Political Commitment to Evidence-Based Youth Policy

• the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (Republički zavod za statistiku), 
• Institute for Sociological Research (Inistitut za sociološka istraživanja)
• Institute for Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade (Institut za psihologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Beogradu),
• Centre for Politicological Research and Public Opinion of the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade (Centar za politikološka istraživanja i javno mnjenje Instituta društvenih nauka u Beogradu),
• National Youth Council of Serbia (Krovna organizacija mladih u Srbiji KOMS),
• Psychosocial Innovation Network (PIN – Mreža psihosocijalnih inovacija),

as well as various other institutes and organisations.

Cooperation between policy-making and research

There are different ways in which cooperation between policy-making and research is established.

Besides the research conducted by the Ministry of Tourism and Youth, the research conducted by higher education institutions, relevant research institutions, organisations and experts in the field, serve as the ground for the development of the legal and other official state documents. 

For instance, the following resources served as a basis for the preparation of the current Youth Strategy (the list is not exhaustive): 

• A comparative analysis of the National Strategy for Youth of the Republic of Serbia 2015–2025. and international and national strategies/programmes in the field of youth policy (Uporedna analiza Nacionalne strategije za mlade za period od 2015. do 2025. godine i međunarodnih i nacionalnih strategija/programa u oblasti omladinske politike)
• Various Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia data
• Various Eurostat data
• Survey on the position and needs of young people in the Republic of Serbia, 2021
• Basic Indicators of Position of the Youth in Serbia, 2020 (Osnovni pokazatelji položaja mladih u Srbiji, 2020)
• Report on Human Rights of the Youth in the Republic of Serbia in 2020 (Izveštaj o ljudskim pravima mladih u Republici Srbiji u 2020. godini)

The Ministry of Tourism and Youth also cooperates with international organizations and institutions on external evaluations, such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In 2023–2024, the Ministry, UNFPA, and the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation cooperated on the development of the Youth Wellbeing Index (Indeks blagostanja mladih) which is intended to be used regularly as a comprehensive tool for measuring and monitoring the position of young people and the effects of youth policies. 

National Statistics and available data sources

The key actor collecting comprehensive statistical data on population (including youth population) is the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (Republički zavod za statistiku). The Office performs expert tasks related to the adoption of programmes, as well as the organization and conduct of statistical surveys. To date, its activities related to youth analysis have been carried out within various studies, such as:

• labour force surveys, 
• Population census, 
• education statistics, etc. 

Additionally, the Statistical Office has established the NEET indicator (young people not in employment, education, or training), specifically designed to monitor the situation of the youth population.

The Ministry of Tourism and Youth regular Survey on Position and Needs of Youth of the Republic of Serbia analyse status, challenges, attitudes on social issues that young people share in Serbia. Specific focus is given to: 

• education,
• employment, 
• professional practices, 
• security,
• health, 
• mobility, 
• culture, 
• information, 
• activism, etc.  

Budgetary allocations supporting research in the youth field

The government does not have a line of funding for research on the youth explicitly supporting evidence-based youth policy making apart from resources allocated to the Ministry of Tourism and Youth (e.g., Law on Budget, 2026 – Zakon o budžetu Republike Srbije za 2026. godinu).