Serbian Civil Society Baseline Study 2011

CONDITIONS IN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs)

Serbia, 2011

Republic of Serbia

GOVERNMENT

Office for Cooperation withCivil Society

This survey is made possible by the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the “Civil Society Advocacy Initiative” program, implemented by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). Attitudes and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ISC, USAID or the United States Government.

The survey was conducted by Civic Initiatives with support from the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society of the Government of Serbia

Republic of Serbia

GOVERNMENT

Office for Cooperation withCivil Society

Conditions in CSO, 2011

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Survey Methodology

Realization: Field survey was conducted in the period 24 July – 30 September 2011

Target Group: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) registered with the Business Register Agency (BRA) in 2010

Target group size:

13,375 CSOs

Sample size: 1,625 Civil Society Organizations

Sample type: Stratified random sample

Stratums: Founding year and budget by Annual Balance Sheet for 2010

Data collection method:

Face to face in CSOs premises. Interviews were conducted by trained interviewers by means of standardized questionnaire (average interview duration 65 minutes)

Survey venues: 67 municipalities in Serbia, 127 local community centers, urban, periurban and rural areas

Statistical error:

±2.43% for incidence occurences of 50% ±2.22% for incidence occurences of 30% ±1.99% for incidence occurences of 20% ±1.46% for incidence occurences of 10% ±1.06% for incidence occurences of 5%


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Main Information and

Working Conditions


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Primary activity area: % CSOs that specified the given area as primary

25%

24%

18%

9%

8%

6%

4%

3%

2%

0.7%

0.2

0.4

Social services

Culture, media and recreation

Environment

Education and researches

Law, Advocacy and Politics

Business and professional associations, unions

Health care

Development and Housing

International cooperation

Religion

Philantropic mediators and volunteering promotion

Not classified

Civil society organizations whose primary areas of activities are social services, culture/media/recreation and environmental protection account for more than 65% of registered CSOs


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CSO locations by geographic region

The majority of CSOs are located in Vojvodina (37%) and Belgrade (28%), while the remaining CSOs are relatively equally spread out across West, Central, East and Southeast Serbia

Vojvodina37%

Belgrade28%

West S.6%

Central S.12%

Eastern S.7%

SouthEast S.10%


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Founding year of associations (according to data given by associations)

The majority of CSOs, 59%, were established after 2000, 15% between 1990 and 2000, and 26% before 1990 (these primarily include CSOs providing social services, professional associations and CSOs engaged in environmental issues)

Do 198926%

1990 do 200015%

2001 do 200943%

2010 i 201116%


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Number of active persons in an organization (managing board, staff & associates )

The number of active persons in CSOs ranges from up to 5 (34%); 6 to 10 (37%) persons, while every fifth has up to 20 active persons and every tenth CSO has over 20 active persons

34

37

21

8

0 10 20 30 40

Up to 5

6 to 10

11 to 20

Over 20

%


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Total budget size of CSOs in 2010 (in Euros) based on data provided by CSOs

The budget size available to CSOs in 2010 varies more between individual CSOs than between main areas they address. The majority of CSOs in 2010 had a budget less than € 5,000, while every twentyeth had over € 100,000

8

28

28

18

12

5

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

No budget in 2010

up to 1000 EUR

1001 to 5000 EUR

5001 to 20000 EUR

20001 to 100000 EUR

over 100000 EUR

%


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Do you have access to Internet in your organization?

One third of CSOs do not have access to Internet, which is in line with the findings that one third of CSOs do not have a computer/laptop in their organizations

Yes64%

No36%

66%

47%

60%

79%

80%

90%

34%

53%

40%

21%

20%

10%

No budget in 2010

Up to 1000

1001 to 5000

5001 to 20000

20001 to 100000

over 100000

Yes

No


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Mission, Fields of Activity and Activities


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Does your organization have a defined organization’s mission in writing and does it have a strategic plan?

8689 90

93

86

79 77

88 87

79

4540

4550 51

44

32

4744

54

Total Cult., media& recr.

Edu. &research

Health care Socialservices

Environm. Devel. &housing

Law, adv. &politics

Bus. & prof.ass., unions

Notclassified

We have a defined mission We have a strategic plan

The majority of CSOs have the organization’s mission in writing, while, on average, less than half of them have a strategic plan


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Multiple answers

What type of activities are mainly conducted in your organization?

7

15

15

21

27

28

33

49

50

15

22

22

Monitoring of laws, public policies and work ofinstitutions

Rendering material assistance

Lobbying/advocacy

Holding press conferences

Media campaigns

Conducting researches

Holding conferences and gatherings, round tables...

Printing brochures and publications

Networking and cooperation

Advising and rendering different professional services

Local community actions

Extrainstitutional education (seminars, trainings...)

