History

2006.
The National Alliance for Local Economic Development was established as part of the USAID Project for Encouraging the Economic Development of Municipalities, as part of the vision of the project director and expert for local economic development and public administration reform, Steven Rosenberg. The patrons and signatories of the Declaration on the establishment of NALED were the President of the Republic of Serbia and the Ambassador of the United States of America.

2007.
The Management Board was formed and the Executive Director was elected.
Two key directions of action were defined: strengthening the competitiveness of local self-governments through the certification program of municipalities with a favorable business environment and improving the conditions for doing business through the reform of the regulatory framework.

2008.
NALED achieves full autonomy and independence thanks to the projects and members obtained.
The "Out of the Labyrinth" campaign was launched to abolish bureaucratic procedures.
The first Gray Book of regulations with recommendations for the abolition of redundant bureaucracy was published.

2009.
NALED positions itself as a leader in the promotion of dialogue and cooperation of the private, public and civil sectors, by measuring the performance of public administration and monitoring legislative activity, advocating the transparency and efficiency of procedures.
The Reformer of the Year award was established for public administration representatives who, in cooperation with NALED, achieved concrete results in improving the regulatory framework for business, reducing bureaucracy and creating better conditions for life and work in Serbia.

2010.
The number of members grows to 150.
A favorable business environment through NALED's BFC SEE Certification Program is introduced by 32 municipalities in Serbia.
Thanks to the NALED online calculator of local taxes and levies and through the Regulation Barometer, NALED becomes an authority in measuring public administration performance and monitoring regulatory activity.

2011.
The certification of municipalities within the BFC SEE program has grown into a regional project at the level of Southeast Europe.
NALED's Local Taxes and Fees Calculator and Regulation Barometer make it an authority in the field of public administration performance measurement and legislative activity monitoring.

2012.
The Regulatory Reform Team was formed within the Executive Office, as a result of cooperation with the Open Society Foundation.
New initiatives and products with which NALED pushed the boundaries in the promotion of public-private dialogue: Register of non-tax and parafiscal levies and Regulatory Index of Serbia, "Ask when" campaign, promotion of investment potential of cities and municipalities.
NALED qualified for USAID's two-year competitiveness improvement project, the key component of which was the initiation of a systemic fight against the gray economy.

2013.
NALED initiated and implemented 15 projects to strengthen the capacity of municipalities and improve business regulations.
The government accepted 80% of the recommendations of the Gray Book, which are included in the Strategy for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness.

2014.
NALED was appointed as the coordinator of the Joint Group for improving the position of Serbia in the Doing Business report of the World Bank. Cooperation with institutions in Brussels was established, and NALED became a source of information that is included in the Annual Report on Serbia's progress in the accession process.NALED and IRI founded the Economic Caucus in the National Assembly. With the professional support of NALED, the caucus submitted 100 amendments to improve regulations of importance for the economy. The Alliance for Fair Competition was formed, the first working body that gathers members interested in improving business conditions and solving problems in a specific area.

2015.
An Interministerial Coordination Body and Expert Group for Suppression of the Gray Economy were formed, which for the first time brought together representatives of relevant institutions, the economy and the civil sector in one place to devise a systemic solution to reduce the size of the gray zone in Serbia.The expert group coordinated by NALED created the first strategic document in this area - the National Program for Combating the Gray Economy with more than 100 measures and activities.

2016.
NALED is becoming recognized for its expertise in identifying problems, analyzing and making recommendations, preparing specific legal solutions, support in implementation and monitoring. NALED initiated changes to the Law on Planning and Construction and the development of software for issuing electronic construction permits and helped it to come to life in practice through successful implementation, technical support and training for more than 5,000 public servants in cooperation with the Ministry of Construction, with the support of the World Bank and of European Progress. In cooperation with experts from IBM, NALED developed the first Strategic Framework for the development of e-government in Serbia.

2017.
On the initiative of NALED, the Government of Serbia declared the Year of the fight against the gray economy, organized a campaign and prize game "Get the bill and win" in which a third of the population participated. In the category of issuing construction permits, Serbia entered the top 10 countries in the world on that prestigious international ranking. The Alliance for e-Government was formed, which brings together leading ICT companies, NALED was engaged in the Government Coordination Council for the development of e-government, the Government's Action Plan for the development of e-government was prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government and the Economic Caucus.

2018.
The Cadastre reform was implemented, which helped Serbia jump to 43rd place in the World Bank's 2018 Doing Business list.The eCounter for property registration has started working. Average processing time reduced from 25 to 5 days, and the result is that more than 300,000 requests were submitted in the first year.
Implemented seasonal employment reform with the support of GIZ and cooperation with three ministries - NALED participated in the design of the reform and the new law and developed an online platform for registering workers and the first mobile application for state services in Serbia, organized 60 trainings for employers and institutions.

2019.
NALED gathers 310 members.An updated National Program and Action Plan for combating the gray economy was adopted.
Start legally Beginners in business are exempt from taxes and contributions in the first year of business at the initiative of NALED, which enables them to save up to RSD 250,000 per year.Public-private dialogue - In cooperation with USAID and the RSJP, the public-private dialogue was strengthened in order to transfer knowledge, through the support of other organizations that advocate reforms.The most cited organization in the public with more than 5,000 announcements on an annual level about results and activities in national and local media.

2020.
NALED has 300 members.
Continuity in annual income was maintained, and the professional team was expanded to 86 permanent employees. In 2020, 98% of strategic goals were achieved and 294 activities were implemented. NALED supported the organization of the 3rd and 4th annual fiscal lotteries, in cooperation with the EBRD, the development of the eInspektor system with 37 republic inspections, the IVA chatbot inspection service was launched.

2021.
NALED gathers 314 members.
The Strategic Plan for 2018-2021 was successfully implemented. A great influence was achieved on a number of policies concerning the improvement of the regulatory and institutional framework for business, strengthening the capacity and responsibility of the public administration, and NALED grew significantly organizationally and further strengthened its position on the market. 92% of all planned activities were implemented, despite external challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 
NALED has 324 members. Out of a total of 138 results planned to be achieved within the new strategic plan by 2025, close to half (48%) were implemented already in the first year of implementation. Activities have been started that will contribute to the realization of another 27% of the planned results in the coming period.    

2023  
NALED has 350 members.
Over the first two years of implementation, out of a total of 138 results planned to be achieved by 2025, nearly two thirds have been implemented (63%). There are ongoing activities that will contribute to additional 19% of the planned results. 10% results have not been fulfilled or have been postponed.