The potential benefit for Serbia offered by multi-sector partnerships is enormous: they could provide solutions to burning issues in local communities in terms of local development while they could bring about welcome transformations within and across sectors due to their impact on increased access to resources, service-focused leadership, participatory and inclusive decision making practices, and results that build on synergies. Partnership development, however, faces a number of outstanding problems, linked to the legal, administrative and historical framework, that constrain the emergence of NGOs and their participation in civic life. A number of obstacles with regard to trust, communication and capacities in the local communities aggravate this situation. The government has to learn to communicate effectively with citizens and their initiatives, whilst NGOs have to be more aware of their social responsibility. Well-established NGOs and local government should play a more pro-active role and combine their resources and skills towards collective ends.