Governance structure

The Governance structure was designed according to the rules, procedures and best practices of the citizens’ assemblies work around the world. The Governance structure of the first Citizens’ Assembly also reflected the specificities of this particular process, including the local context and the fact that it was initiated by the Council of Europe.

More detailed governance structure and its tasks are defined in the Mostar Citizens’ Assembly Rulebook.

Here is an overview of the key bodies in the governance structure and their roles:

Design Team

The Design team was composed of the Council of Europe project team, two international experts and one local expert.

The tasks of the Design Team included:

• Creating the rules and processes that are presented in the Rulebook;
• Providing guidance on the interpretation of the Rulebook, if need be;
• Creating the timeline for the Assembly;
• Designing the methodology for selecting the topic of the citizens’ assembly;
• Designing the random selection process;
• Selecting Facilitators;
• Designing the process of the Assembly (learning and deliberation phases) in collaboration with Facilitators.

The Design Team can be contacted at the following email address: dizajntim@mostargradimo.ba

Coordinating Team

The Coordinating Team was responsible for the organization of the Assembly. It consisted of two sub-groups: the Core Team and the Support Team. The Coordinating Team consisted of the Council of Europe team with the support of relevant service providers and local actors in different stages of the process.

The tasks of the Coordinating Team included:

• Conducting the random selection process of Assembly Members;
• Recruitment of the Stakeholders;
• Selecting Experts;
• Preparation of the programme for the learning phase (in collaboration with the Design Team);
• Organisation of meetings taking place as part of the Assembly;
• Conducting the final voting on the proposals for Recommendations;
• Publishing all necessary information and materials regarding the Assembly on its website;
• Preparation of the final report that presents Recommendations and details of the methodology used for organising the Assembly.

In all matters related to the organisation of the Assembly, the Coordinating Team can be contacted by writing to the following email address: koordinacionitim@mostargradimo.ba

Oversight Team

The Oversight Team of the first Citizens’ Assembly oversaw the process of the Assembly in order to ensure that it followed the standards set out in the section 2 of the Rulebook.

The composition of the Oversight Team included:

• 1 representative of the Mayor’s Office (delegated by the Mayor);
• Representatives of all the political groups in the City Council of Mostar (1 seat for each of the city council party/coalition groups, selected by these groups themselves);
• 2 academics (the rectors of the universities in Mostar nominate 2 academics);
• Representatives of NGOs (the same number as the total number of representatives of public authorities, 2/3 selected by preferential voting among the candidates from the NGOs, 1/3 by random selection);
• 5 representatives of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (representative of the Secretary General and 4 Members of the Congress).

The list of Oversight team members is available here

The Oversight Team can be contacted in all matters related to the implementation of the Assembly via email at: nadzornitim@mostargradimo.ba

Arbitration Team

In the event of a violation of any of the Assembly Standards, the Arbitration Team was called to take action to restore compliance with the standards.

The Arbitration Team consisted of:

• Representative of the Association of Municipalities and Cities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• 2 national academics (experts in the topic);
• 2 international experts (in the area of deliberative democracy).

Facilitation Team

The 2021 Facilitation Team consisted of:

• Mirna Dabić Davidović
• Damir Kapidžić
• Zlatko Sarić
• Goran Kučera
• Omir Tufo