About MEGA

About us

The Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA) is a local economic development project funded by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which started in October 2005 and is implemented by the Urban Institute (UI).  The purpose of the project is to develop the skills of local governments and local business groups to foster economic growth and job creation, assist them to put these concepts and skills into practice, and to create a business friendly environment where the local private sector might flourish.  The goal of the MEGA program is to help local governments:
- Create new jobs;
- Establish new businesses;
- Attract investments;
- Establish Private-Public Partnerships.

MEGA builds on the success of the USAID Serbia Local Government Reform Program (SLGRP) which began in 2001 and ended in September 2006.  In contrast to SLGRP, MEGA focuses specifically on local economic growth.  It targets municipal economic centers throughout the country and will operate in up to two phases.  A prime consideration in the selection of participating municipalities is their ability to influence their regions’ economic development.

The overall aim of MEGA is increased connection and information-sharing between the public and private sectors, with the end goal of speeding local economic development and job creation.  The project will reach this goal through work in four main areas: policy reform, local government capacity-building, business association development, and training/technical support for municipal borrowing to support infrastructure investments.  Practical project results will include stronger advocacy for local economic reforms, comprehensive local municipal development plans, the establishment of fully trained municipal offices for economic development, and more of the highly successful Citizen Assistance Centers (CACs) and One-Stop Permitting Centers.