For the eleventh year in a row, FLGR encourages, collects, publishes and disseminates Innovative Practices. The Innovative Practices Project started in September 1998 with the financial support of the Open Society Institute - Budapest and the United State Agency for International Development. This unique project provides a forum for the exchange of experience and has proved to be a sustainable model for collecting and disseminating innovative practices within Bulgarian local government system. From 2002 FLGR conducts Innovative Practices competitions on different topics and awards its Annual Innovative Municipality Award to municipalities that shared the most innovative practices within the current year.

 Criteria for innovative practices are :

1. 1. Innovative approach the practice should present new methods and improved procedures; it should build on existing practices not only at local but at national level as well (within Innovative Practices database); Innovative Practice is not: single act or already implemented and popular initiative in other municipalities;

2. Impact and sustainability of achieved results what are the results of the implemented practice and does the achieved effect positively on citizens, administration, NGOs, local community; is the innovative process a consequence of result-oriented efforts (a single event can not be identified as innovative practice); how is maintained the sustainability of the practice; does the practice contributed to saving valuable resources as time, money etc.;

 3. Applicability is the practice applicable in other Bulgarian municipalities without spending additional financial resources for expensive methods and technology; is the practice well received by the local community; 

4. Partnership is the initiative result of partnership and cooperation between municipality, NGO, business and citizens; how is the partnership accomplished and does it contribute to positive change.

The winners of the contests are: