BiH Country Report Presentation: The Monitoring Matrix Can Guide the Needed Change for Civil Society in BiH

On 27 March, the BiH Country Monitoring Matrix Report was presented to 50 participants at the Parliamentary Assembly in Sarajevo. In the opening sessions, both Martin Schieder (EUD) and Dana Beegan (USAID) stressed that the Monitoring Matrix and the BiH Country Report can be credited for being a locally-driven initiative supported by both donors and a tool which needs to be recognized and taken on board by public institutions. The Report presented by Center for Promotion of Civil Society (CPCS), BCSDN member and BiH in-country partner, has highlighted a lacking institutional framework (Strategy, government coordinative mechanism) and a need for a unique or unified register of CSOs across the country and different state levels as well as a unified approach to transparent and accountable state funding for CSOs as some of the key problems to be tackled. CPCS identified 5 concrete issues to be addressed based on the report findings and invited all stakeholders to support their advocacy campaign to finalize and adopt a Government strategy; fiscal reform; improvement of credibility of CSOs via development of codes of conduct; and development of a unique approach to state funding and initiative for establishment of national foundation for disbursement of funds. BiH’s Country Report is available here.