Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

Author: Simona Ognenovska, MCIC 
Date: October, 2017
ISBN: 978-608-4681-96-0
PDF: analysis-of-budget-funding-for-civil-society-organizations-at-central-level.pdf

Every year funds from the budget are allocated for civil society organizations mainly via the budget item 463-Transfers to Non-Governmental Organization, on average MKD 270 million per year (0.14% of the total expenditures of the budget of the Republic of Macedonia) in the period 2013-2016. The distribution of budget funds is done by the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia via the Unit for Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Organizations (4%) and on average 10 different public administrative bodies for various forms of organization (96%). A significant part of the budget funds is provided from a specific source of income, i.e. games of chance and entertaining games (29%-39%).

Apart from the comprehensive overview of the legal frame of the model, there is an overview of its implementation in practice. Тhe analysis is based on information gained from the primary and secondary source of information, i.e. the web questionnaire that MCIC project team has prepared and to which 254 CSOs gave responses and desk researches (laws and bylaws). 

In this analysis a short overview is given regarding the process of allocating funds for CSOs from the revenues from games of chance and lotteries. 

The analysis is made of four parts. The first p art covers the environment in which civil society organizations work, as well as the basic parameters for seeing the economic value of the civil sector. The second part gives a general overview of the existing state funding model for civil society organizations and the principals it is based on. In the third part there is an overview of the legal basis for financing from budget funds, the ways of financing of various public administrative bodies, as well as all phases of the procedure for granting and management of funds (programming, call execution and collecting applications, assessment, decision making and announcing the results, signing contracts, reporting, monitoring and evaluation of the effects and participation of CSOs in all phases). The last part provides conclusions based on the finds of the analysis, which are the basis for the recommendations for reforms of the state funding model for the civil society organizations.

The Analysis of Budget Funding for Civil Society Organizations at Central Level has been prepared within the project Towards Reformed Public Funding for CSOs, implemented by MCIC and CNVOS. The project has been funded by the European Union.