On average, dominant types of activities in the CSO sector involve educational activities and local level actions


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On average, the number of submitted projects decreased; also, the percentage of approved projects as compared to the number of submitted projects was reduced in 2011 compared to 2010

4.7

6.0

3.1

4.1

2010 2011

Average number of projects submitted

Average number of projects approved

Base: CSOs submitting projects (71% in 2010 and 65% in 2011)

Ratio between number of submitted and approved projects in 2010 and 2011


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Legal / Fiscal Regulations


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Are you familiar with legal regulations referring to CSO (Civil Society Organizations) sector?

22 25 20 25 20 2316 14

34

12

3030

30 2528

37

21 25

24

34

48 45 50 50 5240

63 61

4154


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

I am familiarwithregulations(fully+mainly)

Yes and no

I am notfamiliar withregulations (atall+a little)

About one half of CSOs are not familiar or only partially familiar with legal regulations imposed on Civil Society Organizations


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1717

Multiple answers

What are you dissatisfied with, what do you think should be changed regarding legal regulations?

36 35

39

3133

44

49

34

29

20

2

8

32

27

52

31

18

26

19

2321

27

12

4

966776


Edu. &researches



Law, adv. &politics

Bus. & profass., unions

Notclassified

Tax policy

Law on Associations

Other laws referring to CSO activities

Regarding legal regulations, the main dissatisfaction in the civic sector relates to the tax policy imposed on CSOs


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Political Context


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In your opinion, is the present political climate in the country favourable for development of the CSO sector?

43 45 4838 40

4939 42 44 38

35 35 26 4634

33

3031

41 46

22 21 2616

2618

32 2715 16

Total Cult., media &recr.

Edu. & research Health care Social services Environm. Devel. & housing Law , adv. &politics


Not classif ied

Favourable(very, mainly)

Yes and no

Unfavourable(very, mainly)

More than 40% of CSOs rate the political climate in the country as unfavourable for the development of the CSO sector


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How would you evaluate cooperation of the present Government of the Republic of Serbia with the CSO sector? (Marks range between 1 and 5)

33 37 34 3426

34 31 31

46

27

4543 44 45

46

4644

5235

58

22 20 22 1928

19 2417 18 13


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Favourable(4,5)

3

Unfavourable(1,2)

Cooperation between the Government of Serbia and CSOs was evaluated on average to be 3 on a scale of 1-5 (45%), while only 22% had a favorable remark


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To what extent does the CSO sector have an impact on the State policy creation?

64 58 6372

62 64 6374 78 71

3339 35 23

35 35 3725 21

18

3 3 2 5 3 2 1 110


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Toomuch

To therightextent

Too little

The majority of CSOs evaluated the overall impact of the sector on the State’s policy creation as insufficient/too little (64%)


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Cooperation Between Sectors

CSO Cooperation

Networking


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Have you so far, in any way, cooperated with other Civil Society Organizations?

86 86 88 93 8982 81

92

7181

14 14 12 7 1118 19

8

2919


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

No

Yes

The majority of CSOs have cooperated with other CSOs


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The majority of CSOs have cooperated with other CSOs from their municipality (73%) and/or region in Serbia (54%); however, as the territorial distance between CSOs increases, cooperation diminishes

19

11

31

54

39

73

from your place from your regionwithin Serbia

from the broaderterritory of Serbia

from the WestBalkans region

from a broaderregion outside EU

from EU

Have you cooperated on projects with other CSOs from...


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Cooperation with the State


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How would you evaluate the attitude of the State towards the CSO sector?

39 41 40 4831

40 3545 50 44

22 18 2218

2821 32

16 17 15

19 1717 14

21 1517

25 21 21

7 55 7 7

56

811

5

16 19 12 14 15 22 164 9 15


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

I cannot evaluate it

The State feels CSOs as rivals

The State recognizes the CSO sector as partners (uses their services)

The State supports development of CSO sector (provides funding...)

The State is uninterested and it underestimates the importance of the CSO sector

Attitude of the State towards the CSO sector is often evaluated as lack of interest (39%), but the similar percentage believes that the State has a positive attitude towards CSOs, either by supporting their development (22%), or even by recognizing CSOs as partners (19%)


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27

In what way has that attitude changed in the past 3 years?

27 21 28 2129 23

42 4228 30

5862

6364

57 65

5340

50 47

12 147

11 11 115

14 21 21


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

It haschangedfor worse

It remainedthe same

It haschangedfor better

The majority of CSOs (58%) evaluate that the attitude of the State towards CSOs has not changed in the past 3 years; however, among those who believe that there were changes a larger percentage evaluates that it was more for better (27%) than for worse (12%)


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28

Please specify THREE priorities that the newly-formed Office of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Cooperation with Civil Society should focus on.

71

23

4740

3525 25

Improving legal, strategic and financial frameworks for development of civil society enabling environment

Encouraging cooperation between local self-governments and CSOs

Developing transparent mechanisms of communication and cooperation between line ministries and CSOs

Incentive fiscal/tax regulations

Supporting different initiatives by CSOs

Encouraging cooperation of CSOs with other stakeholders

Informing about current EU programs

The majority of CSOs, 71%, specified as the priority of the newly-established Office for Cooperation with CSOs the improvement of legal, strategic and financial framework and CSOs working environment


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Cooperation with the Business Sector


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Base: Total target population

Have you cooperated with the business sector so far?

