Digital Transformation of Local Self-Governments in Montenegro

Photo: © UN Montenegro / Miloš Vujović

 

Project title      Digital Transformation of Local Self-Governments in Montenegro
   
Participating agencies      UNOPS, ITU
   
Lead Agency       UNOPS
   
Project manager       Milijana Vukotic, UNOPS
   
Timeframe      January 2024 - December 2025 
   
Budget       USD 500,000

 

Area of intervention 

Priority #3 of Montenegro’s UN Development and Cooperation Framework: Social cohesion, people-centered governance, rule of law and human rights.

 

Partners 

Seven Local Self-Governments of Montenegro, with implementation of narrower scope of activities on the rest of nineteenth LSGs.

 

Key objectives 

Improved quality of life for citizens by increased accountability, transparency, inclusiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of local public administration, reached out through the tailor made support for further development of the local e-Government system in Montenegro.

 

Major expected results 

  1. Raised awareness and understanding of mutual responsibilities of national and local institutions (LSGs) in Montenegro for effective implementation and management of eGovernance systems (UNOPS/ITU);

  2. Improved skills, knowledge and strategic understanding of LSG's civil servants of eGovernance and inseparable principles such as interoperability, scalability, accessibility, inclusiveness, participation, human-centered designs, open data, cyber security and other relevant concepts (UNOPS/ITU);

  3. Developed Digital Transformation Roadmap and individual LSG action plans (UNOPS/ITU);

  4. Enhanced existing local policies and regulations, developed relevant cybersecurity policies and measures (UNOPS);

  5. Developed models for introducing priority eServices, e-Registries that are interoperable with other relevant local or national registries, models for opening specific datasets, models for engaging citizens and CSOs (UNOPS/ITU);

  6. Infrastructurally equipped LSGs for introducing e-services (UNOPS);

  7. Ensured alignment of digital transformation with unique priorities and needs of all local communities, particularly focused on human-centred, inclusive, scalable, interoperable digital services

 

Target groups 

Six Local Self-Governments of Montenegro, with potential implication on the rest of nineteenth municipalities.

 

Implementing status

In December 2024, UNOPS and ITU hosted a kick-off event to launch the digital transformation project of the local self-governments (LSGs) in Montenegro. Supported by the Ministry of Public Administration and all twenty five LSGs, the initiative aims to enhance public service delivery and improve daily lives of citizens.

In the last ten months of implementation, the project has selected seven LSGs, instead of the initially included six, to implement the envisaged activities. Also, besides the following municipalities: Herceg Novi, Tivat, Ulcinj, Podgorica, Berane, Bijelo Polje and Pljevlja, some of the activities have been extended to all 25 LSGs.

The progress of the UNOPS-led activities was dependent on the completion of the E-Government Assessment of LSGs in Montenegro, conducted by UNOPS and UNDP and successfully finalised in April 2025. It shaped the features of capacity building programmes and technical assistance to be delivered to the LSGs to the greatest extent possible. In September, most local governments established Municipal Working Groups (MWGs) to improve and coordinate the implementation of e-Government. This was a prerequisite for the implementation of the planned activities by the end of 2025. 

These activities entailed the creation of a Service Catalogue with clearly described procedures, a List of registers generated in the implementation of local government competencies necessary for data exchange through the Government Service Bus, and a tailored digital roadmap to enable the digitalization of services for all twenty-five local governments. In addition, seven pre-selected municipalities will benefit from technical assistance aimed at developing six models of internal interoperability policy documents and Risk and Security Analysis of Network and Information Systems in accordance with the Law on Information Security. Various capacity building programs for employees designated for the implementation of e-government/e-services will be continuously provided on-site and online during the implementation period.

The ITU carried out four online and three onsite workshops, resulting in development of three high-impact government services that can be developed using GovStack principles: Social aid for newborns, Tax for real estate and Business registration (permit for catering services). The participants were able to enhance knowledge of the GovStack principles, developing a comprehensive understanding of the technical specifications and functionalities of key GovStack building blocks, including Digital ID, IM, Payments, Architecture, Consent, E-signature, Registries, and Registration. With experts’ guidance they were able to develop the First Draft of the detailed As-Is and To-Be comprehensive user journey map that highlights the current processes and challenges, but also illustrates the proposed optimized service process with clear improvements to user experience and service efficiency.

During May, the Deputy Minister of Public Administration and Project Manager visited all seven selected LSGs, which confirmed strong commitment and support to the project "Digital Transformation of Local Self-Governments in Montenegro".

So far, two Steering Committee sessions were held, and the latest endorsed the request for no-cost extension of the project, initiated by UNOPS, with the new ending date 30 April 2026 instead of 31 December 2025.''

Between May and October 2025, ITU supported the Local Self-Government of Montenegro in advancing its digital transformation through a series of three onsite GovStack workshops, complemented by targeted eight online sessions, bringing together representatives of local and central administration to co-develop interoperable, human-centred digital services aligned with local needs and national priorities. In close coordination with the Ministry of Public Administration and through active collaboration with the LSGs, ITU facilitated the co-design and finalization of three high-impact prototype services, prioritised by participants: Social Aid for Newborns, Annual Property Tax Payment, and Business Registration for Hospitality. Using the low-code/no-code platform, participants gained hands-on experience developing As-Is and To-Be service blueprints, building AI-assisted forms, configuring role-based workflows, integrating civil registry data, and assessing cloud infrastructure, security, and resilience requirements for scalable GovStack deployment.

The GovStack roll-out resulted in: strengthened municipal technical capacity, fostered cross-municipality collaboration, and established a foundation for interoperable, citizen-focused digital services ready for implementation. By providing expert facilitation, practical tools, and actionable guidance, ITU delivered three prototypes of the digital services developed on a low-code/no-code platform, ready to be operationalized
 

Contribution to EU Accession 

The project is aligned with EU accession benchmarks in the Chapter 23 – Judiciary and fundamental rights. It contributes especially to the fight against corruption in the most sensitive areas, particularly vulnerable to corruption - public procurement, privatization, urbanism, education, health, local government and police.

 

Project brief description

Project consists of capacity building activities in national and local institutions to support the implementation of eGovernance at the local level, technical support for establishing local governance systems in selected LSGs, and purchasing necessary ICT equipment and software. Also, the LSG will be introduced to the GovStack approach in fostering sustainable and inclusive eGovernance, which aims to identify high impact government services that can be designed and delivered using GovStack architecture principles and reusable software components/building blocks.

 

 

 

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