Kosovo Civil Society Project (KCSP)

Program Overview

The Kosovo Civil Society Project (KCSP), launched in May 2005 and completed in June 2008, was a three-year program, funded by USAID, that assisted Kosovo’s NGO community in becoming a truly indigenous, viable sector that plays an important role in representing and serving Kosovo’s diverse citizenry and shaping public policy.

KEY ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES

Establish strong, indigenous Kosovar NGOs to support long-term sustainability of the civil society sector
Increase civil society’s capacity to advocate on behalf of constituency interests
Improve public perception of the NGO community and enhance its legitimacy in the eyes of the public

PROJECT RESULTS

86 grants totaling more than $1,000,000 awarded to 57 local NGOs throughout Kosovo for partnership and networking projects, grassroots advocacy projects, and election activities
Comprehensive organizational capacity building provided to local partner organization the Advocacy and Training Resource Center (ATRC)

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Capacity Building and Advocacy: IREX worked with individual NGOs and coalitions to strengthen their capacity to advocate for public policy issues while progressing toward forming an inclusive, transparent, and credible Kosovo network of NGOs. In partnership with the Advocacy Training and Resource Center (ATRC), IREX provided grants to support issue-specific campaigns, coalition-building and training on effective advocacy, coalition-building techniques, and public relations through the media.
NGO Sector Development: Through its partnership with ATRC, the Kosovar NGO sector has become increasingly autonomous and sustainabile. A solid infrastructure and professional network of NGOs has strengthened and expanded services to civil society, including grant funding, information resources, and training that increase multi-sector dialogue and partnership.
Professional Standards and Media Training: In order to improve public perception and increase NGO’s accountability and responsiveness to their constituents, IREX worked with ATRC to develop a portfolio of public relations and constituent training modules that are available to NGOs through their resource center. An NGO code of ethics was developed to set professional standards for the sector, which established benchmarks to measure NGOs’ ability to engage and respond to their core constituencies, as well as evaluate transparency and accountability. A series of NGO-journalist trainings and press club events on issues important to Kosovars highlighted how NGOs can work with media to further social issues in a professional, investigative manner.

IREX in Kosovo

IREX has a well-established history in Kosovo, operating educational exchange programs since the 1960s, supporting the development of independent media since 1997, and maintaining an on-the-ground presence since 1999. Since 1997, IREX’s has been working with local media to develop Kosovo’s professional, independent media sector through the Supporting Independent Media Project.