About CRDA

The Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) Program is funded by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). America’s Development Foundation (ADF) is one of five implementing partners for the CRDA program in Serbia. ADF is implementing CRDA program in Vojvodina and 12 municipalities in Eastern Serbia.

CRDA OBJECTIVES

CRDA is a civil society and economic development program:

Ø       promoting economic development in local communities

Ø       building mutual trust between citizens and government and

Ø       mobilizing citizens to engage in improving their quality of life

ADF/CRDA is positioned for an increased emphasis on the generation of sustainable income and employment during the final years of the program. In this period, program activities are being implemented in the following six areas:

Ø       Agriculture sector development

Ø       Tourism development

Ø       Small and medium enterprise development

Ø       Economic environment

Ø       Trade promotion and market access

Ø       Reproductive health, environment and other initiatives

CRDA CAPACITY BUILDING

The ADF/CRDA program promotes citizen participation to achieve positive social and economic change. Communities meet together in citizen meetings, identify community priorities, and elect representative Community Development Groups and Associations to work with ADF/CRDA to develop community priority projects. Communities receive ADF/CRDA assistance to better organize themselves and plan and manage local initiatives and build dialogue and cooperation with local governments. Also, communities have been organized to work together in clusters to address common interests.

CRDA PROJECTS

Early budgetary allocations emphasized the value of visible civil works projects resulting in an improvement of basic services and infrastructure as support for future economic growth.  Furthermore, the projects helped to establish key partnerships between businesses, local governance, and civic institutions.

An extensive field outreach has helped ADF/CRDA to target relief of local problems and emphasize the stabilization and acceleration of growth in the agriculture sector, the creation of business conditions supportive of investment, and the expansion of employment. 

As February 2006, ADF/CRDA funding and technical assistance was being provided to 974 projects amounting to $47,720,464. This includes $18,367,816 in USAID funding and $29,352,648 in matching resources from communities, municipalities and international partners.