Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is one of the 36 partner countries worldwide that the Netherlands has a substantive bilateral development cooperation programme with. After having focussed predominately on the facilitating of minority return and creating stability in the aftermath of the war, the programme is currently shifting, increasingly concentrating on the creation of sustainable, transparent and accountable governance structures, in line with criteria prescribed by the EU accession process and concentrating on the development of a business climate inclusive of private sector development and foreign direct investment. In the coming years the bilateral development assistance for Bosnia and Herzegovina will gradually being phased-out and transformed from a more traditional development relationship into a relation geared towards EU accession. This new relationship comes with its own instruments, like the programme for societal transformation (Matra), for which Bosnia and Herzegovina qualifies since January 2008. To learn more about the Netherlands development cooperation policy visit  www.minbuza.nl.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has drafted a  Multi-annual Strategic Plan, covering the period 2008-2011, in which its policy priorities are drawn-up. Because of the gradual scaling-down of the Dutch development cooperation programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the objective of creating coherence, it is even more important to make strategic choices. For the period covered in the strategic plan the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has an annual budget of approximately € 14.700.000,- for 2008, which will be gradually reduced to proximately € 7.500.000,- in 2011. After 2011 the Embassy will only have a limited budget of around € 5.00.000,- which is in its entirety reserved for the support to the victims of genocide which occurred in the Srebrenica area. This above mentioned budget does not include interventions funded by the Government of the Netherlands directly through the ministry in The Hague.

To the extent possible partnership with the Bosnian government sector is sought, thus stimulating local ownership of reform processes. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands tries to cooperate closely with other donors present in BiH in order to create synergy between programmes and prevent overlap. In 2007 the Netherlands Embassy joined the second phase of the  Governance Accountability Project (GAP), a joint USAID and Sida initiative on local governance. Other major programmes in which the Netherlands partners with other donors include the  Public Administration Reform Fund (PARF) and the support to the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is responsible for the prosecution of war crimes and organised crime cases.

The Netherlands Embassy tries to stimulate economic development by supporting local entrepreneurial initiatives. The focus here still is predominately – but not exclusively – on creating jobs in areas with a high level of returnees, contributing to the finalisation of the return process and making return sustainable.

Civil society organisations remain important partners of the Netherlands Embassy. They are encouraged to perform their role as countervailing power, representing interests of citizens and minorities in an organised fashion. The Netherlands Embassy has set-up a civil society fund through which small scale initiatives of civil society organisations can be supported. The fund is managed by the local organisation CCI.

As of 1st January civil society organisations from Bosnia and Herzegovina are eligible for  Matra support. Since 1994 the programme supports activities that strengthen the development of civil society in Middle and Eastern European countries. The central goal of Matra is to contribute to democracy, diversity and good governance by supporting the societal transition in these regions. Matra has two main pillars: Matra Pre-accession and Matra Good Governance. Click here to find out more about the Matra programme and deadlines for calls for proposals. Please click here for more information on the requirements for Matra and the deadlines for calls for proposals.

The Embassy administers a fund for small grants. In principle a wide variety of projects in the area development cooperation can be supported. Proposals such indicate their relevance for the eradication of poverty. Small development Grants are exempt from the above mentioned grants ceiling. In general, the proposed budget should not exceed KM 30.000,-. Proposals should contain a clear definition of inputs, outputs and results, and should be accompanied by an itemized budget. Activities should be limited in time and scope. Preference will be given to proposals that benefit vulnerable groups in society and that are promoting reconciliation. Only proposals drafted in the English or Dutch language can be taken into consideration. The same organization is not to be funded more than twice in succession.

The Netherlands Embassy has a very limited budget for the promotion of Dutch culture in BiH. Projects that promote Dutch culture should not exceed KM 10.000 (€ 5.000,-). Given the limited recourses available activities should reach an audience as wide as possible. As a rule under this fund the Embassy doesn’t support activities of the same organization more then twice in succession.