Regional Civil Society Development Hub (BCSDN)

In relation to the objective about a conducive environment for civil society (specific objective 1): - 24 Monitoring Matrix (MM) reports were produced during the implementation period, for the regional level as well as per country, analysing the enabling environment for civil society. The MM reports were used by the network and each member organisation for awareness-raising among civil society organisations about the importance of civic space. But first and foremost, they were used for evidence-based advocacy at the regional level, including towards EU institutions, and in the countries. - The advocacy has influenced EU's Enlargement Strategy, country reports, as well as EU's Guidelines for civil society support to enlargement countries, where these documents now apply the same standards for the enabling environment/civic space as in the Monitoring Matrix. - There are several examples of results of the evidence-based advocacy on the country-level, also pointed out in the final external evaluation. In particular, the 2020 CSO-government dialogue on the draft Law on Public Procurement in Albania, was led by Partners Albania and reflected the concerns raised in the 2019 Monitoring Matrix for Albania. The input provided by KCSF in 2022 to the draft Law on Public Gatherings, was indirectly based on the Monitoring Matrix for Kosovo. The advocacy conducted by the MCIC to block amendments to the draft Law on Lobbying used the 2019 Monitoring Matrix for North Macedonia as a reference. The 2021 appeal process against the amendments to the Criminal Code in Serbia, was led by Civic Initiatives and reflected concerns related to shrinking space for freedom of expression raised in the Monitoring Matrix for Serbia. - The grants implemented through the Hub have also contributed to policy and legal change related to civic space. Ten regional multi-country action grants were awarded to regional networks and initiatives supporting a quite diverse group of grantees. In addition, 50 ad-hoc grants have been distributed to CSOs for more immediate needs (as opposed to strategic). - The most significant change is noted with the implementation of the regional grant awarded to a network dealing with media freedom and journalists safety, which influenced key pieces of legislation adopted by parliaments (i.e. the Criminal Code in Montenegro, the Law on Civic Liability for Insult and Defamation in North Macedonia), and prompted several more initiatives to amend existing laws (i.e. the Criminal Code of BiH and the Law on Public Information and Media in Serbia) to ensure better protection of journalists safety and rights. In relation to the objective about effective, transparent and accountable CSOs (specific objective 2) - The evaluation points to less achievements in relation to this objective. BCSDN's analysis is that CSO accountability and transparency might not be well understood by the grantees. BCSDN engages in continuous efforts to increase the understanding among CSOs about the importance of accountability and transparency. This is a long-term effort where the network works on several ends, including active participation of the network at the global level. BCSDN is confident that the different efforts, as they are a long-term strategic endeavor, will have an impact in the long run. - However, isolated achievements have been made. For example, the regional grant awarded to the Balkan Network of Local Democracy led to the adoption of accountability principles of the network. In relation to strengthened regional cooperation for promoting civic space (specific objective 3) - The regional grants have given a boost to regional cooperation, although the evaluation noted that they have not contributed to more resilient networks as the latter would have required a stronger focus on capacity development, including institutional strengthening. - The greatest success, also in this respect, is noted in the implementation of the grant contract awarded to the network dealing with journalists safety and media freedom (see above), which managed to set new standards for a structured dialogue between the journalists associations and parliamentarians and to officially secure commitment in the form of MoUs being signed between journalist associations and CSOs across four countries and a joint declaration of parliaments and journalists associations from the same countries to promote inclusive regional cooperation. - Grant beneficiaries claim that the support has been decisive for strengthening the networks and was a catalyst for deeper regional cooperation, playing a critical part in establishing a recognized form for better regional cooperation between decision-makers and civil society actors.

Project aim: Through the establishment of a Regional Civil Society Development Hub to enhance the cooperation and resilience of civil society organisations, by connecting and empowering them in innovative uptakes of the enabling environment and their practises of accountability. Specific objective 1: To contribute to a conducive environment for civil society that enables CSOs to be influential actors in the society. Specific objective 2: To support effective, transparent and accountable CSOs that contribute in protecting civic space. Specific objective 3: To strengthen regional cooperation for promoting civic space through the Civil Society Development Fund.