A development plan is a long-term planning document, which is adopted by the assembly of an autonomous province or a local self-government, for a period of at least seven years. It serves cities and municipalities to realistically review and describe the current situation in terms of challanges and development opportunities, as well as to determine the priority development goals. A development plan contains data on the state of natural resources, infrastructure, education, social protection, economy, agriculture, culture, tourism and other areas important for life and work. Based on these data and in accordance with the needs of citizens and the economy, the priority development goals are determined and pursuied.
Based on practical experience in the creation of development plans for five municipalities: Mali Zvornik, Kuršumlija, Sjenica, Petrovac na Mlavi and Bački Petrovac, Guidelines for the development of local development plans are drafted, which provide “step by step” methodological guidance for writing development plans. The guidelines help cities and municipalities to prepare a quality plan that defines real, clear and achievable goals, the implementation of which can be measured and evaluated. The drafting of the Guidelines was supported by the German-Serbian Development Cooperation project Support to Public Administration Reform, implemented by GIZ.
At the session held on August 13, 2020, the Government of Serbia adopted the Regulation on mandatory elements of the development plan of the autonomous province and local self-government unit. It defines the mandatory elements of a development plan (introduction, review and analysis of the current situation, vision, priority development goals, review and description of measures to achieve priority development goals, method and monitoring of implementation of a development plan) in order to achieve consistency in planning and creation of development plans, as well as in monitoring implementation and reporting. One of the ensuing results will be higher efficiency in planning and coordination of public policies.