Partners Albania for Change and Development Published the Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development (CSDev) Report 2019 for Albania

Partners Albania for Change and Development, National Resource Center for Civil Society in Albania, and the Balkan Civil Society Development Network are pleased to present the seventh edition of the Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development (CSDev), covering developments in Albania in 2019.

The report is part of series of country reports covering seven countries in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

The political environment in Albania in 2019 was tense, since the initiative on the vetting of politicians was voted down by the Parliament who announced a boycott of the Local Election until the Prime Minister’s resignation and the formation of a transition government.

According to the findings for 2019, there is a lack of an electronic register with comprehensive records for CSOs to be used by public institutions and other stakeholders. Also, there is increased state institutions control over CSOs operations through approval of laws under anti-money laundry and anti-terrorist package. Strategies and mechanisms in place for state-CSOs cooperation are not producing the expected results towards a more enabling environment for civil society. Albeit CSOs are the main providers of social services, their contribution is neither fully recognized by the state, nor supported through an enabling legal framework.

Some of the recommendations presented in the report are: Creation of the electronic register that would enable comprehensive, reliable and up-to-date information on CSOs by relevant public institutions and public; Effective inclusion of CSOs in consultation processes, discussions and joint working groups for the preparation of draft laws and other regulations that affect CSOs work at the very early stage of legislative process; Proper implementation of regulatory framework in place and revision of scope of work and modalities of cooperation mechanisms between state institutions and CSOs; Increased support through state funding schemes for CSOs providing social services, easy access to funding schemes, and procurement mechanisms of state funds.

The report is part of the activities of the Project “Protecting Civic Space – Regional Civil Society Development Hub,” financed by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and implemented by the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) in cooperation with its member organizations in the countries of the Western Balkans.

Read more and download the report here.