Background and objectives:          

SIRP supports the formulation of national and local policies, as well as institutional mechanisms to reactivate the social housing sector (self-owned or rental supported schemes). Activities are organized along three components that are developed in an integrated framework:

• Settlement of refugees with the provision of 670 housing solutions and support for policy and institutional development
• Social and economic integration of refugees and other vulnerable populations in local labour markets, improvement of civic behaviour and development of appropriate social schemes; and
• Capacity development of local self-governments with tools for local development planning and improvement of information systems.

The project’s objective is to ensure long-term settlement and integration of refugees and other vulnerable population through direct activities to improve living conditions, building local capacities and operational instruments to cope with refugee integration issues and developing national capacities.

Activities:
Most activities at the local level are delivered through local partners with UN-HABITAT financial support and technical assistance spelled out through cooperation agreements. Other innovative elements include:

• Support for construction of new social housing and delivery of innovative social housing schemes by Municipal Housing Agencies (MHA).
• Call for proposals for socio-economic support packages for refugees and other vulnerable groups.
• Support to transparent selections of housing and socio-economic packages beneficiaries by Municipalities and MHAs.
• Support to development of territorial information systems at city/municipal level.
• Support to formulation of local housing and other development strategies.
• Calls of proposals for pilot local development projects.
• Capacity-building of national and local stakeholders for development of sustainable institution instruments for social housing and integrated local development.

Results:
The programme has delivered:         

• 530 new social housing units and 140 innovative social units were delivered to refugees and other vulnerable groups with appropriate contracts by Municipal Housing Agencies with SIRP technical and financial support. Guidelines for innovative social housing were formulated.
• 335 selected vulnerable households have benefited from support packages. Guidelines and manuals of procedures published.
• Six cities/municipalities have developed territorial information systems at city/municipal level and guidelines were developed.
• Seven Local Housing Strategies formulated through participatory process and one city development strategy adopted by authorities and guidelines formulated.
• 12 pilot local development projects have been implemented by local public and non-governmental partners.
• Draft law on social housing presented to the Parliament, with provisions for a National Housing Agency to package soft financial resources for the social housing sector and municipal housing agencies.
• National Association of Municipal Housing Agencies established
• Drawing from lessons learnt, two new projects to develop the capacities of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development to coordinate regional development projects funded from national and EU resources and to further develop sustainable instruments for social housing and integrated local development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.