In Western European countries, the approach of civil society organizations (CSOs) to state funding is related to the concept of public good and the right of each individual to associate with other citizens in order to exercise a common right, idea or activity(s) which do not satisfy the public or private sector. Today’s good practices in the European context are guided by the definition of the role of CSOs in the development of society, in order to achieve the public good, in order for them to be financially sustainable and to act autonomously and independently of others, primarily political and private influences and interests.
In the three consecutive strategic documents in the field of cooperation and development of the civil sector in the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM), the regulation and improvement of the state funding of CSOs are envisaged as one of the priority measures. However, there is still a complete reform of the system and procedures, especially in order to develop a model and framework that would be based on defining the public good and the needs of CSOs based on a clear vision for the contribution of CSOs in society, i.e. their contribution in the socio-economic development of RNM.
The analysis also refers to the overall existing normative framework, primarily the practice of state funding of CSOs. The introduction and improvement of the specific type of support should be harmonized and add value to the existing framework. Second, the existing analyzes indicate that the approach of CSOs to state funding in RNM is not in line with their needs, trends and European practices and reform efforts for transparent, accountable and responsible public institutions, and therefore requires a complete reform.
The full text of the analysis can be found here:
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This analysis is a product of the established cooperation between the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Department for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations of the General Secretariat of the Government and the Council of the Government for Cooperation and Development of the Civil Sector with the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia regarding the fulfillment of the strategic goal “Improvement of the system of state financing of civil society organizations”, set out in the Government Strategy for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Society (2018-2020) and the plan for implementation of measure 6: “Establishment of a transparent and trustworthy model for state financing, by establishing a single fund for institutional development of civil society organizations and for co-financing of EU projects “.
The Foundation Open Society – Macedonia provided financial and expert support for the preparation of the “Analysis of the financial support of the associations and foundations from the budget of the Republic of North Macedonia (from 2017 to the first half of 2019) with comparative analysis of the models for state financing from other countries and the proposed model of the Fund for support and development of the civil society and for co-financing of the EU projects in RNM.”
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11 November 2020