Serbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) is a national mid-term development framework aimed at reducing poverty. In 2005, the Government of Serbia tasked the Deputy Prime Minister to regularly inform the Government on the implementation and coordination process of the PRS. A comprehensive PRS monitoring and evaluation system was set-up which identified some important data gaps. Rather than fill these gaps through a quick one-off exercise, the Government and its development partners decided to develop sustained local capacity for data collection and analysis in identified areas. The Republican Statistical Office (RSO) was given the formal responsibility for monitoring poverty statistics.
The main goal of the World Bank’s Serbia programmatic poverty program, with financial support from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), was to help Serbia (a) establish a high-quality survey system, consisting of a core household survey implemented at predictable intervals; (b) undertake regular and credible client-driven poverty diagnostics; and (c) fill identified knowledge gaps through new analytic work.
Two analytic reports on the causes and extent of poverty were prepared in collaboration with RSO staff and Serbian researchers. The analysis documented important regional differences in poverty rates as well as the strong link of poverty in Serbia with employment and education. In parallel, RSO received extensive technical assistance on sampling methods, questionnaire design, and field implementation practices to enable the launch of the Serbia Living Standards Measurement Survey in 2007, under which a nationally representative sample of 5,557 households were interviewed in more than five hundred enumeration districts across the country. The survey questionnaire included multiple modules related to both income and non-income dimensions of welfare, and two special-purpose components aimed at collecting data on internally displaced people, as well as water and sanitation.
The PRS unit has now embarked on important follow up actions: convene a series of substantive roundtables with a leading think tank in Serbia around major policy issues in seven areas; use these discussions and additional analysis to help ministries develop action plans on their strategies; and sponsor and fund a call for proposals for original research from young researchers in Serbia who would rely exclusively on the micro-data sets collected.
"I am delighted that, in keeping with the goal of shifting production of basic poverty diagnostics to local experts, a team of Serbian experts produced a comprehensive poverty diagnostics report based on the 2007 LSMS data. To build on this momentum, the Serbian PRS unit has initiated a series of policy roundtables with local experts and other development partners in 7 key areas – including social policy, education, health, housing, labor markets, and regional development, and plans to use these discussions to help line ministries to develop action plans." — Zarko Sunderic, Team Manager, PRS Unit, Government of Serbia
"Faced with enterprise restructuring, high unemployment, and high levels of social exclusion at the start of the millennium, the Government of Serbia recognized the need for fundamental reforms in social policy areas and in the collection of adequate data on social statistics, endowed RSO with the official mandate to monitor national poverty trends. Thanks to DFID and World Bank support, RSO completed a high-quality LSMS household survey in 2007, and prepared in partnership with a joint Serbian and international team, a comprehensive report providing policy makers a detailed picture of living standards in Serbia." — Dragan Vukmirovic (PhD), Director of the Republican Statistical Office, Serbia
Serbia’s Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) of 2007 was successfully completed by the Republican Statistical Office and the staff was trained in survey design, implementation and analysis.
Reports on the causes and extent of poverty in Serbia, prepared with the help of local staff and experts, documented important regional differences in poverty and the strong link of poverty in Serbia to employment and education.
Poverty results and survey data are being used for designing and assessing the poverty reduction strategy. For instance, LSMS data reveal that primary school enrollment of Roma children in Serbia rose from 56 to 73 percent between 2002 and 2007.
Policy discussions are being initiated with local experts and developmental partners on social policy, education, health, housing, etc. Line ministries will receive help in developing action plans based on the discussions.
Capacity building should be integral to analytical work to ensure the sustainability of the results achieved.
A multi-year commitment is crucial for capacity building and knowledge transfer.
External partnerships, as in this case with the World Bank and DFID, can be a very effective means of improving the quality and credibility of Monitoring and Evaluation systems.
Serbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) is a national mid-term development framework aimed at reducing poverty. In 2005, the Government of Serbia tasked the Deputy Prime Minister to regularly inform the Government on the implementation and coordination process of the PRS. A comprehensive PRS monitoring and evaluation system was set-up which identified some important data gaps. Rather than fill these gaps through a quick one-off exercise, the Government and its development partners decided to develop sustained local capacity for data collection and analysis in identified areas. The Republican Statistical Office (RSO) was given the formal responsibility for monitoring poverty statistics.
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