Unified Information System for Media Financing Transparency (RS0063)

Brief description of the Commitment

This commitment implies the creation of a Unified Information System (JIS) through which the entire process of applying, allocating funds and monitoring the implementation of each project in the field of public information, for which funds have been obtained from any level of public authority, will be monitored.

Problem Definition

1. What problem does the commitment aim to address? Public tenders for co-financing the production of media content are the main way of allocating and spending budget funds in the media sector. They were established as a state aid mechanism that would help the production of missing content of public interest and improve the informing of citizens. The analysis of the current practice of conducting public tenders has highlighted numerous problems, while one of the most critical objections of civil society and media associations refers to the impossibility of a comprehensive analysis of the effects of public tenders (purposeful consumption of funds, quality of produced content, etc.).

2. What are the causes of the problem? When it comes to public tenders for co-financing the production of media content, there is no centralized data that is publicly available to all citizens and stakeholders. The search for tenders, submitted projects, decisions made on tenders, submitted financial and narrative reports on completed projects has become more difficult, as well as access to links to broadcast or published media content whose production was supported in this way. Therefore, the evaluation and analysis of the effects of public tenders, on the basis of which it would be possible to evaluate the intended spending of budget funds in the media sector and have more efficient supervision over the implementation of public tenders, is largely impossible.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem? The obligation to establish JIS was contained in the previous Action Plan for the implementation of the Open Government Partnership Initiative in the Republic of Serbia for 2020-2022, but bearing in mind that due to the holding of parliamentary elections in 2022, there was a significant delay in its implementation. More precisely, due to the parliamentary elections and the technical mandate of the Government, there were no legislative activities during the greater part of the aforementioned year, which made it impossible to pass legal solutions and by-laws necessary for the establishment of JIS. Based on the importance of the topic that this commitment addresses, the significant impact that its implementation can have on improving the transparency of media content financing from budget funds, and the fact that the proposal is relevant from the aspect of OGP values and IRM recommendations, it is of particular importance to continue its commenced implementation within this Action Plan. In 2021, the then Ministry of Culture and Information prepared a detailed technical specification for the creation of JIS that was envisaged by this commitment and submitted it to BIRN (as the proposer of the commitment) and the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government (as the coordinator of the Open Government Partnership) for comments. This specification went a step further compared to what was envisaged by the commitment itself, as it envisages the digitization of the entire process of project co-financing – from the process of submitting applications to announcing the supported media content, and not only reporting on the implementation of the tender and allocated budget funds. In the meantime, in October 2023, the Law on Public Information and Media ("Official Gazette of the RS", No. 92/23) was adopted, which established the legal basis for the development and mandatory use of JIS.

2. What solution are you proposing? It is proposed to introduce a Unified Information System (JIS) through which the entire process of applying, allocating funds and monitoring the implementation of each project in the field of public information, for which funds have been obtained from any level of public authority, shall be monitored. By creating the said information system, it will be possible for all relevant data related to project co-financing of media content to be centralized, which will: facilitate monitoring of the implementation of public tenders and their evaluation, improve and facilitate monitoring of the spending of budget funds, improve procedures for preventing possible abuses and enable greater availability of media content produced with budget funds.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment? First of all, the commitment is relevant in relation to the improvement of fiscal transparency, considering that its implementation enables the public availability of data on the spending of budget funds intended for co-financing of media content. At the same time, it is also relevant from the aspect of improving access to information available to public authorities, because the information system will make a significantly larger set of information and data available concerning the way budget funds are spent in the area of media content production. In addition, such data will be centralized and available in one place, which will provide citizens and all other stakeholders with easy access. The commitment is also relevant in relation to the improvement of the accountability of public authorities, considering that it implies the creation of clear rules for the publication of data on the spending of budget funds through changes to the legal framework, but also the creation of conditions for more efficient supervision of law enforcement.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? Citizens will be able to view data on the spending of budget funds, while the project co-financing procedure itself will be fully transparent from its very beginning (calls for tenders) up to its implementation, submission of reports, as well as on implemented measures in cases of breach of contractual obligations.

2. How will the commitment help foster accountability? Bearing in mind that the entire procedure will be transparent in all its stages, it can be expected that the level of accountability will be raised in connection with all the actions that need to be taken. In addition to preserving the integrity of the institutions which will announce calls for tenders in the field of public information, misdemeanour responsibility due to non- compliance with legal provisions is envisaged, which relate to the implementation of certain stages in this procedure.

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? The very possibility of monitoring which projects and which topics are supported shall provide the citizens with an opportunity to delegate other topics that are important to them and which were not identified in the previously announced calls for tenders in the process of public debates, which are scheduled to be held before calls for tenders.

Commitment Planning (Milestones | Expected Outputs | Expected Completion Date)

1. Drafting of a by- law which shall regulate the conditions and manner of establishing JIS, registration, processing, management, updating and availability of data and documents in electronic form, user authentication and authorization, as well as other issues of technical importance for managing JIS | By-law adopted | II quarter of 2024

2. Establishment and technical development of a Unified Information System | Unified Information System established | IV quarter of 2024

3. Launching the Unified Information System | Unified Information System created and available for use | I quarter of 2025