In January 2007, the Macedonian Government adopted the Strategy for Cooperation with the Civil Sector (2007-2011) and the accompanying Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy. The aim of the Strategy is to promote the cooperation of the Government with the civil sector and support its development. It provides an overall guidance framework for a national policy of cooperation and support to the civil sector based on agreed principles and priorities. The Strategy and Action Plan provide a framework, mechanisms and policies that aim to:
- Strengthen and promote of the cooperation of the Government and the citizens associations and foundations;
- Enable the state administration, through specific guidelines to recognize the role of the civil sector and to develop mutual partnership;
- Enable greater citizens engagement and influence through their associations and foundations, in the policy and decision-making processes;
- Improve the conditions for further strengthening and development of the citizens associations and foundations by creating favorable legal and institutional environment;
- Improve the conditions for sustainable development of the civil sector;
- Create legal and institutional provisions for the implementation of the standards of the European Union for this area;
- Improve access to public information.
The Strategy was developed based on a comprehensive analysis of comparative experiences and the domestic situation. The draft text was discussed during several roundtable discussions with CSOs and other stakeholders.
ECNL provided expertise in developing a comparative chart on existing strategies for cooperation across Europe, designing the concept of the Strategy and drafting the content of the Strategy and the Action Plan. This activity is a component of a bigger project which aims to build the capacity of the Government Unit for Cooperation with CSOs, develop visibility measures to ensure the Unit's accessibility and visibility; and provide recommendations for transparent selection criteria and procedures for governmental support to CSOs., which is implemented by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (Macedonia) and COWI A/S (Denmark). The project is funded by the European Agency for Reconstruction. ECNL supported the development of similar strategies in Hungary and Latvia.