Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA)

CRTA is a group of activists and journalists that engages with both citizens and institutions in an effort for higher institutional and public officials’ accountability in Serbia through monitoring and oversight of their work.

Since 2009 CRTA empowers citizens to participate in political process and demand accountability from their representatives. Aiming to establish accountability as core democratic value in Serbian political culture, CRTA advocacy efforts rely on the three-pronged approach: a) accountability in the work of politicians, b) institutional accountability, and c) accountability in public finances. CRTA provided citizens with opportunity to directly engage in accountability advocacy and monitoring by having developed several accountability and transparency online tools: Istinomer, Otvoreni parlament, Prati pare, Vodite računa and Mito. Through these initiatives CRTA increased its influence among the Serbian public and positioned itself as credible actor in raising demand for accountability in politicians’ and public institutions’ work.

By advocating for accountability to take roots and become guiding principle in Serbian democracy, CRTA initiated informed public debate about accountability among both politicians and citizens.

By providing solid facts and evidence about politicians’ and institutions’ accountability, CRTA’s accountability and transparency tools became relevant and credible information sources for citizens, media and CSOs. In its efforts to establish strong community of publically engaged citizens, CRTA directly communicates with around 300.000 citizens monthly through these tools. CRTA empowers civil society to influence true democratic changes when accountability in the work of politicians and public institutions is breached. CRTA’s accountability and transparency tools also enable high quality media reporting on accountability and transparency issues, thus laying preconditions for reinforcing the watchdog role of the media.

With the general lack of citizens’ interest to participate in political processes, low trust in public institutions and challenges to the freedom of media, CRTA’s accountability tools are almost only remaining independent and credible sources of accountability information, with great potential to influence substantial democratic changes and establish accountability as part of political culture in Serbia.

CRTA received the international recognition for innovation, commitment and contribution to democracy through the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, awarded by the National Democratic Institute in 2013.

General information:
Address: 7/16 Nušićeva Street, Belgrade, Serbia
Phone number: +381 11 303 5014
E-mail: [email protected]
Website (under construction): http://www.crta.rs
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/CRTA-Center-for-Research-Transparency-and-Accountability/246944101993258
TW: @CRTArs: https://twitter.com/CRTArs
YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVvI74ipyn7bkjIFHqeknkQ