This rank order is made for the purpose of designing Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care Project and is based on the data collected by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry Education, Science and Technological Development, and the Serbian Statistical Office, and informed by research data from international organizations such as UNICEF, OECD, etc.

The crucial ranking criterion was the estimated demand for preschool spaces based on the data gathered by LSGs. The estimated demand of preschool spaces is calculated according to the total number of children born in the municipality, the number of children enrolled in the ECEC programs and the number of children outside the enrolment quota who are placed on the waiting list.

Another major ranking criterion was socio-economic profile of the municipality based on the level of its economic development (remunerations, pensions, budgetary income, general population trends, unemployment rate and degree of vocational education of its citizens).

Additional criteria were the number of families with children aged 3 to 5,5 years eligible for some kind of financial social aid (the Financial Social Assistance, the Child Allowance, etc.) and the percentage of Roma children aged 0 to 14 years.

The ranking of municipalities is the framework for all the activities under ECEC Project. It means that in planning new construction, reconstruction or repurposing of the existing facilities for ECEC purposes the municipalities will be contacted according to their ranking position, starting from the top-ranked municipality downward. All the contacted LSGs that meet the required conditions (such as valid construction and use permits acquired, property disputes settled, sustainability of the newly supplied preschools spaces provided, i.e. having a sufficient number of preschool teachers for the newly-formed groups, etc.) will be included in the activities of the project Component 1 (Expanding the supply of preschools spaces). In case the contacted municipality fails to meet the required conditions, the next municipality on the list will be contacted. Such activities will be conducted in at least 30 municipalities, and depending on the availability of funds, this number would be increased.

Similar method will be used for awarding grants to the ranked municipalities for financing projects aimed at improving preschool services at the local level.