Business Plan 2011-2014 - uom.meuom.me/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Business-Plan... · THE Knowledge Center Business Plan 2011-2014 version June 2011 Page 7 of 38 2 Client Identification

THE Knowledge Center Business Plan 2011-2014 version June 2011

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Powered by the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro (UOM)

Union of Municipalities

of Montenegro

Business Plan 2011-2014

DRAFT

Under Construction

Prepared by:

Zana Dukic (UoM)

Vanja Starovlah (UoM)

Gerrit Jan Schep (VNG International)

Zajednica Opstina Crne Gore

Adresa : Mitra Bakica 142, Podgorica ; T :020 620 097 F :020 620 123

e-mail : [email protected] web : www.uom.me

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.uom.me/


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Summary

(After completion of the business plan the summary has to be written and should not exceed 2

pages)

To do


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Table of content

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 5 2 Client Identification and Market Information relevant for the Knowledge Center ............ 7 3 Context, PEST and SWOT-analysis ................................................................................... 8

3.1 PEST Analysis ............................................................................................................. 8

3.1.1 Political Environment ........................................................................................... 8 3.1.2 Economic Environment ........................................................................................ 9 3.1.3 Social Environment ............................................................................................ 10 3.1.4 Technological Environment ............................................................................... 11

3.2 SWOT Analysis ......................................................................................................... 12

3.2.1 Strengths ............................................................................................................. 12 3.2.2 Opportunities ...................................................................................................... 16 3.2.3 Threats ................................................................................................................ 17

4 Vision, Mission Statement, Strategies, Envisaged services and products and Priority

Areas ......................................................................................................................................... 19 4.1 Our Vision ................................................................................................................. 19

4.2 Our Mission ............................................................................................................... 19 4.3 Our Goals ................................................................................................................... 19 4.4 Our Slogan ................................................................................................................. 20

4.5 Our Profile ................................................................................................................. 20 4.5.1 Product range and service offer .......................................................................... 20

4.5.2 Marketing and Public Relations ......................................................................... 21

4.5.3 Financial sustainability/institutional strengthening ............................................ 23

4.5.4 Relationship with UOM ..................................................................................... 24 4.5.5 Co-operation with others .................................................................................... 25

5 Objectives, Activities, Results and Actions ..................................................................... 26 6 Management and Organization ........................................................................................ 31

6.1 Management Team .................................................................................................... 31

6.2 Contracts and Franchise Agreements ........................................................................ 31 6.3 Knowledge Center Advisory Council ........................................................................ 32

6.4 Infrastructure .............................................................................................................. 32 6.5 Employee Plan ........................................................................................................... 32

7 Review mechanisms and quality control .......................................................................... 33 8 Preconditions for success ................................................................................................. 34

9 Financial Projections ........................................................................................................ 35 9.1 Calculation of billable days/hours of UoM Staff and their transfer-price ................. 35

9.2 Business Case on KC-UoM Service Package Basket (See ANNEX 1) .................... 36 9.3 Projection Total Turnover and Staffing of the Knowledge Center 2012-2015 ......... 38

Annexes:

1. Business Case on KC-UoM Service Package Basket

2. Register Helpdesk Q&A KC-UoM

3. Registration Form for Helpdesk Questions

4. Database Experts and Fields of Interest KC-UoM

5. UoM Cost Price Calculation & KC Budget Projection 2012-2015


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Abbreviations:

KC Knowledge Center of UoM

EU European Union

UoM Union of Municipalities of Montenegro

VNG Association of Netherlands Municipalities


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1 Introduction

Since the promulgation of the decentralization policy, Montenegro has made a great progress

in the devolution of responsibilities and authority to local governments to achieve three main

goals: promotion of good governance, promotion of local self-governance and effective and

accountable delivery of services. In accordance with the Strategy of Public Administration

Reform in Montenegro 2011-2016 the decentralization process will be more promoted in the

next period.

Naturally, as one could have imagined, publications on capacity needs assessment of local

governments, reveal that Montenegro municipalities still require support in the form of

training, capacity building and advice in various areas in order to satisfactorily fulfill their

roles and responsibilities transferred to them in the decentralization process.

The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, UoM, was founded in 1972 with the following

mission: “The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro by representing the interests and

strengthening the capacity of local governments and their joint action is contributing to

effective decentralization, sustainable and balanced regional development and faster European

integration of Montenegro“. In order to fulfill its mission, UoM has identified three main

areas of activities: (i) representation, (ii) advocacy (iii) capacity building.

General strategic framework for all activities of the Union in the future will be based on:

- fundamental principles of decentralization given in the European Charter of Local Self-

Government

- directions of regional development in Montenegro, as defined by the Law on Regional

Development and the Strategy on Balanced Regional Development in Montenegro 2010-

2014

- activities planned by the National Program for Integration of Montenegro into the EU and

other policy documents that guide the process of European integration.

During its existence, the association has developed into a vibrant entity in the decentralization

process accompanying Montenegro local governments in every step of the process. The UoM

Secretariat has as of 2006 established in partnership with a number of development partners

programs which shall serve to fulfill the mission of the association, notably Program


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Strengthening Local Self-Government in Montenegro-Phase I and II with the Council of

Europe supported by the European Commission, Program Support to local self-government

reform supported by the Delegation of European Union to Montenegro, Increasing

transparency and accountability at the local level in Montenegro with VNG International,

Improving good governance at the local level with OSCE, etc.

In addition, UoM is currently being asked by its members and other stakeholders to conduct

trainings; to provide information on the implementation of decentralized responsibilities for

local government and best practices for capacity building purposes; to provide information on

the process of the European integration and IPA Funds, to provide information on

transparency and accountability on the local level, and to provide other consultancy services

concerning local governance and decentralization issues. This high demand of services to be

delivered cannot be satisfied by the Association in its present state. It is, therefore, in demand

of a Knowledge Center which could suffice the members‟ needs and become the full fledge

services provider from the association.

The Knowledge Center with the ambition to develop and deliver high quality services in

training, information, consultancy and research which will FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS,

TOGETHER WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

strengthen the efforts in delivering quality services. The Knowledge Center will provide

services to meet the needs of the members and other stakeholders at local level, and thus to

improve quality and performance in service delivery to the public. The Knowledge Center

strives for “Excellence in Information, Advice, Training, and Research.”

The UoM management envisages the Knowledge Center by 2015 to cover a percentage of the

association‟s operating costs. Following a strategy based management style and with the

ambition to successfully launch the Knowledge Center, the UOM management resolved to

write a Business Plan for the Knowledge Center. VNG International supported the association

to elaborate this Plan.

This Business Plan documents the analysis of the current situation of the market and the

strategies the Association adopts to successfully launch the Knowledge Center.


