Competitiveness and Investments Department

Dušan has been dealing with regulatory reforms in the field of public administration and economic development since 2001. He has cooperated with NALED in various roles, ever since the organization was established, currently as a Competitiveness and Investments Department Director. He took part in devising the concept and realizing NALED's Grey Book, the campaign Ask When, the Regulatory Index of Serbia and the Business Friendly Certification in South East Europe. Some of the reforms where he had one of the leading roles refer to the issues of real estate registration, construction permitting, abolishing para-fiscal charges, labor legislation, property taxation, land use and development fees, decentralization and strengthening the authorities and capacities of local governments. He is a member of multiple working groups established by the Government and line ministries, including the Joint Group for Improving Serbia's Position in the World Bank's Doing Business List. From 2018 to early 2019 he was a senior expert in business legislation for the Serbia Investment Climate project by IFC as part of the World Bank Group. Prior to this, he was a Business Policy and Economic Governance Director in USAID Business Enabling Project (USAID BEP), and later served as the Deputy Chief of Party for the same project. From 2002 to 2010 he led policy teams in USAID projects dealing with decentralization and local economic development. From 2001 he was Project Director in the Public Administration and Local Government Center (PALGO). He has a PhD degree in economics, a Magister degree in local economic development, and he graduated from the Faculty o Political Sciences in Belgrade. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy from Boston, USA, and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences. His expert and scientific works have been published in Serbian, English and Spanish.

Irena has eight years of experience in regulatory reform in the field of digitization, entrepreneurship and innovation gained by working on projects supported by international and bilateral donors (EU, GIZ, USAID), currently in the position of Head of the Unit for Digitization, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in NALED. She is the author of numerous analyzes in this domain, including the Gray Book of Innovations, Analyzes of the expansion of the system of simplified engagement of workers in temporary and casual jobs, Analyzes of the tax and non-tax burden of beginners in business, Guide for freelancers, etc. In her previous work, she actively contributed to the introduction of the first tax exemption for business beginners, the reform of the system of hiring seasonal workers and freelancers, the legal regulation and recognition of innovative entities in Serbia, as well as the conditions for the use of light electric vehicles and the testing of autonomous vehicles on roads. She is a regular member of the Government's working groups for drafting and amending regulations in the field of digitization, entrepreneurship, and innovation, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration, she coordinated the development of a software solution for simplified reporting of freelancers' income. So far, she has organized and held more than 50 trainings for public servants and entrepreneurs on the topic of tax breaks for small businesses and innovators, freelancer income reporting, smart cities, etc. She completed her basic studies in journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade as a student of the generation, and after that she completed her multidisciplinary master's studies in Terrorism, Organized Crime and Security at the University of Belgrade. She is currently studying for a PhD in Political Science at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. She speaks English and Italian

Ana has many years of experience in regulatory reform in the field of digitization with a special focus on reform within the public sector. For over five years, she has been managing the projects and activities of NALED in the field of digitization and eGovernment. She significantly contributed to the implementation of several reforms in the field of public administration, such as the introduction of counters in municipalities and cities throughout Serbia for registration on the eGovernment Portal, the introduction of the local eGovernment index, but also reforms related to the improvement of the economic environment, such as optimization and digitization the procedure for calculating the tax on the transfer of absolute rights in the procedure of buying and selling used vehicles and amending the Law on Business Companies in the part where companies are required to register on the e-Government Portal. In her previous work, she participated in over 20 working groups of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the amendment of regulations in the field of digitalization. She completed her undergraduate and master's studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences. She speaks English and French.

Aleksandar completed his undergraduate studies in Economics at the Faculty of International Economics and his master's studies in Political Science at the Faculty of Political Sciences. He began building his professional experience at the Ministry of European Integration as a Coordinator for Negotiation Chapters related to the Single Market, where he was involved in coordinating and participating in Serbia's EU accession negotiations and conducting comparative analysis of Serbia's legal and economic systems in alignment with EU standards. He then moved to the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade in the Sector for Multilateral Cooperation and Foreign Trade Policy, where he worked on trade and economic cooperation with the EU, coordinated the National Coordination Body for trade facilitation between Serbia and the public and private sectors, and developed Action Plans for trade facilitation. Throughout his career, he has furthered his education, including at Sciences Po in Paris, interned in Slovenia and Poland, attended training in Geneva on the functioning of the World Trade Organization, and lectured on the EU Single Market at the Future Studies module of the Belgrade Open School and the PoliticKAS module. He joined the NALED team in May 2024.  

Dušan completed his undergraduate studies in International Relations at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. He began building his professional experience in the field of financial leasing at "Hypo Alpe-Adria Leasing," where he worked as a Legal Advisor. Following this, he met the requirements to take and successfully passed the judicial exam before the Ministry of Justice. Dušan then transitioned to the banking sector, holding the position of Senior Legal Advisor at several commercial banks, with a focus on debt collection. His most recent role was at MaxBet in the Compliance Department, where he actively worked on regulatory monitoring, business compliance, data protection, and the development of internal policies. He joined the NALED team in May 2024.

