News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The report explores the aspects of Social Enterprises in Albania regarding three main principles: social dimension, economic dimension, and governing structure, and presents the challenges and needs of their development. The baseline study strives to map established and potential social enterprises in Albania and better understand their characteristics, needs, and trends in the sector in
Read more →The financial implications of the Covid-19 pandemic could severely affect the long-term sustainability and durability of civil society, particularly of small, informal, and grassroots groups and individuals who were already struggling to sustain their work before the crisis. This is a crucial finding of the recent CIVICUS alliance survey asking 127 members from 50 countries
Read more →The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many governments to launch emergency spending and tax policy measures to mitigate the potentially catastrophic impact on the people and economies’ health. The adjustments’ speed has challenged traditional approaches to managing risks, inefficiencies, budgetary allocations, and corruption. The Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) network, with support of the OGP
Read more →The COVID 19 crisis indicates he challenges to economies and people’s lives and daily routines, resulting in uncertainty and rapidly changing consumer needs and behaviors. Nevertheless, a crisis can also be a powerful driver of innovation and creativity. The article presents lessons that CSOs can take from the world of business. The pandemic has accelerated
Read more →The paper presents an overview of the main ideas, considerations, and examples of public funding for CSOs. It builds on previously conducted studies and analyses by ECNL on the public funding mechanisms in countries of Europe and of the EU. The paper provides an overview of public funding effects on policy development and civil society,
Read more →CSOs are vital for achieving the SDGs, democratization, defense of human rights, and protecting the environment. Civic space is shrinking in many countries, and this ranges from increasingly restrictive legislation and administrative hurdles being put in place to smear campaigns and political persecution. In many states, CSOs and individuals have organized to provide information and
Read more →For the first time since measurement began, human development – the combined measure of the world’s education, health, and living standards – is on course to decline in 2020. The pandemic is hitting all human development dimensions in all countries. Governments and societies face unprecedented policy, regulatory, and fiscal choices as they act to save
Read more →Philanthropy can play a unique and catalytic role in accelerating a real recovery by helping government leaders make smarter decisions. Helping the leaders develop and effectively use the data-and-evidence capacity, they need to give prominence to and understand community challenges’ root causes. Such a situation mainly targets racial disparities, and increase the impact of government
Read more →The paper narrows its focus in three ways. First, the paper concentrates on the risks inherent in the provision of personal data, such as data collected by social media companies. Second, it discusses the unique ethical risks involved when data is aimed at furthering policy-development, as distinct from ad hoc emergency or disaster-response arrangements. Third,
Read more →The EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) started an annual consultation with organizations participating in its Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP) in 2018, focusing on the challenges they experience. The consultation followed the publication of FRA’s 2018 report on Challenges facing civil society working on human rights in the EU, highlighting diverse areas of concern, based on
Read more →For Albania, the year 2019 has been uncommon and challenging. The situation that followed the earthquake in November was unprecedented and brought a transition in the culture of donation, humanism, and solidarity among the Albanian citizens. Through careful daily monitoring of donations, campaigns, and events published in various media outlets, social media, websites of public
Read more →From March to early June 2020, The European Foundation Centre conducted a survey for its members, affiliates, and partners to determine what immediate measures they were taking/ planning to take, internally, and in their programmatic and funding activities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey aimed to gain an initial overview of how EFC
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