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2 Client Identification and Market Information relevant for the Knowledge Center

Key clients of UoM will be 21 Montenegro Municipalities, and other institutions and

stakeholders engaged in the promotion of local governance, decentralization issues, EU

integration, transparency and improvement of quality service delivery to the public by the

local administration.

The key clients‟ (municipalities) ability to pay for services especially consultancy and

trainings is limited. The financial position of the target key clients is weak, especially because

of the economic crisis and the extent of public finance in Montenegro. In addition, currently

the market for consultancy services is significantly spoiled by services provided for free from

donors especially trainings. Therefore in the start-up phase the Knowledge Center will

provide services to members for free, which will be financed either from the membership fees,

with donor grants or from the central government.

Local governments receive numerous consultancy services, may it be general and special

training, elaboration of terms of references for some local infrastructure projects, development

of specialized software, support in the elaboration of specific strategies and project

implementation, etc. The consultancy and training services currently consumed by Local

Governments are mainly financed by two channels: firstly, the central government has

established a national training institute (Human Resources Management Agency) which, in

cooperation with UoM and within the framework of the National training Strategy for Local

Self-Government, is providing training also for local governments; secondly through

development partners, which are either engaged in the support of the Montenegro

decentralization process.

Another category of clients will be stakeholders in the decentralization process, thanks to the

specific knowledge THE Knowledge Center is acquiring while working with its key clients.

These stakeholders could be civil society organizations, central government institutions and

development partners.


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3 Context, PEST and SWOT-analysis

This chapter presents the assessment of UOM staff concerning the political, economical,

social and technological environment (PEST analysis) in which the Knowledge Center will be

operating. It also presents results of their assessment concerning the strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) of the Knowledge Center‟s service offer. These

analysis comply with the new Strategic Plan from UoM.

3.1 PEST Analysis

A PEST Analysis is a simple tool for understanding the market environment of a business. It

is also sometimes conducive in identifying competitors and/or SWOT factors. It concerns

essentially the external environment and is usually performed before conducting a SWOT

analysis.1

3.1.1 Political Environment

The political environment in which the Knowledge Center will be operating is characterized

by

The political environment in which the Knowledge Center will be operating is characterized

by

Government commitment - The Government is strongly committed to implement its

Strategy of public administration reform in Montenegro 2011-2016. As it was highlighted

in this Strategy, a further decentralization of authorities and responsibilities is one of the

main pillars of the Government. Hence, in the coming years there will still be a strong

need from local governments for consultancy services, support in capacity building and

information – especially in the field of promotion of regional economic development,

possibility of using the EU funds, establishing a quality system of human resources

management and policy, strengthening legality in the work of local government,

transparently work of the local government bodies, local taxation and public financial

management, infrastructure development, etc;

Regulatory bodies and processes – Montenegro has build institutions which are

supposed to guarantee transparency of the governance and competition in business

1 Normally, the PEST analysis is presented in a grille. However, for optical purposes, this way of presentation

has not been chosen here.


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process. This is one of the requirements of whose fulfillment will depend a destiny of

Montenegro in the process of EU integration.

Political Integration - The ongoing integration of the Balkan countries to the EU is

progressing rapidly. Montenegro is decided to become part of the European system of

values (acquis). Also, Montenegro undertakes significant activities in the area of NATO

integration. These are the biggest challenges for the administration and society.

Montenegro Local Governments are directly affected by decisions made on the (multi-)

national level. Among the other of seven requirements of the European Commission,

Montenegro will have to work on the improvement of public administration and on the

fight against the corruption. The UoM members therefore have a constant need to be

informed of the latest developments and what the decisions imply for them. As UOM staff

is in regular contact with EU representatives and bodies, the Knowledge Center can

include in its website and newsletter as one of its services offered within its service

package regular information and analysis on the latest EU integration process.

Political stability – The political stability and the strength of the democratic system

makes Montenegro one of the more stable countries on the Balkan. Promotion of

international politics and improvement of regional cooperation are fields which will be

especially promoted in the coming period. Small and open economy, geographical

location, „Eurozation‟ of the economy, low tax rates are just some of the benefits that will

be used for achieving of this goals.

3.1.2 Economic Environment

The economic environment in which the Knowledge Center will be operating is characterized

by

Economic Integration – The ongoing integration of the EU challenges Montenegro Local

Governments in reinforcing the business environment and strengthening local business to

remain competitive as compared to competitors from EU member countries. Therefore,

implementation of the Law on improvement of business environment and activities of the

Council for Regulatory Reform and improvement of business environment, together with

improved local economic policies, will help in achieving entrepreneurship development,

new investment and new capital. This aspect constitutes another reason why UoM

strongly believes that in the next few years the Montenegro Local Governments will

require services and assistance in terms of capacity building.


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Competition – Except training, which are free provided by national Human Resources

Management Agency, consultancy services are usually provided within specific

international projects. Also, there are only few private companies which are specialized in

these services. Conclusion - Not many formal consultancy companies exist in the

Montenegro market.

Economic crises - Montenegrin municipalities are faced with the economic crises.

Consequences of the global economic crisis quite are affected on whole economy (and

thus the budgets of local self-governments). Revenues from which local self government

units finance activities from their own jurisdiction do not provide coverage of basic needs

and therefore neither local economic development for the greatest number of these units.

There is also reduced flow of foreign direct investment. Therefore, insuring the stability of

local public finances is set as one of the main goals in the coming period.

Economic and financial dependence of clients – All municipalities have their own

budgets, which consist of their own resources. These resources are used for covering its

responsibilities. In that sense, the strong support to the implementation of the national

decentralization strategy (Strategy of Public Administration Reform in Montenegro 2011-

2016) an also represent a risk. Since its implementation depends significantly from the

fiscal decentralization, the progress may be threatened in the case not adequate fiscal

decentralization.

3.1.3 Social Environment

The social environment in which the Knowledge Center will be operating is characterized by

Demographic pressure – Montenegro is characterized with the demographic pressure. It

is characterized with the migration of populations from the north to the center and south of

the country. North municipalities have mostly undeveloped economy, with significant

natural beauty. On the other side, centre and south of Montenegro, are most developed and

have better opportunities for education, employment, promotion, etc. This is the main

reason for migration of people from north to the center and south of the country. If we

want to stop this process, we will have to significantly promote the policy of balanced

regional development in the future.

Citizens’ attitudes and opinions – The Montenegro citizens are critical about the

transparency of the public sector and about the level and quality of the services provided

by the public sector, including the municipalities.


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Influence of media – Media views have an important influence on the public opinion.

Fashion – The Montenegro society likes new fashion and innovations. The service offer

from the Knowledge Center of UoM innovation in form of a service basket may therefore

be welcomed by the Local Governments.

Buying access and trends - The Montenegro society likes proximity. Buying a promise

for a future service might not easily accepted by Local Governments.

Publicity - Publicity has great impact on the image of the Knowledge Center and the

support from the members.

Acceptance of useful changes - Montenegrin administration (including local

administration) accepts changes which will improve their work. This is definitely one of

the prerequisites for achieving the objectives which are placed in front of the Montenegrin

administration.

Perfection attitudes – The Montenegro society constantly struggles to improve and to

reinforce its socio-economic development. The “performance “contracts and transparency

measures on the Local Government level need to continuously improve.

3.1.4 Technological Environment

Interest – Montenegro citizens are open to technology development and interested in

using latest technological gadgets. The Local Governments are becoming more and more

used to communication via internet and email. A service offer partly based on the usage of

the internet is therefore considered to be possible.

Research, training and innovation funding – Research, training and innovation are

mainly provided by the central level (Ministry for Information Society and

Telecommunications, Human resources Management Agency). One part of these activities

is also donor funded. Information and communication technology are very important to

the success of the Knowledge Center.

Technology access, licensing, patents - Intellectual property rights are not sufficiently

protected. The Montenegro society has a duplication culture, i.e. using of others‟

innovation without paying for it.


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3.2 SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis below reviews the business unit, the Knowledge Center in general and

the service proposition of shared services and member services to Local Governments and

other organization engaged in local development in Montenegro to be offered by the

Knowledge Center in particular. It measures also the future business unit of UOM and its

business proposition and thereby complements the PEST analysis which has focused on

measuring the market for services to Local Governments. It is the subjective assessment by

UOM staff on how they evaluate the business unit and its current and planned service offer.

For reasons of practicability, a list instead of the usual grid, comprising four sections, one for

each of the SWOT headings: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats has been

chosen to present the results of the SWOT analysis in the following section.

3.2.1 Strengths

the strong link between UoM and its future key clients and their quality

communication: the members;

membership - All municipalities in Montenegro are full and active members of the

UoM

membership fees – All membership units pay membership fee and UoM has

developed a mechanism to complete collection of these fees

relationship - Good relations with the ministries, international organizations, NGO

organizations, etc.

dedicated staff - UoM staff is dedicated to carrying out the basic mission of UoM

the profound knowledge of the consultants, which will either be UoM staff, freelance

trainers and consultants used by UoM in past and present, or qualified personnel from

the Local Governments themselves.

Service Packages to which Local Governments can subscribe and their advantages :

Subscription package is a new service proposition, not common in Montenegro – It

has a great advantage: once the Local Governments have access or subscribed to this

service basket they can consume the services offered within the basket and without

going through the tender process for each little service.

Shared services are cost effective – Considering the tight budget constraint for Local

Governments, it is very important for the Knowledge Center to offer the most possible

services at the start for free (financed from the membership fees), and in the future at


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the highest possible quality at a price level which is affordable for Local Governments.

By including products in the service basket which have been developed in one

municipality and then adapted and updated including the necessary manuals and

instructions by the consultants of the Knowledge Center so that they may be used by all

the Local Governments. This guarantees that products can be offered cost effectively.

Basket service package is an innovation – Within this concept, local government

units will have possibility to have all related information about some subject on one

place (at the start about transparency and EU integrations).

The following resources of UoM and/or the Knowledge Center could with support,

promotion, or investments, become a strength:

Experts / Competent staff – UoM staff will partly work as experts for the Knowledge

Center. Moreover the most competent staff of UoM for the delivery of various services

to be offered within the service basket of the Knowledge Center will be chosen. Since

UOM has highly competent staff with different skills, UOM can assure a high quality

services.

Office space – The Knowledge Center will have its office in the same place as UoM

General Secretariat. The proximity and the regular exchange of staff and local leaders

will assure that the Knowledge Center remains up-to-date with the latest developments

during the decentralization process.

Financial resource and equipment – In the early stage, UoM needs to invest in the

Knowledge Center to set up the desired service (packages). Investments are needed to

set up the digital handbook system, which will be the core of the Knowledge Center,

staff needs to be trained in advisory skills, running a helpdesk etc. In the initial phase

some of these investments can be covered from the MATRA-VNG International

project, but UoM needs to secure the financial resources for the Knowledge Center for

the post MATRA project period. With this business plan UoM provides the foundation

for that.

Links of UoM with both its members and development partners – The UoM

business unit may benefit from the good relationship UoM has with both its members

and its development partners. These relationships may be tapped for publicity purposes

and to increase the knowledge about the Knowledge Center and its provided services.


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The following services are esteemed to have potential to be included in the

Knowledge Center services, even if it may require some support, promotion, or

investment:

Digital Handbook System with Help desk and Monthly Newsletter –interpretation

of laws, national government orders, and ministerial instructions; manuals and

handbooks for the implementation of laws and regulations; and providing models for

local by-laws and instructions is a challenging task for which local leaders and

municipal staff need support. This especially applies for laws and regulations

concerning the fiscal and financial management at the local level, consequences of EU

integration for the municipalities, and transparency and anti-corruption measures. The

Knowledge Center will support UoM members also with a help desk on these issues

and a monthly newsletter with information on new developments and new adds in the

digital handbook system.

Topics for the digital handbook system, helpdesk and newsletter are:

EU Integration – from the needs analysis which has been conducted for the Strategic

Plan the UoM members pressed the most urgent need to get access on information on

the EU Integration, such as:

- A simplified explanation for local politicians and staff about the structure of the EU

- Information about funds and integration programs

- Information about calls for proposals

- Guidelines to write project proposals

- Examples of approved projects

- Links to relevant EU websites

- Relevant websites on EU Integration:

o www.delmne.ec.europa.eu/code/navigate.php?Id=59

o www.eucharter.org

o www.europeancharter.eu

o www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/default_en.htm

National strategies and Strategic plans – Local Governments are often called to

formulate strategies concerning the local development. At national level most of the

ministries have their own strategies, but these are not collected and published at one

central point. The Knowledge Center will collect and make the national strategies in

different field of interest (e.g. tourism development, environmental protection, waste

management) available for the UoM members through the digital handbook system.

http://www.delmne.ec.europa.eu/code/navigate.php?Id=59

http://www.eucharter.org/

http://www.europeancharter.eu/

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/default_en.htm


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Transparency and accountability– One of the main tasks of Local Governments is

the monitoring and evaluation of local policies and procedures, and thus measure the

performance of the municipality. However, they often lack the capacities to properly

conduct this task. The Knowledge Center can help the municipalities by developing

and offering them instruments to support this such as peer to peer reviewing and

benchmarking. This will benefit the transparency of the municipalities and their

leadership.

Prevention of corruption - The Knowledge Center will offer the municipalities help in

implementation action plan for fight against corruption at the local level, guidelines for

a code of ethics for local politicians and civil servants, public ethics standards in a local

authority, etc.

Inter-Municipal Cooperation - The Knowledge Center will offer the municipalities

implementation guidelines to set up inter-municipal cooperation.