Dušan is a graduate engineer with a master's degree in electrical engineering and an international expert in strategic planning and international policy of environmental protection, renewable energy sources, as well as environmental and energy security and circular economy. During the past three decades, especially as head of the Department for Economy and Environment in the OSCE, he actively contributed to the institutional development and capacity building of Serbia. He played a key role in laying the foundations and institutional development, both in the field of the environment and in the field of renewable energy sources. He participated in numerous international multilateral and bilateral processes and initiatives under the auspices of the OSCE and cooperated with a number of international organizations and financial institutions (UN, OECD, CoE, EU, NATO, ICRC, GIZ, SDC, WB, EBRD, EIB, etc. ). From 2019 to 2024, he was involved in numerous projects of renewable energy sources: Ex-ante analysis of the effects of the circular economy, promotion of the results of GIZ's Climate Waste Management Program, development of four RES Guides for green transformation in the cross-border area of ​​Serbia and Bulgaria, creating the scenario and coordinating the design of video promotional material for the campaign for energy efficiency and energy saving for the National Academy of Public Administration, was engaged as one of the key experts in the preparation of the II Report on the Impact Assessment of Green Bonds for the Ministry of Finance, and initiated the first wind park (Cibuk 1) in Serbia. He joined the NALED team in October 2024.

Jelena graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of East Sarajevo. During her student days, she was active in the NGO sector through membership and active work in a youth organization. She gained her first work experience in the profession while doing an internship at the Kastratović Law Office in Belgrade. After a two-year internship, she got a job at the "Branko Ćopić" elementary school in Belgrade, in the position of lawyer-secretary, where she performed all the legal tasks necessary for the functioning of this institution. She also worked as a lawyer-secretary at the Institute for the Education of Children and Youth in Belgrade, where, in addition to managing the general affairs department, she conducted public procurement procedures, drew up contracts, kept staff and personnel records of employees and all other necessary legal tasks. Jelena is engaged in the Unit for Property and Investments as an Associate for Regulatory Reform.  

Nevena completed Bachelor studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, within the department of Politicology. She gained her first work experience in the municipality of Cukarica, in the Property, Legal and Housing Affairs department, being engaged as an intern. She spent two and a half years at the civil society organization Crta - Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, working on improvement of the transparency, openness and participation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia through the Open Parliament Initiative. She is an alumni of Crta's Academy for Democracy and OSCE Dialogue Academy for Young Women. She was a short-term observer at the Croatian president elections and at the elections for councilors for the Assembly of the City of Belgrade. She speaks English. Nevena joined the NALED team in June 2021 as an associate within the Entrepreneurship and Investments department.

Ilija completed his undergraduate and master's studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade and earned the title of Master of Political Science in International Affairs. Already during his studies, he had the opportunity to intern at the Youth Initiative for Human Rights on the "Justice and Reconciliation" program, and he also stayed at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Zagreb as part of a student exchange. He was a participant in numerous programs related to reconciliation and cooperation of young people in the Western Balkans. He was also the recipient of a scholarship from the "Studenica" Foundation, as well as a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. Ilija joined NALED in 2021 as policy intern, after which he moved to the position of policy officer in 2022. Today, he is in the position of policy specialist in the Unit for Digitization, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He speaks English.

Jovana graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences, majoring in international relations. During her studies, she was a member of the School of Sustainable Development and Ecology" - CEDEM and a member of the BIMUN (Belgrade International Model United Nations) conference in the Economic and Social Committee. Jovana peaks 3 languages ​​perfectly: English, French and Italian. She wants to develop her work experience and knowledge in a progressive and innovative system that contributes to the improvement of the business environment in Serbia. She joined the NALED team as an Intern for Regulatory Reform.

Ivana Ristivojević completed her undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, in the Department of International Relations. During her studies, she was active in the NGO sector through volunteering and work in student organizations and other initiatives, which marked the beginning of her journey in social activism. She gained her first work experience in the private sector, where she developed skills in communication and team management, especially in customer care. Her dedication to improving service quality enabled her to acquire key competencies for further professional growth. Over two years ago, Ivana decided to continue her career in the civil sector, with the desire to contribute to positive social change. She joined the European Movement in Serbia, where she advanced in her position, honing her skills and contributing to the development of the organization. She was responsible for managing projects related to women's mentorship, regional development, and youth support, with a special focus on the personal and professional empowerment of women, as well as improving intersectoral cooperation to promote the effective development and implementation of smart specialization policies and balanced regional development in Serbia. She joined the NALED team in March 2025.

Petar Slavković completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Business Management with a focus on International Business at the Faculty of Economics. During his studies, he was actively involved in civil society organizations aimed at raising public awareness about current issues and potential solutions. He joined the NALED team in January 2024.