USAZD - ORT Albania Democracy Network Program Final Report
January 2001
Submitted by:
Celeste S. Angus American ORT 1900 L Street, NW #603 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: (202) 293-2560 Fax: (202) 293-2577 E-mail: [email protected]
Prepared by:
Leslie M. Fox Independent Consultant Washington, DC USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I. Introduction and Overview
A. Final Report Purpose and Scope of Work B. Final Report Methodology and Structure C. Albania DemNet Program Description
11. An Overview of DemNet Program Status
A. Phase 1: June 12,1995 -June 8,1998 B. Phase 2: June 9,1998 -December 8,2000 C. Consolidated DemNet Program Status
1II.DemNet Program Results
A. The NGO Sector Effectively Support NGO Public Policymaking B. Albanian NGOs Effectively Undertake Civic Action and Advocacy C. The Enabling Environment Empowers NGO Participation in Public Life including Policymaking D. Overall Conclusions: Albanian NGOs are Effective Partners in Public Policymaking
IV. DemNet Impact: Conclusions and Lessons Learned
A. The Appropriateness of DemNet Program Strategy B. The Effectiveness of ORT Program- Management- C. Principal Lessons Learned
ANNEXES: Annex 1: Scope of Work, Schedule Annex 2: Documents Reviewed Annex 3: Technical Assistance and Training Program Annex 4: List of Grant Awards Annex 5: DernNet Timeline
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page i USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program
List of Acronyms
Albanian National Technical Assistance and Training Resource Center Cooperative Agreement 3 CEEC Central and East European Countries COP Chief of Party 4 DAG Development Activity Grant DENA Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association w DemNet Democracy Network EU European Union i* DIG Democracy and Governance GTZ German Technical Assistance Agency 3 IDG Institutional Development Grant Intermediate Result Micro-Grant NGO Non-governmental Organization I ORT ORT International Cooperation irJ OSCE Organization for Economic Cooperation and Security PHARE European Union Funded Central and East European Democracy Prop ri RDA Regional Development Agency REC Regional Environmental Center
(1 SO Strategic Objective SME Small and Medium Enterprise
3 SRC Sector Resource Centers TA Technical Assistance
Y us AID United States Agency for International Development UNDP United Nations Development Program
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page ii USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Executive Summary
Introduction and Overview
This consultant has participated in the design and evaluation of some two-dozen civil societylNGO strengthening programs in each of the principal regions where USAID works over the last decade. I have no hesitation in stating that the USAIDIORT Albania Democracy Network Program is one of the most successful that I have seen during this period. This be-@ with the DemNet design, which was appropriate to the Albanian context and led to the achievement of a significant set of program results. And it ends with ORT's effective management of this $4,275,000, two-phased, six-year democratic development effort.
Having said this, there should be no misunderstanding that problems did arise and they did affect program implementation and effectiveness. But when all is tallied up, there can be no question that USAID's conception of a Regional DemNet Program was correct and ORT's management of the Albanian version was a resounding success--especially in having achieved the specific results set out for it and a number that were not. Kudos are extended to all concerned, not the least of which are the many Albanian NGOs that participated in DemNet and the many committed Albanians that managed DemNet and its NGO partners.
The remainder of this Executive Summary provides a more .detailed analysis that led to this overall Final Report conclusion. DemNet Outputs and Activities
By any measure of output and activity, DemNet has been an active participant in the development of the Albanian NGO sector. From June 1995 to December 2000 a total of 92 grants totaling $1,052,635 were made to some 59 Albanian NGOs while a far larger number (approximately 700 NGO staff) benefited from the wide range technical assistance and training opportunities made available by DernNet. It was clear from the many inte~ewsheld during the July 2000 field visit that ORT addressed numerous issues facing the NGO sector always in a spirit of inclusion and participation. The NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy implemented during Phase 2 was based on developing and strengthening a sector-wide institutional architecture capable of supporting individual NGOs while addressing problems cofionting the NGO sector as a whole. ORT has promoted the adoption of an NGO code of conduct and spent considerable time trying to improve collaboration among NGOs and between them and other public actors.
Achieving DemNet Results
In May 1996 ORT went through a strategic planning exercise in which it identified a set of results that it felt it could be held accountable for achieving in the DemNet Program. Each of the following three sections addresses one DemNet Intermediate Result (IR) and the degree to which it was achieved and how it contributed to the overall DemNet Strategic Objective (SO): NGOs are Effective Partners in Public (Political, Social and Economic) Decision-making. The DernNet SO is discussed in the fourth section below.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page iii USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program
IR 1: A Strong NGO Sector Supports Public Policy NGOs There can be no question that over the past six years the loose amalgam of Albania NGOs has, in fact, become a much more coherent assemblage of inter-related organizations with breadth and depth-in short a true sector capable of taking its legitimate place alongside the Albanian government in promoting the public good. In turn, a stronger sector has provided the individual NGOs that compose it with a range of services that have permitted them to achieve their own objectives while providing a more stable and secure environment within which to work. The ORTNSAID DemNet Program has been a principal catalyst and architect in the sector's construction and strengthening. Evidence of the sectors strength and its contribution to NGO public policymaking is summarized as follows: 9 NGOs have a far greater understanding of the role of civil society in public life and how they, as lead actors in it, have a legitimate right to participate in political as well as social and economic matters. NGOs also have developed a greater understanding of their rights as public actors and how to exercise them. 9 NGOs have begun to acquire the tools and knowledge so necessary to be effective public actors. Chief among them are an understanding of "the how, where and who" of public policymaking, and a sharpening of advocacy skills and techniques needed to achieve policy change and reform. 9 The increased density and diversity of the NGO sector has given Albanian citizens an expanded choice in terms of which NGOs represent them in public matters. Empowered citizens in turn make their organizations stronger, more effective and representative-a virtuous circle. 9 The fact that NGOs have begun to specialize -becoming more focused and strategic in what they do - has permitted a corresponding increase in their professionalization, both in management and technical program dimensions. With a more rational division of labor and with new NGO types capable of undertaking new functions the overall sector has been able to engage govemment in a more effective manner. 9 The expansion of an NGO presence at the regional level and below, combined with the growth in community-based organizations, has contributed to the greater devolution of decision-making downward to local actors, including NGOs as well as local govemment. 9 While still developing, the NGO sector has improved its ability in reaching out to and increasing the awareness of government and the general public concerning its activities and contributions. The combination of these factors has led to a much more positive image of the sector by the public. 9 It may be too much to say that the NGO sector is fully imbued with and consistently demonstrates critical civic values, but NGOs increasingly appreciate the need for internal democratic practices, the benefits of voluntarism, and the general need for tolerance.
IR 2: Albanian NGOs Effectively Undertake Civic Action & Policy Advocacy The logic of the DemNet approach to building NGOs capable of effective policymaking was to view advocacy as the "democracy" technical or programmatic skill just like other development
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page iv USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program sectors (e.g., primary health care or natural resource management) have their own proper skills areas. Thus, as important as the mastery of the advocacy skill was, unless an NGO had first put into place an internal governance structure that promoted democratic practice, transparency and accountability; and mastered fundamental management skills ensuring the effective allocation and use of available resources, it would be unable to be an effective agent of policy change and reform. Two additional points merit discussion under this intermediate result: As the many DemNet activities described in Chapter II and the several case studies sprinkled throughout this Final Report point out, Albanian NGOs have made tremendous strides in both increasing their participation in a wide range of policy issues and actually having some measurable impact in terms of policy change. But measures of their effectiveness must go beyond whether an actual policy change took place to whether NGOs were able to increase the involvement of Albanian citizens in the policymaking process. In a country where the mere proposition of someone wanting to participate in making public decisions could have meant jail or worse as little as a decade ago, the situation today must be looked at as revolutionary.
IR 3: The Enabling Environment Empowers NGO Participation in Policymaking 9 Since 1997, NGOs have benefited ffom a far more open and welcoming government partner, not just as concerns the NGO Law, but also in a wide range of policy areas portrayed through out this Report. The willingness of concerned ministries and political leaders to accept NGO participation in policymaking arenas is the result of several factors. First, NGOs have proven their ability to deliver needed development and emergency relief senices effectively- Kosovo was a transformative event for the NGO sector in this regard. Secondly, the Albanian government has increasingly focused on how to solve societal problems and rather than defining adversaries began looking for capable partners to collaborate with in the design and implementation of appropriate programs. 9 "Revolutionary" is the word that best describes the changed situation in the ability of NGOs to effectively participate in public policymaking in the year 2000. Part of this must be attributed to an overall improvement in the legal, policy and regulatory environment-both systemic (political) and sectoral (developmental). And reflecting this fact, is perhaps the most noticeable change between 1995 and 2000 which simply put has been an increasing concern by both government and NGOs in "getting the rules right" as a means of overcoming the arbitrary and often discretionary use of power by "men" to effect desired policy outcomes-very much the modus operandi for much of the past five decades. In short, NGOs have not only been principal beneficiaries of an improved legal policy environment, they have been important actors in bringing this new environment about, achieving important policy changes in a number of sectoral and political areas.
DemNet SO: NGOs are Effective Partners in Public Decisionmaking
Not only have NGOs become effective partners in public decisionmaking - working alongside government, not replacing it - but the USAIDIORT DemNet program has had a principal role in bringing about this high level development result. If looked at in relative terms, that is, from where Albania and the Albanian NGO sector started in 1990, there is little doubt that the progress made by NGOs in influencing public policy and decisionmaking has been significant, particularly compared to their counterparts in more developed CEE countries. Taking into
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page v USAID/ORT - Albania DernNet Program consideration the major crises that shook the country during the DemNet Program life, it becomes all the more impressive. DemNet Impact: Conclusions and Lessons Learned
The two remaining questions that this Final Evaluation/Report sets out to answer is how much of the achievement of the above noted DemNet results was due to:
9 The appropriateness of the DemNet strategy? 9 The effectiveness of ORT's management of program implementation-that is marshalling Program resources and applying them to achieve SO results.
The Appropriateness of the DemNet Program Strategy
Taken as a whole - that is, Phases 1 and 2, as well the period of the no cost extension - DemNet has emphatically achieved the dual objectives of strengthening public policy NGOs and building the broader NGO sector to which they belong. The DemNet strategy was entirely appropriate and tremendously successful. While ORT DemNet was not the sole donor involved in strengthening Albanian civil society, it was in the forefront of donor efforts in a wide range of inter-related areas, not because it had more money but because its strategy was coherent, comprehensive and focused. A few additional issues amplify on this conclusion: 9 In all the interviews undertaken for this Final Report, there was not one NGO that did not praise the DemNet Program and its role to strengthen Albanian NGOs and the NGO sector. In this regard, most NGO respondents were able to look beyond their own experience with DemNet and view its overall impact on the sector. 9 This reviewer would have chosen an alternative model to starting an entirely new organization from scratch - as the national-level, cross-sectoral resource center. However, there are two points that may mitigate against this decision:
J Whatever model would have been chosen, the issue of sustainability would have remained. What can be said about the ANTTARC choice is that it has achieved a degree of sustainability that would not likely have been achieved by another model. In short, there is an inherent conflict for NGOs - and particularly newly formed ones - between the need to achieve sustainability and the need to serve their clientele. This is exacerbated when a donor(s) provides significant funding and becomes one of the clients.
J Secondly, ANTTARC is already shifting its program focus from its external work in Kosovo to the Albanian NGO community. This will continue to take the commitment of ANTTARC leadership - a positive response was given in this regard - and its ability to raise funds through grants rather than contracts. This would provide ANTTARC with more flexibility to address the true needs of the Albanian NGO sector rather than responding to client requirements. 9 The overall objective of developing NGOs that could serve was achieved. Between Phase 1 support to a relatively large number of "networks," and Phase 2 selections that have had some beneficial results, there are now a core group of sectoral and regional networks that are
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page vi USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program supporting a significant number of intermediary NGOs and CBOs. Over the six years of DemNet, sectoral networks in youth, women, HIVIAIDS, family planning, the health sector more broadly, civic and voter education, and human rights were strengthened with DemNet assistance and now provide support to their sectoral counterparts. 4 Specialized support NGOs that provide expert services to intermediary NGOs andlor on behalf the NGO sector have become important actors in the public policymaking field and DemNet has been in the forefront of support to them.
ORT Program Management Overall ORT management effectiveness Overall, ORT's management of DemNet was extremely effective and it should be commended for its commitment to Albania, Albanians and the NGO sector over this six-year period. This is all the more impressive when considering that the country presented many challenges not found in other DemNet countries. This included having lived and worked through a number of very severe crises over the program life that could have very easily deterred a less committed international NGO. Obviously some concerns arose throughout project implementation, but did not detract from ORT's overall commitment to the program and management of program resources. DemNet had a tremendous impact on the growth and development of the Albanian NGOs community and ORT's design and then implementation of an appropriate program must be singled out as principal reason for this success! And to once more reiterate, ORT's Albanian staff - from the current Program Director to support staff - have been a major factor in DemNet's success and good standing within Albanian development circles.
ORT TA and Training Effectiveness ORT's role was first in the design of an inclusive institutional development strategy and then its implementation. In addition, ORT undertook a range of what can be considered TA actions which did not figure in the original design but which were nevertheless necessary to the effective management of the program. The following are principal conclusions in tbis regard: 9 Respondents consistently commended the quality of ORT-provided technical assistance and training-tailor-made and generic alike. This included both Phase 1 and Phase 2 interventions. 9 ORT in collaboration with several other international NGOs (e.g., Albanian Civil Society Foundation, REC) have helped to create a cadre and network of NGO trainers with expertise in the principal areas of NGO policymaking effectiveness, i.e., internal governance, management and organizational development and "democracy-sector," civic action skills. The work done to create trainers and trainer networks in legislative drafting, the NGO Law Joint Working Group, and Policy Advocacy Network deserve special mention. 9 ORT's promotion and sponsorshiplco-sponsorship of numerous national and sub-regional conferences and workshops promoting civil society, democracy, and NGO excellence as well as emergency assistance, has greatly enhanced the standing of the NGO community within Albania and among its counterparts in neighboring countries. The importance of this ORT function cannot be overlooked in the overall strengthening of the NGO sector.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page vii USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program
Lessons Learned The following are the principal lessons learned during the Albania DemNet Program 9 DemNet promoted the principle that effective NGOs in policymaking have the same fundamental institutional requirements for effectiveness as NGOs working in any other sector-first build basic governance and management skills then add the technical ones-in this case, civic action and policy advocacy. > DemNet's strategy of focusing advocacy efforts on "sectoral" policies (e.g., in traditional development sectors such as economic growth, the environment, health) rather than on the democracy sector and more "systemic" issues (eg, electoral reform, rule of law, corruption), at least initially, was appropriate to the situation and permitted DemNet and its NGO partners to eventually move to the more sensitive political issues. 9 DemNet's promotion of NGO - government partnerships has led to the question of what is the proper role of state and civil society in public life, including the making and implementation of public policy? Part of any NGOIcivil society-strengthening program must ultimately answer this question and the role of the outsider is to facilitate this dialogue. 9 If government views NGOs as "legitimate" partners in public life, then NGOs should have the right to access public funding for their delivery of a wide range of public services (e.g., safety-net, economic growth, social, environmental). This should thus become a major focus of NGO public policy advocacy. Current policies, including the NGO Law, do not facilitate NGO participation in the delivery of public services let alone public decisionmaking. This also must be viewed as a major component of an NGO sustainability strategy. 9 There can be little doubt that the next focal point for NGO strengthening will be at the level of local government - autonomous and democratically elected - as this is ultimately where development takes place and services are delivered-the trend is already evident. 9 The tremendous growth of the Albanian NGO sector is to a significant degree the result of donors having created a &of NGOs through their demand for specific types of services, (e.g., Kosovo relief, democratic development). As donor support begins to decrease - already prominent - there will likely be a corresponding shakeout in the sector.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page viii USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program I. Introduction and Program Overview
What the Respondents Had to Say ... Just thefact of having worked with ORThas increased the credibiliw (track-record) of the concerned NGOs ... When we approached another donor for funding it said 'Oh, you worked with ORT, let S see what we can do. ' ORT has become a center of referencefor many Albanian organizations We were lucky to have worked with DemNet It took time for the ORT team to understand the local contect
Cha~terI ~rovidesa brief discussion of the Dumose of this Final Re~ortof the Albanian ~eiocracy'Network (DemNet) Program, the kethbdology used in unde;taking it, the Reports content and structure, and a summary overview of DemNet objectives and program components.
A. Final Reporf Purpose and Scope Of Work
This Final Report of the USAID-financed, ORT International-managed Albania Democracy Network Program has a two-fold purpose. First, the USAID - ORT Cooperative Agreement (CA) and the consultant's scope of work (see Annex I), both call for an "evaluation and final report [that] shall cover the entire period of the six-year project, and shall include an assessment of the impact made by ORT towards the goals and purposes described in the Cooperative Agreement Program Description." Secondly, ORT very much wanted to "document" DemNet activities and lessons learned both for itself and to share with its partners in Albania, neighboring DemNet Countries and among the broader development community. Specifically, the Final Report set out to answer the following two evaluation questions:
9 Was the DemNet strategic Objective, NGOs are effectivepartners inpublic decision- making, achieved (impact)? And if so: 9 How much of it was the result of DemNet strategy and ORT's management of program implementation-its effectiveness in marshalling resources and applying them to achieve DemNet?
B. Final Report Methodology and Structure
Final Report methodology consisted of interviews conducted with concerned individuals and organizations (see Annex 1) and a review of relevant program documents (see Annex 2). The field portion of the final report/evaluation exercise (see Annex 1) took place during a two-week period between July 10, and July 22,2000. A total of 37 individuals from 27 organizations were interviewed during this period. This included 22 Albanian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), three international NGOs, USAIDIAlbania and two USAID-financed projects. Program documents reviewed included the ORT - USAID CA and amendments; the ORT Albania DemNet proposal and proposal extension; and ORT quarterly reports, studies and publications.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page I USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program This Final Report covers the six-year period beginning in March 1995 and ending in December 2000.
The remainder of this.Final Report is structured as follows. Chapter 11, DemNet Program Status, provides a review of the principal areas of DemNet interventions or program components and their status - primarily in terms of "outputs" - through December 2000. Chapter 111, DemNet Program Results, moves from the description of DernNet activities and their status, to an assessment of results and the extent to which they have been achieved. The concluding Chapter IV, Overall Conclusions and Lessons Leamed, presents an analysis of the appropriateness of DemNet program strategy together with an evaluation of ORT's management of DemNet. This analysis provides the means for the overall conclusions presented, largely concerning impact, and the lessons leamed during the six-years of program activities.
In order to bring to life the varied opinions of the respondents interviewed for this Final Report/Evaluation, a set of quotations introduces each chapter and several of the more important sections. Also, as a means of moving beyond facts and figures, and providing the reader with actual DemNet accomplishments, a number of case studies have been provided and are interspersed throughout the report.
Finally, a consultant's note is in order. Since consultants are, in fact human beings, they bring to any endeavor, including evaluations, their own views and heworks of analysis that can and do color their work. In 1995, this consultant conducted an assessment of ~lbaiancivil society for ORT, which in tum served as the basis for the design of the DemNet Program. It would not be difficult to argue that such a role in the initial design of DemNet would at the very least influence the degree of impartiality exercised in final evaluation of DemNet. On the other hand, consultants are also development professionals, and can be expected to search for the "truth" in whatever direction that may take. While it is the latter view that has been attempted, it is left to the reader to determine how well it has worked.
C. Albania DemNet Program Description
In March 1995, American ORT was awarded a three year Cooperative Agreement (CA) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the Albania Democracy Network (DemNet) Program. The Albania DemNet Program was one of nine similar programs financed by USAID in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), all of which had just shook off some four decades of communist rule-nowhere it might be added more brutal and totalitarian than in Albania. All these DemNet Programs had the principal objective of promoting the transition to and consolidation of democracy in the countries of the CEE region. The principal strategy for achieving this goal was to strengthen indigenous civil society in each country and, by extension, to increase citizen participation in the construction of new democratic institutions and processes.
