On 13 June 2025, a consultative meeting was held at the premises of the Civic Resource Centre in Skopje to finalise the Government's Draft Strategy for Cooperation with and Development of Civil Society along with the 2025–2028 Action Plan. The event was organized by the Department for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations at the General Secretariat of the Government, in partnership with the project “EU Support for the Civil Society Resource Center – Phase 2,” financed by the European Union. The meeting was attended by 26 representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) and state institutions who are members of the working group for drafting the Strategy, members of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society, as well as CSOs’ representatives who actively contributed during the consultative process.
The discussion mainly emphasised the priority goal of improving the system of public funding for CSOs, particularly increasing financial support from the central budget and from local government budgets, as well as providing other types of support. It also included the establishment of a fund for financial support (co-funding) of CSOs that have received grants from European and other funds, amendments to the Law on Games of Chance and Entertainment Games and enhancing the transparency and accountability of public funding and other support mechanisms for CSOs. Regarding mechanisms and models for cooperation and participation of CSOs in policy-making and the EU integration process, it was highlighted that the Strategy should affirm existing mechanisms and advocate for their continued functioning, particularly the sectoral working groups.
A significant portion of the consultative meeting was dedicated to defining indicators and monitoring the implementation of the Strategy and the Action Plan. It was proposed that following the adoption of the Strategy, a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning System be developed, which will serve as a tool to measure progress in implementing the Strategy and the Action Plan. In accordance with the Guidelines on the structure, content, and method for preparation, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of sectoral and multi-sectoral strategies, after the adoption of the Strategy, Indicator Passports will be prepared individually for each indicator. It is important that the details for each indicator be established in consultation with CSOs and the Network of Civil Servants.
The drafting of this Strategy began in November 2024, with a public call published by the Unit for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations inviting all interested CSOs to give proposals for measures and activities for the new Strategy. In January 2025, a working group was formed, consisting of representatives from state institutions and CSOs, who worked actively on drafting the Strategy and the Action Plan. On 14 May 2025, the Draft Strategy and Action Plan were published on ENER for public consultation until June 12, 2025.
On 23 May 2025, an online consultative meeting was held with civil society organisations, organised by the Civic Resource Centre and the Unit for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations, where participants had the opportunity to provide comments and suggestions to improve the content of the Strategy and Action Plan.
On 18 June 2025, the Draft Government Strategy for Cooperation with and Development of Civil Society with Action Plan 2025–2028 will be reviewed at the third session of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society, after which it will be submitted to the Government for review and adoption.
The consultative meetings are organised within the project “EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2”, financed by the European Union and implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation – Civic Resource Centre, Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation (MCIC), Media Plus, Štip, and the Association for Democratic Initiatives – ADI, Gostivar.
