There are around 23,000 registered civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but there is still no formal institutionalized framework for cooperation between the govenment and the CSOs, as presented in the results of the analysis of the current state of CSOs’ development in BiH gathered in a document entitled “Needs Assesment Report 2016 – NAR 2016” and presented during the TASCO BH meeting of the Local Advisory Group held in Sarajevo on June 30, 2016.
As emphasized, the capacities of organizations for realization of initiatives and project aims are limited and the CSO staff members are majorly working as volunteers, which is why their financial sustainability is uncertain. The sustainablity of CSOs is supported by public funds and with almost 100 million BAM per year, but there is no clear distinction between CSOs and other non-profit organizations, neither is this the case with criteria for awarding funds.
Some of the results demonstrate that improvements were still made in the previous period, and the challenges presented to the Civil Society and institutions are clearer and easier to overcome than they were at the beginning of TASCO project realization in 2009. Amoung other things, participation in developing and implementation of public policies that are the responsibility of the BiH institutions was enabled through classical methods of public consulting and recently through the eKonsultacije platform, but better visibility of these activities should be provided for the purpose of a more active and effective civil society participation.
The meeting was organized by the TACSO BH (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Bosnia and Herzegovina Office) Organization and the TACSO VESTA Resource Center.
Recommendations and priority activities of TACSO BH and TACSO VESTA for February 2016 – Februar 2017 were also finalized during the meeting.
The meeting was attended by a representative of the Institute for Youth Development KULT.
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