Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

The trust and the public opinion on the civil society are preconditions for inclusion of citizens in the civil society organizations, which is still very low. The general familiarity with the civil society organizations is good, and there is an increasing knowledge of the organizations that work in specific areas. The trust in the civil society organizations is divided and is on decline. On the other hand, the trust in the civil society is increasing when one goes from the general towards more specific terms, which means that in general the term civil society is stereotyped and misunderstood (MCIC, 2008). The stereotyping of civil sector should be addressed seriously and comprehensively, it is necessary to raise the public awareness and disseminate more information. The case studies represent in-depth and systematic analysis of specific issues important to the civil sector.

The overall objective of the project is to provide enabling environment for effective functioning of civil society organizations. The project purpose is to share relevant information and analysis on the state of civil society.

The target group is comprised of the general public and the civil society organizations. Direct beneficiaries are the CSOs. The target area is the Republic of Macedonia, while the activities will be implemented in Skopje.

Expected results of the project are: assessed situation of the civil society on certain issues and informed public on the state of civil society.

In order to achieve the planned results, the following activities will be undertaken:

a) Preparation of Case Studies: The case studies will focus on the five dimensions of the civil society, defined within Civicus – Civil Society Index (CSI): civic engagement, level of organization, practicing values, perception of impact and environment. The topics of the case studies were selected to address the existing stereotypes present in the general public, but also in the specific target groups, as well as the issues of civil society where in-depth analysis is needed. During the selection, the findings of MCIC’s annual surveys and issues arising from CSI were taken into consideration
For preparation of the case studies, public call will be published in the daily newspapers. The stories will include research based analysis. All natural and legal entities will be eligible to apply. An advantage will be given to the university students, with affinity to research the civil society. MCIC’s officers will also have the right to apply. The applicants will receive detailed instructions on how to prepare the case studies, including definition of the topic and potential research questions.
The selection of the authors will be made by the National Index Team (NIT) for CSI based on the experience and the methodology offered by the candidate authors. The selected authors will work in cooperation and consultation with the responsible MCIC officers. They will receive a fee, which will not exceed MKD 30,000 per person.

б) Publishing of “Civic Practices“: NIT will select at least eight and no more than 12 case studies. The approved case studies will be published in three special editions of the “Civic Practices”, while short summary will be also provided in the CSI report.
The editions will be published in Macedonian, Albanian and English language in 200 copies on a CD and will be available on MCIC’s web-site. The publications will be distributed to the civil society organizations, members of the Advisory Committee of CSI, universities, relevant state institutions, media, etc.
The case studies will also serve as a basis for organizing debates on the specific topics and will be an opportunity to inform the public on the important issues for the civil society. Representatives from the civil society organizations, governmental institutions and media will be invited at the debate.

Implementation period: October 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011.

The key assumption affecting the realization of project objectives is the interest and capacity of relevant natural and legal entities to analyze civil society topics; the quality of the offered stories to be published and media are interested to publish information on civil society.

MCIC will cooperate with all relevant civil society organizations and institutions. The open call will be distributed to all relevant faculties in the country in order to be able to enhance the cooperation with the interested students in civil society analysis. The information on project activities will be regularly published on MCIC’s web-site. Media releases will be sent for announcing and/or promoting the case studies and other important activities. The visibility of MCIC will be provided through application of the logo and name on all materials as well as putting the banner with the logo and the name of MCIC.

The budget amounts to MKD 589,400 .