International development - Recent selected references

• Quality Assurance in Education - An € 2m EU EU-funded project to assist the Serbian authorities in developing and implementing the Quality Assurance System for general primary and secondary education and VET, giving priority to development of a national examination system and increasing the capacity of the Ministry of Education and other relevant institutions

• MSP Exchange III - An € 8m EU-funded project implemented by an international consortium led by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH and including Halifax Consulting. Starting in January 2010, this major project will continue the successful ‘Exchange’ series in supporting local government development and decentralisation in Serbia. Website soon to be established

• Project Preparation and Technical Assistance Facility to Reinforce Administrative Capacity in Serbia (2009-2011) - A € 6m EU-funded project implemented by an international consortium led by GTZ and including Halifax Consulting. The project started in March 2009, and is preparing the way for the introduction of IPA components 3 and 4 which will begin when Serbia gains EU candidate status and the DIS is conferred. It assists the NIPAC, the Strategic Coordinator and operating structures in preparing the Strategic Coherence Framework, Operational Plans for Transport, Environment and Regional Competitiveness along with their indicative project pipelines, and Human Resources Development. http://ipa2007ppf.org

• Assistance in programming IPA funds – Our experts have taken an active part in several projects assisting the Serbian Ministry of Finance with its work in programming EU funding, from IPA 2007 to 2011.

Completed projects

• Translation of the acquis - A € ½m EU-funded project implemented by Halifax Consulting - Translation of 16,000 pages of the EU acquis communautaire into Serbian as a basis for legislative transposition. November 2008 - November 2010. See dedicated web page

• Municipal Support programme NE Serbia A € 7m EU-funded project implemented by an international consortium led by VNG International and including Halifax Consulting. A 3-year development programme for the Banat and Braniševski regions of Serbia to assist municipalities develop municipal and regional competencies and carry out major investment projects. www.mspne-serbia.org

• Bankable Projects Documentation Team - An EU-funded project implemented by Halifax Consulting: a series of feasibility studies for municipalities for infrastructure investments of 4 - 15 million Euro. The studies are designed to form the basis for credit decisions by IFIs such as the World Bank.

• Recycling manual for lead-acid batteries (IFC) - A manual on the handling, storage and recycling of lead-acid batteries, with training for company employees and publicity material.

• Danube River Pollution Reduction programme DREPR (World Bank / Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resource Management) - A Code of Good Agricultural Practice, covering all aspects of agricultural pollution likely to affect water resources. Production, translation, design and layout. (In consortium with Niras Scan-Agri)

• Local Economic Development in the Balkans LEDIB (Carl Bro/Danida) - Local Economic Development programme.

• Country Programme Evaluation (Opto International/Sida) - Evaluation of Sida’s Serbia country programme with the purpose of assisting the development of a new multi-annual intervention strategy.

• Project evaluations – Halifax has completed a number of project evaluations for the EU and UN. Often under EC framework contracts, from Serbia to Botswana.