The Foundation for Local Government Reform published Guidelines on the Formulation of Municipal Development Plans. The Guidelines were developed by a team from FLGR Consult led by Zdravko Sechkov.

The Guidelines aim to assist the municipalities in making their current plans and strategies compliant with the requirements of the Regional development Act (RDA), and in the formulation of municipal development plans (MDP). The Guidelines provide a common methodological framework for the planning and programming process.

The guidelines are not compulsory for the local government bodies. They provide a grassroots planning process and compliance with the strategic planning documents at higher planning levels. Therefore, their use in the formulation of MDPs and MDP Implementation Programs (MDPIP) may ensure the inclusion of the planned programs and activities in the National Regional Development Operative Program (NRDOP) and its program annex, which is a prerequisite for the allocation of funding. In the future, funding local projects by external sources would be very difficult unless the former are a part of a consensus-based planning document.

The Guidelines demonstrate the links between MDPs and the strategic planning and programming documents on regional development developed at national and regional level and at area for planning level. The Guidelines also indicate the coordination of these links in time.