Good Morning,
I’m very happy to launch today, together with the British Council, a competitive program which will support innovative ideas for improved governance and accountability in Albania.
This so-called mini-development marketplace for innovation in governance is part of a wider program implemented by the World Bank which is called the Governance Partnership Facility. The Governance Partnership Facility serves to improve development effectiveness in Albania through better governance and stronger institutions. The Governance Partnership Facility Grant is supported by several donors including DiFID, Government of Norway and the Government of Netherlands, to whom we are very grateful for their support.
The Governance Partnership Facility covers a range of activities including several assessments and capacity building activities in the areas of financial management and public procurement. Among those, the mini-development marketplace on innovation in governance stands out as one of the most innovative activities that targets civil society.
Civil Society is a very important factor in the country development and improvements in governance require stronger demand from civil society institutions. We hope that this initiative that we are launching today will contribute to creating this public demand for better governance.
I hope that we will receive very interesting and exciting proposals from a range of civil society groups, academic institutions and other grassroots innovators. I wish the British Council success in implementing this initiative and thank them for being our partner.
