It is necessary to have a continuous review of the achieved results and objectives in order to improve and increase the efficiency of the implementation of public policies. In democratic societies, the authorities are continuously under the throb of the public so it has required mechanisms which would help to present achieved results. A system of monitoring and evaluation has been established - tools that assess the performance and impact of a public policy.

Monitoring is the process of data collecting related to the activities planned by the public policy, and the evaluation aims to answer the question of how much the implemented activities were effective and what impact they have achieved in the society. Monitoring and evaluation enable better planning and are important tools, especially to be used by the civil society organizations, which have positioned themselves as one of the most important stakeholders in the assessment of public policies.

Although there are mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation of public policies in Serbia, they often remain to be unfulfilled promises, unsuccessful or unclear procedures. When certain measures are implemented, it is often not possible to get information on how they have been implemented, nor what are the effects and results of these measures. So the question is - what has been done and who is responsible? Lack of involvement of civil society organizations and other stakeholders in planning, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of public policies have negative impact on the policy not being responsive to the citizens’ needs. Participation of the civil society organizations in the process of public policies creation is not systematized or institutionalized. That fact leads to them not being able to answer the questions such as to what extent a specific citizen-centered policy was implemented, or is it in line with the action plan or what its results are.

So how can civil society organizations monitor and evaluate public policies? What are the steps needed to be undertaken in order to gain insight into the implementation process and effects of public policies? What is the role and contribution of civil society organizations in this process?

We discussed all these issues at the training "Strengthening the program partners for monitoring and evaluation of public policies", organized within the project "Civil Society as a Force for a Change in the Process of the Serbia's Accession to the European Union". This training was held from 22 to 24 April in Vrnjacka Banja and was attended by 15 representatives of partner civil society organizations and media.

Lecturers have reminded the participants about all three phases of the public policy cycle - the formulation phase, the implementation phase and the monitoring and evaluation phase, focusing on the latter. There are two preconditions for the improving efficiency of this process - functioning system and monitoring and evaluation culture.

Participants had the opportunity to, through workshop, define the main elements of certain documents which could be the subjects of the monitoring and evaluation, as well as to monitor activities and evaluate the impact of public policies. Also, participant were introduced to the process of monitoring and evaluation within the specific areas, such as rule of law, good governance, human rights and employment. It is explained how the methodology is applied, how the data are processed and how obtained results can be used.

One of the conclusions of this training is that civil society organizations should be the supervisors of the policy implementation within areas of their expertise. The greatest impact civil society organizations can achieve through writing independent reports, collecting and publishing credible data on the implementation of a specific policy, monitoring the implementation of international conventions and contracts, evaluation of the impact those policies. All this can make better decision-making process and more transparent policies’ implementation. However, it is also the responsibility of civil society organizations to monitor policies in their areas, to report publicly about them, and to indicate when policies have a negative impact on a particular group of people, or the overall population.