Available evidence shows that the underlying feature of policy making in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a chronic lack of analytical capacity within public institutions and other policy actors. Although, at the formal level, there are regulatory frameworks in place that should ensure proper policy making processes, the lack of analytical capacity renders those formal preconditions largely ineffective.
EU accession requires a challenging and fast-paced process of policy formulation, involving the harmonization of existing and the adoption of new legislation which is aligned with the EU acquis. However, although many programs in post-war BiH have sought to deliver technical assistance to public institutions at different levels of government, the policy-making practices and capacities of such institutions remain generally underdeveloped in key areas of policy making. The available data and reports demonstrate that the capacity for policy analysis, and in effect the capability to engage in evidence-based policy making in BiH, is largely absent. This memo argues that any attempt to improve the analytical capacity of government institutions will be insufficient if analytical capacities of other elements of the policy making ecosystem – such as non-governmental organizations, academia and independent research institutions – are neglected.
The publication in English is available HERE.
This publication is published within the project “Policies through Knowledge: Improving Policy-making Capacities and Processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina” which is implemented by the Center for Social Research Analitika. The project is financed by MATRA programme within the Netherlands Fund for Regional Partnerships of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.