Also to be included in the service package from the Knowledge Center is Training:

Skills development - for mayors, local council members and civil servants. On: leadership,

management, policy cycle planning, participatory planning, municipal service provision,

monitoring and evaluation, corruption prevention, etc. And on: specific municipal interests,

such as good governance, energy efficiency, waste management, and creating awareness on

these topics among their citizens (with best practices from regional and EU countries). And

on Legal procedures for public procurement (with best practices from regional and EU

countries), on Code of ethics, plan of integrity, local anti-corruption plans

Best practices collection, selection, distribution and dissemination on multiple (+3)

themes:

Selection of best practices (pitch meetings)

Annual conference on municipal best practices

Price awarded for the winning best practices

Online publishing of the winning best practices

Expert database for all fields of municipal interest:

Search and Find: online access to database of experts

Contracting through the UoM (20% for UoM, 80% for expert)

(Annual expert meeting, free access for experts to UoM information sources, etc)


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Weaknesses

The following points are perceived as weaknesses of UoM:

Lack of enough Staff Skills – UOM staff which will partly work as staff of the

Knowledge Center is – as underlined above - highly qualified, however, working for

the Knowledge Center may require specific skills. Moreover, the lack of adequate and

enough staff could cause insufficient quality work in the UOM, as well as in the

Knowledge Center.

Lack of adequate office space - UoM has very limited space which might be a

constraint for the staff to receive and meet members and partners at the office and work

efficiently.

Limited resources – The Knowledge Center will depend on the financial support and

technical assistance from both UoM and its development partners. This will cause an

increasing burden to the membership fees when the MATRA project is finishing.

Therefore it will be necessary to develop a paid services strategy.

Inflexible organizational structure - New challenges, which are faced with UoM,

require new and more efficient organizational structure.

Conflict with core business – The concept that UoM staff will need to reserve at least

20-30% of its time to provide services for the Knowledge Center. As the staff usually is

fully occupied by advocacy and running donor projects this will probably create a

conflict in the capacity management of UoM.

Lack of information – UoM and its members have limited information related to

consultancy and service delivery in Montenegro. Having a data base on experts and

trainers working in different fields of interest, could facilitate the UoM staff‟s work,

especially when it will need to team up with partners to work on a project.

Publicity/Marketing – UoM has some ideas on how to organize its publicity and/or

marketing for its service proposition. However, it does not have a full fledged

marketing strategy. This will be needed to promote the Knowledge Center.

3.2.2 Opportunities

• The availability of EU funds and possibilities of attracting investment – The

Knowledge Center should increase the opportunities to municipalities, as well as to

UoM in the possibilities for using the available EU funds. Greater using of EU funds


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should provide better conditions and possibilities for attracting investment on the local

level, as well as on the central level;

• Improving transparency and accountability on the local level - The Knowledge

Center should contribute in the strengthening of transparency and accountability on the

local level. Transparency and accountability are starting point in the prevention of

corruption.

• Networking on national, regional and international levels – The Knowledge

Center should also help to all stakeholders in achieving this opportunity;

• Taking an active role in the process of European integration (including the

programming of EU funds) - Continuous monitoring of events and opportunities in

this field should provide an active role in this process to the UoM, as well as to key

clients;

• Possibility of improving relations with central authorities - guided with the

common purpose, the Knowledge Center should contribute in improving relations with

the central authorities;

• Improving service delivery to citizens – If the Knowledge Center achieve its goal

and contribute in strengthening capacity of local governments, citizens should receive

services on the improved way.

3.2.3 Threats

The following points are perceived as threats to the service proposition of the

Knowledge Center:

Slow development because of lack of facilities and human resources – As

mentioned above the current human resource base of UoM is weak. If the key staff

leaves, the continuity of the service offer is threatened. Also, there is not enough office

space and other facilities for providing services by the Knowledge Center. For the first

period, the Knowledge Center will work with existing staff , office space and other

facilities;

Perception – UoM members are quite demanding concerning the services they expect

its member association should provide to them for free as part of their membership fee.

There is a risk that once UoM is offering in the future paid services at their actual cost,

the good relations the Association is maintaining with its members might be perturbed.


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A political "identity" of the UoM – The Knowledge Center‟s business proposition

may be influenced politically. Especially the new capacity building approach and

innovative way in disseminating tools based on shared services. There is a vital threat

that other institutions may not accept it and might try to stop other parties to share

services with the Knowledge Center;

Differences between developed and less developed municipalities, as well as

between regions (coastal and north) - Montenegro is a country characterized by

unequaled regional development. This difference might be a threat in using services of

the Knowledge Center. Also, a lot of services to be offered by Knowledge Center shall

be Internet based. As IT development speed is not as fast in all municipalities and

regions, this can be also threat in functioning of the Knowledge Center.

The unwillingness of members to cope with the accelerated process of European

integration - Process of European integration requires a modern local government that

will be ready to face with all challenges and changes which can improve their work.

Montenegrin municipalities have a problem with these adjustments.


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4 Vision, Mission Statement, Strategies, Envisaged services and products and Priority Areas

4.1 Our Vision

Our vision is that the Knowledge Center emerges into an innovative, modern, appreciated

and visible service supplier to UoM members and other stakeholders on local government

interests, complying with highest standards of advisory work, training, information and

research.

4.2 Our Mission

The mission of the Knowledge Center is:

To provide top quality information, training, advisory services to various stakeholders

at local government level and others involved in the process of decentralization.

4.3 Our Goals

Taking into account the mission statement and the results of the SWOT analysis our strategy

will be based on the following goals:

1. By the end of 2011, the Knowledge Center is established in the UoM;

2. By the end of 2011, the service basket offer by Knowledge Center will be

successfully launched and appreciated by local government. All municipalities in

Montenegro are informed about the possibility of using services provided by the

Knowledge Center (this services will be free for members in 2011 and 2012);

3. By the end of 2012, the number of permanent staff of UoM is increased. There is

at least one full time officer who serves and co-ordinates the Knowledge Center;

4. By the end of 2014, the Knowledge Center should fully cover its own costs.

During 2013 users start paying a modest fee at 25% of the cost level for the

services provided by the Knowledge Center. In 2014 the fee will be increased to

75% of the cost level. From 2015 the services provided by the Knowledge Center need

to be cost covering.


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4.4 Our Slogan

“Pooling knowledge to develop Local Governments’ capacities”

4.5 Our Profile

In the starting phase, the Knowledge Center will not have permanent staff officers who will

work on service delivery. The permanent UoM staff will devote part of their working time on

the Knowledge Center servicing. This approach has several advantages: Firstly, it provides

balanced and coordinated development growth of the Knowledge Center and UoM. Instead of

hiring a great number of staff right at beginning of its establishment, the Knowledge Center

will only need to hire a permanent staff once the service has proven to be successful. Thereby

the risk of a failure of the Knowledge Center can be hold very low.

