Commitment to Assistance to Local Governance – 5th Meeting of BtF Steering Committee

The Bashki te Forta (BtF) Project held its fifth Steering Committee meeting yesterday. The Committee includes representatives from the Minister of State for Local Government (represented by the Acting Director of the Agency for Support to Local Self-Government – AMVV), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), AMVV, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the Ministry of Health and Social Inclusion, the Albanian School of Public Administration, the Association for Local Autonomy, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), as well as mayors and municipal council representatives.

Delivering a welcome address on behalf of the Minister of State for Local Government, Mr. Stilian Llavdaniti, Acting Director of AMVV, underscored the successful collaboration to date and reaffirmed the BtF Project’s commitment to strengthening local self-government and enhancing service delivery for citizens. He highlighted three key priorities:

• the performance measurement system, which identifies local government challenges and promotes data-driven decision-making;
• the performance-based grant, co-financed by the Albanian Government and BtF, which incentivizes improved performance at the local level;
• and the establishment of a Local Government Academy, dedicated to the continuous professional development of local administration staff.

In her remarks, Ms. Sabine Piccard, Head of Governance and Health at the Embassy of Switzerland, emphasized the preparation of the new SDC country strategy and the importance of strengthening institutional actors and leveraging project experience—particularly to strategically position BtF in supporting Albania’s EU integration efforts, where local government plays a vital role.

Mr. Erik Illes, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, noted that many donors are reassessing their development assistance strategies, calling for a stronger focus on sustainability, coordination, and inclusiveness. He shared an example of donor support in waste management in the Municipality of Berat and praised the institutional coordination with BtF in the establishment of the Local Government Academy.

The BtF Project Director, Mr. Norbert Pijls, and the project’s Strategic Advisor, Dr. Valbona Karakaçi, then presented a summary of the project’s 2024 achievements, which were approved in principle by the participants.

The meeting also featured a presentation by Ms. Olta Caca from AMVV on the municipal performance grant and performance measurement system, followed by discussions among participants.

For more details, watch the video of the meeting available on YouTube: