North Macedonia

Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje

Twenty-six representatives from Local Government Associations across the Western Balkans, the Council of Europe, the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), the European Union Delegation to North Macedonia, and regional experts convened for a regional workshop focused on the findings of the baseline study and the development of the LORAI Dashboard.

Discussions centred on strengthening the role of local authorities in reform processes, enhancing dialogue between central and local governments, shaping indicators for monitoring the implementation of Reform Agendas, and addressing challenges in data collection. A dedicated session, utilising a World Café format, enabled participants to collaboratively refine indicators at both economy and regional level, consider local data collection capacities, and explore how existing data could support the dashboard.

Sessions featured peer learning, review of draft indicators, and strategic discussions to ensure the dashboard’s relevance, sustainability, and usefulness for local and regional stakeholders. The workshop marked significant progress towards creating an open-access dashboard that presents the impact of reform implementation at the local level and supports evidence-based advocacy, multilevel governance, and regional peer learning.

Highlighting the workshop’s core message, Oleg Soldatov, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje, stated: “The success of Reform Agendas depends on how they are understood, implemented, and monitored at local level. Municipalities are where reforms become visible to citizens. The local perspective must therefore be reflected in monitoring and policy dialogue.”

Organised by NALAS, this workshop forms part of the Local Observatory on Reform Agendas Implementation in the Western Balkans (LORAI), a joint European Union and Council of Europe initiative. LORAI aims to strengthen local government participation in the monitoring and implementation of reforms under the EU’s Reform and Growth Facility (Regulation (EU) 2024/1449).