we will seek answers within the project “De-politicization of the Public Sector in BiH” supported by Balkan Trust for Democracy. More…

A part of the project “De-politicization of Public Sector” aimed at analyzing the level of influence of political parties on the election of management bodies within the entire public sector. The analysis and the recommendations will serve to launch an advocacy campaign of de-politicization of public sector and clear distinction of political from professional functions.
How many political as opposed to management functions are there in BiH public administration? Is there an influence during appointment of other functions?. In which way is it possible to prevent interference of politics in the public sector employment processes? The answers to these questions are provided by the results of the analysis and a three-month survey conducted by CCI within the project, i.e. campaign “State”.
This was the first time that an analysis was done in BiH of all the legal regulations relating to the appointment process in public sector – it was done by CCI who came up with the number of direct and indirect political functions and the number of managing staff among public servants. The results of this analysis served as a starting point for the development of the Policy Brief that gives recommendations, the adoption of which would lead to minimization of political influence on employment processes in public administration. Details of the analysis and the interactive public administration map are available on website www.država.ba
A web site drzava.ba was created in August. It will be one point of reference where not only the number of functions in the country will be presented, but also the names and last names of persons performing it, and even their affiliation to a certain political party. The website was designed not only as a source of information but also as a place where the citizens will be able to speak about their personal experiences of interference of politics in public calls (tenders), similar examples from their communities and everything else related to this issue. It is time that the public secret – politicization of public sector became a problem that will be openly discussed and the solving of which will start, until the place of politics in public administration is clearly and precisely identified.
This is exactly what makes CCI’s next step on this project. During the pre-election campaign, all political subjects will be offered to sign a Political Statement, by which they commit to solving of this problem if they come to power.