The project is entitled Improving Bulgarian Local Government Integrity and its goal is improving public quality and integrity standards and practice and developing anti-corruption capacity at the local government level, focusing on ‘conflicts of interest and service conduct’. The project aims at starting a process in selected 10 cities. Anti-corruption capacity is essential to ensure accountability, responsiveness and, ultimately, legitimacy of the local government.

Duration of the project is May, 2007 - April, 2009.

Implementing organizations are:

- Stichting transFORMA (tF), assisted by the municipality of Amsterdam (Integrity Bureau).

- NGO Links

- Foundation for Local Government Reform (FLGR)

- Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS)

- 10 municipalities

Activities are grouped in the following major categories:

a. Diagnostics: the information collected during the first research phase will be used to support the activities of this project; the EU standards will be adapted to the respective municipalities; the research process will be used to initiate a public debate on the subject.

b. Capacity Building: selection of participants and formation of the 10 local integrity groups (LIG), working meetings of the 10 LIGs, workshops on sites to work out action plans, know-how exchange visit to Amsterdam of decision-makers.

c. Training: there will be a training for the local coordinators at the very beginning of the project; One two-day session will be held for all the members of Local Integrity Groups in order to have consistency in the provided training given and opportunity to meet each other and exchange experience and expertise on their respective integrity issues. Training of elected officials as well as one for civil servants from the 10 municipalities will be held in order to be acquainted with the EU standards for public service provision, they will be presented with successful Dutch, Romanian and Bulgarian practices regarding the enforcement of adopted integrity procedures. In addition to the many above mentioned training sessions, training on the same subjects will be offered to trainees (civil servants) from the Institute of Public Administration and European Integration in Sofia.

d. Enabling Environment: will consist in regular press-conferences with local and regional media, in working out and publication of a Manual on best practices on local level, keeping in close communication with the municipalities. Finally, a one-day National Integrity Conference will take place in Sofia, as a final event of the project.

e. Project Organization: establishment and meetings of the Project Working Group, the Project Steering Committee, evaluation and reporting.

The project is funded by MATRA.