Technical Assistance for Civil
Society Organisations
Macedonian office
This project is funded by the
European Union
REPORT
from the consultations on „Situation and challenges regarding the public
funding of associations and foundations“
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Report from the consultative workshops
3. Conclusions and recommendations
Introduction
The needs assessments done within the TACSO project in the last years, as well as other
relevant reports, have identified that the financing of civil society organisations (CSOs) from the
state budget is still not sufficiently developed in the country and it is not a significant source of
funding for CSOs in comparison to other sources of funding. Therefore, the TACSO project
commenced a sequence of consultative workshops aiming at facilitating a debate on the topic
among CSOs and other relevant institutions in the country. The objective was to identify the
specific deficiencies and challenges in the system and to give proposals for improvements and
reforms.
The consultative workshops were held on 30th June in Skopje, on 2 July in Bitola and on 9 July in
Radovish. There were 82 representatives of CSOs as well as representatives from the State
Secretary of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia – Unit for Cooperation with NGOs.
2. Report from the consultative workshops
2.1. Introduction and presentations
The workshops were opened by Suncica Sazdovska, Resident Advisor of the TACSO project who
gave introductory information about the importance of the topic and the reasoning behind this
activity. She explained that in general the state budget is a significant source of funding for
CSOs and a precondition for their sustainability. Further on, she emphasized that the Guidelines
for EU support to civil society for the period 2014-2020 have foreseen a result that needs to be
achieved in this period and according to which the support from the Government for CSOs
should be increased, should be available and given in transparent, accountable, fair and nondiscriminatory manner.
The representatives from the TACSO resource centre by Macedonian Center for International
Cooperation – Emina Nuredinoska and Simona Ognenovska gave introductory presentations on
the state of play regarding the topic and MCIC’s views on the problems and the possible
solutions, as well as a presentation on the comparative experiences from the countries in the
region and EU countries. In the presentation, it was explained that the system of financial
support from the state functions through allocating direct financial support by the General
Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, allocating a portion of the
revenues from games of chance and lotteries as well as providing financial support by the
ministries and other public administration bodies. The identified key problems which were
emphasized in the presentations are: inadequate amount of financial support in comparison to
the needs (and the geographical regions); non-compliance to the rules from the Codex
Macedonian TACSO office • Nikola Parapunov 41А • 1060 Skopje • Tel: +389 2 3225 340 • Fax: +389 2 3290 684 • e-mail: info.mk@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherland • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Technical Assistance for Civil
Society Organisations
Macedonian office
This project is funded by the
European Union
(procedure, criteria, timely information, contracting, report on implemented activities …), lack
of transparency, lack of funds for institutional support to CSOs; no possibilities for co-funding
and pre-funding of EU and other projects from other donors for CSOs. With respect to the
revenues from games of chance and lotteries allocated to CSOs, it was emphasized that there is
no clear information about the manner and the criteria for granting these funds, no open calls
and the number of beneficiaries is limited only to several organisations, the maximum amount
of funds that can be given pursuant to the law is never granted (for instance for 2008 only 7%
are given in comparison to the upper limit of 50%).
The comparative data from the countries in the region that were presented show that in some
countries (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) the funds for CSOs are significantly higher
than those allocated to CSOs in Macedonia. In some countries various types of support are
available such as institutional, project, co-funding, pre-funding, annual and multiannual
financial support. In some countries, CSOs have opportunities to impact the policies for funding
CSOs by their participation in advisory bodies. Positive examples from several EU countries
(Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia) were also presented which are characterized by
well-developed systems for funding CSOs from the state budget that take into account the
needs and the specific characteristics of the organisations and that ensure transparency in the
processes. A comparison was made between the EU funds and the funds from the state
budgets in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia and it was concluded that according to the
amount of funds allocated, the state budget is also a significant source of funding for CSOs
besides the EU funds.
2.2. Discussion from the working groups
After the presentations, the working groups worked on identifying challenges and giving
proposals for needed changes regarding the sources and the mechanisms for financing CSOs
from the state budget as well as the procedure for granting and managing funds.
