Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

One of the long-term goals of MCIC is deeply rooted and dynamic civil society with influence on the public policy making. In order to achieve this, MCIC is focusing on the institutional development of the civil society. Besides the creation of enabling environment for the civil society organizations (CSOs), developing the communication and cooperation among CSOs and their values, MCIC also assess the civil society and the societal responsibility of citizens.

The Civil Society Index (CSI) is an established way of surveying and assessing the state of the civil society. In 2008, MCIC applied at the open call of the Civicus - World Alliance for Citizen Participation to be a national coordinating organisation and was selected for the second time to coordinate and implement Civicus – Civil Society Index in the Republic of Macedonia. CSI methodology is designed to analyze 65 indicators and measure the following five core dimensions: Civic Engagement; Level of Organization; Practice of Values; Perceived Impact and External environment. These indicators are analyzed through public survey on a national representative sample, survey of the CSOs, in depth-interviews with stakeholders, case studies and various debates among different actors in the society.

The overall objective of the project is strengthened civil society, improved sustainability and participation in the positive societal changes. The project purpose is to gather and share useful and relevant information on the state of civil society. The target group is the general public, CSOs, state institutions, media and business sector. Direct beneficiaries are over 6,000 civil society organizations, trade unions, religious communities, employers’ organizations and chambers of commerce. The project will be implemented in the Republic of Macedonia, while most of the activities will be realized in Skopje.

Expected results of the project are: the relevant factors are informed on the state of CSOs in Macedonia; organized forums for exchange of knowledge on CSOs; defined recommendations for strengthening the CSOs and strengthened capacity for surveying of the participants in the project.

The project activities will be realized through:

1. Informing the relevant factors on the state of CSOs: survey of the civil society organizations (organizational survey); external perceptions survey; population survey; civil society diamond; preparation of case studies; data analysis; preparation of draft report and policy summary; and promotion and distribution of CSI products.
2. Organizing forums for exchange of knowledge on CSOs: meetings of the Advisory Committee; regional focus group meetings and national workshop.
3. Defining recommendations for strengthening the CSOs: defining conclusions and recommendations by National Index team; and reviewing and validating the conclusions and the recommendations.
4. Strengthened capacity for surveying of the participants in the project: strengthening the research capacity of MCIC staff and improving the capacities for analysis and public debate on civil society.

Implementation period: September 1, 2009 – July 30, 2010.

The project enables and requires inclusion of several actors from different sectors. Over 100 representatives of the civil society organizations, governmental institutions, Parliament, local government, media, universities, churches and faith communities, trade unions, political parties, enterprises, chambers of commerce and others will participate in the project.

The Civil Society Index findings are useful for drafting future researches and surveys of the public opinion on the civil society, strengths and weaknesses of the CSOs, legal and fiscal environment for functioning of CSOs, etc. The added value of the CSI is active participation of various actors of the society, which would allow establishment of contacts between different sectors, but also starting and improving the communication and cooperation.

The project costs will be covered by the program Institutional Development of the Civil Society. The foreseen direct costs amount to 930,000 MKD. The project is funded by EED, UNDP and MCIC.