Preparedness, Planning and Economic Security Program (PPES) Semi-Annual Report #7

The program is currently active in 108 municipalities across the country, with a focus on the most vulnerable regions. The Preparedness and Planning Team has continued to concentrate its efforts on producing positive change in local, provincial, and state disaster management systems. The team has completed training on all three core modules (disaster organization structures, risk assessment, and flood planning) to all 20 Cohort II municipalities. Four Cohort II municipalities were able to meet program requirements and become certified within nine months of initiating activities with the program. The program has also entered into MOU agreements with 9 new Cohort III municipalities. The Preparedness and Planning Team has achieved significant milestones, including training 20 municipal disaster management teams to build and institutionalize a local-level disaster management system. Additionally, 161 individual crisis responders were trained in two subjects: Disaster Management Process at the Local Level and Methodology of Risk Assessment and Development of Plan for Disaster Management at the Local Level. Seventeen additional municipalities produced all-hazards planning documents, and 17 local governments institutionalized improved disaster management by establishing and empowering a standing disaster management body. The Economic Security Team has continued to create greater opportunities for private enterprises in Serbia's most vulnerable regions. The team has supported 318 businesses, with 66 of them producing marketing, management, and finance action plans. A total of 225 companies have been supported to attend trade fairs, resulting in $6.1 million in total value of sales made at trade fairs by supported companies. The return on investment (ROI) on trade fair support has been 32 to 1, with a 35% increase in sales for all assisted companies. The program has also taken a more active role in facilitating dialogue between local governments and the Ministries of Interior and Defense. This engagement aims to help ensure that new legislation on the future of emergency situation management adequately addresses a key weakness of the previous disaster management system – the lack of clarity on national and local level roles and responsibilities. The Preparedness and Planning Team has laid the groundwork for broadening the depth and scope of its municipal intervention offerings in Year 4 of the program by formally engaging the Red Cross of Serbia as a training provider for simulations, a service provider to train certified municipalities in IPA project application and project management, and an institution to provide tailored assistance to the City of Nis on preparing a city-wide strategy on safety. The program has successfully organized a youth camp to provide volunteer firefighter training to 100 youth from Vojvodina. The program has also continued to facilitate dialogue between local and Republic level governments as the Ministries of Interior and Defense work through updating their legal framework for disaster management.