Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

The Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) is a network consisting of 14 civil society and ecumenical organizations from 10 countries from the Balkan (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and Serbia). The main goal of the network is strengthening of the efforts aimed at coordination, cooperation and capacity building of the organizations members and other partners in South¬East Europe (SEE). MCIC manages the program and Secretariat of the Network.

The main goal of the Network is strengthening of the efforts aimed at coordination, cooperation and capacity building of the organizations members and other partners in South-East Europe (SEE). MCIC manages the BNT program and Secretariat of the Network.

The objective of the project was to improve the cross-border and cross-sector cooperation among civil society organizations in the Balkan.
The target group were BNT members (ACSF, DA, MCIC, PF, WAD, NIT, EOS, EHO, AID-Rom, OAR, WAWY, CRNVO, CNVOS KCSF, VESTA), other relevant civil society organizations and the public.

The main activity was preparation and dissemination of weekly news (Weekly e-mail alerts). The weekly e-mail alerts consist of four categories: news, fundraising, training and educational opportunities and publications. Each of the categories contains brief news with the main data on the basis of which the beneficiaries may receive fast and clear information on the ongoing opportunities in fundraising, training, exchange, volunteering and other, from the EU and region. The weekly e-mail alerts are disseminated in electronic form (html format) and are disseminated by electronic mail to all BCSDN members as well as other interested CSOs. From the starting list of 281 beneficiaries (i.e individuals or organizations), the number of beneficiaries on the list, at the end of the project, was increased to 310 beneficiaries. The average edition contains 9 to 10 information pieces. Each edition is published on the BCSDN internet site as well. The weekly news are published twice a month, t.e. total of 24 editions were disseminated.

In order to evaluate the quality of the news, in August and September an electronic survey was conducted among the beneficiaries. According to its results, the beneficiaries are satisfied with the content, quality and format of the news. The main added value of the news is the focus on the CSOs in the region and their need for ongoing information. According to the survey, the beneficiaries in the future are prepared to pay for the service which enables additional opportunity for sustainability of the news. The details from the survey are available on the BCSDN internet page.

Cooperation

In the framework of the last weekly news, cooperation with ECAS from Brussels and CNVOS from Slovenia was realized, however, it did not continue due to lack of additional funds. The news are receiving more attention since there is no similar activity in the region, which increases the information exchange by the CSOs. Still, it is not on the level which secures that the news can be made sustainable in the true meaning of the word. Therefore, identification of opportunities for cooperation with similar national and regional organizations, active in the field of information exchange, is ongoing.

Project Organization

MCIC was responsible for implementation of the project. The project team was composed of the Project Officer (Tanja Hafner Ademi), responsible for the selection and design and the Junior Project Officer (Zdenka Videnova), responsible for formatting and distribution. The project encompassed activities which were part of the RBM program for 2008.

Reporting, monitoring and evaluation

The progress of this project was monitored through regular meetings of the project team. The Head of Department for Cross-Sector and International Program directly followed the project realization.

Assessment of the quality and relevance of the project was made, through survey of the beneficiaries. The survey’s results state the satisfaction of the final beneficiaries regarding the essence, quality and format of the news.

Follow-Up activities

On the basis of the expressed satisfaction from the BCSDN members and other beneficiaries, the weekly news became the main activity of the Network and MCIC, as the Secretariat of the Network. It is expected that the weekly news will continue in the year to come with its content and format, by placing the focus on the financial sustainability and creation of mechanisms for facilitating the CSOs for information sharing.

Извршно резиме од проектот.