Secondly, all the staff members of UoM add to the financial sustainability of the Association.

Permanent staff of UoM will work free of charge for the Knowledge Center. Later payment

for services of the Knowledge Center will contribute to the financial sustainability of it.

Thirdly, the Knowledge Center can improve knowledge of UoM staff in different areas.

4.5.1 Product range and service offer

The Knowledge Center will provide services which are required by local governments and are

tailored to the needs of the clients. Following product groups have been identified:

1. Consultancy;

2. Information;

3. Training;

4. Competition.

Consultancy services will be focus on the issues concerning:

- transparency and accountability

- strategic planning

- access to the EU and other funds


Page 21 of 38

- European integration process

- economic development

- decentralization

- legal issues

- municipal finance

- inter-municipal cooperation, etc.

The Knowledge Center will provide information to its users through:

- joint meetings

- website

- establishing the digital handbook system

- a bi-weekly e-newsletter (e-zine)

Training shall be organized on specific skills identified in the frame of the Knowledge Center

and on the request of municipalities.

Implementation of the Best practices Programme will give competitions dimension to this

CENTER.

4.5.2 Marketing and Public Relations

Sales Concept

In the future the Knowledge Center intends to sell the services included in the service package

basket at the lowest possible price for its subscribers.

As an introduction period the Knowledge Center will provide free subscription to the service

basket for UoM members in 2011 and 2012. Necessary funds for its free usage period will be

provided in the frame of the VNG International project (MATRA). Non-UoM members who

want to subscribe to the service basket will have to pay for the service package basket from

the start on.

The shared services principle and the fact that the first period of subscription is actually free

for UoM members, will encourage a great number of municipal users to subscribe to the entire


Page 22 of 38

basket (with two topics in the first time). Therefore, the Knowledge Center will insist that all

services including in the basket are part of one package and adopts two pricing strategies.

Firstly, if users prefer to select only one of the services offered within the basket, they will

have to pay full charge for each separate service. It will therefore be more favorable for a

member to subscribe to the whole service basket instead of selecting just one or two of the

services offered.

Secondly, if the municipalities use the basket of services, the total price will correct in

accordance with the number subscribers. More municipalities subscribing to the service

basket from the Knowledge Center will result in a progressive reduction of the price for

individual subscribers.

Here we mention again that the Knowledge Center will financial help UoM members who

subscribe to the service basket by providing the service basket for free in the first period.

Promotion Concept

The promotion of the Knowledge Center will include specific publicity, uniqueness in the

work, and communication measures.

It is especially important in the early years to work on publicity of the Knowledge Center.

This means that it will be necessary to produce flyers, presentations and mailings to local

governments and other potential clients about the services offer of the Knowledge Center.

The Knowledge Center will take advantage from the close relationship between the UoM and

its members. This relationship will give opportunity to UoM staff to present the services offer.

The Secretary General and all the staff of the UoM should take it on as a responsibility to

make publicity for the Knowledge Center and its service offer whenever they are in contact

with local governments or other potential clients.

Uniqueness in the work will be important in establishing a standard format for letters,

presentations, reports, communications, etc. All documents produced and send to customers

should be printed on the uniqueness format. As the Knowledge Center will be a unit within

UoM, this uniqueness should be coordinate with the UoM brand.


Page 23 of 38

The communication concept will follow the approach that the Knowledge Center has been

established in UoM for members in order:

to receive custom tailor services they require to be provided by specialists and insiders

in the decentralization process.

to add to the financial sustainability of the Association

Marketing Research Concept

In the first few years of the Knowledge Center, it will establish a database concerning:

providing consultancy and other services for which it was founded, and which are

related to the local government requirements;

network of experts for providing answers to questions and consultations from local

governments

best practices in Montenegro in the field of the promotion of good governance and

promotion of local economic development

4.5.3 Financial sustainability/institutional strengthening

The Knowledge Center will generate income from the following three sources:

Local Governments

Other clients (NGO‟s, national institutions (Ministries), independent organizations,

private companies)

International organizations

Income from local governments includes the subscription fee for the service basket or a fee

for additional advisory services provided to them. Also, it should be noted that local

governments pays membership fees to UoM. As in the first two years services of Knowledge

Center will be free and employees of the UoM will provide it, membership fees will

contribute in promotion of the new services.

Income from other clients also includes the fees for the service basket and for the advisory

services provided to them.

Income from International organizations will be generated as a fee for consultancy services

provided directly to them, or in the form of subsidies to Local Governments to finance

consultancy services provided to them by the Knowledge Center.


Page 24 of 38

1.Project Accounting and Time Registration

THE Knowledge Center will adopt a project accounting approach. Each project will be

calculated separately and has its separate budget line. Also, each of these budget items will be

an integral part of the UoM general budget. This is because the Knowledge Center will

operate within the UoM.

The costs in form of the time spent by consultants to produce the project deliverables are

registered against the project budget. This will allow for a transparent monitoring of the

profitability of each service. Thereby, THE Knowledge Center will be able to adapt its pricing

strategy. It should be highlighted that each service included in the basket has been budgeted

and has its separate budget line.

2. Staff re-numbering and renumeration

To the end of 2012 UoM staff will work in the Knowledge Center. For the time of their work,

the staff will not receive an additional premium (maybe, a small increase of current salary).

But, as there is an intention to hire at least one officer, his/her salary will have the same

structure as the UoM staff.

2.Financial independency

The financial projection of the Knowledge Center should secure additional revenues for the

whole UoM.

4.5.4 Relationship with UOM

The Knowledge Center will be special unit in the UoM. This means that the Knowledge

Center will use recognisable label of UoM under which it will collect, develop and provide a

package of interconnected and coherent services and products.

This kind of organization of the Knowledge Center will provide unified policy on the UoM

level. All decisions will be made on the level of UoM bodies. By doing so, the UoM will

guarantee that services and products will be integrated, interlinked, as well as maintained and

regularly updated.

The introduction of the Knowledge Center should not confuse the members and partners of

UoM in the sense of overlapping the work of the UoM. The Knowledge Center should be


Page 25 of 38

complementary and not competitive to the work of the UoM, and it should strengthen the role

of UoM in general.

As mentioned above, UoM staff will serve and partly work as consultants for the Knowledge

Center (especially in the first two years). For this concept to work efficiently,

Each member of the UoM staff will be assigned a task for the provision of one or a

few services included in the service basket during the annual activity planning process.

For each task, the staff will be accorded a certain time. This will be necessary so that

the Knowledge Center can prepare the pricing offer for the service basket;

Each member of the UoM staff will reserve a certain percentage of his annual work

time to be free to work for the Knowledge Center;

When it creates the conditions for payment of services, these will contribute to strengthening

the financial position of the UoM.

Training of staff in advisory skills

Since the UoM staff will partly work as consultants and being a consultant requires additional

skills, it will be necessary that UoM invests in the consultancy skills of its staff.

