Swiss PRO produced a comprehensive assessment of institutional capacity of local governments (LGs) in social protection and social inclusion of vulnerable groups, conducted on the representative statistical sample of 31 LGs, from October 2018 to March 2019.

The Assessment, presented to the key national-level stakeholders such as the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Policy, Republic Institute for Social Protection, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit (SIPRU) and Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, was praised for its findings and recommendations, as a good baseline for planning in social protection at the national level.

The LGs has shown the best results in respecting the normative basis and transparency of the procurement process of social protection services, while the following areas are marked as critical points: inter-municipal cooperation, monitoring and evaluation of local strategic policies of social inclusion, assessments of needs for services, as well as a variety of services and inclusion of different vulnerable groups.

Swiss PRO will use the findings and recommendations of the Assessment to develop its tailor-made capacity plans for improvement of the following four key areas: strategic framework, assessment of the needs for services for vulnerable groups, social protection services and integrated social inclusion framework.

The tailor-made capacity plans will be designed and delivered through technical assistance in the form of training, workshops and mentorship support. The technical assistance will be provided to all 99 LGs from the Swiss PRO Programme Area of Responsibility, thus prepare them for the next phase of the intervention of Swiss PRO Programme which include grants for implementation of social protection services. The public call for project proposals, planned to be published in April 2020, will support up to 25 LGs in improving and/or advancing their current social protection services.