to identify approaches and strategies from the lessons learned of the MIA of Croatia to be included into the police reform strategy of the MIA in Tajikistan. From 16-23 September, the Counter Terrorism and Police Programme conducted focus group and individual interviews in the Tajikistan MIA and in the Community Policing pilot sites of Gharm and Kayrokkum. In these sessions, the Programme surveyed participant perspectives on goals, concerns, indicators, and methods for police reform in general, with specific focus on systematic civil society integration. The focus group goals included: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Engaging and informing stakeholders; Gauging support for civil society participation; Gathering information needed to align programme design with participant needs; Providing a baseline for ongoing monitoring and evaluation; and Strengthening the OSCE’s ability to advocate for substantive civil society participation in the Police Reform Programme. The sessions were arranged with support from the MIA, OSCE Field Offices, and the Emergence Group (the implementing partner of the U.S. Embassy for the Community Policing Programme). In order to broaden engagement and improve validity, the Programme was exploring further sessions at the MIA and the remaining Community Policing pilot site in Dusti. The Programme’s plan was to integrate these sessions into an ongoing process that combined systematic civil society participation with substantive OSCE monitoring of the Programme’s impact throughout the country. On 28 September, the OSCE presented the general, anonymous findings of the focus groups as well as an initial proposal for systematic civil society integration at the first “Operational Congress of the Police Reform Working Group” in Dushanbe. On 28 September, the OiT and the MIA jointly supported the “1st Police Reform Working Group Meeting”, which was a major step towards implementing Tajikistan’s police reform in line with democratic principles. The meeting included a presentation on the Police Reform Strategy entitled “The Future of Law Enforcement in Tajikistan” by OSCE experts, the inauguration of the OSCE/MIA Police Reform Co-ordination Office, and a discussion of key documents and the issue of implementation planning. The OSCE and MIA invited the leaderships of the Embassies of the European Union, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States to be permanent members in the Steering Group Meetings. In October, the OiT Counter Terrorism and Police Unit developed and proposed a system for substantively integrating Tajikistan’s civil society in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the National Police Reform Programme. The Unit designed the proposal guided by the findings from focus groups and interviews conducted with Police Reform Operational Steering Group members in the MIA as well as civil society representatives from Dusti, Gharm, and Qayroqqum. The proposal establishes a Civil Society Support Group of community leaders and rights experts from the greater Dushanbe area that was going to work in co-ordination with elected community representatives from the Badakhshan, Khatlon and Sughd provinces and the greater Rasht Valley region. These representatives were going to meet with the Police Reform Operational Steering Group three times per year at “National Police Reform Partnership Meetings” in Dushanbe. Throughout the rest of the year, the Police Reform Programme worked with OSCE field offices and a Badakhshan partner organization to conduct community outreach, local meetings, and communication with the Operational Steering Group. The system also enabled the integration of donors and relevant national and international organizations. Based on the planning and outreach conducted in 2011, implementation of the civil society participation system was designed to begin in 2012 as an extra-budgetary activity. 114