Internal organization (consolidating procedures, working methods, quality control)

As mention above, the Knowledge Center will be special unit in the UoM. This means that the

Knowledge Center will use the same internal organization as it exists in the UoM.

4.5.5 Co-operation with others

Cooperation with independent experts

Sometimes the Knowledge Center will engage individual consultants for the solving part or

entire of the task. Based on these consultations, the Knowledge Center will invest and

establish in a date base on consultants including their contact address, their qualification, their

field of specialization.

Cooperation with development partners and Central Government Institutions

The financial independence of the UoM is also in the great interest of the Association‟s

development partners and the Central Government to assure a long-term existence of this very

important institution in the decentralization process. Therefore, the success of the Knowledge

Center is also in the interest of the development partners and the Central Government.


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5 Objectives, Activities, Results and Actions

For each of the strategic priority areas a 3 year covering overview of objectives and milestones has been produced including timelines and

responsibilities.

Priority Area 1: By September 2011, the Digital Handbook System (DHS) of the Knowledge Center on air.

N° ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES/ RESULTS &

OUTPUTS

TIMING

2011 HR Finance

RISKS /

SUPPOSITIONS

1. Establishing a digital handbook system Operational Digital Handbook System

on air

End of August/

Early Sept

Overall Project

Manager for DHS –

Vanja Starovlah

2011-2012

period

financed by

Matra

Financial sustainability after

2012.

Business case needs to be

developed to build up and plan

financial coverage for the future.

1.1 Install software system (edition and

publishing) and train UoM staff to work

with the system

- system Installed by VNG-Diskad and

UoM

- Staff trained by VNG-Diskad

May/June Vanja & Arjaan

Kunst (Diskad)

- Communication between UoM

and Diskad

- Technical: editors (at UoM)

have to use non-Cyrillic versions

of Word in the beginning period

1.2 Collect materials to fill the editorial

system on 2 topics:

1- Accountability and Transparency

(A&T)

2- EU integration

- results from previous projects on these

topics

- training materials

- materials from municipalities

- relevant laws and regulations in MNE

- relevant links to websites of EU, int.

organizations, NGS‟s, etc

May/June Co-ordination by

Vanja

- too few or too much documents

- unstructured documents


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1.3 Produce 2 handbooks on these topics:

- appoint Project Leaders

- design structure of the handbook

- recruit authors (Staff UoM, independent

experts, experts from municipalities)

- assign tasks to the authors

- make a maintenance plan

- appointed Project Leaders for each

handbook

- recruited network of authors

- structure Lay-out for the handbooks

- maintenance Plan

June- August - Sanja or Ljubinka

(?) for A&T

- Vanja for EU

Integration

- sufficient participation of the

authors

- too little refreshment of text and

data (handbooks getting

outdated)

- unstable internet connection

1.4 Publish 2 handbooks on the current

website of UoM www.uom.me :

- open access to all in first 6 months

- limited access to members and key

partners of UoM after 6 months

- install Google Analytics to follow user

results & behavior

- Digital handbooks accessible through

the UoM website.

- Installed limited access through referral

(after 6 months (by March 2012)

- Weekly review of Google Analytics

Statistics from the start on

August

March 2012

From Sept

Sanja and Nada unstable internet connection

1.5 Inform the members/ users:

- presentation at the general assembly of

UoM in September 2011

- presentation at the UoM Municipal Fair

in Budva Oktober (?) 2011

- prepare and distribute an introductory

flyer for the focus groups (mayors, head

of municipal departments, local experts,

other civil servants)

- announcement DHS in UoM quarterly

newsletter „Nasa Zajednica‟

- promotion on UoM website

-Digital Handbooks launched on Gen

Assembly UoM Sept 2011

- Flyer

- „Nasa Zajednica‟ + pdf

- pages on UoM site with announcement,

introduction and referral to new

handbooks

September

July

September

July

Vanja/ Zana

insufficient interest and usage of

the focus groups

1.6 Establish quality management:

- create a editorial group with experts

from some municipalities for each

handbook topic to regularly review and

discuss refreshment of the handbooks (+/-

4 sessions per year)

- functional editorial groups of experts

coordinated by project leaders of each

handbook

From June quarterly

(during production

more often)

Sanja and Vanja - sufficient participation of the

authors

- too little refreshment of text and

data (handbooks getting

outdated)

http://www.uom.me/


Page 28 of 38

Priority Area 2: By January 2012 the Knowledge Center Service Package Basket on air.


OUTPUTS TIMING HR Finance RISKS /

SUPPOSITIONS

2. Establish a Knowledge Center Service

Package Basket

SEE BUSINESS CASE on SERVICE

BASKET in ANNEX 1

Operational by

Dec 2011

Vanja = Basket

manager

2011-2012 From

UoM budget (free for

Members UoM)

From 2013 on from

subscription fees

Lack of financial resources

of the Members

2.1 Determine the Services of the Basket 2011-

2012 period:

1- access to the digital handbooks

2- access to model-texts for by-laws,

examples of municipal decisions in different

fields of interest

3- unlimited support from legal and financial

helpdesk

4- expert database for all fields of municipal

interest

5- bi-weekly e-zine KCnews

6- access for 2 representatives per

municipality to 1 expert conference of

Knowledge Center per year (PM as from

2012)

7- access for 2 representatives per

municipality to training for handbook users

on A&T and EU Integration

8- discount 10% to all other KCservices

Lack of capacity at UoM.

2.2 Production of digital handbooks See under Priority Area 1 Matra

2.3 Collect and publish model-texts for by-laws

examples of municipal decisions in different

fields of interest that can be used as hands-on

examples by the municipalities

Relevant model-texts and other documents

available through the Download Centre of

the digital handbook system

June/July Vanja co-ordination

Input from all

UoM experts


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2.4 Set up a legal and financial helpdesk for

members

0-Instructions and procedures for the

helpdesk

1- questions by phone and e-mail

2- registration of questions and answers on

fiche (on paper), and in a database

3- monitor deadlines for answering (e.g.

within 3 working days)

4- produce Frequently Asked Questions

(FAQ‟s) for the UoM website and Question

of the Week for the e-zine

5- Produce statistics on nr. questions asked

and their fields of interest, identify key

problems of members

Full functioning legal and financial

helpdesk, including registration of Q&A‟s

(SEE EXCEL MODEL in ANNEX 2 and

REGISTRATION FORM in ANNEX 3) and

providing feed back to the members on a

general level (statistics, FAQ‟s, etc).

Preparation

Sept- Dec

Operational

from Jan 2012

Act.0 Gerrit Jan

(proposal +

instructions)

Act.1-3 & 5 Nada

Answering Q‟s: all

UoM experts

Act. 4 Vanja, Zana

or Sanja

Lack of continuity in

service provision. This

requires high discipline

from UoM staff.

2.5 Set up an expert database for all field of

municipal interest:

- collecting experts and their fields of

expertise, key competences, and contact

information

- publishing on websites with access only for

subscribers

- maintenance of the database

Updated expert database for subscribers

(SEE EXCEL MODEL for internal use in

ANNEX 4)

Okt-Nov Nada and Vanja Lack of specialized experts,

with knowledge of local

government problems.

2.6 Set up a bi-weekly e-zine from Knowledge

Center:

- Organize a webbased e-newsletter facility,

which manages e-mail addresses, control

limited access for subscribers, archive

facility of the e-zines etc (?)

- collect content for the e-zine (new services,

news from Knowledge Center linked to

sections in handbooks, new meetings,

trainings, Q of the week, best practices,

vacancies, etc)

- edit the e-zine

- send the e-zine

- follow up on reactions of readers

Bi-weekly e-zine only for subscribers to the

service basket.

First e-zine

published

Okt-Nov at

municipal fair

in Budva

Vanja, with

assistance from

Rajko and Zana

Software from Matra

(?)

Lack of continuity in

service provision. This

requires high discipline

from UoM staff.


Page 30 of 38

2.7 Organize 2 trainings for handbook users on

how to use the UoM digital handbooks: One

for A&T and one for EU Integration

2 trainings delivered Okt-Nov Vanja with

assistance from

Sanja and Ljubinka

Priority Area 3: By 4th

quarter 2011 Additional Services from the Knowledge Center on air.


OUTPUTS TIMING HR

Finance

RISKS /

SUPPOSITIONS

3. Additional Knowledge Center Services –

ad hoc

Additional turnover for the Knowledge

Center

3.1 Municipal Fair in Budva Okt-Nov 2011 Annual Fair for Municipalities sponsored by

the private sector

Okt-Nov Vanja OECD + Sponsors

from private sector

(?)

3.2 Requests for consultancy and Research in

different fields of interest from the

municipalities

For individual members Whenever it

occurs

Requesting

municipality

3.3 Trainings in different fields of interest Too free trainings from donors at the

moment. Future perspective

Whenever it

occurs

participants

3.4 Creating new digital handbooks e.g. on:

- Local Economic Development

- Inter-municipal co-operation

- Municipal legal and financial implications

of Decentralization

New extensions after proven success of the

first 2 digital handbooks

Review in 2012 New subscriptions or

expansion of the

service basket

3.5 Benchmarking on different topics Pm

3.6 Expansion of Database with Municipal

information (www.uom.me)

1st quarter of

2012

Sanja, Nada, Vanja UoM budget

http://www.uom.me/


Page 31 of 38

6 Management and Organization

6.1 Management Team

The Knowledge Center will be part of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro (UOM). In

the future the daily management of the Knowledge Center will be entitled to a “Manager”, to

be recruited by UoM, who will report directly to the UoM Secretary General. In the inception

phase however the Knowledge Center will be managed by one of the recent staff members of

UoM .

The responsibilities vested with the Manager (inception manager) will be to:

Finalise the Knowledge Center business plan 2011-2014 and prepare implementation

of the Knowledge Center,

Identify selling services as a way of income generation,

Recommend systems, process for resource mobilization and financial sustainability of

the Knowledge Center

Organise and facilitate the services offered by the Knowledge Center

Maintain the network of experts to be involved in the work of the Knowledge Center

Communicate with The Knowledge Center‟s users and provide all required

information,

Implement transparent financial management within the Knowledge Center

(budgeting, billing, profit-loss calculation, time sheet filling, etc.) and follow up the

payments of provided services,

6.2 Contracts and Franchise Agreements

At the early stage in the life of the new Knowledge Center, one of the main limitations the

company is facing is the lack of professional references in the consultancy industry in

Montenegro. The cater for this, the company (i) will constitute a pool of experts in several

fields, highly experienced and having good references in their respective fields, (ii) contract

chosen consultants from the pool as lead consultants in each field so that they can use their

personal influence in the market to gain contracts, (iii) enter into partnership contracts with


Page 32 of 38

national and international institutions and firms to use their experience and expertise as a

back-up

.

6.3 Knowledge Center Advisory Council

As the Knowledge Center will be a unit of UoM during the first part of its existence, it is

advised to install an advisory council for the Knowledge Center to give advice on the needs of

the members of UoM and the type of the services to meet those needs. The Advisory Council

will consist of five members: 3 representatives from (member-)municipalities (preferably 2x

municipal experts, 1x mayor), 1 representative from ministerial level and 1 independent

consultant or scientist.

6.4 Infrastructure

The Knowledge Center will be based at UoM office, using the UoM facilities such as

secretarial support, financial administrative support, internet, hardware etc. When the

Knowledge Center develops well the positioning of the Knowledge Center will be reviewed.

6.5 Employee Plan

The UoM staff that in the first period will be engaged in the work of the Knowledge Center

will need a training on advisory skills, service delivery and generating paid services.

Once the Knowledge Center has been established and is up and running, a HRM plan for

newly recruited staff for the Knowledge Center should be made. According to the plans this is

needed in the second half of 2012.


Page 33 of 38

7 Review mechanisms and quality control

The strategic priorities as pictured in our business plan and the annual work plans will in the

first place of course have to meet full the needs of UoM members. Endorsement by the

management and board of UoM periodically implies reconfirmation of service/product offer

and demand being in line with each other and of the targets for our performance.

In order to keep the process of implementing the work plans on track and on speed, the

following monitoring instruments will be applied.

1. For each service offer we will establish a Business Case to be adopted by UoM.

2. Establishment of Annual Work Plans (as a format for the Annual Work Plan we

can use the tables for Priority Area‟s as in Chapter 5).

3. The manager of the Knowledge Center will review the achievements at the end

of each quarter and report them to the Secretary General of UoM.

4. The Secretary General will report the achievements and financial results of the

Knowledge Center to the Assembly General Meeting of UoM.


Page 34 of 38

8 Preconditions for success

The Knowledge Center’s road to success includes 10 commandments:

1. Our knowledge of local affairs is our key strength

2. Our service approach is our unique selling proposition (USP)

3. We have a good network with the members of UoM

4. We will build up a solid network and cherish our users and sponsors by

contacting them regularly and evaluate our work with them

5. We will clearly define our product range and service offer

6. We will develop and use operational and expert tools

7. We will identify our competitors and outsmart them

8. We are highly motivated (and freshly trained) expert

9. We are not alone, we work as a team

10. We will use the project support from our donor partners to develop

sustainable service delivery


Page 35 of 38

9 Financial Projections

This section documents the financial projections for the Knowledge Center in accordance with

the objectives and strategies formulated in this Business Plan.

Firstly, we determine the real cost of UoM staff capacity to be used for activities for the

Knowledge Centre. The result of this is a realistic tariff (per day/ per hour) for the use of UoM

staff capacity.

