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SUPERVISION AS AN ÁPPROPRIATE FORM OF INTERNAL MONITORING WITHIN EUROPEAN UNION COOPERATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Project Cycle Management, including capacity building at local stakeholders’ level.’ The initial monitoring function was keeping tract of project activities implementation and results achievement with the aim of risk prevention and efficient result achievement (the administrative function). Current tendencies in monitoring improvement are oriented more towards capacity building in order to enhance participation and ownership as well as improve Project Cycle Management. Therefore, in addition to its original supervisory function, the monitoring now has two new purposes: the educational and the supporting one. For this reason I started to examine the possibilities of application of supervision as a form of internal monitoring of cooperation development projects funded by EU. PROBLEMS IN THE FIELD The promotion of participation and ownership of development processes by local stakeholders is one of the main issues within European foreign development policy. EU has approached dealing with this problem at different levels: decentralization of programmes of development aid that started in 2000, promotion of partnership as an integral part of project proposal, involvement of local stakeholders in activities of Project Coordination Boards and other Management Bodies, etc. Still, in the sphere of international cooperation development projects there are different problems in the field that affect negatively participation and ownership of local stakeholders. In first instance, very often the organizations that are mostly in charge of entire Project Cycle Management (identification of needs, formulation of project proposal, implementation, and evaluation) are foreign organizations (International Cooperation Organizations)“. Although the priority (in donor’s evaluation of project proposals) is always given to local organizations, often those do not have capacities to formulate a valid project proposal or to manage a project that is funded by EU or other international donors. On the other hand, the international organizations often do not involve local stakeholders in the process of assessment of needs and of project formulation while partnerships with local stakeholders remain just formalities written in the project proposal. Furthermore, the activities of Project Coordination Bodies that should actively Ibid. Organizations with Headquarters situated in a European country and with affiliates in other countries worldwide within which are managed development projects funded by different international donors, including EU.