Funding sources and mechanisms
Regarding the funding sources and mechanisms, the issues discussed were related to the tax
frame and the policies, the existing sources and the adequacy of financial support, the mandate
of the institutions regarding funding of CSOs and the possibilities for CSOs’ participation in
decision making on this issue.
In terms of the legal frame and the policies for funding CSOs from the state budget it was
discussed that the problems are complex and systemic and that there are shortcomings in
several laws. According to the participants the lack of serious approach and the insufficient
recognition of CSOs and civic activism is reflected in the policies, thus, low priority is given to
issues related to CSOs. Some organisations believe that there is unequal treatment of all
organisations. It was recommended that there is a need for changes to the laws and translation
of the codex of good practices for funding CSOs into legal regulation. Some of the participants
emphasized the need for the Government to pay special attention to balanced allocation of
funds by geographic regions, in order to stimulate CSOs from the rural areas and to define
priority areas for providing support.
Macedonian TACSO office • Nikola Parapunov 41А • 1060 Skopje • Tel: +389 2 3225 340 • Fax: +389 2 3290 684 • e-mail: info.mk@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherland • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Technical Assistance for Civil
Society Organisations
Macedonian office
This project is funded by the
European Union
The organisations believe that the existing public financial support to CSOs is insufficient and
they proposed an increase in the funds that are given on national level as well as those given by
the municipalities.
Some of the participants proposed determining % of the state budget that will be earmarked
for CSOs. Additionally, it was emphasised that there is a need for reforms to the system of
allocating the revenues from games of chance and lotteries since at present only a small
number of CSOs that are active in several areas have access to these funds. It was proposed
that the financial support should not be limited only to project support, but also to provide
institutional support and co-financing.
According to the participants, the whole system should undergo more extensive reform not
only with respect to creating various sources of funding but also with respect to the funding
modalities. It is also necessary to seek other approaches for supporting CSOs through
decentralization of the social services and involving CSOs in delivering these services, through
benefits for CSOs doing economic activities and tax exemptions for those organisations, other
tax benefits for CSOs, providing working conditions (technical equipment, office space etc.)
support and benefits for employment in CSOs, facilitating procedures for the business sector
that would like to support CSOs, giving awards and prizes to CSOs etc.
With respect to the institutions responsible for allocating and managing the funds for CSOs, it
was emphasized that there is a need for better transparency in their work and the fact that
those institutions lack capacities for managing the funds. This particularly refers to the
management of EU funds for CSOs that are distributed by the Government, funds which are not
fully used. It was proposed that the institutions should have functional offices for cooperation
with CSOs which will provide trainings on preparing applications for funds and will guide them
in the project implementation process.
In terms of the adequacy of the funding, it was stated that the allocation of resources is not
balanced, that not all types of CSOs are covered, especially CSOs with small budget. Some of
the participants had remarks on the grant size and they believe that the funds are insufficient
and do not ensure funding for activities that will have greater impact.
Regarding the issue of involving CSOs in creating policies for CSOs’ funding, the participants
believe that currently there is no form that can ensure organisations’ involvement and that
there is a need for establishment of structure that CSOs can use to impact the priority setting in
these policies.
Procedure for granting and managing the funds
Regarding the procedure for granting funds and managing the funds it was discussed about the
access to information, transparency of the procedures, criteria for granting funds, the
application requirements, application deadlines, and requirements for reporting, monitoring
and evaluation.
Concerning the access to information and transparency of the procedures, the participants
believe that CSOs are not well informed about the available funding sources. This is especially
problem for small CSOs. In order to improve the access to information, it was proposed to
establish centralized database of open calls for CSOs for the funds from the state budget.
Macedonian TACSO office • Nikola Parapunov 41А • 1060 Skopje • Tel: +389 2 3225 340 • Fax: +389 2 3290 684 • e-mail: info.mk@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherland • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Technical Assistance for Civil
Society Organisations
Macedonian office
This project is funded by the
European Union
Additionally, it was emphasized that media, especially the social media, should be used more
intensively for informing CSOs. According to the participants, the resource centres could give
significant support by providing information and supporting CSOs in the application process. It
was emphasized that there is a lack of transparency in the allocation of resources, especially
with respect to funds granted on local level.
