The LGPA encourages and facilitates local economic growth in target municipalities to increase investment, create jobs, raise incomes, and ultimately expand the municipal tax base. The LGPA is also providing technical assistance and on-the-job training to staff in the target municipalities on a variety of governance issues, including tax collection, asset management, budgeting, procurement, and service provision, with the aim of improving management efficiency while creating a 'business friendly' investment climate.

Significant achievements have been made in the three project Component Areas of Local Economic Growth, Local Governance, and Civic and Private Sector Engagement. A summary of these achievements is below.

Component 1: Local Economic Growth. Under this first component, LGPA is facilitating local economic growth in target municipalities. Each target municipality has established a bipartisan and broadly representative Local Economic Growth Committee, including representatives of the public, private and civil society sectors. Each Local Economic Growth Committee has developed a strategic vision of the future economic development for its municipality and prioritized immediate actions within the context of a short-term local economic development plan. The Committees also identified immediate public service improvement opportunities that can help attract investment.  The action plans are updated each year to reflect the work achieved in each target municipality and revised priorities for the subsequent year.

Component 1 activities during Years 1 and 2 included extensive awareness raising and capacity building in the framework of the municipal Borrowing Law which was passed in February 2008.  Awareness and practical skills related to the new municipal borrowing law were conveyed through a series of workshops and trainings, and more than 100 municipal staff and officials were apprised of both the advantages and potential pitfalls involved in assuming municipal debt. 

As a result of the LGPA workshops and project documentation assistance, several municipalities have been able to formulate potential development projects, and to elicit strong financing interest from banks. As of May 2010, two target municipalities, Fushe-Kruje and Korce, have concluded loan agreements with commercial banks to improve municipal infrastructure. In addition, 7 other target municipalities are in the process of approving municipal loans.

In the field of urban planning, LGPA has helped Kukes and Fushe-Kruje to develop city-wide Urban Regulatory Plans. In both cities, the plans have been approved by the municipal council and are awaiting national level approval.

Several partial urban studies have also been conducted.  In Fier, LGPA assistance focused on the preparation of an implementation plan, in conformance with the city's existing Urban Regulatory Plan, for the development of the "Parku" transportation center as an economic development generator for the city.  In Kukes, a project was designed for a fundable development proposal for reconstruction of the city's industrial market. In Korce, an urban study was developed for the re-development of the existing stadium into a much broader, Olympic quality "Sports Planet" which envisions a variety of sporting venues. The study was presented by Korce Municipality at Expo Real in Germany in Fall 2008. In Fushe-Kruje, a feasibility study was conducted for the development of a wholesale fruit and vegetable market. Finally, in Gramsh, a feasibility study was developed for an abattoir. 

Environmental approval of the "yellow line" extension in Lezha was obtained in February 2009 from both the Ministry of Environment central office and the Lezha Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, as a result of an environmental impact study funded by LGPA. The yellow line approval is a required step for initiation of a full-scale Urban Regulatory Plan study for the city, to be financed by a grant from the Italian government.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are an excellent opportunity for the public and private sectors to cooperate in achieving mutually beneficial goals which promote economic growth and/or improve public services. LGPA has supported the development of PPPs in several partner municipalities. Korce Municipality is launching a PPP on a multi-use space combining residential housing (including social housing) and commercial space. The Municipality will contribute a 40,000 m2 land parcel for the project, and in return will receive residential housing units that can be used for social housing purposes.  In addition, Korce implemented a PPP to conduct a Winter Carnival in 2010. Three cities, Librazhd, Gramsh, and Fier conducted city-wide clean-up days in cooperation with local businesses and citizen groups.

In several tourism centers, LGPA is supporting the establishment of Tourism Information Offices (TIOs), as public-private partnerships combining municipal and tourism industry participation. In October 2009, a TIO was opened in Pogradec in cooperation with Celesi, sh.p.k; a public relations firm. In March 2010, Celesi, sh.p.k and the Municipality of Shkodra cooperated to open a TIO. STEP cooperated with Korce Municipality to open a TIO in January 2010. LGPA is also working with Lezhe and Elbasan to establish Tourism Information Offices.

Component 2: Local Governance.  LGPA is providing technical assistance and on-the-job training to staff in the 10 target municipalities on a variety of issues including business registration, public procurement, participatory planning techniques, tax administration, asset management, and service improvement.

With regard to business registration, LGPA purchased and installed computer and communications equipment and related software for three National Registration Center (NRC) windows, in Lezhe, Pogradec and Vlore.  In addition, LGPA conducted a series of seminars for tax and financial management staff in the 10 target municipalities, in order to inform them as to the types of data to be provided by the NRC, and changes in local registration and tax administration procedures that have resulted from the introduction of the NRC procedures.   A training manual, entitled "Training on the Legal Framework and Role of National Registration Center (NRC)" is available on this website.

Two-part trainings were conducted in all target municipalities for municipal officials and economic operators (businesses) on changes in the national procurement law and procedures, as well as implementation on the new computerized procurement system. A training manual, entitled "Public Procurement Training Materials" is available (in Albanian only) on this website.

LGPA conducted training workshops in Fall 2008 for municipal staff on tax administration. The training course focused on improving the tax departments' understanding of applicable law, and increasing their capacity to forecast local revenue from various taxes and fees.  A manual on local tax administration, "Guidelines on the Administration of Local Taxes and Fees," was published in January, 2009, and can be downloaded from this website.

LGPA installed hardware and tax software valued at more than $370,000 USD in partner municipality tax departments. The new software allows for more efficient and effective administration of tax collections and services that will lead to greater tax revenue for the city and improved services for citizens.

