Capacity building of local self-governments, local institutions and key municipal partners

SIRP Programme has developed 6 basic courses to support and integrate the efforts of local self-governments to formulate and implement strategic documents through a participatory process, and to develop Territorial Integrated Information Systems as unifying tool for the management of the territory and its strategies.
The overall objective of this cycle of trainings is to develop capacities of local self-governments to play a key role in the local development decision- making process in SIRP Municipalities. Specifically, the aim of the exercise is to acquire basic knowledge on main concepts and deepen understanding of participatory practice on Integrated Development Planning Processes, improve knowledge and skills for better promotion and governance of the development of the territory.

SIRP TRAINING CYCLE comprises 6 basic courses:

• Interpersonal Communication, Conflict management and Negotiation

Introduction of basic skills, concepts and strategies for managing conflicts; How to understand each other better; A starting point in building effective teams; Understanding the role of collaborative approach and win-win outcome in managing conflicts;

• Participatory Planning Process and Decision Making

Increasing knowledge about basic planning tools and techniques, a starting point for applying the participatory approach in formulation and implementation of strategic documents;

• Stakeholders Analysis and Participation

Deeper understanding of the process of identification and analysis of stakeholders, their participation in planning and public decision making process;

• Professional Communication

Better understanding of principles of communication and of main rules of professional communication at the work place. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn about the role and different ways to develop effective messages in the communication process;

• Territorial Information System made simple (SMARTIS)

Basic concepts and main purpose of Territorial Information Systems (TIS), developing better understanding of benefits that TIS brings to the community and deepening knowledge on basic TIS structure (basic elements and relations);

•  Local Action Planning

Deeper understanding of applying Action Planning as participatory method, complementary to strategic planning; The logic behind the process of Planning the Activities; Developing Integrated Objectives; Improving knowledge and skills on using some tools for Action Planning.

DESIGN AND STRUCTURE OF EACH COURSE
Each course includes participatory and interactive training sessions conducted by SIRP experts as well as team work and sessions facilitated by participants.

TRAINERS
All courses and modules are performed by Serbian professionals, planners, architects and academics form the Faculty of Architecture of the Belgrade University especially trained by UN-HABITAT for this purpose and coached by programme trainers.

TRAINING MATERIALS
UN-HABITAT SIRP programme provides to all participants the following materials, as informational support for their work during the course as well as for continuing learning back home:

• series of handbooks developed by FPDL and published in Serbian language by UN-HABITAT

• What is Conflict,
• What is Interpersonal Communication,
• What is Facilitation,
• What is Negotiation,
• What is Mediation,
• What is Decision Making,
• What is Participatory Planning

• Additional handouts related to the above mentioned training topics.

Participants to the trainings have been local self-government representatives and managers, public enterprises officials and technicians (urban development and economy departments, social housing agencies, etc.), other officials of local institutions in the sectors of social care, crime prevention, cadastre, tourism development, entrepreneurs, from SIRP Cities and Municipalities: Cacak, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Nis, Pancevo, Valjevo, and central government representatives, and professionals.