According to the participants, frequently the actual procedure for granting funds is
insufficiently transparent and unclear. Often the criteria are unclear or unknown, the procedure
set in the Codex of good practices for financing CSOs is not applied, with rare exceptions, and
the organisations are under impression that there is unequal treatment and political party
affiliation impacts the decision making process. The selection criteria should also take into
account the results of previously implemented projects funded by the state, assess the quality
of operation of the organisation, and the grant size should correspond to the successfulness of
the CSO in the previous period. There should be different criteria for small and large
organisations.
Concerning the application requirements, the organisations believe that the administrative
procedure are insufficiently adjusted, thus, sometimes they are overcomplicated for the small
organisations and therefore small organisations are put at a disadvantage. According to the
participants, there is a need for different approaches and requirements for different open calls
depending on the grant size and the profile of organisations that the grants are targeting. The
alleviating of the burden on organisations during application is possible if the application
procedure is organized in two phases i.e. concept note and full application.
According to the participants there are no special requirements for the organisations regarding
their accountability therefore the public is not familiar with the results from the implemented
projects. Thus, there is a need for better media coverage of CSOs and their promotion on
national level. Special website for CSOs with national register of organisations and their
activities could contribute to this end. Additionally, the participants believe that in the project
implementation phase the least attention is paid to project monitoring and evaluation and they
recommend to put focus not only on controlling the finances but also the practical project
implementation.
3. Conclusions and recommendations
Main conclusions that resulted from the consultative workshops are:
- The funds given by the state to CSOs do not meet CSOs’ needs and are not in line with
the comparative data from the region.
- The policies for funding CSOs do not facilitate equal access to funds for organisations of
different size and development level.
- There are no different forms of financial support (programme funding, institutional
grants, co-financing) as well as other forms (tax incentives, awards) and non-financial
support (access to technical equipment, office space).
- The procedure for allocating funds is most often not transparent and the Codex of good
practices is rarely applied.
- The legal possibilities for granting more funds from games of chance and lotteries are
not fully used.
Macedonian TACSO office • Nikola Parapunov 41А • 1060 Skopje • Tel: +389 2 3225 340 • Fax: +389 2 3290 684 • e-mail: info.mk@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherland • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Technical Assistance for Civil
Society Organisations
Macedonian office
-
-
This project is funded by the
European Union
The allocation of funds from the games of chance and lotteries are particularly not
transparent and inadequate (they are given to small number of organisations without
open call).
Organisations have insufficient access to information about public funds and open calls.
Organisations have no support in the preparation of applications.
The application requirements are a big burden for some organisations and sometime
they do not correspond to the amount of funds to be allocated.
There is insufficient accountability and it is not requested for the spent funds and the
implemented projects by CSOs.
The public is not familiar with the results from the activities implemented with public
financial support.
Key recommendations proposed at the workshops are:
- To increase the funds allocated from the state budget for CSOs and to determine certain
% from the budget.
- To translate the principles and the procedures defined in the Codex of good practices
into a legal regulation.
- To develop various mechanisms of financial support besides the project funding
(institutional grants, co-financing, social services).
- Full reform to the system of giving funds for CSOs from games of chance and lotteries.
- To strengthen the capacities of the institutions that give funds, in order to increase their
transparency and to ensure assistance for CSOs in the application process.
- To adjust the criteria and the administrative requirements to the grant size and the
profile of organisations that the funds are targeting.
- To undertake measures for better access to information about available funds and their
utilization (web-site with open calls, register of CSOs).
- To introduce financial incentives for CSOs (tax exemption for CSOs doing economic
activities, rewards etc.)
- To introduce non-financial support (office space, access to equipment).
Macedonian TACSO office • Nikola Parapunov 41А • 1060 Skopje • Tel: +389 2 3225 340 • Fax: +389 2 3290 684 • e-mail: info.mk@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherland • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia