How many good ideas from young people remain invisible not because they lack quality, but because they get lost in complex procedures?

Precisely to address the need for making public calls aimed at young people clearer, more accessible, and higher quality, the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH submitted an initiative to the cantonal ministries responsible for youth affairs, as well as to the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, along with the document Minimal Set of Measures for Improving Public Calls for Funding Youth Organization Projects and Organizations Working with Youth.

The Minimal Set of Measures is designed as a practical framework of recommendations that institutions can use when planning, announcing, implementing, and monitoring public calls for youth. Its goal is simple: to contribute to making the application process clearer and easier for applicants, the allocation of funds more transparent and well-organized, and the reporting process more accessible and easier to track. This document was developed based on fieldwork, discussions, and consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including representatives of institutions, youth sector representatives, and the actual beneficiaries of these calls, who know from their own experience how procedures function in practice and where difficulties most often arise.

For this reason, the Minimal Set of Measures is based not only on how the system should work but also on how it actually appears to those who use it daily. A particular value of the Minimal Set of Measures lies in its design, which makes it applicable across different institutional frameworks and levels of government, while taking into account existing regulations and the specificities of each level. In this way, it represents a common minimum of recommendations and standards that can serve as a foundation for improving institutional support for youth and the youth sector.

The set of measures is also a call for broader reflection on how we build support systems for young people and how much these systems truly respond to users’ needs. If we want higher-quality projects, stronger youth organizations, and greater trust in public funding processes, it is crucial that public calls themselves are designed in ways that encourage quality rather than discourage initiative. In the broader context of youth budget allocations in the Federation of BiH—which still do not sufficiently match the real needs of young people and the youth sector—it is important to emphasize that supporting youth is not only a matter of the amount allocated. Budget analyses clearly show that how funds are structured and how accessible they really are to intended recipients is equally important. This is precisely the purpose of the Minimal Set of Measures: to provide a concrete framework for improving the procedures through which public funds reach young people and the youth sector.

For additional suggestions, feedback, or dissemination of the Minimal Set of Measures, feel free to contact us at info@vijecemladih.ba.

This text was created as part of the campaign “Transparent Budgeting for Youth in the Federation of BiH”, conducted by the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH. The campaign is part of the PRAGG project, funded by the Swiss Government and implemented by a consortium consisting of HELVETAS and NIRAS, in partnership with local partners Civil Initiatives Centers (CCI) and the Youth Development Institute KULT. This text does not necessarily reflect the views of the PRAGG project or the donor – the Swiss Government.