willingness and desire to listen to other voices in society, besides political parties. In Serbia most of the organizations that represent civil society and the business community are political party-oriented. Creating an independent voice that the government can listen to and get feedback from on various proposed activities was revolutionary, so a lot credit goes to the current government. Could you ever imagine that people from NALED would become ministers in the Government of Serbia? Do you consider that good for NALED and its future? - I didn’t directly think they will become ministers, but it is not surprising to me given the quality of the team. What’s surprising to me is that this government acted so wisely and is obviously trying to widen its leadership base to obtain input and support for its activities from all segments of society, and not just political parties. This is an important step for organizations such as NALED and the Standing Conference of Municipalities, and for the parties and the governing structure of Serbia. Why do you think it is important that the public, private and civil sectors work together on fostering economic development? Is that dialogue and cooperation functional in developed countries, what are the key challenges for its sustainability? - It is very important that the public, private sector and civil society work together because, as I mentioned earlier, these economic development activities can only be
BIOGRAPHY Steven Rosenberg is an attorney with 35 years of experience in municipal governance. He worked for the city of New York serving as General Counsel of the city’s economic development agency. He also served as Chief of Party for five USAID-funded public administration reform projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Director for DAI’s democracy and governance projects in the CEE region. He is responsible for successfully implementing several innovative practices including Business Improvement Districts, Citistat and the National Alliance for Local Economic Development. successful when there is support from local governments and business institutions and each have a role to play. By working together, they can understand each other’s limitations and interests and work towards a common point of view that is beneficial for all parties. Such dialogue and cooperation is functional in developed countries. For example in the USA, we have an active Chamber of Commerce, a very active Conference of Mayors and other organizations that are able to represent the interests of their members. As long as organizations like NALED stay relevant and look out for and promote the interest of their members they will continue to be sustainable.
What is the role of NALED and other civil society organizations in society? What are the biggest threats and challenges for CSOs and how can they be overcome? - Groups like NALED are advocates for local government, businesses and civil society organizations, which they represent. By pulling together resources and their political clout, these organizations are capable of accomplishing much more than they would on their own. So as long as NALED is able to play that role, it will survive and flourish. A key challenge to its sustainability is if the government stops listening to such organizations and including them in their deliberations.
I hope and trust that with the election of Ana Brnabić, as Minister of State Administration and Local Self Government, the Government of Serbia will again provide for the direct election of mayors. I also believe that coalition agreements should be made public as they deal with the disposition of public property
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