Under ICNL’s Legal Innovation Fund, supported by USAID and PACT, the Monitoring Matrix and Toolkit on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development was published by the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN). Developed together with ECNL’s partners in the Balkan region, the Matrix monitors the progress in creating an enabling environment for civil society development and has been designed to respond to the needs of the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey.
ECNL provided overall strategic support and expertise to the expert team during the development of the Matrix in methodological and thematic issues. ECNL also brought in a wider international and legal perspective so that the Matrix and the Toolkit can potentially serve civil society communities outside of the Balkans.
The Matrix presents the main principles and standards that have been identified as crucial to exist in order for the legal environment to be considered as supportive and enabling for the operations of CSOs. It underscores the fact that enabling environment is a complex concept, which includes various areas and depends on several factors and phases of development of the society and the civil society sector.
The Matrix is organized around three areas, each divided by sub-areas:
- Basic Legal Guarantees of Freedoms;
- Framework for CSOs’ Financial Viability and Sustainability;
- Government – CSO Relationship.