Secondly, we calculate budget for the KC-UoM Service Package Basket (see also priority area

2) and the price setting for the subscription fee of the Basket.

Thirdly, we make projection for the estimated total turnover (costs and revenues) of the

Knowledge Centre for the period 2012-2015.

The year 2011 will be used for the preparation of the Knowledge Center, and is financed by

MATRA/VNG-I.

9.1 Calculation of billable days/hours of UoM Staff and their transfer-price

Table 1: UoM’s capacity to produce billable days/man-hours, based on real staff

capacity in 2011

Capacity of UoM to produce billable days and hours per year

Function Name FTE

Total

working

days

days on

leave

days

available

perc.

billable

days

billable

Hours

billable

1 Secretary General Rajko 1,0 260 35 225 50% 113 900

2 Vice SG Ljubinka 1,0 260 35 225 70% 158 1.260

3 Finance and Administration Manager Zana 1,0 260 35 225 80% 180 1.440

4 Advisor for International Cooperation Vanja 1,0 260 35 225 80% 180 1.440

5 Advisor for Local Government System Sasa 1,0 260 35 225 80% 180 1.440

6 Advisor for Urban Planning Sanja 1,0 260 35 225 80% 180 1.440

7 Administrator Nada 1,0 260 35 225 50% 113 900

8 Housekeeper Zaga 1,0 260 35 225 0% 0 0

9 0 0

10 0 0

11 0 0

12 0 0

13 0 0

14 0 0

15 0 0

16 0 0

17 0 0

18 0 0

Total 8,0 2.080 280 1.800 1.103 8.820

The fee per day and man-hour (see table 2) has been calculated by dividing relevant elements

of UoM‟s budget (see table 2) by the number of billable days/hours (see table 1).


Page 36 of 38

Table 2: UoM transfer-price calculation for UoM staff man-hours Items to be included in the cost price calculation from UoM Budget 2011

1.1 Staffing Costs 167.168

1.2 Office Operational Costs 24.683

1.3 IT, transportation, equipment 5.410

1.4 Housing Costs 0

1.5 Insurance 1.296

subtotal 198.557

contingencies 2% 3.971

grand total operational costs of UoM 202.528 Fee per day/ per hour

Operational Costs of UoM 202.528

Billable days 1.103

Operational costs per billable day 184

Pofit 2% 4

Average Fee per Day in € ex VAT 187

Average Fee per Hour in € ex VAT 23

For the budgetting of the activities, services and products from the Knowledge Center of UoM

we use the tariff of € 23 per hour or € 187 per day.

9.2 Business Case on KC-UoM Service Package Basket (See ANNEX 1)

Products and services in the Service Basket Timing UoM Staff

inputs

in €

Out of pocket

Inputs

in €

Total

Costs

in €

1 Bi-weekly e-zine: [name of newsletter] 22x 4hrs at € 23 ph See annual plan KC-UoM e-zine

Pm 2.024

(88hrs)

0 2.024

2 Unlimited Access to Helpdesk for Legal and Financial Questions 15 Q * 52w * 1,5hrs * € 23 ph See annual plan KC-UoM Helpdesk

Pm 26.910

(1.170hrs)

0 26.910

3 Access to Model By Laws and Model Texts Rough estimate: 100 hrs * € 23

Pm 2.300

(100hrs)

0 2.300

4 Access to the Digital Handbook in the Knowledge Centre UoM website that will be updated daily 40w * 4hrs * € 23

Pm 3.680

(160hrs)

4.000 7.680


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See annual plan K- UoM Digital Handbooks system

5 Expert Conference participation: each subscriber to this service package can send one person to one KC venue per year without extra charge and a second person at 50% discount. (costs for transport and accommodation at participants’ expense)

(20p x € 23 + 32 hrs (2 UoM experts) * € 23)

Pm 736

(32hrs)

460 1.196

6 Two trainings (for 2 participants per subscriber) on KC digital handbooks 80p * € 23 + 64 hrs (2 UoM experts * 2 trainings) * € 23

Pm 1.472

(64hrs)

1.840 3.312

7 10% discount to all other KC-UoM products and services, except consultancy inputs

Grand Total Service Basket per year 43.422

Including contingencies 5% + 10% margin 49.935

At 21 Municipalities (subscribers)

Sales price per subscriber

Sales price per year:

2.378

Discount in 2011-2012 is 100%

0

Discount in 2013 is 75%

(in case all members are subscribers) 594

Discount in 2014 is 25 %

(in case all members are subscribers) 1.783

Discount in 2015 is 0 %

(in case all members are subscribers 2.378

Focus business start-up

Sponsor request for 1st year:

- Initial up-starting and buffer: …

- Subsidy to each subscriber (district): …

Sponsor will get logo at each of the activities mentioned.

Pm PM


Page 38 of 38

9.3 Projection Total Turnover and Staffing of the Knowledge Center 2012-2015

BUDGET PROJECTION KNOWLEDGE CENTER 2012-2015

2012 in € 2013 in € 2014 in € 2015 in €

Resources

Service Basket revenues € 49.935 0% 25% 75% 100%

0 12.484 37.451 49.935

Other services, like: 20.000 60.000 90.000 120.000

>municipal fair

>Requests for consultancy and research

>Trainings in different fields of interest

>Creating new digital handbooks e.g. on:

- Local Economic Development

- Inter-municipal co-operation

- municipal legal and financial implications of Decentralization

>Benchmarking

>Expansion of Database with Municipal information (www.uom.me)

Subtotal Resources 20.000 72.484 127.451 169.935

Costs

Service Basket inputs Total Inputs 43.422 43.422 43.422 43.422

HRM Input

Out of Pocket

Other services 19.000 57.000 85.500 114.000

Subtotal Costs 62.422 100.422 128.922 157.422

Budget Result Knowledge Center -42.422 -27.938 -1.471 12.513

HRM input estimated in days Service Basket 202 202 202 202

Other services 80 241 361 481

Total KC workdays 282 443 563 683

KC capacity needed in FTE (1=180 days) 1,6 2,5 3,1 3,8

According to the budget projection of the Knowledge Center taking into account the input

from staff capacity needed for the KC, UoM will subsidize the KC from 2012 unto 2014,

starting with €42.422,- in 2012, €27.938 in 2013 and €1.471 in 2014. From 2015 on the KC

will work cost covering with an net profit of € 12.513 in 2015.

The Staff capacity needed for the Knowledge Center will grow from 1,6 fte in 2012 to 3,8 fte

in 2015.

Naturally, this prognosis will have to be reviewed and renewed on annual basis.

Documents

Business Plan 2011-2014 - uom.meuom.me/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Business-Plan... · THE Knowledge Center Business Plan 2011-2014 version June 2011 Page 7 of 38 2 Client Identification