A series of municipal-specific tax leaflets and brochures were developed for five partner municipalities (Shkodra, Lezhe, Fier, Korce, and Pogradec) in 2010. The 3 leaflets and 1 brochure developed for each city detail the local tax obligations for businesses and citizens, and provide information for businesses on required record keeping.

In November 2009, regional workshops were held for all 65 municipalities, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, on mid-term budgeting. The training focused on enhancing municipalities' ability to meet their new legal obligation to develop mid-term budgets including developing revenue and expenditure forecasts, and use of the new MTB templates.  Capital investment plans were developed in Korce and Gramsh with LGPA assistance.

An "Asset Management Toolkit" was published in February, 2009, and includes a toolkit featuring legal references, basic notions, and procedural guidelines to be followed by municipal officers in the asset disposition process, and can be downloaded from this website. The Toolkit includes an Asset Registry - a tool for municipalities to accurately inventory their municipal assets and to track relevant data pertaining to each asset.

In addition, LGPA provided technical assistance to five municipalities (Gramsh, Korce, Lezhe, Librazhd, and Pogradec) to develop comprehensive property files for each newly transferred municipal asset including cartographic information, legal property documentation, and field surveys thus allowing the municipality to register their ownership right with the Immovable Property Registration Office. In addition, LGPA provided technical assistance to these five municipalities to develop an Asset Management GIS system and a Municipal Assets Catalogue which highlights municipally owned assets which are available for economic purposes (lease, sale, concession, and public-private partnerships). The Asset Catalogues are used by the municipalities to attract potential investors and to improve their asset management strategies.

Energy efficiency audits were conducted on 2 municipal buildings in Korce (a house for disabled persons and a school) and 1 municipal building in Lezhe (a kindergarten). The audits identify financially sound infrastructure improvements to these buildings which will reduce energy costs while improving the comfort of the buildings.

On service delivery improvement, LGPA is working with municipalities to improve solid waste, water and sewerage services. The municipalities of Gramsh and Librazhd received technical assistance to develop Service Improvement Plans for the solid waste sector. LGPA provided assistance to develop business plans for the Bushat Landfill and the water utilities in Fier and Lezhe.  In addition, Customer Service Training was provided to water utilities, solid waste service providers, and municipal administrations in all ten target municipalities in 2010 to improve interaction with the consumer.

Through the training and technical assistance activities summarized above, the local governance component has both enhanced and capitalized on LGPA efforts undertaken in the local economic growth component.  Improved procurement procedures will enhance transparency and, ultimately, reduce the cost of obtaining goods and services.  Through better asset management practices, the municipality can identify assets that can be leased or disposed of to private investors for improvement.  Improved tax collection allows the municipality to capture increased taxes from greater economic growth.  Increased revenues from better asset management and tax collection enables target municipalities to improve the quality and efficiency of services provided to citizens and businesses, and will make the cities more attractive to potential investors and businesses.

Component 3: Civic and Private Sector Engagement.  LGPA's target municipalities are strengthening the involvement of local civil society groups and businesses in the local government process. This has been initiated by including the civic and private sectors in the ten Local Economic Growth Committees, establishing participatory mechanisms in the areas of budgeting, urban planning, and service delivery, and creating local government informational and promotional materials.

In Fier, Fushe-Kruje, Kukes, Pogradec, and Shkodra, further business sector input was obtained through Business Attitude Surveys, which were conducted in cooperation with the LEGC and municipal authorities. The results of the surveys enable the municipality, LEGC members, and the LGPA project to better understand how businesses in each view the city's economy and possible ways to improve it.  Copies of the Business Attitude Surveys can be downloaded from this website. 

Several mechanisms have been developed to improve communication between municipal administrations and citizens including websites, public information offices, monitoring tools, and leaflets and brochures. Websites were developed in partner municipalities that did not have an existing website including Gramsh, Pogradec, Librazhd, and Fushe-Kruje. In addition, assistance was provided to Fier to improve their website. A public information office was established in Fushe-Kruje. Tax leaflets and brochures were developed in Fier, Lezhe, Korce, Pogradec, and Shkodra.  Lastly, monitoring tools were developed to evaluate the achievements of partner municipalities in implementing local priorities including in Fier (implementation of the strategic plan), and Kukes and Korce (implementation of the annual budget).

Small Business Associations (SBAs) were established in Korce and Pogradec and efforts to establish additional associations are underway in Lezhe, Librazhd, and Elbasan. The SBAs are working with the municipal and regional tax departments to resolve issues faced by small businesses, improve cooperation, and reduce informality.

LGPA has continued the "Local Government Survey", a national survey conducted by IDRA. The survey has been conducted in LGPA's 10 target and 10 control cities twice including: Spring 2008 and in Spring 2009. A final survey will be conducted in Spring 2011. The Survey results help the LGPA and municipalities assess citizen satisfaction, and assist in targeting resources to address problems of greatest concern.

Finally, under LGPA's small grants program, 25 grants have been issued totaling over $476,000 USD as of April 2010. The grants promote collaborations/partnerships between local government and the private sector or civic organizations and support local economic development in partner municipalities.

Cross-Cutting Initiative. The first Best Practices Conference was held on September 17-18, 2009, co-sponsored by the Albanian Association of Municipalities and Polis University. Representatives from 65 municipalities, communes, NGOs, central government officials, international donors, and other interested parties assembled for the Best Practices Conference 2009 to recognize and learn from best practices already employed by Albanian local governments. The Conference allowed local governments to highlight their recent achievements and to disseminate their improved techniques, thereby encouraging other local governments to implement similar practices in their own territories and to improve the quality of local governance.  The compilation of "Municipal Best Practices 2009" can be downloaded from this site.