Description
The problem approached by the project is the reduced involvement of citizens of the Bustuchin and Hurezani communes in their communities lives, caused by the insuficient awareness related to the roles they may have in their communities, but also in their personal development, in the social, economic, cultural, administrative areas of their communes. The project goal: To develop the capacity of Bustuchin and Hurezani communities, from Gorj county, to be able to mobilize their citizens, organizations and institutions in order to build a coherent action framework for the rational allocation of the local resources, based on the community participation for the local development.
Summary of project results
The project ”Community Involvement - Responsible Action” focused on the involvement of citizens in the community life, aiming at capacitating two communities from the South – West of Romania to mobilize citizens, organisations and institutions to build a coherent framework for action on the basis of local community participation for local development. The activities of the project were developed around a complex process of citizens’ engagement and promotion of their interests to the local authorities. The local citizens' groups that participated in the project developed and strengthened a mix of informal structures (formed by citizens, NGOs, the economic / business sector, the socio-cultural sector, other representatives from the community), called Local Groups for the Implementation and Monitoring of Local Development Strategy (GLIMS), with power to influence the decisions of local authorities in the area of local development. Within the project, a series of documents were created and will continue to be disseminated / implemented after the project has ended: a local development strategy, two public policy papers of local interest, four local development projects, three training and work manuals, five training / work materials for organisational development, four guides for citizens’ involvement, and one good practice brochure. The project involved an innovative approach to participatory local development, which combined the traditional top-down approach with the modern bottom-up approach, facilitating the active participation of all the stakeholders involved in the sustainable development of a community. The main achievement of the project was that citizens in the two communities involved now have the capacity to initiate and propose local public policies and to plan and implement local development initiatives / projects that will ensure participatory planning at local level. The benefits of the partnership formed for the implementation of the project will be continued through strengthening the collaboration relationships between the organisations and institutions of both communities.
Summary of bilateral results