1. General DemNet Design Parameters
Section 1, provides an overview of the DemNet Program purpose and strategy; its three phased implementation; and its principal program components.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 2 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program DemNet Program Purpose and Strategy The Albania DemNet Program, like its sister efforts in neighboring countries, had the overall purpose of strengthening and supporting the community of local non-governmental organizations to develop and build their capacity to effectively participate in public policy making in four priority sectors, i.e., democracy, environment, economic growth and social safety-net. To achieve this purpose ORT provided eligible Albanian NGOs with a combination of technical assistance (TA), training and financial grants. In addition, ORT formally and informally served as a local resource center where NGOs could come and discuss their grant ideas - even if not eligible for funding - and make use of its office (e.g., for meetings, to type up a document).
As discussed in more detail below, ORT's strategy for increasing this capacity in public policymaking focused not only on building it at the individual NGO level, but also by strengthening the NGO sector as a whole. Thus, while the principal program interventions - training, TA and grants - were designed to build the policymaking capacity of NGOs working in one or more of the four target DemNet sectors, a special class of NGOs providing support to the entire sector was also targeted. The link between these two DemNet "results" was thus inextricable and became one of the principal indicators used in measuring its success.
DemNet Program Phased Implementation The Albania DemNet Program evolved into three distinct phases covering a total of five years and 10 months as follows:
9 Phase 1: March 12,1995 -June 8,1998: corresponded to the initial three-year period of the ORT - USAID Cooperative Agreement. Phase I focused on enhancing individual NGO capacity in public policymaking in one of the four DemNet sectors, through the provision of TA and training andlor grant assistance depending the need of the concerned NGO. 9 Phase 2: June 9,1998 -June 8,2000: covered the period of ORT's implementation of the NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy, a two year effort specifically focusing on building an NGO sector institutional "inf%astructure" to support the work of individual NGOs involved in public policymaking. During this period, a CA Amendment was signed that provided ORT with additional funds to cover the cost of expenses incurred as a result of the evacuation of expatriate personnel to Macedonia during the several "crises" in I997/I 998. 9 Phase 3: June 9, 2000 - December 8, 2000: The DemNet CA was extended, at no-cost, through December 2000 to, inter-alia, manage the Social Service and Capacin Building Grant Fund introduced in January 2000 and to provide training and technical assistance to the broader NGO Community.
Total life of program funding of the ORT - USAID Cooperative agreement amounted to $4,275,376 as follows: 9 Phase 1 - $1,750,000
9 Phase 2 - $2,000,000
9 CA Modification - $525,376 for Evacuation and Social Service Grants 9 Phase 3 -No Cost Extension
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 3 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program DemNet Program Components The following two sections look at the principal DemNet program components, i.e., technical assistance and training and grant assistance, which were developed to promote program results. These two components and the broader strategy to which they contribute were designed in response to the findings of an ORT-conducted NGO sector assessment conducted in March - April 1995. The assessment essentially identified a profile of an NGO community split between a very small number of exceedingly large and capable organizations with strong external linkages and funding; and an extremely large number of very small NGOs with little permanent institutional capacity and with few resources or linkages to external actors. While there were a few informal NGO sectoral networks (e.g., health, youth, women) and one formal "umbrella" NGO with a sector-wide mandate, the general characteristic of the community was one of isolated efforts and a significant degree of distrust. Likewise, the Albanian "public's" view of NGO intentions and effectiveness was mixed including its ability to make a real difference in everyday social and economic matters.
2. DemNet Technical Assistance and Training Program
DemNet's two-pronged strategy that targeted both individual NGOs and the broader NGO sector meant that TA and training interventions were calibrated based on the type of NGO seeking assistance--or that ORT pro-actively sought out. While Phase I was largely geared towards strengthening individual NGO policymaking capacity, a number of NGOs were targeted for longer term support with the idea that they would in turn support NGOs working in their sector. The same held true, at least initially, for ORT's support of the Albanian NGO community's single recognized umbrella organization.
ORT provided both "generic" and "tailored" training and technical assistance in three principal capacity building areas:
9 Internal governance: addressing the internal structuring and rule-making of NGOs to ensure broad-based member participation and transparency in the making of organizational decisions; and to promote accountability and responsiveness of leaders to members and clients. Interventions included board member training in their roles and responsibilities; developing a constitution and by-laws that promoted member participation in all internal matters; and establishing internal checks and balances designed to ensure the effective allocation and management of organizational resources. 9 Effective management: Addresses the full range of skills and knowledge requirements as well as the systems and procedures needed to plan, implement and monitor NGOs programs and their performance in achieving defined results. TA and training interventions included increasing capacity in such areas as strategic planning, the formulation of results and developing indicators to measure their attainment; financial management and accounting; and project design, management and evaluation. 9 Civic action and policy advocacy: This area of capacity building might be called the "democracy and governance" sector. Since DemNet's overall objective was to increase the capacity of Albanian NGOs to better participate in public policymaking, capacity building efforts in this area were designed to provide them with the tools and knowledge to do so
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 4 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program effectively. The interventions that were developed went beyond traditional "advocacy" training and TA to imparting a broader conception of civil society's role in promoting democracy and good governance as well as importance of linking advocacy to strategies of citizen empowerment and civil society strengthening. In this regard, civic action is a more inclusive term that includes NGO efforts to engage government as partners in promoting the public good, not always as adversaries seeking to change policy or promote reform.
As noted, the DemNet Phase II NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy moved beyond a focus on individual NGO strengthening in policymaking to building a sector-wide capacity for sustainable NGO participation in public life including policymaking. Thus, ORT placed the majority of its resources in building the capacity of five NGOs (see below) to serve either as a national resource center for the community of Albanian NGOs as a whole or to support NGOs working in a specific development sector (e.g., economic growth) or geographic region.
3. DemNet Grants Program
Under Phase 1, ORT developed and financed three types of grants, each of which co~esponded to and targeted the capacity building needs of NGO applicants at the time of their grant applications. The three types of grants included:
9 Micro-grants (MG): whose funding ranged between $100 and $5,000, targeted young andlor weak NGOs that wanted to implement a single, "one-off' activity that contributed in some way to improved public policy, that required little institutional capacity, and that could take advantage of the one asset available to these NGOs, that is, there voluntary labor. Underlying the MG purpose was the assessment finding that not every NGO required its own fully equipped office, but rather needed support to do something concrete for its members- in fact, the great majority of NGOs fit this capacity profile. MG implementation was expected to take place within three months and certainly no longer than six. One of the stated purposes of MGs was to provide NGO grantees with an opportunity to develop a "track record" permitting them to apply for funding fiom other donors or "graduate" to a DemNet institutional development grant. P Institutional Development Grants (IDG): were designed to support NGOs that had a demonstrated track record in implementing activities in one of the four DemNet sectors. Assistance was designed to build long-term institutionalize capacity through a combination of grant funding and TAkaining. IDG funding started at $5,000 with a maximum grant size of $15,000. The underlying logic of the IDG was to complement classroom Graining and on- site technical assistance by providing sufficient finances to implement activities that allowed the NGO to put into practice what it had learned. In addition to TNtraining and grant funding for modest policy-related activities, the IDGs permitted NGOs to hire one or two key staff, rent office andtor training space and purchase critical equipment (e.g., a computer or fax machine). IDGs were expected to last between 12 and 18 months. 9 Development Activity Grants (DAG): This category of grant was targeted to those few NGOs that had a long established history of successful program management in of the four DemNet priority areas and that wanted to expand the scope and coverage of their programs
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 5 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program with a specific emphasis on influencing sectoral policy and promoting democratic reform. DAG funding ranged between $15,000 and $30,000 with duration of up to 18 months.
Grantmaking in Phase 2 followed the same pattern as TA and training, i.e., the emphasis moved from supporting individual NGO policymaking efforts to funding a smaller number of NGOs that would have an impact either within their development sector, or across the entire NGO sector itself-the DemNet Phase 2, NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy. And as noted above, ORT was provided with additional funding in January 2000 to manage a Social Sewices and Capacity Building Fund, which while not necessarily targeting NGOs involved in policymaking, was designed to promote them both institutionally and programmatically.
Legislative Drafting Group Background Except for a very few human rights and legal NGOs, most Albanian NGOs have had no access to technical support in the formulation of policies or draft legislation. Even those lawyers that have worked with NGOs had little or no legislative drafting experience. To address this NGO sector-wide lacuna, ORT decided to help create a local support group for the Albanian NGO sector capable of providing TA to NGOs working in the DemNet sectors. As a result, ORT recruited and trained 27 local lawyers from the NGO community, private sectors and government to assist DernNet grantees. American and Albanian lawyers trained the 27 lawyers in two rounds during 1997 and 1999. One or two of the trained lawyers were assigned to assist one NGO in drafting legislation and policy recommendations around issues of concern to their respective members and clients. As a result, 15 draft laws and policies in a diverse range of areas - from domestic violence to cave protection - were produced by DemNet grantees with assistance from the legislative drafting group. Conclusions and Lessons Learned This ORT initiative came at a critical time in the overall development of the Albanian NGO sector. Hitherto and to date no other local organization or donor agency provided training or technical assistance to NGOs in this important area. In fact, it seems clear that few NGOs saw a need for strengthening local capacities in legislative drafting. DemNet's focus on policy change, and ORT's initiative in promoting this endeavor has had a major impact on the sector as well as in the ability of individual NGOs to iniluence public policy and promote reform. It should, however, be noted that some of the draft laws were not ultimately passed into legislation. However, discussions with both the lawyers and concerned NGOs indicated that the mere act of addressing issues that had confronted their organizations for years was an "empowering" experience and gave them the courage to continue to engage govemment over these issues. The experience has led to the building of a productive and healthy working relationship between the two groups that previously had little contact. However, now that ORT has begun to wind down DemNet operations neither the initiative nor mechanism exists for maintaining the relationship. This bears further thought by the concerned parties. Two major problems confront the sector and its ability to increase its influence in public decision making: > The first - largely beyond the capacity of NGOs to direct affect in the short term - concerns the personalized nature of policy making in Albania versus a system in which rules and processes related to decision makiig are institutionalized. In other words, having all the tools necessary to participate effectively in policy advocacy and law making is not enough when the political institutions and processes designed to generate "good" policy and law do not work, as they should. 9 Second, as the lawyers pointed out, an important issue that impact on the effectiveness of NGO efforts at policy change is the narrowness of the issues they have chosen to address. Because many NGOs are formed around the narrow interests or issues of their members this has tended to limit the focus their advocacy efforts to them rather than a larger "theme" that could galvanize a broader coalition with more power. A good example in this regard was the Speleologyst Association whose concern is protecting caves rather than promoting the broader issues of bio-diversity or environmental protection.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 6 USAIWORT - Albania DemNet Program II.An Overview of DemNet Program Status
What the Respondents Had to Say The manner that ORTsta~communicateswith grantees is supportive and correct I consider ORT a partner not a donor There were times that ORT's requirements pnancial and reportr'nd were more of a hindrance than a help ORT has been supportive both informally and voluntarily... we appreciated that
Chapter I1 provides an overview and general discussion of DemNet activities and status in of each of its two phases with a specific focus on the two principal Program components, that is technical assistance and training and financial grants.
A. Phase 1: June 12,1995 -June 8,1998
By the time the ORT - USAID Cooperative Agreement was signed in June 1995, ORT had completed an in-depth assessment of the NGO sector including identification of capacity building needs for individual NGOs and the sector as a whole; and developed a corresponding strategy to achieve DemNet's overall goal of strengthening NGO capacity to engage in policymaking in four key development sectors. In July 1995 an Introductory Worbhop with some 60 Albanian and international NGOs as well as USAIDIAlbania was held to explain general DemNet objectives and to present an illustrative set of project selection and organizational eligibility criteria.
In August 1995, ORT opened the DemNet Program Office for business. It also published the criteria to be used in selecting project activities and determining organizational eligibility as well as the process that would be used in the review and approval of submitted projects. This latter task included the formation of an Democracy Network Review Committee composed of members of the American Embassy, USAIlYAlbania, and the ORT DemNet Director. Beginning in September 1995, ORT staff began providing one-on-one technical assistance to Albanian NGOs in the areas of proposal development, budget preparation, financial management and project implementation. In December 1995, ORT made the first DemNet grant award to an Albanian NGO. Additional "start-up" activities included:
9 Two workshops were held in 1996 promoting Government - NGO Partnerships in the principal DemNet Sectors, i.e., in Environmental Decision-making (October) and in Economic Growth Decision-making (December). 9 From April through November 1996, DemNet conducted joint training activities with the local office of the Regional Environmental Center (REC) on Znstitzrtional Capacity Building and Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking that included 47 Albanian NGO participants.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 7 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 From January through May 1996, DemNet conducted bi-weekly training sessions with NGOs on how to write mission statements, develop project proposals and undertake fundraising.
By the end of Phase 1 in June 1998 68 grants in all three categories - MGs, IDGs and DAGs - totaling some $414,277 had been awarded to Albanian NGOs working in all four DemNet sectors, to improve their policymaking capacity and also, for several among them, to strengthen their ability to serve other NGOs working in the same sector. Among the 68 grants funded during Phase 1, a total of nine were designated as NGO Service and Network Grants. These grants, in fact, were designed to contribute to strengthening the overall NGO sector by targeting NGOs that were capable of taking on a development sector networking role vis-A-vis NGOs working in the same field-the Health NGO Forum (social safety-net), Albania Youth Council (youth), Albanian NGO Forum, Women Center and The Local Coordinative Fonun for NGOs in Elbasan (regional support organization) are good examples of this Phase 1 effort.
Complementing this Phase 1 grant support, ORT, either directly through program staff and consultants, or in collaboration with local partners, had provided training and technical assistance to roughly 700 NGO members in such areas as policy research and advocacy skills; organizational development, project management and implementation; financial management and accounting; and legislative drafting and coalition building. In addition, ORT sponsored either alone or with other NGOs a number of key workshops, conferences and fora addressing such issues as NGO - government partnerships, inadequacies in the draft NGO Law, improving local - international NGO coordination in the Kosovo crisis, and fast-tracking domestic violence legislation in the National Assembly.
Finally, a second NGO Sector needs assessment - including interviews with more than 100 NGO representatives - was conducted in July 1997 with findings serving as the basis for the development of the Phase 2, NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy. The assessment identified the need for long-term NGO strategic planning firmly tied to individual NGO and overall sector sustainability. Specifically, the assessment identified a need for the establishment of a national NGO training and TA resource center; strengthened NGO sector resource centers; and improved collaboration between: NGOs and the media, government and NGOs, business and NGOs, and communities and NGOs; and an improved policy and law-making capacity.
B. Phase 2: June 9, I998 - June 8,2000
Consistent with the findings of the 1997 NGO sector assessment, ORT's focus in Phase 2 turned to building a sustainable Albanian NGO sector through a combination of targeted support to specific NGOs and by promoting a number of important sector-strengthening activities. The highlights of this period included:
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 8 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 1. Establishing a~ationalResource Center
After spending the first few months of 1998 working to strengthen an existing NGO to take on the role of national resource center, ORT switched its support to the newly formed Albanian National Training and Technical Assistance Resource Center (ANTTARC). ANTTARC received its legal registration in November 1998, submitted a grant proposal to ORT in December 1998 and received funding shortly thereafter. Actual support &om ORT, however, started in November 1998 in order to ensure ANTTARC's becoming operational and delivering senices to selected NGOs by mid-1999. Thus, kom late 1998 through mid-1999, ORT invested considerable staff and consultant time working with ANTTARC to build its capacity as a national training organization. Grant assistance continued through June 2000. From July 2000, ANTTARC has been operating solely with funds generated &om the sale of its services to donors and international NGOs. Total grant funding provided by DemNet to ANTTARC through Phase 2 amounted to $289,929.
2. Establishing Sector Resource Centers
The NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy (DSS) developed by ORT and implemented by a strengthened ANTTARC called on the latter to provide support to several other proven NGOs that would in turn provide assistance to NGOs working either in the same development sector or the same region. As a result, ORTIANTTARC selected four Albanian NGOs through a competitive process to receive Institutional Development Grants (IDG) - combining ANTTARC-provided TAItraining and grant funding - and four other NGOs with Institutional Development Program (IDP) support-technical assistance and training only.
In line with the logic of the NGO DSS, ORT began phasing over responsibility for the strengthening - TA and training as well as grant assistance - of Albanian NGOs to ANTTARC and the new sector resource centers that it began strengthen in September 1999. The following discussion provides a brief summary of the eight IDG and IDP recipients supported by ANTTARC under the Phase 2 NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy:
a) Institutional Development Grants
9 RegionaI Development Agency (RDA)LEIbasan: RDAElbasan, founded in 1998, received a sub-grant &om ORT for $18,721 in November 1999. Its mandate under the NGO DSS was to serve NGOs in the Central Region and particularly those with an economic orientation. 9 The Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (ADRF): ADRF was established in 1996. It received an ORT sub-grant in the amount of $7,323 to serve NGOs working in the "social safety-net" sector. 9 The Regional Development Agency (RDA)/Tirana: Like its sister institution in Elbasan, the RDNTirana (founded in 1998) was provided a sub-grant for $18,691 to support NGOs working in economic development in the Tirana, Durres and Kavaja prefectures. 9 The Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association (DENA): Established in 1997 with the assistance of the Land O'Lakes, received a $12,426 sub-grant to provide its members with technical and business training.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 9 USAIDORT - Albania DemNet Program
b) Institutional Development Prowarns
Four NGOs - The Women's Center, The Center for Women and Girls (CWG), The Vineyards Association, and the Coposcosic (cancer) Association - received technical assistance and training from ANTTARC during the period March - June 2000. The Women's Center and, to a lesser extent, the CWG were already acting as sector (women's issues) resource centers. The support provided by ANTTARC improved their management and programmatic effectiveness in this regard. Both NGOs had also received significant funding from either the Phase 1 grants program (Women's Center) or from the Phase 2, Social Services and Capacity Building Fund (CWG).
3. Additional NGO Sectoral Support
In addition to the targeted focus on building NGO sector support organizations, ORT also undertook a wide range of complementary strengthening activities including:
9 Continued emphasis on building policy advocacy skills within the NGO sector in order to achieve long-term and sustainable policy reforms. This function was provided by Resource Centers noted above, and by two ORT-supported technical assistance groups, i.e., Legislative Drafting Group and Policy Advocacy Training Consultants. 9 Promoting an NGO Draji Law: ORT collaborated with the International Center for Non- Profit Law (ICNL) to help revise the NGO draft law, as well as to provide TA to the NGO b Draft Law Working Group. In February 2000, revisions were made to the Civil Code as it pertains to foundations and associations as well as the NGO Draft Law. The revised packages were presented to the Minister of Labor and the Codification Department within the Ir Ministry of Justice on April 14,2000. No action has been taken to date. 9 Promoting the development of a National NGO Code of ConducUISiandard, that establishes a set of ethical standards and accountability for NGOs in their daily operations both W internally and vis-a-vis their members, clients and the broader public. The effort was launched at the Shared NGO Experiences and Future CEE Partnerships Conference which was organized by DemNet. ORT held an "Open House" (April 2000) meeting with NGOs kw interested in implementing a Code of Standards. While the Code of Conduct has not yet been adopted, there appears to be growing interest in moving forward on it. bi 9 In September 1999 DemNet began publishing the bi-monthly newsletter of the ORTlllSAID DemNet Program, On the Road to Success. It provides up-dates on the award of grants, up- coming training opportunities, profiles of NGOs and successful program, and important bii issues facing the NGO community.
%r
tau
YV
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page I0 **. USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 In January 2000, the Social Services and Capacity Building Fund was established under DemNet to fund both selected NGO social programs and to strengthen their capacity for sustainable service delivery. Many of the proposals submitted by NGOs for Social Services funding included requests for capacity building and organizational development training. As a result, ORT partnered with World Learning to offer 2 Board Retreats and 1 Staff Retreat to both ORT-selected NGOs as well as associations recommended by World Learning. 9 Capacity building opportunitiesfor the broader NGO sector. By the end of Phase 1, ORT had come to the conclusion that a far greater number of NGOs could benefit kom the earlier training programs that it had delivered to targeted grantees. With training materials developed during Phase 1 and later in Phase 2, and using trainers kom among the NGO staff having received earlier DemNet-provided TAltraining, ORT has been able to develop and make available to the wider community regular training workshops in the following areas:
J Policy Advocacy J Financial Management J Legislative Drafting Techniques J Project Implementation J Independent Research in Support of Democratic Development
9 Of particular note has been thefinancial management training that has been provided twice a month since May 2000. These three-day programs are open to the broader community fiee of charge. The training is now undertaken by the Financial Management Training Group, which is composed of four local NGO finance officers. Through this group of trainers, ORT has been able to extend training to an additional 138 NGO leaders and finance officers fiom more than 60 NGOs. 9 Development of NGO Sector Resource Materials: Over the course of the DemNet Program, ORT and its partners developed the following training materials that are available either kom ORT or ANTTARC:
J NGO Management Handbook - A Manual for Albania (600 copies to date) J Fundraising Training Outline J NGO Tax Issues (Lecture) J How to Approach a Donor (Lecture) J Developing Your Mission and Goals (Lecture) J Volunteer Development J Policy Advocacy Training Handbook J Independent Research Training Manual J Communication Handbook J Legislative Drafting Training Manual J Board Development (recruitment criteria, duties and obligations) J Staff Development J PR Strategy and Development
9 Major ORT-sponsored Conferences and Workshops. A major contribution of DemNet to the development and sustainability of the Albanian NGO sector were the various workshops and conferences that it sponsored or co-sponsored. A number of the workshops undertaken by
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page I1 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program ORT were discussed above. Here it is important to note two of the more important conferences that had a regional as well as national impact. They were:
9 fie InterAction Forum (September 16 - 17, 1999): ORT in cooperation with Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) sponsored the first InterAction (Regional NGO) Forum created to encourage cooperation between Albanian NGOs, International NGOs and donor organizations involved in regional development and emergency relief endeavors. Sector Working Groups in the four principal DemNet sectors identified obstacles facing NGOs, reasons for lack of cooperation between them, particularly during the Kosovo Crisis, and made recommendations to promote better future collaboration. An NGO directory was prepared as one of the Forum outcomes. 9 Shared NGO Experiences and Future CEE Partnerships Conference (February 8-9, 2000): The conference showcased the good works of NGOs throughout CEE countries and Albania. 85 international and Albanian NGO representatives and Albanian government officials attended it. President Mejdani delivered the opening speech. During the conference, DernNet made the first NGO Civil Society Award to the Albanian Youth Council for the spirit of voluntarism demonstrated in its emergency relief work in Kosovo.
C. Consolidated DemNet Status and Initial Conclusions
By any measure of output and activity, DemNet has been an active participant in the development of the Albanian NGO sector. During Phase 1 and Phase 2 (excludmg the Social Service grants), nearly 49 NGOs received grant assistance and a far larger number benefited from the wide range and large number of technical assistance and training opportunities made available by DemNet. It was clear from the many interviews held during the field visit that ORT addressed numerous issues facing the NGO sector always in a spirit of inclusion and participation. The NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy implemented during Phase 2 was based on developing and strengthening a sector-wide institutional architecture capable of supporting individual NGOs while addressing problems confronting the NGO sector as a whole. As discussed in greater detail below, ORT has promoted the adoption of an NGO code of conduct and spent considerable time trying to improve collaboration among NGOs and between them and other public actors. In the following two chapters we move from an examination of DemNet outputs and activities to an evaluation of the actual results achieved and impact generated by program.
Concerning the grants program, the following table shows that from June 1995 to December 2000 a total of 92 grants totaling $1,052,635 were made to some 59 Albanian NGOs. This included two rounds of grants under the Social Service and Capacity Building Grant Fund, which was introduced in January 2000. Of these 92 grants ova 75 percent went to NGOs involved in the drafting of legislation, the formulation and advocacy of alternative policies, and range of activities (eg, roundtables, media events, public fora) promoting greater public participation in key policy and reform issues.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 12 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Table 1: Summary DemNet Grant Awards
Status As Of November 30,2000: Albania DemNet NGO Grantmaking Amount of Grant I GRANT CATEGORY I Grants Grants
1. CrossSectoral Institutional Canacitv& ~~~, Building I 1 $289,929 9 Albanian National Trainine- and TA Resource I Center (ANlTARC) Sector-wide focus 2. Sector Resource Centers (SRCs) 4 $ 57,150 9 Regional Development AgencyElbasan (1) ($ 18,710) 9 Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (1) ($ 7,323) support to other 9 Regional Development AgencyfTirana (1) ($ 18,691) sectoral NGOs 9 Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association (1) ($ 12,426) I .ANlTARC-suppoited 3. Democracy Sector Grants 37 $235,260 12195 - I good governance 9 Micro-Grants (MG) (25) ($ 69,013) 11/99 democracy promotion 9 Institutional Development Grants (IDG) (1) ($14,363) policy advocacy 9 Development ~ctivityGrants ~AG) I (4) ($83,646) cividvoter education 9 NGO Service &Network Grants (MG, IDGs, DAG) 1 (7) ($68,238) / .sectoral nehvorking 4. Social Safety-Net Sector Grants 1 18 $ 100,859 03/96 - I family planning- 9 ~icro-Grants(MG) ($21,626) 12/98 .&&zed groups 9 Institutional Development Grants (IDG) ($ 3 1,842) womenlyouth issues 9 Development Activity Grants (DAG) ($ 18,059) social services 9 NGO &ice & ~e&ork~raits (M~.-LDGS, DAG) 1 (2) ($29,332) I .sectoral networking 5. Environmental Sector Grants 11 $39,323 07/96 - I conference. worksho~s 9 Micro-Grants (MG) ($22,028) 06/98 school cunicuhun 9 Institutional Development Grants (IDG) ($ 17,295) public awareness effort 9 Develo~mentActivity Grants IDAG) ($ 0) water resource Drotect I 9 NGO service & ~e&o~kGrkts (MG, lDG* DAG) (0j I public policy advocacy -. .- . . .. I . . . - .. -. -.. . . . ($. .. - -- 0j- 6. Economic Growth Sector Grants 11 S 120.930 07/98 - I .institutional sunwrt.. 9 Micro-Grants (MG) (5) 02/99 ' poky advocacy 9 Institutional Development Grants (IDG) (4) consumer, farmers 9 Development Activity Grants (DAG) (2) i - enterprise promohon 9 NGO Service & Network Grants (MG. IDGs. DAG) (0) sector networkme \, ~,, \ , , \- - 7. Social Services Grants 10 $209,184 j 03/00 - i Two rounds j 09/00 i women, youth, disabled i / ~nstitutionalsupport TOTAL GRANTS THROUGH APRIL 2000 92 $1,052,635 -
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 13 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 111. DemNet Program Results
What the Respondents Had to Say It is true that ORT has been "strict," but ORTstaffhave not been inflexible ...the fact is we needed to develop these skills and responsibilities [accounting andfinancial management] ifwe were to be taken seriously by other donors and the Albanian public ORT was like a voice in the desert because it not only funds [sector-related] activities but covers institutional costs like staffsalaries, training ...unlike most other donors It seemed like DemNet had its fingers in every NGO pie in the country ORT/DemNet was one of the strongest NGO programs of its time! We would like ORT to stay and be an umbrella organization for Albanian NGOs
In May 1996 ORT went through a strategic planning exercise in which it identified a set of results that it felt it could be held accountable for achieving in the DemNet Program. The planning process ensured that DemNet results were directly linked to the democracy and governance (DIG) program of USAIDIAlbania as well as to the broader CEE regional Democracy Network Program. Each of the following three sections addresses one DemNet Intermediate Result (EX) whose simultaneous attainment leads, it was posited, to the achievement of the overall DemNet Strategic Objective (SO):
NGOs are Effective Partners in Public (Political, Social and Economic) Decision-making
In order to achieve the DemNet SO, the strategic planning exercise identified the need for three inter-related intermediate results:
IR 1: A Strong NGO Sector to support individual NGOparticipation in publicpolicy making
IR 2: Individual NGOs effective& undertake civic action andpolicy advocacy
IR 3: An Enabling Legal, Policy and Regulatory Environment supports NGOparticipation in public policy making
In addition to ORT's reports on these results, it is possible to use a number of proxy indicators to get a reasonably good idea as the degree to which they were achieved. The 1995 Albania NGO Sector Assessment provides a good baseline for use in measuring change in each of the three noted DemNet intermediate results.
Each of the following three sections of Chapter I11 examines one of the IRs and presents corresponding findings in terms of whether the results were achieved. Section four serves as an overall conclusion addressing the overall question of whether or not the DemNet strategic objective, NGOs are effective partners in public decisionmaking, was achieved.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 14 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program A. The NGO Sector Supports NGO Partkipation in Public Policymaking
What the Respondents Had to Say ORT brought us a new culture of training ... we trained as teams and prepared together- participation and partnership have been thefundamental principles of ORTDemNet More of this type of training should be given as it not only benefits our individual organizations and NGO sector, but also develops the person-for many of us this has been as important as getting a salary AferlO years I think we can say that Albania has a real NGO sector! Capacity building is most successful when financial support is provided
Part A is divided into three sections. The first provides a profile of the NGO sector in 1995. As such, it serves as a baseline against which several indicators of NGO sector stre@ can be measured. Section 2 presents a Profile of the NGO sector as it was assessed during this final evaluation, i.e., in June 2000. It uses four indicators of sector strength and measures the change that has taken place - or not - over the six year duration of the DemNet Program. Section 3 provides a set of conclusions concerning whether this first intermediate result has been achieved.
1. A Profile of the NGO sector in 1995 The 1995 NGO sector assessment found the following characteristics of the NGO sector: 9 A few large organizations with permanent staff and institutional infrastructure; and a far larger number of smaller NGOs, operating on a completely voluntary basis, with little or no material or financial resources. 9 Mainly urban-based, many of whom had branch offices, although with little operational capacity; and an unknown number of sub-nationally-based NGOs, located at the regional, district, and local levels. > Primarily, elite-led and "public-oriented" with small to medium sized and little or no broad- based membership at the grassroots level; and, a smaller number of large mass-based, top- down membership organizations. 9 Greatest NGO representation in safety net and environment sectors, with economic growth the least represented, strict definition of democracy sector would leave it the third most represented; a broader interpretation would make it one of the largest. 9 Strongest NGOs are women's and environmental NGOs including a number of professional associations in the environmental and economic growth sectors; weakest NGOs are found in the social safety-net sector. 9 In general, those Albanian NGOs that had established a longer-term relationship with an international NGO or foundation, including local affiliates, were found to be the strongest and most capable.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 15 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 The majority of NGO funding came from international NGOs, either donors in their own right, or intermediaries for official development assistance agencies; and as many donors, both NGO and official, are based outside of Albania as within. 9 The majority of donor funding goes to finance small-scale discrete activities with an average grant size not exceeding $3,000 and a duration of not more than three months; few NGOs receive larger grants (in excess of $10,000), that are longer than a year, or that cover institutional support costs or NGO capacity building. 9 At the NGO sector level, horizontal linkages are beginning to emerge, primarily between NGOs working in the same sector with the formation of informal networks developing among women's, environmental, youth and health NGOs; at the wider NGO sector level, little cross- sectoral collaboration as manifested by the current ineffectiveness of the ''umbrella'' organization and the infrequent examples of coalition building across sector over common problems. 9 Little overall functional differentiation and specialization within the NGO sector although it has reached the necessary "critical mass" of density and diversity for the process to begin; the rough outline of a maturing sector is beginning to emerge.
2. The NGO Sector Profile in 2000
Using the above 1995 profile of the Albanian NGO sector as the baseline, the following discussion takes four indicators of sector health and measures conditions in 2000.
The Pre-Conditions: Voluntary Association and Associational Autonomy In order for an NGO sector to exist, or civil society speaking more broadly, individual NGOs have to have a minimum degree of autonomy from the state and citizens require the right to associate voluntarily-both indicators of freedom of association. In 1995, NGOs had a significant degree of autonomy and citizens were largely able to associate freely around shared issues, values and interests. The same situation was found to be true in 2000. In short, neither NGOs nor other observers familiar with the local situation viewed these "pre-condition" indicators as presenting a problem to the development of the NGO sector. This is in spite of the difficulties encountered by the NGO community in passing an NGO Law and in revising the Civil Code (see Section 3 below) that reflect their legitimate right to participate in Albanian public life. Government's willingness to work with NGOs to find a mutually agreeable solution to the NGO Law impasse is as good an indicator - increasingly reflected in both state-owned and private media - of NGOs' acceptance as legitimate public actors as any that could be found.
In fact, one of principal results of the crises arising from the collapse of the Pyramid Scheme and the Kosovo War was to virtually push govemment into the background - significantly diminishing its power and control - while the NGO sector increased its legitimacy as a valued partner and effective public actor-with a corresponding capability to resist encroachments by govemment. Ironically, while Albania and Albanians suffered tembly during the latter years of the 1990s, it was perhaps the turning point for NGOs and their place in the country's future construction ...p olitical as well as social and economic.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 16 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program NGO Developmenf and Sustainability Strategy: Sector Networks Albanian Disability Rights Foundation 9 In addition to working with local member associations in 16 districts, ADRF serves a large number of organizations and individuals addressing disability issues. ADRF has established an Information Center as well as a good resource library. The Information Center has been used extensively by numerous NGOs. 9 ADW has offered logistical support, i.e., the use of its office facilities, e-mail and Intemet access, etc., to several organizations including Women in Development and Talented Young Disabled Association. 9 ADRF has been working to establish a network of disability NGOs. Several meetings were held with the principal NGOs (e.g., Association of Labor Invalids, Association of Blind People, Association of Mental Handicapped People, Talented Young Disabled People, Association of Disabled Women of Durres and Kavaja, Invalids Association, and the Albanian National Association of Paraplegics. Discussions are progressing. 9 Specific assistance included: Provision of TA on a number of management topics to 12 representatives of disability NGOs from five districts: Kavaja, Durres, Berat, Kruja, and Tirana and training on pamership and fundraising that was attended by an additional 19 NGO representatives. Worked with DOKITA, an international organization dealing with disability rights and the European Community for Education and Training to enable free participation in vocational training programs Assisted disabled people to deal with the Social Insurance Institute and General Administration of Help and Social Services in presenting request for fnancial assistance and medical neatment. In collaboration with two psychiatrists, ADRF has provided a training program on Learning Disabilities and Community Services for Disabled Persons for 19 individuals including representatives of disability NGOs, disabled individuals, and students of the Faculty of Social Work and Psychology = Provision of TA to the Mentally Handicapped Association, Albanian Work Invalid Organization, the Help Life Association and Talented Young Disabled People on project proposal writing and fundraising ADW's logistic facilities were used by the Albanian Paraplegic Association, which also benefited itom ADRF's technical assistance in preparing various documents and promotional materials Assisted the Association of Work Invalids in organizing a handicraft exhibition. P Three information leaflets were published by ADRF's Information Center on mental health, epilepsy, and paralysis. Four hundred copies of each information sheet were distributed to beneficiaries, disability NGOs, other NGOs, and welfare institutions. P ADRF successfully organized an Information Day with the participation of representatives from different NGOs dealing with disability issues. The main goal of this activity was to increase public awareness on disabity issues and promote cross-sector collaboration in dealing with these issues. P In 1998 ORT financed several activities with the aim of improving existing disabilities legislation including: Holdiig of 2 roundtables composed of interested organizations, government and non-government, looking at the full range of legal issues facing the disabled Formulated a set of recommendations from the review and then presented them to concerned Ministry Newly installed govemment saw the recommendations as new fmancial obligations and did not act on them
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 1 7 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Density and Diversity: Achieving a Critical Mass of NGOs One of the principal indicators of a strong NGO sector is both the density (sheer numbers) and diversity (sheer variety) of a country's associational life. In 1995 there were an estimated 150 to 200 NGOs of which roughly half were considered operational. Considering that in 1990, prior to the democratic transition, there were virtually no NGOs - neither the right of voluntary association nor associational autonomy as permitted - this figure represented a tremendous increase. The general consensus among evaluation respondents was that today the number of NGOs falls somewhere in the range of 5001600 to 700/800. Even taking the lower figure, it still represents a roughly three-fold increase in the NGO population from 1995. To get a bit more of the flavor of this "associational revolution" consider the following:
9 According to the Women's Center's database, there are now 85 women's Albanian NGOs working throughout the country. Although, not all of them are active, it still represents a significant increase from five years ago. 9 According to REC, the number of environmental NGOs has increased to 90 of which roughly 25 % are actually active. This still represents a major increase from 1995. At the same time, many of these NGOs expanded their activities by opening branch offices at the district level. 9 Each of the NGOs that was interviewed for this Final Report noted that not only had Tirana- based NGOs begun to open branches at the regional and district levels over the previous five years, but that there was a recent phenomenon of new NGOs springing up independent of the larger Tirana-based NGOs. There is no way to know how many locally based NGOs have been created since registration currently takes place at the local government level and is not consolidated into national figures. But it appears that this is one of the most dynamic areas of NGO growth and bears further study. 9 While the profile for 1995 indicated that, in terms of NGO diversity by sector of activity, only a handful of NGOs were working in each of the four DemNet sectors, in 2000 there seems to have been a significant increase in all sectors as well as growth in a number of the sub-sectors. While the following figures taken from the Civil Society Foundation's records represent only its experience with grantees and potential grantees, it does provide, however, an illustrative breakdown of the NGO sector by development sector and sub-sector: 4 Social safety net - 14 J Youth- 29 J Think-tanks - 9 J Health-20 J Economic Growth - 20 J Children - 11 J Women- 36 4 ArtKulture - 71 J Environment - 90 J Democracy/Human Rights - 40 J Education - 14
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 18 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Differentiation and Specialization Another principal indicator of a strong and healthy NGO sector is the degree to which it has begun to differentiate by structure and function with a conesponding increase in the degree of NGO specialization that begins to emerge as new sectoral needs arise. This phenomenon takes place when a critical mass of organizations has been achieved. In 1995 the threshold had just barely been reached while in 2000 the tremendous proliferation of the previous five years had provided the basis for true sector differentiation. Structural - functional differentiation and specialization, evidence of a mature NGO sector, occurs at three levels of associational life: 9 Primary level: can be considered the foundation of a pyramidal-shaped NGO sector. The principal associational units at the primary level are community-based organizations or what we might call grassroots membership organizations--of, by and for members. This is the first level of association that people join to promote or defend their interests, values, etc. CBOs include neighborhood associations, resource user groups, and primary cooperatives. 9 Intermediary level: straddles the primary level where people live and work and higher levels of associations where social, economic and political institutions operate and make many decisions that affect the primary level. Intermediary organizations include classic development NGOs and organizations composed of primary level actors that federate &om the bottom up such as cooperatives, credit unions, and farmers associations. 9 Tertiary level: This is the national level and the NGOs (or CSOs) that inhabit this space are more specialized support organizations that either: 1. Provide intermediary level organizations a range of services including technical assistance, training, coordination, representation; this includes sectoral or geographic networks, training and TA NGOs, grantmaking organizations; or, 2. Toil on behalf of the entire sector defending and promoting the interests of all NGOs and the public more generally; it includes NGO umbrella organizations, think tanks and policy institutes.
The 2000 evaluation has made it clear that in addition to the tremendous increase in density and diversity at all levels of Albanian associational life there has been a corresponding phenomenon of increased specialization within the NGO sector. Note the following:
9 While the evidence is only notional or illustrative at this point, there appears to be a big increase in the number and variety of CBOs operating at the very local level. CBOs are represented in virtually all the DemNet sectors but the number of new ones with an "economic" orientation seems to be the biggest gainer, while those with social development (health and education) and social safety-net functions continue to have the greatest numbers. The principal impact of this growth, although perhaps not the most evident, has been the increased involvement of Albanian citizens in public life through their involvement in CBOs. 9 Not only has there been an overall increase in the number of intermediary NGOs, but they are also increasingly found at the sub-national level either as the branch offices of Tirana- based NGOs or newly created NGOs with a more dehed geographical focus. While few federated-type associations - not counting the mass-based organizations that carried over from the pre-democratic era - were in evidence in 1995, a growing number were reported in 2000, including farmer's unions, cooperatives and credit unions and women's organizations.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 19 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Again, the biggest increase seems to be among intermediaries with an economic function. The growth of intermediary NGOs translates into increased and more varied services delivered to the local level and more channels for citizen voices to find their way into policy- making arenas beyond it.
Advocacy Training Group and the Policy Advocacy Network The purpose of the Albania DemNet program has been to develop and strengthen the community of public policy- oriented NGOs. When, DemNet fust started in 1995, many Albanian NGOs took up a largely adversarial role vis-8- vis govemment. Public participation whether undertaken by citizens or NGOs in such areas as policymaking and service delivery, was not only ignored and discouraged by government prior to 1990; it was virtually unknown in either practice or conception. To strengthen the role of NGOs in public policymaking ORT initiated in 1997 a training program for NGOs with an interest in increasing practical skills in policy advocacy. From 1997 to 1999 DemNet trained 83 members from 78 business, environmental, women's, health, democracy and youth NGOs. NGO personnel learned practical skills in policy research, formulation and advocacy and the importance of building coalitions as well as ensuring grassroots support for effective and sustainable policy change. ORT was the only external agency in Albania to offer this type of training and technical assistance to the sector. As a result of this training, NGOs now have improved capacity to identify and articulate their constituencies' policy issues and discuss alternative ways to tackle them. This has been directly reflected in the improved quality of NGO grant proposals; they are now better able to define policy objectives, implement projects and measure results. The Policy Advocacy Network, while still largely informal, was formed by ORT to reinforce the impact of its advocacy training. After more than five years of targeted involvement in the advocacy field including support of Advocacy Network activities, there is a long list of laws, policies, amendments, and decisions drafted and enacted by ORT grantees often in collaboration with government. Some of the more important DemNet results include: 9 In 1998, the Albanian Parliament enacted revised Rules of Procedure which promoted greater transparency and public input into the legislative process (public hearings); 9 The Parliamentarian Commission of Agriculture has held two public hearings with the National Union of Farmers on the land tax law; 9 The Ministry of Legislative Reform held a public hearing with human rights groups to discuss the draft Ombudsman law, the fust law of this type in Albania; > In 1997, the Ministry of Legislalive Refornr encouraged public pamcipation in the Constilational Drafing Process-25% of the new constitution's content was drafted, changed/improved with public and NGOs input; 9 The Albanian NGO law is the tint-ever law drafted as a joint effort of govemment and NGO sector; 9 Many NGOs are becoming involved in promoting increased local government effectiveness and have promoted electoral, decentralization and local government reforms. 9 The Ministry of Trade andlndnstry and the President's Office have invited a growing number of NGOs (e.g., producer groups, policy institutes and think tanks) to undertake research andlor comment on a range of economic policymaking issues including privatization, taxation and anti-corruption measures.
9 Perhaps the most significant indicator of a strengthened NGO sector is the great increase in the number of NGOs involved in sector-wide support functions. This includes a range of sectoral and geographic networks representing and providing concrete services to their NGO members. Secondly, the number of think tanks, policy institutes, and training and technical assistance organizations has likewise expanded significantly. Such organizations (e.g., the RDAs Tirana and Elbasan, Women's Center, Institute for Contemporary Studies, Albanian Center for Economic Research) are able to provide needed technical, logistical, informational, coordination and representational support to the increasing number of
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 20 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program intermediary NGOs and, in many cases, to CBOs. And equally important, NGO Support Organizations are beginning to take on the sector-wide function of defending- and promoting- the interests of all NGOS and the broader Albanian public.
Generating Norms of Civic Engagement and Values of Social Capital While difficult to measure, one of the most powerful indicators of a strong and healthy NGO sector is the degree to which it both embodies norms and values of civic engagement and social capital and actually generates them from the organizations that compose the sector. Social capital norms and values include trust, tolerance, inclusion and reciprocity. Social capital underlies the willingness of individuals to give up some of their personal autonomy for the benefits of collective action. Fifty years of totalitarianism not only inhibited an NGO or voluntary sector from emerging in Albania; it stunted and, in many cases, erased the fundamental values of social capital and the positive associational behaviors they promote.
In 1995, the notions of "voluntarism" and "philanthropy" were still viewed cynically by the Albanian public, which also viewed NGOs with suspicion.. . as little more than a new form of exploitation. Collaborative efforts at the individual, community and societal level were more the exception than the rule and partnerships among NGOs and between them and other sectors were rare. While it might be too much to state that the situation has drastically altered today, there are far too many examples of changed behavior and practice - indicators of changing values and norms -to ignore what must be considered a societal transformation, not just of the NGO sector. This includes a growing number of joint NGO collaborative efforts as well as inter-sectoral (with government or business) partnerships (the RDAs engage in both); increasing examples community-wide or neighborhood endeavors (the "District 50" project); and the appreciation of voluntarism as a positive act of civic engagement (particularly among youth).
3. Conclusions: A Strong NGO Sector Supporting Public Policy NGOs
There can be no question that over the past six years the loose amalgam of Albania NGOs has, in fact, become a much more coherent assemblage of inter-related organizations with breadth and depth-in short a true ercapable of taking its legitimate place alongside the Albanian government in promoting the public good. In turn, a stronger sector has provided the individual organizations that compose it with a range of services that have permitted them to achieve their own objectives while providing a more stable and secure environment within which to work. As discussed in greater detail in Chapter IV, the ORT/USAID DemNet Program has been a principal catalyst and architect in the sector's construction and strengthening. Evidence of the sectors strength and its contribution to NGO public policymaking has been noted above, but we summarize as follows:
9 NGOs have a far greater understanding of the role of civil society in public life and how they, as leaders actors in it, have a legitimate right to participate in political as well as social and economic life. NGOs also have developed a greater understanding of their rights as public actors and how to exercise them.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 21 USAIWORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 Given their growing awareness, and even comfort in this new role, NGOs have begun to acquire the tools and knowledge so necessary to be effective public actors. Chief among them are an understanding of "the how, where and who" of public policymaking and a sharpening of advocacy skills and techniques needed to achieve policy change and reform. As donors have come to see think tanks and non-profit research institutes as alternative policy formulators, additional resources have flowed in to strengthen these important sector support NGOs. 9 The increased density and diversity of the NGO sector have given Albanian citizens an expanded choice in terms of which NGOs represent them in public matters. This has had a two-fold impact. First, the choice has generated competition among NGOs thus increasing their effectiveness in both service provision and policymaking. Secondly, it has given Albanians a far greater opportunity to participate in social, economic and political life. Empowered citizens in turn make their organizations stronger, more effective and representative--a virtuous circle
9 The fact that NGOs have begun to specialize - becoming more focused and strategic in what they do - has permitted a corresponding increase in their professionalization, both in management and technical program dimensions. With a more rational division of labor and with new NGO types capable of undertaking new functions - particularly those providing sector-wide support - the overall sector has been able to engage govemment in a more effective manner. 9 The expansion of an NGO presence at the regional level and below, combined with the growth in community-based organizations, has contributed to the greater devolution of responsibility downward to local actors, including NGOs as well as local govemment. This evolving structural composition of the NGO sector, including linkages between levels, has become its greatest strength. As sub-national governments are given greater powers, it reinforces this pattern in the NGO sector and will draw in additional resources-fiom both govemment and donors to support the work and improve the capacity of sub-national NGOs. 9 While still developing, the NGO sector has improved its ability in reaching out to and increasing the awareness of govemment and the general public concerning its activities and contributions. This is a result of the sector redefining its role fiom one of confiontation with govemment to collaboration with it; a significant increase in NGO development activities, including public service delivery in comparison with govemment; and greater sophistication in the use of public and private media to get the NGO message out. The combination of these three factors has led to a much more positive image of the sector by the public. 9 It may be too much to say that the NGO sector is fully imbued with and consistently demonstrates critical civic values, but NGOs increasingly appreciate the need for internal democratic practice, the benefits of voluntarism, and the general need for tolerance. And there can be no doubt that the growing participation of Albanians in NGOs and CBOs contributes positively to promoting all these values thus reinforcing NGO good practice.
While the picture painted here is a positive one, it is also a relative one-relative to where the NGO sector and Albania were five and ten years ago. In terms of where the country and the sector needs to be there is still far to go. The following discussion briefly summarizes those areas that continues to present a challenge:
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 22 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 There has been a general increase since 1990 in voluntarism in a wide range of public endeavors including volunteering in NGOs. However, respondents have made clear that since 1996, it has been declining, except among Albanian youth. The countervailing value of viewing work in NGOs as a way to make a living without clearly linking that to the value of public service has increasingly penetrated the sector. While this "entrepreneurial" spirit was evident in 1995, the impression is that has become a dominant force today. Perhaps the greatest evidence is the rise of the %on-profit" contractor as the norm in NGO operations. Taken together these examples provide a good reason why the recent work of DernNet in promoting the development of an NGO Standard of Conduct is so important. 9 There is no doubt that donor support has been a contributing factor to the growth and strength of the NGO sector. At the same time, there is growing concem that a relatively small number of larger NGOs have captured the lion's share of donor funding and, as a result, have begun to dominate the sector's agenda and resource flows. The impact has been to limit the expansion and development of NGOs at the sub-national level. The specific concern is the danger of a split in the NGO sector between a small group of increasingly large and well- endowed "haves" and a large group of very small and under-endowed '"have-nots." Donors have the ability to address this problem and USAID's support of DemNet, which has targeted both groups appropriately, has done just that. The trend of donor support for Albanian decentralization and local government - and ultimately, sub-national NGOs - is the principal reason for hope that the troubling possibility noted will not happen as it has elsewhere. 9 An ancillary aspect of this phenomenon in practical terns has been the failure of intermediary NGOs to recognize the importance of catalyzing the creation of CBOs and then building their capacity. The fact is that most intermediary NGOs are just that, channels connecting citizens and their organizations to broader societal processes and institutions. CBOs are the most direct representatives of the majority of Albanians and should be encouraged in this role. Many NGOs, however, see a growing population of CBOs as a threat to their long-term existence. Moving beyond this view needs to be encouraged.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 23 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program The NGO Draft iaw: A Case of Effective Advocacy and Partnership Background In 1996 the Albanian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs proposed a restrictive NGO "licensing" law that would have constrained civil society's full participation as a legitimate public actor. Lobbying efforts by the NGO sector supported by ORT, ICNL, USAID and the American Ambassador were able to halt the draft's legislative march. ORT facilitated the formation of a 40-member NGO coalition to provide comments on the Ministry's draft law. Two petitions signed by NGO representatives were sent to the Minister of Labor persuading the Ministry to delay the draft law's consideration in order to allow more time for NGO review and input. As a result of the 1997 elections, NGOs had to reintroduce the NGO law issue to the new ministers and their staff. At the same time, ORT and ICNL asked a number of NGO leaders whether they were content with the defeat of the previous draft or wanted to push for a more appropriate NGO legal framework. NGOs opted for the later. The process quickly became a model of participatory law-drafting. The government agreed to form a joint NGO-government working group, the fust-ever such joint undertaking between NGOs and government. The working group of four NGO members and six from the government began drafting a new NGO legal framework. The result of these lobbying efforts led the Ministry of Labor to hold the fust publichearing on the draft law. A second one was organized six months later with the participation of 100 NGOs. The draft law was published in three leading newspapers ensuring broad based coverage and maximum public input. As a result of a DemNet biweekly newsletter, several DemNet-funded NGO bulletins, and NGO sector meetings, wer 500 NGOs received regular briefmgs on the status and content of the legislative initiative. Current Status fie draft has been stalled since March 1999. Representatives in the Ministry have assured the working group that khe only concern government had related to the likely need to amend the Albanian Civil Code to make the NGO law :omistent with it. To address these concerns the NGO law-working group drafted two legal packages: the fmt, the VGO draft law; and the second, a set of amendments addressing NGO provisions in the Civil Code. The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing both legal packages before passing them to the Council of Ministers For approval. Once approved the draft law will go to Parliament for passage. Despite these delays everyone from he President on down have explicitly expressed his or her support for the law. Remaining Deficiencies in the Current Draft Legislation The Albanian Civil Code provides the legal framework for associations and foundations. The section on NGOs is pite short consisting of 10 articles on foundations and 14 articles on associations. A number of gaps and imbiguities in the Civil Code remain, including: b The defmition of a foundation is unclear-to the extent thatpyramid schemes have registered as foundations b There are no provisions enabling the registration of branch offices of foreign organizations. b It does not defme the nonprofit principle-this has led to abuses and undermines the public image of the sector. b Ministries have broad, undefmed and hence arbitrary powers to supervise the activities of foundations b The number of persons necessary to found an association is not defmed; it has caused confusion in the courts. b Some officials interpret the Civil Code to preclude associations from engaging in any economic activity. b Articles addressing requirements related to the basic documents of an NGO are missing key provisions. b The distinction between public benefit and private interest activities is unclear leading to confusion about which organizations are entitled to tax benefits and other preferences. b The registration process is burdensome and not transparent while the dissolution provisions are overly broad, 4n enabling NGO law tied to a revised Civil Code is all-important to the sector's future. With a law in place, NGOs ~ouldbe better able engage in income generating activities, increasing their independence from donors and 5overnment alike. The key to the NGO Law now appears to be the Civil Code.
4merican ORT DemNet Final Report Page 24 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program B. Albanian NGOs Effectively Undertake Civic Action and Advocacy
What the Respondents Had to Say ORT is also drfferentfi-om other donors because it has strong links throughout the sector and has demonstrated a true voluntary ethos The ORTAlbanian staffmade a big dzfference to the project ... they were professional and correct at all times ... and they did not get involved in the politics andjealousies of the NGO community--they were good models.
1. A Profile of the NGO Capacity in 1995
As noted in Chapter 1, Part C, above, an effective NGO is measured along four dimensions of institutional capacity: 9 Internal governance structure and rules 9 Internal management 9 Civic Action and Policy Advocacy 9 Development Sector skills and knowledge
The Albania DemNet Program focused on the first three dimensions in the design and implementation of its NGO capacity building program. The fourth, sector-specific development skills and knowledge, was viewed as being an area that NGOs would already have possessed in sufficient measure to participate in DemNet whose mandate after all was to strengthen NGO policymaking capacity. The initial 1995 NGO Sector Assessment identified the principal profile characteristics of individual NGOs as follows: 9 Little involvement by members or clients in internal governance matters, including decision making, in spite of the fact that most all NGOs had govemance structures and statutes that promoted participatory govemance; practically, however, decision making was found to be both hierarchical and centralized, mirroring that of the larger society. 9 Except for a small minority, most NGOs lacked a minimum level of financial and material resources, and were totally dependent on the voluntary labor provided by a small number of members-in most cases, member contributions provided a meager source of income. 9 NGOs in each of the four priority sectors had increasingly begun to engage government, both the executive and legislative branches, over issues of public policy; this dialogue tended to be limited to discussions related to sectoral issues and not about problems at the macro-political level. The independent media had played an important role in promoting the NGO sector's view in both sectoral and macro-political matters. 9 At least three-quarters of the NGOs interviewed had no permanent office or meeting facility, no basic equipment (e.g., computer, facsimile, photocopier, furniture), no full-time paid staff, no transportation, and no funds to cover the most basic of office operations (e.g., office supplies, travel per diem) ... in short, none of the basic institutional infrastructure associated
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 25 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program with the normal functioning that any effective organization required to achieve its mission and objectives. 9 Training and, to a lesser extent, technical assistance (TA) were the least valued and lowest prioritized need identified by the smaller and erAlbanian NGOs ... with a few notable exceptions:
J Training and TA in the category of strategic planning and sector-specific development training were the most often cited areas of need. J Management development, including accounting and financial management, was deemed the least useful area. 4 As many NGO officers commented, training and most TA without project funding or institutional infrastructure was found to be a virtual waste of time and many felt that Albanians were being "trained to death" by donors. 9 For those larger and stronger NGOs that had experience in project implementation andlor have a more permanent organizational presence, all types of training were found to have relevance particularly skills development in the area of management development.
J Technical assistance was viewed more favorably because it was longer-term, more, individually tailored to the needs of the NGO (versus generic training), and with practical hands on orientation.
2. A Profile of Individual NGO Capacity in 2000
In assessing the change in individual NGO capacity over the past six years, the three dimensions of DemNet capacity building noted above are used here.
Internal governance structure and rules 9 It is true that NGOs have become more sensitive to the importance of internal democratic governance (e.g., transparency, accountability) in their own organizations to ensure full participation by both members and clients in internal decision-making processes. This has been partly the result of DemNet training and partly the result of the general discourse on democracy that has permeated the country for the past ten years. Having said this, sensitivity is not practice, and the same tendencies toward centralization of power, hierarchical decisionmaking and male dominance that were noted in the 1995 Assessment - in the broader society and among NGOs - are still very much alive in both today. There remains much to do in this regard. As noted above, it is heartening that a good number of NGOs see the importance of a sector code or standard of conduct to ensure good NGO practice.
Internal Organizational Management 9 This was the capacity building dimension where DemNet - and most other donors, for that matter - put the greatest TNtraining emphasis. In general, NGOs agreed that these interventions had made a significant difference to their program effectiveness. It was also quite clear, however, that as important as training in such areas as strategic planning and financial management was, without the financial resources to put into practice what was learned, long-term impact was minimal. This was the same message sent five years ago and the reason that DemNet developed the capacity building strategy it did, i.e., TNtraining were
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 26 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program always matched with one of the three DemNet grant types. The four recipients of the DemNet-provided Institutional Development Program support - beneficiaries of TAltraining kom ANITARC that included no grant funding - reinforced this finding. 9 Respondents, both NGOs and in the wider development community, acknowledged a considerable increase in overall NGO professionalism, particularly in their ability to manage programs and projects. Perhaps most importantly, was the ability of the NGO sector to provide this dimension of capacity building assistance to individual NGOs &om within the sector itself-it was a considered a major accomplishment of DemNet and several other international NGOs (e.g., REC, SOROS and the Civil Society Foundation) during the past six years. What it shows is that capacity building interventions touched not only intermediary NGOs - particularly those delivering services in the four DemNet sectors - but the "sector support NGOs" targeted by DernNet as the key to its overall program strategy. 9 It also appears that, to some extent, DemNet's attempt succeeded in reaching the increasing number of smaller NGOs outside Tirana that began to emerge as the program unfolded. What does not seem to have happened is for many CBOs to have benefited &om DemNet capacity building assistance-at least directly. What can be said is that the combination of Micro-grants and the creation of sectoral and geographic NGO resource centers did permit many "second tier" intermediary NGOs and small number of CBOs to effectively manage small-scale activities and thus develop "the all important track-record." The impact of this strategy on the smaller NGOs and CBOs should not be underestimated and probably has had one of the most important and long-lasting DemNet impacts-particularly viewed in promoting NGO sector institutional pluralism.
Civic Action and Policy Advocacy 9 As pointed out above, ORT DemNet was the only project to provide capacity building assistance in the area of civic action and policy advocacy-at least for most of the period between 1995 and 2000. It is not enough to say that this is what DemNet was designed to do, which it was to be sure. ORT's broad and practical interpretation of policy advocacy with particular emphasis on policy change in the environmental, safety-net and economic growth sectors was a "responsible" as well as effective strategy given the relative fragility of the country during most of this period. In the "democracy" sector, DemNet's promotion of advocacy around human rights issues such as domestic violence was also appropriate as was the significant efforts put into passing a new NGO Law and increasing public participation in drafting the new constitution. In the broader context, promoting such "political" issues was not overly threatening to what were successively weak governments. 9 TA and training in this area have to be looked at as a multiple set of integrated interventions. Training was geared towards the relatively low level of capacity that all NGOs had at the start of DemNet. As noted above, not only were advocacy skills and knowledge largely absent in the majority of NGOs, the concept of non-state participation in public policy making was virtually unknown. Looking through the training materials developed under DemNet and listening to NGO respondents concerning their participation in training activities indicated an iterative process of learning in which materials were more like living documents than the final word on the matter. Equally important were the various informal training groups (e.g., advocacy, legislative drafting, NGO - government Joint Working
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 27 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Group) that DemNet sponsored and nurtured as a way to indirectly and collaboratively address policy constraints and policy making. 9 One of the less evident aspects of NGO training in policy advocacy was the fact that achieving a concrete policy outcome was not promoted by ORT as the sole measure of effective NGO advocacy efforts. As noted above, there were far too many factors, i.e., in the political rules structure and institutional culture, over which NGOs had no control that affected their ability to achieve desired policy change. ORT's promotion of the broader concept of civic action which focused on promoting empowerment as the principal outcome of policy advocacy will likely lead to more effective and sustainable policy change in the long-term then achieving discrete policy changes.
Development Sector skills and knowledge 9 While the original design of DemNet did not target building technical NGO capacity in the social safety net, economic growth and environment sectors - civic action and policy advocacy were considered the capacities of the democracy "sector" - it became clear to ORT that most NGOs really lacked solid skills and expertise in such skills areas as HIVIAIDS education and outreach, cooperative development, economic research, and small enterprise development. Since TAItraining and grant assistance were largely to be used to promote policy advocacy results, the DemNet mandate, the amount of time and resources devoted to building development sector capacity was limited to the hding of workshops including professional exchanges between Albanians and neighboring counties. 9 While it is hard to fault anyone for this lacuna, it must nevertheless be viewed as a USAID design flaw of the DemNet Program. This is particularly true when a principal lesson learned in world wide advocacy programming showed that NGOs that have had the greatest success in influencing policy change were those who had developed a solid track-record in effective service delivery and were recognized as leaders in promoting best development practice. Obviously, NGOs with weak technical capacity in their chosen area of development put them at a disadvantage vis-A-vis government and donors when sitting around the policymaking table-assuming they even made it to the table.
3. Conclusions: NGOs Effectively Undertake Public Policymaking
The logic of the DemNet approach to building NGOs capable of effective policymaking was to view advocacy as a technical or programmatic shll like those in other development sectors (e.g., primary health care or natural resource management). In other words, as important as the mastery of this skill was, unless an NGO had first put into place an internal governance structure that promoted democratic practice, transparency and accountability; and mastered fundamental management skills ensuring the effective allocation and use of available resources, it would be unable to be an effective agent of policy change and reform. Framed as a lesson learned, DemNet promoted the principle that effective NGOs in policymaking have the same fundamental institutional requirements for effectiveness as NGOs working in any other sector.
American ORT DemNet Final Reporf Page 28 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 The strategy of focusing advocacy efforts on "sectoral" policies (e.g., in traditional development sectors such as economic growth, the environment, health) rather than on the democracy sector and more "systemic" issues (e.g., electoral reform, rule of law, corruption), at least initially, was appropriate to the situation and permitted DemNet and its NGO partnen to eventually move to the more sensitive political issues. This should be considered a major lesson learned as well. 9 As the many DemNet activities described in Chapter I1 and the several case studies sprinkled throughout this report point out, Albanian NGOs have made tremendous strides in both increasing their participation in a wide range of policy issues and actually having some measurable impact in terms of policy change. But measures of their effectiveness must go beyond whether an actual policy change took place to whether NGOs were able to increase the involvement of Albanian citizens in the policymaking process. In a country where the mere proposition of someone wanting to participate in making public decisions could have meant jail or worse as little as a decade ago, the situation today must be looked at as revolutionary.
C. The Enabling Environment Empowers NGO Participation in Public Policymaking
The measure of analysis used in this third and final intermediate result is the degree to which the legal, policy and regulatoiy environment enables NGOs to participate in public life in general and policymaking in particular. During the 1995 NGO Sector Assessment this aspect was examined and is used to evaluate the situation in 2000. While the usual emphasis is on the "rules" environment, this analysis also looked at the attitude and behavior of the ''men'' that apply, or not, these rules.
1. A Profile of the Enabling Environment in 1995
Although NGOs reported few problems in terms of being able to implement their development programs in 1995, the fact is that they put few demands on government to support their efforts. The same can be said for NGO attempts to influence public policy, that is, their attempts were few and those issues that were targeted stuck pretty closely to the immediate needs of their members and clients (e.g., obtaining pensions for retirees, ensuring basic benefits for the disabledtnon-threatening in the general context of that time. The general response of NGOs in 1995 concerning government's view of their participation in public matters was that as long as they [NGOs] did not directly challenge government's overall position, then they were left to run their programs as they saw fit-a fairly benign view if not somewhat paternalistic.
Interestingly, in 1995 NGOs talked more about the behavior and attitudes of government and less about actual policies, laws and regulations governing their sector. This was indicative - and a principal indicator - of the general nature of Albanian governance at that time, which can be best characterized as the "rule of man rather than the rule of law." Given Albania's history of a single autocratic ruler dominating a regime that brooked no challenge to its authority, laws were little more than a patina that overlay the arbitrary use of power to achieve political ends. Even though roughly five years had passed since the anival of democracy and its new institutions, the
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 29 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program great majority of Albanians running the country could hardly be called democrats and all had absorbed the dominant values and behavior of the past having spent 50 years living under it- little surprise then concerning the responses of NGO respondents.
In fact, the general legal environment was not particularly disabling as far as NGOs were concerned. The constitution guaranteed the freedom of association and the Civil Code, while ambiguous and often unclear, did not overly constrain NGO formation and operations. Although government rarely harassed NGOs, they occasionally came under scrutiny from tax inspectors, an indication that tax benefits were limited, and that the tax framework was so ambiguous that it did not provide adequate support or protection for Albanian NGOs-placing the notion of NGOs as "non-profit" organizations in question. But as noted above, the great proliferation of NGOs between 1990 and 1995 certainly indicated that a space had been created for them where none had existed previously.
To summarize, NGO were fairly well insulated from state control and arbitrary or politically motivated dissolution. They generally enjoyed the freedom to operate and express opinions openly as long as they did not place too many new demands on government or challenge its political dominance. While there were some discussions concerning the need for an NGO Law, there did not seem to be any urgency to the matter or organized effort to make it happen if there was. The more important issue seemed to be that NGOs were not, in general, very interested in making changes to the 1egaYpolicy environment even around "sectoral" issues or reforms that affected their ability to implement their programs or affected the welfare of their members.
2. A Profile of the Enabling Environment in 2000
A distinction is made in this report between "systemic" policies, or laws that address the broader macro-political system; and "sectoral" laws and policies that pertain to and affect the outcomes of social and economic development. The importance of systemic policy change is two-fold. First, it determines legitimate public actors and allocates power and authority between them. In ths case, systemic policies and laws define the legitimacy of NGOs - or civil society more broadly - and their role in the country's social, political and economic life. Secondly, systemic law provides the macro-political framework within which social and economic actors conduct their public affairs. This has particular relevance to NGOs, the majority of which are involved in development, in the sense that if the framework does not promote NGO participation in all facets of public life then it obviously inhibits their involvement in policymaking.
Regarding this first enabling environment dimension, there are a number of important examples of progress in 2000 that were not present in 1995. The first concerns the enactment of a new Albanian constitution. What is important is not so much how the new constitution had changed from the previous one - associational rights and freedoms are still protected - but rather how it was drafted. As described above, the government provided opportunities for both citizens and NGOs to comment on and influence the final design of the constitution, ultimately leading to content changes of 25 percent of the finalized document.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 30 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program The second example of systemic change concerns the NGO law. Although the Albanian Parliament has not yet passed this law, it likely will do so before the end of this year. But like the constitution, it was the collaborative manner - the creation of the joint NGO-government Working Group - in which the NGO law had been drafted, that indicates significant change since 1995. Finally, perhaps the most far-reaching political reform that will increase the NGO role in public policymaking, as well as in the implementation of those policies, is decentralization, an increasingly important issue for all development actors. All three of these "macro-political" reforms are good measures of the sea change in relations that have led to modifications in policies that have enabled NGOs to increase their participation in both public policymaking and in the implementation of those policies.
Changes in sectoral policies in such areas as HIVIAIDS, the disabled, and particularly in the economic sector (e.g., privatization, micro-finance, land, agricultural pricing), have opened up the terrain for greater NGO participation in delivering public se~ces-a good indicator of their enhanced legitimacy vis-A-vis govemment and the broader public. In other words, one of the principal purposes and anticipated impacts of increased participation of NGOs in public policymaking has been to open the door for a greater role as a provider of public se~ces.
Since 1997, which brought a new political party into power, NGOs have benefited from a far more open and welcoming government partner, not just as concerns the NGO Law, but also in a wide range of policy areas portrayed through out this Report. The willingness of concerned ministries and political leaders to accept NGO participation in policymaking arenas is the result of several factors. First, NGOs have proven their ability to deliver needed development and emergency relief services effectively-Kosovo was a transformative event for the NGO sector in this regard. Secondly, the Albanian government has increasingly focused on how to solve societal problems and rather than defining adversaries began looking for capable partners to collaborate with in the design and implementation of appropriate programs.
3. Conclusions: NGOs Effectively Undertake Public Policymaking
"Revolutionary" is the word that best describes the changed situation in the ability of NGOs to effectively participate in public policymaking in the year 2000. Part of this must be attributed to an overall improvement in the legal, policy and regulatory environment-both systemic and sectoral. And reflecting this fact, is perhaps the most noticeable change between 1995 and 2000 which simply put has been an increasing concern by both govemment and NGOs in "getting the rules right" as a means of overcoming the arbitrary and often discretionary use of power by men to effect desired policy outcomes-very much the modm operandi for the much of the past five decades. In short, NGOs have not only been principal beneficiaries of an improved legal policy environment, they have been important actors in bringing this new environment about, achieving important policy changes in a number of sectoral and political areas.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 31 USAIDIORT - Albania DemNet Program D. NGOs are Effective Partners in Public Decisionmaking
Not only have NGOs become effective partners in public decisionmaking - working alongside government, not replacing it - but, as discussed in Chapter N below, the USAIDIORT DemNet program has had a principal role in bringing about this high level development result. If looked at in relative terms, that is, from where Albania and the Albanian NGO sector started in 1990, there is little doubt that the progress made by NGOs in influencing public policy and decisionmaking has been significant, particularly compared to their counterparts in more developed CEE countries. Taking into consideration the major crises that shook the country during the DemNet Program life, it becomes all the more impressive.
If one measure of a strong democracy is the unlikelihood of its being overturned by the use of unconstitutional means, then a strong NGO sector is one whose legitimacy and role in public life cannot be taken away by the arbitrary use of state power. This would appear to be the situation as the DemNet Program comes to its planned end. NGOs have demonstrated their capacity for effective participation in Albanian public life, including but not limited to policymaking, and government's ability to marginalize them would be very unlikely. The greater danger lies within the NGO sector itself, from its inability to monitor the non-democratic practice of its individual members and enforce a common standard of conduct. Legitimacy in this regard is the currency of public life and a country's citizens can just as easily withdraw it as confer it--from civil society and from the state alike.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 32 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program IV. DemNet Impact: Conclusions and Lessons Learned
What the Respondents Had to Say A major impact of ORT's program has been to introduce a new vocabula~,awareness and understanding about NGOs and their role in a democracy and in improving social and economic welfare I don't know if it was aN because of ORT/DemNet but a big change has taken place over the past 5 years related to the Albanian NGO sector: > Public opinion is increasingly more positive as is government S views and statements > NGOs have increased capaciy, skills and understanding about their role 9 New NGO think-tank [many supported by DemNet] contribute to sector strength
To this point the Final Report has described ORT's approach and strategy to the design and implementation of the DemNet program (Chapter I); it has chronicled the activities that ORT undertook to achieve DernNet results (Chapter 11); and it has presented an analysis of the changed situation between 1995 when DemNet started and 2000 as it winds down in terms of the achievement of the DemNet SO, effective partners in public decisionmaking, and each of the three intermediate results that compose it (Chapter 111). The remaining question that the Final Evaluation sets out to answer is how much of the achievement of DemNet results was due to:
> The effectiveness of ORT's management of program implementation-that is marshalling Program resources and applying them to achieve SO results.
Addressing this question and presenting a set of DemNet lessons learned are the purpose of Chapter IV.
A. The Appropriateness of the DemNet Program Strategy
What the Respondents had to Say A true NGO sector emerged with ORTa majorpartner in and reason for its developntent ORT was dzfferentffom other donors as it was here not promote its own agenda but to build a long-termfoundation in civil society The ORTAlbanian staff made a big dzfference to the project; they were professional and correct at all times ...and they did not get involved in thepolitics andjealousies of the NGO comntuni~ they were good models.
Has the reason for the achievement of the DemNet SO been the result of ''happenstance," or of the solidly conceived program put forward in 199S? Put differently, was the program design formulated by ORT in its winning 1994 bid, refined following the conduct of its 1995 NGO Sector Assessment, and revised in its 1997 NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy, appropriate to local Albanian conditions? The short answer is yes and maybe. The long answer
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 33 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program is, well, a bit longer. The analysis used in making this determination examines Phase 1 (section 1) and Phase 2 (section 2) strategies and concludes with an overall judgment (section 3).
1. Phase l:.Two-Pronged NGO Institutional Development Strategy
ORT's 1995 assessment of the Albanian NGO sector and individual NGO capacity was the basis for its design of the Phase 1 strategy. From the assessment, a two-pronged approach to building effective public policymaking NGOs was put into place:
Calibrated NGO Capacity Building Program An integrated package of TAItraining and grant assistance was calibrated in response to the different set of needs for each of the three categories of NGO identified in the assessment:
9 Sustainable: a very small group of very large NGOs with a permanent institutional presence, solid management and programmatic capacity, adequate resources and demonstrated impact; 9 Insecure: a slightly larger group of NGOs with some degree of institutional permanence and management capacity, access to external resources and some noteworthy projects; and, 9 Marginal: a very large group of very small NGOs with no institutional presence, little or no management and programmatic capacity and only sporadic provision of services to members.
Three types of grants, i.e., development activity (sustainable NGOs), institutional development (insecure NGOs) and micro (marginal NGOs), were developed to directly address the needs identified in each category and then combined with corresponding TAItraining interventions. Technical assistance and training were provided either directly by ORT and ORT-financed consultants; or included in the grants themselves, leaving the choice to the concerned NGO of what it would strengthen, how it would be done, and who would do it-a demand-driven capacity building approach.
Building the Sector to Strengthen NGO public decision-making capacity To reinforce the building of individual NGO capacity through this integrated package, the DemNet strategy also targeted the building of the sector itself. The principal elements of this second "prong" of the DemNet strategy was to promote:
9 Institutional pluralism: particularly at the primary level of Albanian association. ORT recognized the importance of ensuring NGO density and diversity as a means of increasing the choice of citizens in expressing their individual interests and in contributing to the creation of a critical mass of NGOs and CBOs-a precondition to sector specialization. 9 Effective Intermediaries: both classic development NGOs and federated organizations composed of CBOs. ORT's strategy viewed strengthening NGOs not just as an & in itself, but also as a means to increase citizen participation in public decisionmaking. This is in addition to their role in delivering development services in one of the four DemNet sectors.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 34 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 Sector Support NGOs: that assisted intermediaries through the delivery of targeted support services and also addressed a growing number of NGO sector-specific needs. The DemNet strategy took the premise that individual NGOs could be no stronger than the sector to which they belonged, especially when it came to participating in public decisionmaking.
Building a strong NGO sector was thus a means as well as an end in itself. The ORT strategy saw strong NGOs and a strong NGO sector as intimately linked and DemNet interventions were designed to address both simultaneously. The increase in the number of NGOs participating in public decisionmaking, and their success in influencing a range of public policies, can be directly attributed to this two-prong strategy. The strength of the DemNet strategy was in ORT's ability to conceive of the characteristics of a strong NGO sector (civil society), including the identification of the three broad categories of NGO, their inter-relationships, and how public policymaking should not become the sole preserve of anyone category of NGO. The DemNet strategy is directly responsible for the following:
An increase in the number of active and effective NGOs Both Micro-grants and Institutional Development Grants served to increase the number of active and effective NGOs as follows: 9 The Micro-grant fund combined with generic training and institutional infrastructure (e.g., communications, meeting space) - made available either directly by ORT or through sector support NGOs - provided 51 small NGOs with integrated assistance that would not have been available otherwise. In this regard, it was not simply that 51 (out of 76) Phase 1 grants reached this hitherto marginalized category of NGO, but that, in general, grant size was larger than those made available by other donors (e.g., Civil Society Foundation, EU PHARE), and when combined with generic institutional support was able to increase their effectiveness and organizational permanence. For many of these NGOs, the opportunity provided by DemNet support led to assistance fiom other donors thus fiuther contributing to a greater sense of permanence and developmental impact. 9 The 11 ZDGs and 8 NGO Service & Network Grants provided by DemNet went largely to sectoral and geographically based NGOs for the purpose of providing support services to other NGOs working in the same development sector or region. While there had been several informal "networks" in 1995, DemNet made developing a "class" of such NGOs the explicit object of the Phase 1 strategy. There is little question that the foundation laid during Phase 1 contributed to the development of a truly differentiated and specialized NGO sector.
With its strategy in hand, ORT implemented Phase 1 (three years) of the DemNet program. In the process of building effective Albanian policy-oriented NGOs in four priority sectors, the strategy has contributed to the long-term strengthening of the Albanian NGO sector as a legitimate and effective public partner. While the Phase 2 strategy was promoted as "sustainability strategy," its antecedents went back to the overall program design and its implementation in Phase 1. So in answer to the first question on the appropriateness of the DernNet strategy, the response is a resounding YES-the Phase 1 strategy was appropriate and is responsible for the achievement of DemNet results.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 35 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program ( Regional ~eve1o~ment'~~encies:Combined Sectoral and Geographic Networks I Background -Regional Development Agencies (RDA) Today, there are ten RDAs and one National RDA Center in Albania. They are all "spin-offs" of international donor projects, i.e., seven from the EU PHARE SME project; two with UNDP support; and one supported by GTZ. Since 1997, they have registered as independent association. RDAs have often worked together on a range ofjoint endeavors. During the Final Evaluation two were interviewed and form the basis of the case study. ( Regional Development Agency Elbasan -Impact on NGO Sector and Regional Community The RDAElbasan was formed in 1993 and works throughout the Central Region. It is a spin-off of the EU PHARE SME project. Its principal clients are small businesses and business associations, with NGOs and local governments. It has provided business and management assistance to the Bakers, Millers, Consmction, Olive Tree, and Soft-Drink Producers Associations. Specifically, RDAElbasan has undertaken the following: technical: 9 Conducted a Needs Assessment, training program and follow-up on Strengthening Capacity in Data Collection and Analysis and Information Management for the prefecture of Elbasan and 5 districts. D Organized Roundtable discussioy in collaboration with the Institute for Contemporary Studies to discuss issues of public order in the Prefecture of Elbasan D Conducted an intensive public relations campaign targeting linkages with government, intemational organizations and business 9 Strengthened working relationships between the Ministry of Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Prefecture, District Council and Municipality of Elbasan D Provided training in project proposal writing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation for the municipality. 9 Prepared a database of international NGOs working in the Prefecture of Elbasan 1 9 Facilitated several meetings organized by UNDP focusing on decentralization of local government. D Worked with a group of experts from the World Bank and the European Training Foundation to draft a strategy for the development of SMEs in the region ( Regional Development Agency Tirana -Impact on NGO Sector and Larger Community During participation in the DemNet IDG program, RDAITirana camed out several initiatives that have had an impact on NGOs, business and govemment, reflecting its role as a Resource Center. D In collaboration with RDAElbasan, delivered training in business planning with participation of 12 representatives from Land O'Lakes, DENA, and the Livestock Entrepreneurs Association. D Worked closely with the Ministry of Trade and International Economic Cooperation on national SME strategy. It is now participating in the implementation of the three-year SME Strategy. D Conducted training for willow producers from 2 districts in business plan development; and provided TA in the preparation of 10 feasibility studieshusiness plans for persons wanting to start or improve business in Tirana 1 D With the Institute for Contemporary Studies undertook a survey on the status of roads in Tirana District 9 Conducted survey for National Economic Center of Albania to focus on quality of local services in the Commune of Balduskh (District of Tirana) I The RDAs: Conclusions and Lessons Learned 9 Perhaps the most important role of these two RDAs has been their ability to bring govemment, NGOs and business together around local issues. In this regard, their role as a resource center is more important as regional rather than a sectoral network. They and their counterparts have major roles to play as facilitators in a decentralized system of local governance and should be strengthened in this regard. D It seems that RDAs have targeted and supported the private sector more than NGOs. Where the RDAs can bridge the NGO -Private Sector divide is through supporting the growing array of producer associations that represent and regroup businesses in give sub-sectors. This could and should be a future emphasis of the RDAs.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 36 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program 2. Phase 2: NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy
In late-1997, ORT undertook a second in-depth assessment of the Albanian NGO sector. The purpose was two-fold First, to evaluate the impact of its Phase 1 program; and secondly, to use the information gained to develop a Phase 2 strategy. As noted in Chapter I, ORT presented the Phase 2 strategy, The NGO Development and Sustainability, to USAID in 1998. DemNet Phase 2 was approved on June 9, 1998 for a two-year period and funded in the amount of $2.0 million. Phase 2 was specifically designed to reinforce the strengthening of the NGO sector and added a new dimension of sustainability. In this regard, DemNet went through a selection process to choose the five principal and four secondary NGOs that would become the object of Phase 2 strengthening. As noted above, following NGOs were chosen:
NGO Sector-wide Support The Albanian Technical Assistance and Training Resource Center (ANTTARC) was selected to serve as a "cross-sectoral institutional capacity building" network. ANTTARC received a 22- month, $289,929 strengthening grant from DemNet. ORT was responsible for providing the bulk of capacity building assistance - during the formation phase and later during its institutional development phase - to ANTTARC during this period.
Sectoral & Geographic Network Support NGOs 9 Regional Development Agency (RDA) / Tirana - Regional and sectoral (economic) nehvork 9 Regional Development Agency (RDA) / Elbasan -Regional and sectoral (economic) nehvork 9 Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (ADRF) - Safety-net sectoral network 9 Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association (DENA) -Dairy farmer sectoral network
These four NGOs received grants and technical assistance from ANTTARC to serve as networks representing and serving NGOs working in the same development sector or geographic location. Grants ranged between $7,000 and $19,000 with ANTTARC capacity building assistance extending for roughly nine months.
In addition to these five principal Phase 2 recipients, DemNet, through AhTTARC, also provided training and TA through Institutional Development Program (IDP) support to four other NGOs that were to act as sector networks for other NGOs: 9 The Women's Center 9 The Center for Women and Girls 9 The Vineyards Association 9 The Coposcosic Association
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 3 7 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program An Assessment of the Phase 2 Strategy
Cross-sectoral Support NGO P ANTTARC was created from scratch after an earlier attempt with another established NGO, DeMeTra did not come to fruition. Creating new organizations as part of a sustainability strategy has a mixed record in international development circles in general and USAID circles in particular. The normal route that has brought some degree of success in creating umbrella or national NGO support organizations has been to take an existing NGO and either provide it with a long-term grant or a long-term grant and endowment. Another model has been to "spin-off' a donor-financed project management unit (such as the ORT DemNet Team) and have it become the sector support NGO. The choice of creating ANTTARC with an investment of approximately $290,000 has resulted in the following:
J ANTTARC has developed a highly trained, motivated and professional staff;
J Since the end of DemNet, ANTTARC has sustained itself through a series of competitively awarded contracts-it has achieved a major degree of sustainability;
J International donors and northern NGOs are the principal clients of ANTTARC;
J ANTTARC's work has been considered by DemNet and non-DemNet clients to be of uniformly high quality; J ANTTARC staff consider themselves to be consultants as do other NGOs; and,
J ANTTARC is best thought of as a non-profit consulting firm.
ANTTARC was created to fill a need identified in the 1997 NGO Sector Assessment, that is, to provide TA and training to intermediary NGOs in a range of organizational development areas.
3. Conclusion: The Appropriateness of the DemNet Strategy
Taken as a whole - that is, Phases 1 and 2, as well the period of the no cost extension - DemNet has emphatically achieved the dual objectives of strengthening public policy NGOs and building the broader NGO sector to which they belong. The DemNet strategy was entireiy appropriate and tremendously successful. While ORT DemNet was not the sole donor involved in strengthening Albanian civil society, it was in the forefront of donor efforts in a wide range of inter-related areas, not because it had more money but because its strategy was coherent, comprehensive and focused. A few additional issues amplify on this conclusion:
9 In all the interviews undertaken for this Final Report, there was not one NGO that did not praise the DemNet Program and its role strengthen Albanian NGOs and the NGO sector. In this regard, most NGO respondents were able to look beyond their own experience with ~em~etand view its overall impact on the sector. 9 This reviewer would have chosen an alternative model to starting an entirely new organization from scratch in Phase 2 - as the national-level, cross-sectoral resource center.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 38 USHD/ORT - Albania DemNet Program However, there are two points that may mitigate against this decision: 4 Whatever model would have been chosen, the issue of sustainability would have remained. What can be said about the ANTTARC choice is that it has achieved a significant degree of sustainability that would not likely have been achieved by another model. In short, there is an inherent conflict for NGOs - and particularly newly formed ones - between the need to achieve sustainability and the need to serve their clientele. This is exacerbated when a donor(s) provides significant funding and becomes one of the clients.
J Secondly, ANTTARC is already reorienting its program focus from external work to the Albanian NGO community (e.g., the recent NOVIB grant provides institutional development support to Albanian NGOs through ANTTARC). This will take the commitment of ANTTARC leadership - a positive response was given in this regard - and its ability to raise funds through grants rather than contracts. This would provide ANTTARC with more flexibility to address the true needs of the Albanian NGO sector rather than responding to client donor requirements. 9 The overall objective of developing NGOs that could serve in this capacity was achieved. Between Phase 1 support to a relatively large number of "networks," and Phase 2 selections that have had some beneficial results, there are now a core group of sectoral and regional networks that are supporting a significant number of intermediary NGOs and CBO. Over the six years of DemNet, sectoral networks in youth, women, HIVIAIDS, family planning, the health sector more broadly, civic and voter education, and human rights were stren,@ened with DemNet assistance and now provide support to their sectoral counterparts. 9 Specialized support NGOs that provide expert services to intermediary NGOs andor on behalf the NGO sector have become important actors in the public policymaking field and DemNet has been in the forefront of support to them. Consider the following:
J Economic oriented NGOs (e.g., think tanks and professional associations) have conducted policy research and made available to the rest of the sector and assist local governments in drafting regional economic strategies and in establishing development priorities.
J Environmental NGOs are increasing public awareness about a range of local concerns and, in an increasing number of cases, working with local governments to address some of the worst ecological problems arising during the totalitarian period.
J Women's and youth NGOs - often with local government collaboration - have increasingly come to deliver a range of services that were hitherto the'sole domain of government (e.g., family planning, AIDS education, training and job creation). > This Final Report would be remiss if it failed to mention that there were a number of exogenous factors over which neither ORT nor other donors had control but which greatly influenced the tremendous strides that the Albanian NGO community made over the past six years. However, the DemNet strategy either foresaw these external forces or was modified to accommodate them. Several of the most important were:
J The impact of Kosovo - and to a lesser extent, the "pyramid scheme" debacle - has enhanced the capacity of Albanian NGOs to manage large scale activities and cannot be overlooked as a cause for the sector's increased confidence and strength. DemNet did
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 39 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program however support many of Albanian NGOs that expanded their activities into Kosovo or to work with Kosovars refugees in Albania. It also stood behind NGOs during the unrest that followed the pyramid scheme's failure when, in fact, NGOs became the principal providers of many safety-net services to hard hit populations. J This increased visibility and role of NGOs was reinforced by a corresponding decrease in government's capacity to undertake a number of public functions. The point to be made here is not how good it is for government to be weak but rather the importance of finding the appropriate balance between the NGO sector and govemment. A weak govemment and a strong civil society is certainly not the answer. DernNet realized this and from its inception - activities ranging from regional workshops on the role of government and NGOs in sectoral development to promoting joint planning and policymaking - ensured that the "message" was not to "replace government with NGOs" but rather to promote partnerships between them for the public good.
J Because power still remains largely centralized in the institutions of the central state, the locus of NGO advocacy efforts has largely been directed to the concerned ministries of the executive branch and parliament. This however increasingly changed during the course of DemNet as more existing NGOs opened branch offices in the regions and new NGOs were created at the local government level. As power was increasingly devolved and deconcentrated to local govemment, the greater the opportunities became for NGOs to influence decisionmaking there. ORT's support of this phenomenon through its several strategy components has been a major program accomplishment.
B. ORT Program Management
What the Respondents Had to Say There has been a noticeable impact on our NGO from all the TA and training. Before we didn't think about 3 years plans, but now we submit 3 year proposals and get funding The only thing I didn't like about the ORTprogram was its rigid reporting. But to be truthful, what I did learn from this requirement was a rationale methodology for conceiving, designing and monitoring with reporting aspart of the system ...It is a lot ofburden for reporting but its good for transparency and accountability Yes, ORTgrants and training were important, but the real contribution of ORTwas in promoting networking and cooperation between NGOs.
In Part B, the focus of attention is turned towards ORT and its management of the Albania DemNet Program. Since the issue has been discussed indirectly for the better part of this Final Report, the conclusions will be brief and to the point. The analysis looks at ORT's effectiveness in two dimensions: overall program management and in the delivery of technical assistance and training.
1. Effectiveness: Overall Program Management
This analysis includes a section on principal findings and principal conclusions.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 40 USAIWORT - Albania DernNet Program
Principal Findings Through the interviews with DemNet stakeholders and a review of the relevant program documents, the following findings were made:
9 ORT got the DemNet off the ground well over two months before signing the Cooperative Agreement with USAID. Within 30 days of the award of the Albania DemNet Program ORT had commenced the NGO Sector Assessment and begun the search for local and international staff. Within three months the Program Office was up and running and with DemNet required documentation - DernNet program description, project selection and organizational eligibility criteria, the grant review and approval process, grantee sub-agreement - prepared in draft for USAID approval. 9 For the most part, ORT's management team - both Albanian and expatriate - was praised for its professionalism and commitment to the welfare and strengthening of Albanian NGOs. Specifically:
J ORT recruited a well-respected expatriate to fill the COP position through Phase 1 and most of Phase 2.
J ORT home office management was responsive and generally on top of events. It exercised good judgment in the selection of most of its expatriate and local staff and closely monitored program activities. ORT's home office Director found the right balance in terms of what authorities and decisions to devolve to the Program Team and which ones rightly belonged with the ORT home office.
J In spite of the evacuation of expatriate personnel in 1997 due to civil unrest, the ORT DemNet Office remained open and providing assistance to the NGO community.
J The program team was never large and during the last two and one-half years was in fact understaffed, making overall program accomplishments all the more noteworthy.
J Over the six years of DemNet, ORT's Albanian staff ensured its good name among the Albanian community. In the last two years of the Program, an Albanian became the DemNet Director. The reaction among- all stakeholders to this move was 100 Dercent positive. ORT should be commended for its good judgment in making this selection and the current ORT DemNet staff should feel proud of their accomplishments. 9 Financial management including grants management of program funds appears to have been exceptionally well done. There was not a hint of a problem in this regard. This includes the way in which grants were selected (transparency) as well as the monitoring of grants, both of which were major responsibilities given the number of awards made and the variety of grant types. 9 ORT's documentation of the DemNet Program was also impressive both in terms of substance and timeliness. Quarterly reports were prepared and submitted in detail and on time; and the start-up of a monthly newsletter in September 1999 was a wonderful complement to other dissemination efforts. 9 ORT was particularly successfd in forging solid working relationships with other donors concerned with civil society strengthening (e.g., SOROS, EU PHARE, REC and the Civil
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 41 USAID/ORT - Albania DemNet Program Society Foundation). This not only avoided the problem of duplication but also provided a relatively common front in terms of sector strategy and how to address government support or the lack of it when this became an issue.
Principal Conclusions: Project Management Overall, ORT's management of DemNet was extremely effective and it should be commended for its commitment to Albania, Albanians and the NGO sector over this six-year period. This is all the more impressive when considering that the country presented many challenges not found in other DemNet countries. This included having lived and worked through a number of very severe crises over the program life that could have very easily deterred a less committed intemational NGO. This is not to say that there were not management issues, because there were. Rather, their seriousness did not detract from ORT's overall commitment to the program and management of program resources. DemNet had a tremendous impact on the growth and development of the Albanian NGOs community and ORT's design and then implementation of an appropriate program must be singled out as principal reason for this success! And to once more reiterate, ORT's Albanian staff - from the current Program Director to support staff - have been and continue to be one of the primary factors in DemNet's success and good standing within Albanian development circles.
It is unfortunate that USAIWTirana did not choose to support ORTS unsolicited proposal for Phase 111 which would have transformed the PMU team into a local NGO support organization and grant-making foundation.
2. Effectiveness: Overall Technical Assistance and Training
The reason for isolating TA and training as a separate area of ORT's overall management of DemNet is because of the importance of this component to the program's success. ORT's role was first in the design of an inclusive institutional development strategy and then its implementation. In addition, ORT undertook a range of what can be considered TA actions which did not figure in the original design but which were nevertheless necessary to the effective management of the program. Having discussed DemNet TA and training interventions throughout this report the following principal conclusions are provided.
9 Respondents consistently commended the quality of ORT-provided technical assistance and training-tailor-made and generic alike. This included both Phase 1 and Phase 2 interventions. While this evaluation has questioned the choice of Phase 2 NGOs recipients and views the TMtraining "approach" taken with them to have been less than participatory, neither the quality of the interventions can be questioned nor the results achieved. 9 ORT in collaboration with several other intemational NGOs (e.g., SOROS, REC) have helped to create a cadre and network of NGO trainers with expertise in the principal areas of NGO policymaking effectiveness, i.e., internal governance, management and organizational development and "democracy-sector," civic action skills. The work done to create trainers and trainer networks in legislative drafting, the NGO Law Joint Working Group, and Policy Advocacy Network deserve special mention.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 42 USAIWORT - Albania DemNet Program 9 ORT's promotion and sponsorshiplco-sponsorship of numerous national and sub-regional conferences and workshops promoting civil society, democracy, and NGO excellence as well as emergency assistance, has greatly enhanced the standing of the NGO community within Albania and among its counterparts in neighboring countries. The importance of this ORT function cannot be overlooked in the overall strengthening of the NGO sector. C. Overall Conclusions and Lessons Learned
This consultant has participated in the design and evaluation of some two-dozen civil society/NGO strengthening programs in each of the principal regions where USAID works over the last decade. I have no hesitation in stating that the USAIDIORT Albania Democracy Network Program is one of the most successll that I have seen during this period. This begins with the DemNet design, which was appropriate to the Albanian context and led to the achievement of a significant set of program results. And it ends with ORT's effective management of this $4,275,000, two-phased, six-year democratic development effort.
Having said this, there should be no misunderstanding that problems did arise and that they did affect program implementation and effectiveness. But when all is tallied up there can be no question that USAID's conception of a Regional DemNet Program was correct and ORT's management of the Albanian version was a resounding success in having achieved the specific results set out for it and a number that were not. Kudos to all concerned, not the least of which are the many Albanian NGOs that participated in DemNet and the Albanians that managed DemNet and these NGOs.
Principal Lessons Learned The following are the principal lessons learned during the Albania DemNet Program 9 DemNet promoted the principle that effective NGOs in policymaking have the same fundamental institutional requirements for effectiveness as NGOs working in any other sector-first build basic governance and management skills then add the technical ones-in this case, civic action and policy advocacy. 9 DemNet's strategy of focusing advocacy efforts on "sectoral" policies (e.g., in traditional development sectors such as economic growth, the environment, health) rather than on the democracy sector and more "systemic" issues (e.g., electoral reform, rule of law, corruption), at least initially, was appropriate to the situation and permitted DemNet and its NGO partners to eventually move to the more sensitive political issues. 9 Given the ANTTARC experience, there is an issue about the costs and benefits - to the NGO sector itself as well as external donors - of trying to build a professional and sustainable sector support organization. There is a real conflict -often exacerbated by donors -between the desire to ensure sustainability, often in an unreasonably short time, and the ethic of voluntarism and service.
9 DemNet's promotion of NGO - government partnerships has led to the question of what is the proper role of state and civil society in public life, including the making and implementation of public policy? Part of any NGOIcivil society-strengthening program must ultimately answer this question and the role of the outsider is to facilitate this dialogue.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 43 USAID/ORT - Albania DernNet Program 9 If government views NGOs as "legitimate" partners in public life, then NGOs should have the right to access public funding for their delivery of a wide range of public services (e.g., safety-net, economic growth, social, environmental). This should thus become a major focus of NGO public policy advocacy. Current policies, including the NGO Law, do not facilitate NGO participation in the delivery of public services let alone public decisionmaking. This also must be viewed as a major component of an NGO sustainability strategy. 9 There can be little doubt that the next focal point for NGO strengthening will be at the level of local government - autonomous and democratically elected - as this is ultimately where development takes place and services are delivered-the trend is already evident. 9 The tremendous growth of the Albanian NGO sector is to a significant degree the result of donors having created a of NGOs through their demand for specific types of services, (e.g., Kosovo relief, democratic development). As donor support begins to decrease - already prominent -there will likely be a corresponding shakeout in the sector. 9 As experience elsewhere indicates, until the Albanian private sector matures and the economy begins to grown in a sustainable manner there will little available funding for NGOs activities.
American ORT DemNet Final Report Page 44 Annexes
Annex 1 Scope of Work, Schedule
Annex 2 Documents Reviewed
Annex 3 Technical Assistance and Training Program
Annex 4 List of Grant Awards
Annex 5 DemNet Timeline kd w USAZD - ORT md hI Albania Democracy Network Program
d
3 Final Report
Annex 1: Evaluation Consultant Scope of Work Evaluation Consultants Scope of Work
The evaluation and final report shall cover the entire period of the six-year project, and shall include an assessment of the impact made by ORT towards the goals and purposes described in the Cooperative Agreement Program Description. The format of the report will be discussed in detail with ORT Washington once all project documents are reviewed and the field work is conducted. The consultant shall travel to Albania for a period of two weeks to interview the following organizations and individuals per the attached schedule:
Albanian National Training and Technical Assistance Resource Center (Mr. Edmond Spaho) Regional Development Agency-Elbasan (Mr. Naim Cope) Law, Business & Right of Rural Women Association (Ms. Ahrnedije Daci) Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (Ms. Blerta Cani) Albanian American Trade &Development Association (Mr. Gafim Luga) Small Businesses Foundation (Mr. Qemal Balliu) Women Center (Ms. Englantina Gjermeni) Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association (Ms. Irma Konomi) Albanian Family Planning Association (Ms. Valentina Leskaj) Albanian Center for Economic Research (Mr. Zef Preci) Society for Democratic Culture (Mr. Arben Loka) Albanian Youth Council (Mr. Altin Goxhaj) Regional Development Agency-Tirane (Mr. Ilir Rembeci) Albanian Young Women Christian Association (Ms. Donika Godaj) Counseling Center for Women & Girls (Ms. Aida Bushati or Ms. Silvana Mirja) Center for Economic and Social Studies (Mr.Ilir Gedeshi or Mr.Dashamir Shehi) Institute for Contemporary Studies (Mr.Artan Hoxha) Albanian Group for Human Rights (Ms.Holta Kotherja) Foundation for Reconciliation of the Disputes (Mr.Rasim Gjoka) International Republican Institute (Mr. Erma1 Hasani) US Agency for International Development (Ms. Charlotte Watson) ORT DemNet Staff I FRIDAY
9.00 RDA Elbasan '2 8.30 Law &Right of R.Wmn 03
10.00 ADRF '4
Rest of the day with
8.30 DENA '8 8.30 RDA Tirane '11
10.00 YWCA .14
11.30 ACEll +lo 11.30 C.C. for Wmn
14.30 PAPA I'rojecl 14.30 AGHR ' 18 Final Report Consultant Interview Schedule
NGOICounterpart Name NGO Representatives Date
Albanian National Training and Technical Assistance Mr. Edmond Spahol Executive Director July 11 Resource Center Stephen Spielman I American Volunteer Enid Spielman / American Volunteer
Women Center Ms. Englantina Gjermeni/Executive.Director July 12
Regional Development Agency-Elbasan Mr. Naim Cope/Executive Director July 12
Law, Business & Right of Rural Women Association Ms. Ahmedije Dacil President of the Association July 13
Albanian Disability Rights Foundation Ms. Blerta Canil Executive Director July 13
Albanian American Trade &Development Association Mr. Gafurr Luga / Executive Director July 13 Mr.Fadi1 Borishi / Coordinator
Small Businesses Foundation Mr. Qemal Ballid Executive Director July 13 Ms.Ida Kostajl Finance Manager
NGO Law Working Group Ms.Vjollca Mecaj 1 July 14 President, Women Lawyers Association Ms.Natasha Pepivani 1 Head of NGO section, Ministry of Labor
Advocacy Trainers Group Ms. Anila Vendresha July 14 Ms.Edlira llirjani 1 Institute of Media
Albanian Family Planning Association Ms. Valentina Lcskaj I Executive.Director July 17
Albanian Center for Economic Research Mr. Zef Precil Executive.Director July 17 NGOlCounterpart Name NGO Representatives Date
Society for Democratic Culture Mr. Lben Lokat Executive Director July 17
Counseling Center for Women & Girls Ms. Aida Bushati / Executive.Director July 17 Ms.Afroviti Gusho / Pogradec Coordinator
Legislative Drafting Trainers Mr.Naim Isufi / Young Lawyers Association July 17 Mr.Elio Mazrekul Aquarius
Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association Ms. Irma Konomi I Executive Director July 18
Albanian Youth Council Mr.Altin Goxhaj I Chairman July 18 MrArbian Mazniku 1 Vice Chairman
IREX Mr. Sheldon Markoff /Chief of Party July 18
PAPA Project Mr. Bill MorganKhief of Party July 18
Regional Development Agency-Tirana Mr. Ilir Rembeci/Executive Director July 19
Albanian Young Women Christian Association Ms. Donika Godaj I Executive Director July 19
SNV Ms.Linda GjermaniProject Officer July 19
Albanian Group for Human Rights July 19
Regional Environmental Center Mr. Mihallaq Qirjo/Executive.Director July 19 NGOlCounterpart Name NGO Representatives Date
Center for Economic and Social Studies Mr. Ilir Gedeshil Executive.Director July 20 Mr.Dashamir ShehiIPresident
Institute for Contemporary Studies July 20
Foundation for Reconciliation of the Disputes July 20
USAID ALBANIA Ms.Charlotte WatsonDemocracy Officer July 21 USAID - ORT
d Albania Democracy Network Program d d Final Report
Annex 2: Documents Reviewed List of Documents Reviewed
Fox, Leslie, 1995. An Assessment of the Albanian NGO Community. ORT International, Washington, DC
ORT, 2000. On the Road to Success, Vol. 2, No 3, May 2000, American ORT, Tirana
ORT, 2000. Quarterly Progress Report, April - June 2000, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 2000. On the Road to Success, Vol. 2, No 2, March 2000, American ORT, Tirana
ORT, 2000. Quarterly Progress Report, January - March 2000, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 2000. On the Road to Success, Vol. 2, No I, January 2000, American ORT, Tiana
ORT, 1999. Quarterly Progress Report, October - December 1999, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1999. On the Road to Success, Vol. I, No 2, November 1999, American ORT, Tiana
ORT, 1999. Interaction Forum: Follow-up Report, American ORT, Tirana
ORT, 1999. Quarterly Progress Report, July - September 1999, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1999. On the Road to Success, Vol. I, No I, September 1999, American ORT, Tirana
ORT, 1999. Quarterly Progress Report, April- June 1999, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1999. Quarterly Progress Report, January - March 1999, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1999. ORTNSAID Democracy Network Program Phase II: CA No. DHR-0032-A-005024- 00, ORT International Cooperation
ORT, 1998. NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy, ORT International Cooperation
ORT, 1998. Quarterly Progress Report, October - December 1998, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1998. Resultsfrom "The First Albanian NGO Forum on the Constitution: The Judiciary, American ORT, Tiran ORT, 1998. Quarterly Progress Report, July -September 1998, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1998. Quarterly Progress Report, April - June 1998, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1998. Quarterly Progress Report, January -March 1998, ORT International Cooperation
ORT, 1997. Quarterly Progress Report, October - December 1997, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1997. Quarterly Progress Report, July - September 1997, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1997. Quarterly Progress Report, April - June 1997, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1997. Quarterly Progress Report, Janua y -March 1997, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
Curry-Smithson, Charles, 1996. Policy Advocacy Training Manual, American ORT, Tirana
ORT, 1996. Quarterly Progress Report, October - December 1996, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1996. Quarterly Progress Report, July - September 1996, ORT International Cooperation
ORT, 1996. Quarterly Progress Report, April - June 1996, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1996. Quarterly Progress Report, January - March 1996, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1995. Democracy Network Program: Operations Manual, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1995. Quarterly Progress Report, October - December 1995, ORT International Cooperation, Washington
ORT, 1995. Quarterly Progress Report, July - September 1995, ORT International Cooperation,
ORT, 1995. USAID -American ORT Cooperative Agreement No. DHR-0032-A-005024-00, ORT International Cooperation
ORT, 1994. Democracy Network County Program Proposal: RFA No. EE-94-A-001, ORT International Cooperation, Washington USAID - ORT u Albania Democracy Network Program m hd Final Report
m# Annex 3: d j Technical Assistance & ld Training Program ORT Democracy Network NGO Training Programs
Policy Advocacy Workshop
Purpose: Introduce NGO leaders to the required skills necessary to successfully promote their position with elected officials. The workshop begins by defining what is "Policy Advocacy", and introduces the key role of NGOs in "Policy Advocacy", and how to "Choose an issue and Develop a Policy Position". The training gives information about the importance of knowing the target institutions and their policy process, building coalitions, getting public support through mass-media, lobbying directly how to build democracy and developing NGO capacity.
Financial Management Workshop
Purpose: Increase the institutional capabilities and potential sustainability of Albanian NGOs by helping them understand that they are able to meet requirements for program and financial reporting. The workshop outlines according to the requirements for recipients of ORT DemNet Program. Develops an outline to establish or improve a Financial Management Information System relevant to and useful for the control of finances and inventory. Strengthens accountants' skills for developing budgets as effective tools for program development and monitoring, provide knowledge of current Albanian tax rules and regulations as these affect NGOs. Legislative Drafling Techniques Workshop
Purpose: Build legislative drafting skills, strong analyticaVcommunication skills and ,understanding of how to serve the NGO client in drafting laws. Builds a clear understanding and vision of lobbying government and Parliament in the legislative drafting and approval process. Assists the law drafter and NGO representative to clearly identify priority issues, assists the law drafter in preparing the first draft, as well as in reviewing and discussing drafts and revisions. Project Implementation Workshop
Purpose: NGOs develop insight and understanding of inter-relatedness of work-plans and budgets, project baseline, and evaluation for strengthening NGOs overall programs, develops and documents these key elements as they apply to funding by ORT grant.
Independent Research in Support of Democratic Deveiopment
Purpose: The role of independent research in democratic development to provide citizen groups, individuals and issue-oriented organizations with the reliable information they need on a social, economic, environmental or political problems. Understanding the issue, which concerns them and participating intelligently and equally in a dialogue with the government. Monitoring and Evaluation
Purposes: To contribute to the improvement of the Institutional Development program in terms of results and impacts of the program. Involves such determinants of monitoring accountability, data collection of existing sources (financial, administrative, progress and statistical reports, and workplans). Promotes information utilization in terms of data compilation and basic evaluation techniques. Strategic Public Relations and Fundraising Campaign
Purpose: Building leadership in order to ensure sustainable social, economic and political development through implementation of new, creative and effective strategies and initiatives for NGOs, government, and business. To raise donor and public awareness and establish collaboration at local, national and intemational levels. Media and Public Relations Training
Purpose: Development of skills and enhanced knowledge of strategic planning prioritizing, management, attracting media attention, interview preparation. Personal growth skills in dealing with negative publicity, voice and diction, and relationship building. Public Awareness for Non-governmental Organizations
Purpose: To develop skills geared to strengthen with the public at large and targeted primary publics (media, government, business and the NGO community) through an effective promotional mix of media techniques to create an identity for the NGO sector. Training of Trainers
Purpose: To develop the knowledge and skills of NGO governance and institutional development for NGO trainers and consultants. It places emphasis on the following topics: NGO Management, the role of voluntary Board members, functions of the Board, strategies for recruitment of Board members, Board management and motivation, and intemational standards of NGO management. Institutional Development Grant Selection Process and Assessment Training
Purpose: Development of skills and instruments to conduct grant selection and on-site assessments of developing NGOs. Development of mechanisms to determine the strengths and weaknesses of developing NGOs in terms of financial stability and management, equipment and resource utilization, and administrative capacities. TRAINING LIST
ADVOCACY
Business Sector IS - 18 January 1997, Durres
Consumers Association / Tirana Sonila Taci Beekeepers Association /Tirana Hajri Shtylla Business Women Association / Vlore Ildis Brahimi National Union of Albanian Farmers I Fier Nesti Zoi I Lutfi LaIa Regional Business Center / Kmje Regional Business Center / Elbasan Seeds Association / Tirana Enriko Ceko Trade of Commerce / Durres Andrea Xhovara Union of Agrarian Cooperator / Tirana Miti Koci Useful to Albanian Women / Tirana Irena Dono Useful to Albanian Women I Elbasan Dritan Mara - Radio Journalist
Guests: Prefect Sabah Jemishta Mayor Arqile Gorea Xhevdet Ferri Deputy
Trainers: Deniz Ruzhdi Albanian Youth Council 1 Tirane Shpresa Kureta DEMETRA / Tirane Petrit Harizaj Society for Democratic Culture / Tirane Naim Isufi New Lawyers Association Erida Dobmsha Young Researchers Association
Environmental Sector 13 - 17 November 1996
Albanian Ecological Club /Elbasan Ahmet Mehmeti Albanian Ecological Club /Tirana Rezart Xhelo Assoc. for Protection & Perservation Andrea Gurakuqi of Natural Environment (PPNEA) 1 Shkoder Civil Society Foundation Irena Adami Committee of Environment Protection Bledar Cuci / Lawyer Divjaka / Eco-Turizem Enea Janko Forestry Students Assoc. 1 Tirana Suela Ymeraj Kadmi & Harmoni I Pogradec Davis Katro Kadmi & Harmoni 1 Pogradec Dlarvil Janko Mass-Media & Environment 1 Tirane Mira Kora PPNX I Tirane Enkeleda Velo PPNE I Tirane Stela Berisha Perl I Tirane Alken Myftiu Perl I Tirane Entela Ketri Perl 1 Fier Artan Apostoli Perl 1 Vlore Isida Ibrahimi Rainbow Association 1 Shkoder Ana Tukja REC I Tirana Mihallaq Qijo REC I Tirana Blerta Maliqi Speleologist Bledar Xhindi Shpetim Mezini Deputy
Trainers: Kaman Cipi Perl / Tirane Adela Kola Perl 1 Tirane AdaMaliqi Perl I Tirane
LC Health Sector December 9,2000
Blood Donors Association Slcender Hekuri Association of Physiotherapists Prokop Rizo Association for Prevention of E:lmaz Eltari Infective Diseases Albanian Patients Association Paulin Benusi Albanian Assoc. of Geriartri-Gerantology Xhelal Hackaj Albanian Association of Hygienists Sami Spaho ORT Donika Godaj Organization for the Protection of Mother Evis Karaj and Children Albanian Association of Family Planing Andi Leskaj Albanian Association of Paraplegics Bledar Baci Rehabilitation Center "Pellurnbat" Elida Jaho Aquarius Andrian Vaso Center of Children Development Xhilda Gonxhi Center of Children Development Mirina Ndrio Hemophiliacs Association A jan Leksani 16. Eni Xhori Student Trainers: Erida Dobrusha Albanian Youth Council Denis Derralla Albanian Youth Council
Women Sector April 21 - 24 1999
Reflexion Association EN Xhori Reflexion Association Isi Kraja Reflexion Association Klara Mergo "One parented Families" Association Irma Vjero Association for the Protection of Minorities Hyjrije Brajaj Proffesional and Business Women Assoc. Silva Barci Law, Busimess and Right of Rural Edlira Lushaj Women Association Revival AssociationlPogradec Rozeta Rexhollari Independent Forum of WomenElbasan Shpresa Baja Cafod l Revival Association Alma Jani Revival AssociationKorce Tefia Kolaci Women Center Edlira Muhedini Fashion in Service of Women Linda Parmca Association for Protection of Arta Dyrmishi Women RightsBerat Association for Protection of Meriba Kondi Women RightsBerat Proffesional and Business Women Assoc. Julinda Sinani
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION January 23-24-30, I997
Albanian Youth Council Eda Iliriani D~NZRuzhdi Florion Hida Center Health for All Tatiana Daci Usehl to Albanian Women Keti Gjoni Aurora Prifii Biologist Association Artan Trebicka February 4,1997
1. Business Center I Korce Lindita Grabocka Deshira Miho Koco Pojani
February 21-22,1997
1. National Union of Albanian Farmers Nesti Zoi Lutfi Lala 2. Ecological Club 1Mirdita Bibe Dodaj File Legisi 3. In Help of Mentally Handicap Anita Oparaku Children 1 Pogradec Ismail Hysenllari 4. Ecological Club I Lezhe Ali Brahimi Rifat Kryeziu Agim Brahimi
1. Women's Center Sonila Qi~jaku Edi Bregu 2. Consumers Association Islam Cani Bukurie Memisha Sonila Taci 3. DEMETRA Anila Vendresha 4. Center for Reconcilation of Disputes Iris Kodra 5. Society for Democratic Culture Petrit Harizaj Gjergji Memo
111. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TRAINING
November 2-3, 9-1 0,1996
Albanian Helsinki Committee Ylli Popa Society for Democratic Culture Gjergji Memo Society for Democratic Culture Anika Dede &-Zenith Association-Y.C Greta Muca Youth Council Florion Hida "Health for all" Foundation Eranda Strazimiri "Health for all" Foundation Tatiana Daci Biologists Association Artan Trebicka Family Planning Daniela Fejzo 10. Family Planning Entiola Barci
February 7-8,14,1997
Useful to Albanian Women Association Alketa Comi Albanian NGO Forum Krenar Velca Women Center Sonila Qi rjaku Ministry of Labour & Social Issues Sofi Noti Association for Protection & Preservation Elmaz Shehu Of Nature Environment Association for Protection & Preservation Aleksej Sallabanda Of Nature Environment Association of Albanian Labour Invalids Abdulla Omuri Association of Albanian Labour Invalids Kujtim Kokici Useful to Albanian Women Association Aurora F'rifti Hemofiliac Association Bedri Xholi Women Center Daniela Kalaja Useful to Albanian Women Association Fabiola Egro Association for Protection & Preservation Nevila Jana Of Nature Environment
February 21-22,1997
Union of Albanian Farmers Lutfi Lala Union of Albanian Farmers Nesti Zoi Helping Mentally Handicapped People Anita Oparaku Association/Pogradec Ecological Club-Miredita Bibe Dodaj Ecological Club-Miredita File Legisi Ecological Club-Lezha Ali Brahimi Ecological Club-Lezha Rifat Kryeziu Helping Mentally Handicapped People Ismail Hysenllari AssociationPogradec Association of Bevarage Producers Koco Pojani Association of Business Women Irena Fecami Helsinki Committee Zana Sota May 23 - 24,1998
1. Albanian Consumer Association 1s:lam Cani Bilkurie Memeisha 2. De Me Tra AdaVendresha 3. Foundation for Reconciliation of Desputes Iri.s Kodra 4. Center of Econ & Soc. Studies Donjeta Konomi 5. Health NGO Fonun Eliona Bimbashi M:irela Meko 6. Law and Business Rural Women Ahmedie Daci V:itori Metani
July 25 & 26 '98
1. Society of Speleologist Skender Sala Perikli Qiriazi 2. NGO Center Anula Peti Kalia Musha 3. Transborder Wild Life Anxhelika Teti Kristaq Shore 4. Resource Center for Rural Development Sliefqet Meko Agim Deva Flora Kalemi Shqipe Zekthi 6. OXEAM Adri~aZhupa 7. CAFOD Rita Kola 8. Legal Advise for Poor Woman Roza Dede 9. Family Planing Association M:erita Mulosmani
September 5 & 6 1998
ORT Donika Godaj Planifikimi Familjar Merita Mansaku Women Center Edlira Muhedini The Women Legal Group Liliana Mero Mira Xhebro Alb. Center for Economic Research Fjoralba Vesho Proff.&Business Women Association bkik Cara Jdinda Sinani Irma Hoxha NGO Elbasan Shpresa Baja Dhoksi Gjoka Health NGO Forum Virxhinia Demiraj February 25&26,1999
1. Albanian Consumer Association Bukurie Memisha 2. Albanian Farnier Association Nesti Zoi Rustem Thartari 3. Family Planing Elida Miti 4. Society for Democratic Culture Mirela Pecani 5. Intelectual Women of Puka Leze Mjekaj Mirela Sula
April 6& 7,2000
1. Albanian Indipendent Forum Klodiana Hasanaj Daniaela Leskaj 2. Women, Reality & Vision Majlinda Lami 3. Albanian Family Planing Elvana Deshati 4. Councelling Center Etleva Jubani Ana Tukja A£roviti Gusho 5. Head FamilyKuqove Tefta Malaj Luljeta Nimani
April 27 & 28,2000
1. SME/Tirane Ida Kostaj 2. Small Business Foundation Qemal Balliu 3. Intellectual WomedPuka Lezina Mjeku 4. ARDITirane Dorela Mansaku Lauresha Grezda ARZHIGjrokaster Ferdinand Makri Women Center Mirela Alqimandridhi CO-Plan Amalia Tola REC Doreida Petro Women CenterIGjirokaster Violeta Hoxha DENA Lunqida Skendaj YWCA1 Albania Donika Godaj ISB Alma
May 25-26,2000
1. Mothers of Orphan Children Angjelina Dine Mariana Sherifi 2. Peace for Angels Marjeta Beneja 3. Youth Center - Durres Bajana Ceveli Arbana Jaupi 4. Association for the Protection of Minorities Hyjrije Brokaj 5. Masmedia and Environment Eralda Trebicka 6. Albanian - American Trade&Development Milka Zadrima
June 8-9,2000
1. Productive Women in Tranzition Drita Babameto Flutura Koltraka 2. Kucova Women in its Development Focus Kristina Lacka Elsa Rafaeli 3. Refleksione Ludiana Beqo 4. Women Association "Zadrima" Lvmturi Celepia Ana Ndoci 5. Albanian Foundation for Training B~ljanaSokoli & Development 6. Humanitarian Information Center Flora Bejko
June 22-23,2000
Environment and health Mimoza Reci Peace and Justice Center Wanda Koster Luigj Mila Women, Reality, Vision Odeta Stavri PARENA Petrit Bushi Albanian Helsinki Committee Mariola Zisi Refleksione Kozeta Jakupi Teacher for the Human Rights Dnta Lalaj Refleksione Pogradec Eleni Jajcari
July 12-13,2000
1. "Voskopoja" Union Tasi Bardhi 2. Durresi Businesses "Trade Road" Assoc. Aferdita Domi 3. Youth Club "Ekuiliber" Be16 Skenderasi 4. International Humanitarian Assistance Elda Kero 5. OXFAM GB - Korce Artur Ago 6. Albanian Movement for Understanding Hysen Kobellari and Piece 7. Youth Club "Perla" Mirton Trebicka Union of Albanian Farmers Isuf Demirxhi International Humanitarian Assistance Alba Fishta
OXFAM GB-Lushnje Arben Pustina "Green"Association of Students Altin Kokalari
One Parent Family Ledina Kercuku Organic Agriculture Association Monika Spahivogli
LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING TRAINING February-March ,1999
1. Luljeta Xhixho Professional and Business Women Association 2. Mitat Dautaj Roma Baxt. 3. Kreshnik Laknori Professional and Business Women Association ??? 4. Marieta Vaso Aquarius 5. Ogerta Cevi 6. Fatbardh Kadilli Institute for Contmporary Studies 7. Liliana Mero Women's Legal Group 8. Rozeta Dedja Women's Legal Group 9. Dajena Kumbaro Piece through Justice 10. Holta Kotheja Albanian Group for Human Rights 11. Blerta Selenica Foundation for the reconciliation of the disputes 12. Sonila Omari Pedagogue in the Law Faculty1 University of Tirana 13. Andi Pipero Albanian Group for Human Rights 14. Naim Isufi Young Lawyers Association 15. Gramoz Xhangolli Useful to Albanian Women Y USAID - ORT
Bd Albania Democracy Network Program
Final Report
Annex 4: List of Grant Awards ORT Albania Democracy Network Program Cumulative List of Grants a10 October 31,2000
TOTAL GRANTS: 92 TOTAL AMOUNT AWARDED: $1,052,635
CROSS-SECTOR INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING Total Amount: $289,929 Project Duration Dates: Start End 08/01/98 06/01/00 CRSNWK-00 1 Albanian National Training and Technical Assistance Recourse Center: "NGO Development and Sustainability StrategyW@AG-$290,000)
SECTOR AREA RESOURCE CENTERS 4 Grants Total Amount: $57,150 .. Prqiect ~urationDates: -Start End 09/01199 04/30/00 SARC-001 Foundation "Regional Agency for DevelopmentlElbasan: "NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy" (IDG-$18,7 10)
0910 1/99 04/30/00 SARC-002 Albanian Disability Rights Foundation: "NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy" (IDG-$7,323)
0910 1/99 04/30/00 SARC-003 Foundation Regional Agency for Development1Tirana: "NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy" (IDG-$18,691)
09/01199 04/30/00 SARC-004 Dairy Entrepreneurs National Association: "NGO Development and Sustainability Strategy" (IDG-$12,426)
IDG 1nstlt;tlonal Development Grant ORT Alblnll DO~OSRC~NeIwOIC PrOORm DAG Development Actlvltles Grant Curnulalive Llrl alGrenl~810 April 12, 2000 SOCIAL SERVICES 10 Grants Total AmountS209,184 Project Duration Dates: -Start 04/01/00 SSG-001 Albanian Disability Rights Foundation "Low Cost Wheelchairs for Albanian Disabled People" ($3 5,426)
0410 1/00 SSG-002 Albanian Family Planing Association "Improving Counseling on Reproductive Health Issues for Women in Albania" ($35,400)
0311 5/00 SSG-003 Counseling Center for Women and Girls "Help and Support for Abused Women and Those Risked from Trafficking in Rural Areas" ($35,822)
03/01/00 SSG-004 Women, Reality and Vision "Community Kindergarten and Counseling Help to Women" ($20,320)
04/01/00 SSG-005 Social Help for Women Head of Family "Women and Children Center" ($9,063)
04/01100 SSG-006 Independent Forum for Albanian Women "Support for the Social-Economic Integration of the Albanian Imprisoned Women" ($22,470)
03/01/00 SSG - 007 Albanian-American Trade and Development Association 'WGO Organizational Development" ($21,523)
04/01/00 SSG - 008 Intellectual Women ff uka "Puka Women Room" ($6,440)
05/01/00 SSG - 009 Albanian Young Women Christian Association "Albanian Child Care Program" ($12,230)
0411 5/00 SSG - 010 Small Business Foundation /Tirana "Entrepreneurship and Business Management Training Opportunity for the Unemployed and Poor Women in Tirana and Gjirokastra Region" ($10,490)
MG = Microgrant IDG = Institutional Development Grant ORTAlbanla Democracy Nehva* Program 2 DAG =Development Activities Grant Curnulasve List of Grants a10 April 12, ZOO0 A a L a L E B e P L Y I. Z. t E L 8 I L
DEMOCRACY SECTOR 37 Grants Total Amount $235,260 Project Duration Dates:
DEM-001 Union of Independent Dissidents: "Memorial Conference for the Poet Nexhat Hakiu" (MG-$100)
DEM-002 Women's Center: "Promotion of Women s Participation in Politics" (MG-$1,106)
DEM-003 Kavaja Community Center: "March 26 Democracy Painting Contest" (MG-$500)
DEM-004 Society for Democratic Culture: "Elections '96: Informing the Voters" (DAG- $24,595)
DEM-005 Albanian Helsinki Committee: "Annual Operational Budget" (DAG - $28,488)
DEM-006 Society for Democratic Culture: "RadioITV Spots for Elections" (MG-$234)
DEM-007 Society for Democratic Culture: "Media Monitoring Campaign" (MG-$2,864)
DEM-008 Albanian Youth Council: National Symposium, "Youth Policy in Development" (MG- $4,760)
DEM-009 Albanian NGO Forum: "NGO Networking" (MG-$3,335)
DEM-010 DeMeTra: "Developing Communication Skills in NGOs" (MG-$3,894)
DEM-011 Society for Democratic Culture: "Media Monitoring of Albanian National Elections '97" (MG - $7,413)
DEM Ol la Society for Democratic Culture "Institutional Capacity Building" (MG 8,045)
DEM-012 Society for Democratic Culture: "Elections Monitoring '97" (DAG $21,482)
DEM-013 League of Pensioners of Albania: "Parliamentary Candidates: "Together at a Round Table with All" (MG-$1,527)
MG = Mlcrogrant IDG Institutional Development Grant ORT Atbanla Oomocnsy Nehuorh Propnm DAG Development Acllvlties Grant Cvmulellvs Llsl of Grantado April 12,2000 - DEM-014 Union of Vlore Intellectuals: "Parliamentary Candidates Face to Face with the Electorate" (MG-$2,335)
DEM-015 Law and Rural Women's Rights: "Improving Democratic Culture among Rural Women in the Parliamentary Elections '97" (MG - $1,380)
DEM-016 Foundation for the Reconciliation of Disputes: "Promoting Tolerance, Understanding, Culture and Improved Capacity in Treating and Resolving Conflicts" (IDG- $14,363)
DEM-017 Young Researchers of Social Sciences - Shkodra: Civic Education Project: "0 Tempora? 0 Mores!" (Now? or Never!)(MG- $1,910)
DEM-018 The Women's Legal Group: "Building a Partnership Between Women Deputies of Parliament and the Women's Legal Group" (MG - $625.00)
DEM-019 Society for Democratic Culture: "Media Monitoring in A Non-election Environment" ($9,081)
DEM-020 The Albanian Human Rights Group: "The Protection of Human Rights through Improved Enforcement of Judgements" (MG-$1,895)
DEM-021 Foundation for Juridical Culture: "Constitutional Publication" (MG- $1,150)
DEM-022 Institute for Contemporary Studies: "An Ombudsman Institution in Albania" (MG- $2,950)
DEM-023 Center for Economic and Social Studies: "Citizen Review of the Draft Constitution -Korca9' (MG- $1,390)
DEM-024 Center for Economic and Social Studies: "Citizen Review of the Draft Constitution - Gjirokaster" (MG-$1,420)
DEM-025 Society for Democratic Culture: "How to Vote Correctly" (Constitutional Referendum) (MG- $2,500)
DEM-026 Albanian Center for Economic Research: ''Improving Municipality Services: Developing and Implementing a Local Level Anti-Conuption Action Plan" (MG-$5,000)
MG = Microgrant IDG = Institutional Development Grant ORTAlbanIa Democracy Network Program 4 DAG = Development Activities Grant Curnvlative List of Grants a10 Apnl 12.2000 Albanian Human Rights Group: "Center of Testimonies on Crime and Genocide Against the Kosovo Albanians" (MG-$5,000)
Institute for Contemporary Studies: "Efficient, Non-discriminatory and Transparent Public Procurement Law" (MG-$4,960)
Albanian Foundation for the Reconciliation of Disputes: "Implementing New Mediation Law as an Alternative in Conflict Resolution" (MG-$2,690) Bank Wire Fees ($30)
NGO Service and Network Grants:
DEMNK-001 Albanian NGO Forum: "Institutional Capacity Building Project" (IDG-$13,256)
DEMNK-002 Albanian Youth Council: National Program to Extend a Youth NGO Network" (IDG- $14,984)
DEMNK-003 Women's Center: "Effecting Public Policies related to Women through Dissemination of Information on Gender Issues" (IDG-$14,967)
DEMNK-004 Albanian Youth Council et al.,: "Live & Vote" (MG- $2,990)
Albanian Youth Council "Gathering for Tolerance" (MG-$1,790)
DEMNK-005 Professional and Business Women's Association et al.,: "Promoting Women's Participation in the Electoral Campaign" (IDG - $7,970)
DEMNK-006 DeMeTra: Institutional Building of DeMeTra - "A National Management, Training, and Consultancy Organization" (IDG - $1 1,658)
DEMNK-007 The Local Coordinative Forum for the NGOs in Elbasan: NGO Law Training in Elbasan $623)
MG - Mlcrogrant IDG a lnstltutlonal Development Grant DAG = Development Actlvltles Grant SOCIAL SAFETY NET SECTOR 18 Grants Total Amount: $100,859
The Albanian Resource Center for Health: "Albanian Medical Ethics and Law Handbook" (MG-$3,926)
The Family Planning Association: "Improving Reproductive Rights in Albania" (IDG- $13,000)
The League of Albanian Anti-Communist Women: "National Platform for Action" (MG-$1,992)
Useful to Albanian Women: "Monitoring Center for Drug and Alcohol Abuse" (IDG-$15,642)
Albanian Patients Association: "Charter of Patients Rights" (MG-$717)
Humanitarian Assoc. Of Labor Invalids: "Labor Invalid Identity Cards" (MG-$1,746)
Association to Assist Mentally Handicapped Persons - Pogradec Branch:"improvement and Implementation of the Law on Social Assistance for Mentally Handicapped Person and Caretakers" (MG-$1,591)
Albanian Hemophiliac Assoc.: ''Campaign for the Identification of People with Hemophilia & an Evaluation of Their State &Treatment" (MG-$3,625)
Law and Rural Women's Rights: "Assessing Violence Against Village Women" (MG-$1,83 1)
Albanian Blood Donors Association: "Save a Life - Give Blood During the Crisis" (MG - $3,000) Law and Rural Women's Rights: "A Law Addressing Family Violence" (MG - $2,290)
Albanian Paraplegic Association: "Building an Enabling Path for the Disabled" (MG-$758)
Useful to Albanian Women- "Drug Monitoring Center" ($15,070)
MG = Microarant IDG = lnstit~tionalDevelopment Grant ORT Albmla OBmocraCY NstWoIk Program 6 DAG = Development Activities Grant Curnuislive List of Granls a10 Apill 12.2000 k L c a. E E s e I[ E e E k II L I c E E
41 10198 12/20/98 SSN-014 Albanian Disability Rights Foundation: "Building a Government - NGO Partnership on Law For Disabled Persons" ($2,989)
5/6/98 10/31/98 SSN-015 Law, Business and Rural Women - "Institutional Strengthening of the Association" ($3,200)
5/1/98 5/31/98 SSN-016 Albanian Family Planning Association: "Improving Reproductive Rights in Albania - 11" (MG-$150)
NGO Service and Network Grant
311 5/96 3/14/97 SSNWK-001 The Albanian Resource Center for Health: "Health for All Center" (IDG - $15,381)
12/1/97 1/31/99 SSNWK-002 Health NGO Forum: "Strengthening the Network of Health NGOs" (IDG- $13,95 1)
ENVIRONMENTAL1 SECTOR 11 Grants
Association for Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment: ''International Symposium on Prespa Lakes" (IDG-$10,125)
Biologists Association: "Reform of Teaching Programs in Environmental Education in High Schools" (IDG-$7,170)
Albanian Ecological Club- Mirdita: "Regional Seminar on Reforestation of Rubiku Hills" (MG - $2,683)
Association for Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment - Shkodra Branch: "Increasing Public Awareness of Lake Shkoder" (MG-$1,825)
Albanian Ecological Club- Lezha Branch: "Reestablishing Nature Reserves in Vain and Kune" (MG$1,759)
Kadmi and Harmony: "Keeping the River Clean Keeps the Lake Clean" (MG - $2,939)
MG - Microgrant IDG - Instllutlonal Development Grant DAG -Development Acllvltles Granl 9/15/97 5/15/98 ENV-007 Albanian Scientific-Didactic Association of Speleologists: "Creating a Policy for the Legal Status and Management of Karstic Caves According to Scientific and Didactic Values" (MG - $3,050)
3120198 9120198 ENV-008 Transborder Wildlife Association: "Protection of Nature, Beauty, Life: Natural Resource Management" (MG $2,972)
1/15/98 4130198 ENV-009 Public Health Institute: "The Voice of Associations in Compilation of Public Health Policies" (MG - $2,779)
5/1/98 5/31/98 ENV-010 Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment: "An Albanian Law to Protect Its International Lakes" (MG- $1,050)
5/1/98 6130198 ENV-01 1 Albanian Scientific-Didactic Association of Speleologists: "Mobilizing Support for a Law on the Status and Management of Karstic Caves" (MG- $2,971)
ECONOMIC GROWTH SECTOR 11 Grants Total Amount $120,930
2/1/97 7120198 ECON-001 Assistance Center for Business Assoc./Korca: "Establishment of an Assistance Center for Business Association" ($7,425)
211 5/97 6130198 ECON-002 National Union of Albanian Farmers: "Institutional Capacity Building and Advocacy" (IDG- $14,748)
6/15/97 711 5/97 ECON-003 Albanian Center for Economic Research: "The Economic Crisis: Its Causes, Consequences, and Possible Solutions" (MG- $2,021)
8/1/97 4130198 ECON-004 Albanian Consumers Association: "Improving Consumer Protection Rights and Institutional Development" (IDG - $14,970)
1011 8/97 1213 1/97 ECON-005 Institute for Contemporary Studies: "Mobile Business School" (MG - $2,974)
11/15/97 1211 5/97 ECON-006 Organic Agriculture Association: "Promoting Support for Organic Food Production in Albania" ($2,150)
MG = Microgrant IDG =Institutional Development Grant ORTAibanla Democracy Network Program 8 DAG = Development Activities Grant Curnulalive List 01 Gram810 April 12.2000 12/1/97 10131/98 ECON-007 Center for Economic and Social Studies: "Qualitative Privatization and the Transformation of Public Enterprises in Albania" (IDG - $14,617)
1/1/98 4130198 ECON-008 Research Center for Rural Development: "Issues of Rural NGOs Network: Today and In the Future" (MG-$2,920)
01/01/99 1213 1/99 ECON-009 Albanian Consumers Association: "Cooperation of ACA with the Local and Central Government on Implementation of Consumer Protection Law and Other Laws Strengthening Consumers' Rights" (DAG-$30,000)
02/20/99 04/30/99 ECON-010 Association of Women Intellectuals of Puka: "Small Business an Opportunity for Employment and Self-employment" (MG-$3,816)
02/26/99 02/26/00 ECON-011 National Union of Albanian Farmers: "Promoting Policies in Support of Agricultural Development" (DAG-$25,289)
MG Mlcrogrant IDG 0 lnstltutlonal Development Grant DAG Devetopment Activities Grant w
P1 Albania Democracy Network Program bM Final Report
Annex 5:
DemNet Timeline June 19% Phase I begins ORTIUSAID Cooperative Agreement (CA) sgnd March 1995 NGO Asresrmeut & Bpwline esmblished Sector Assessment Focus on lndiiual NGOs Trainina t 42 NGOs interviewed Jul. 1995 DemNet IatmduMry Workbop 60 Albanian and IntemaSonal NGOs DemNetoMb6on, c+dves. aiteria
Aug. 1995 fully stnfled DemNet Pmgram Office opens Center of cmrdmah of am,wbhshes wanizaWeQ~and selecbbn aitek?for miuwrants. ID38 DAGs
Sept. 1995 Technical Assistnore begins 0-e taiW&tam to NGOs in pmpmafdevelopment bvdget prepamSon, fimndal matntand pro@ hpimwtaLbn
Dee. 1995 First DemNet Grnot Award First of 92 grantr awarded to an Abaian NGO
mining andTachnlalbsswncsto m0AlbanianNW 1996 Training Phase in Full Swing Wsoard on pobcy -and adwcacy ocganizabaral Jan.- May 1996 weeldytaining s-u% Albanian NGOson minan ve!q-an?ntw+U marqemnt and imdementah; fmancial statements, pmwpropals, and Wi ementand acmuntirg: legktahvedralbng: makcn.mdmg. April - Nov. 1996 Jointhinkg wah The Regiml Envirmmental Center (REC) on insb'mmal Capadly BuHm acdPub6c Pawin Ennmmenfaf ki50nmaIdng (47 Albanian NGO pawn&) April - Dec. 1996 Workshops: NGO GovemmentPa&d%iin Emmk Gmwth and En~mentalDedsrmmaking
Jub 1997 P NGO Sector Needs Assessment Resub inform continued miming. TA. and grants lo WtalNGOs and sedor-Hide capady-building shtegiesof Phase it.
June, 1598 Phase I1 begins OctoberlNovember 1997 First Kstiond Sun-ty Conducted NGO Development and Sustainabili Shtegy Continued support tosp€&c NGOs, focus on building sedor-Hide Repo~i~udesrevpu,of~andpmgmDwRs~sodar.emncmic infrasbudure and support and demkdeyebpment tJanuary 1998, ORT spmsmd fwe regiml rmzxwaMs cn @isb& paven issues to pmvide input to the ans-l dam praess grants totnlingS429,174 given to Albanian NGOr August 1998.17 DemNetgrantees presenltemmnytomePallemenBry Resource center (AMT~c)estabhshed Coos6br6onal Wonwhich was favMaMy hptersed and arrmded IResource Canters 63aMDhed. 25% Of tk amdes based on spedfr NGO sugges6w. islative Drafting Groupand Poky AdvwacyTraining IConsullants h'& b pmvide $chniil &tare to NGOs. Nov. 1998 AX'ITARC begins opemtions Dm* law pmmoted and revised. The newfy forred Albanian NatDnaITraining andTechniil Assistance Resource Center (AMTARC)starh upu% cmmibmttoskngthen Albania's hi and pubk ins6tutomand NGOs.
Sector Resource Centerr support Insfhdimal DevvLqwnt Grantsare usedto+andmengmen USAID CA modii November 1999 to pmvide$M9.184 for 10 rqlionaland/MseaMreswrcecenlen. soda1 sewice grants designed to fund soda1 service prcgrams and lo Sept. 1999 DemNet Bi-Monthly Newsletter be@r publifptian sb'engwn NGO capadty for sustainable service delivery. On the Road to Success pm&s updates on mawards. NGO hhq
t on important issues fa63 ihe NGO mnrmnity. I Total of 92 Grants made in the amunt of $l,OX?,SJ5 to 59 NGDs I m