partners - albania programs

PARTNERS - ALBANIA PROGRAMS
I. A. Albanian NPOs Advocacy Capacities Assessment, 2004
In this two-years period, Partners-Albania developed a new program of assistance and
support for strengthening the capacities of the civil society sector with main focus on
good governance, participation in the democratic processes, in the advocacy and lobbing
campaigns and in the monitoring of the government platforms and anticorruption
iniciatives.
Aiming the design of an intervention strategy for the non-for-profit sector toward
the further strengthening of its capacities and a real address of the local NPOs needs,
Partners-Albania administrated during September - December 2004, an assessment with
the participation of a sample of 131 local organizations that operate in different areas such
as: democracy, social/health services, education/culture, women, youth, environment and
business.
The assessment aimed to evaluate the institutional capacities of NPOs in advocacy
focusing various components such as: organizational and financial capacities of NPOs to
support issues of common interest in the social, political and economical environment
where they operate, governmental institutions attitude and support towards NPOs sector
and NPOs access to media.
Findings of the assessment show that civil society in Albania is having time and again a
bigger role in the important processes of the development of democracy in the country,
including also the election process and anticorruption campaigns, but the mass and
the geographical distribution of this commitment is still in low levels. Although the
development of NPOs in the last years, still, especially NPOs outside Tirana lack the
necessary organizational capacities in financial, human resources and infrastructure
aspects, to undertake and implement successful advocacy campaigns.
Related to the financial sustainability, the main financial resource of Albanian NPOs is still
the foreign donators. This happens because the NPO sector still lacks skills in designing
strategic plans that would insure sector’s sustainability and independence.
The experience by working in coalitions shows a low level of the collaboration initiatives
between the NPOs, which reflects the low number of networks and coalitions created and
the initiatives undertaken by them in lobbying for different issues. This shows the need
of NPOs to create effective coalitions within the sector, for more successful advocacy
campaigns.
What still remains to be problematic to NPOs is the weak image of the sector in the public,
in the donor community and government structures, which emphasize the necessity of
drafting a NPO Code of Ethics. Its application will affect the improvement of the image
of civil society sector, not only to the public but also to other sectors such as government
and business.
Activity Report September 2004 - September 2006 13