61 59 6168 65

55 61 5968 62

39 41 3932 35

45 39 4132 38


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

No

Yes

The majority of CSOs, 61%, have cooperated with the business sector


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Multiple answers; Base: Organizations that cooperated with the business sector (63% of the target population)

What types of cooperation have you had with the business sector up to now ?

79

6964

77

47

11

86

96

67

8078

87

2317

2316

3838

111923

914

710 13

811911


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Not classified

Business sector in the role of a donor

Consulting services rendered by CSOs

Other

There have been mainly only two types of cooperation between CSOs and the business sector: In 79% of cooperation cases the business sector played the role of a donor, while in 23% it was about consulting services provided by CSOs


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Cooperation with Media


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Have you had any type of cooperation or contact with media up to now?

89 9587

9787 87

7894

77 79

11 513

313 13

226

23 21


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

No

Yes

Only 11% of CSOs did not cooperate or have contacts with media


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Base: Organizations that had any type of cooperation or contact with media (90% of the target population)

Did you cooperate more easily with local or with major national media?

65 65 63 68 72 68 6657 55 52

11 10 1016 11 12 12

11 1712

23 25 2617 17 19 21

30 2836


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Local media Major media with national coverage About equally

The majority of CSOs (65%) more easily cooperated with local media, while every fourth CSO did it with the national media


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Attitude of the Public Towards CSOs


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How would you evaluate the attitude of the environment in which you work towards the CSO sector as a whole? – Marks range from 1 to 5, like at school

16 1422 20

13 1120 24

1424

4642

4436 47 48

4848

61 37

38 4534

45 40 4132 27 25

40


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Positiveattitude(marks4+5)

3

Negativeattitude(marks1+2)

The attitude of the environment in which they work towards the CSO sector as a whole is mainly given a median mark (46%); however, there are considerably more positive (38%) than negative marks (16%)


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Has the attitude of the environment in which you work changed towards CSOs in the past 3 years?

34 33 3446

30 35 3147

34 30

59 59 5952

64 61 6346

56 61

6 7 6 1 5 4 6 7 9 9


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

It is worse

It is thesame

It is better

Close to 60% of CSOs evaluate that in the past 3 years the attitude of the environment towards the CSO sector has not changed, while 34% believe that it has changed for better


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Does your organization have a strategy for public relations?

39 4337

4336 39

3144

27

45

61 5663

5664 61

6955

73

55


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

No

Yes

61% of CSOs do not have a public relations strategy


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Financial Stability – Source of Financing


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Please specify percentual share of the financing method of your organization in 2011

28 2837 30 26 21

29

48

14

33

24 20

2227

1636

27

14

47

34

14 19

1310

11

16 1417 813 12

1610

13

16 156 16

612 11

6

923

5 7 11 211

8 10 59

96 6 3 6 7

1 1 5 2 1 1 1 1

14

2


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

GiftsVoluntary contributionsWe have general (institutional) supportSelf-financing activities (business activities, rendering contract-based services)We volunteerMemberships We are financed on the basis of projects

On average, the largest percentual share originates from financing based on projects (28%) and membership (24%), while the smallest originates from voluntary contributions and gifts (10%); however, variations between different areas are big


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What is the percentual share of each financing source of your organization in 2011?

44 44 44 4531

6047

26

67

43

20 2317 18

32

13

19

12

5

19

9 612 8 6

6 14

34

311

8 8 10 7 7

6 1211 10

67 4 6 10 13

42

8 3 106 8 6 7 6 5 2 4 5

3 2 3 4 5 3 32 3 4 2 1 2 2 2 13


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Provincial Government CitizensBusiness sector (companies, firms)Ministry Domestic donor organizations International donor organizations Local administrationSelf-financing (membership fees, providing services...)

On average, the largest percentual share originates from self- financing (44%), financing by local administration (20%) and financing by international donors (9%)


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How would you evaluate the present financial situation of your organization? – Marks range from 1 to 5, like at school

4855

48 47 44 50 49 44 46 51

3531

37 3938

3324 34

3835

15 12 13 12 15 1324 20

15 14


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Good(marks 4+5)

3

Poor(marks 1+2)

48% of CSOs evaluate the financial situation of their organizations as poor, and only 15% as good


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Have you provided funds for the work of your organization in 2011?

3425

3140 38 32 31

43 4234

4350 41

40 4242

34

36 3948

23 26 2719 19 25

3520 16 18


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

No, not at all

Only for apart of theyear, not forthe entireyear

Yes, for theentire year

Only 34% of CSOs have provided for working funds for the entire 2011, while every fifth has not provided funds at all (according to data from June 2011)


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Have you provided funds for the work of your organization in 2012?

6 3 7 5 11 5 4 3 9

139

13 1413

12 1225

22

10

7987

76 80 7682 84

70 68

90


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

No, not atall

Only for apart of theyear, notfor theentire year

Yes, for theentire year

79% of CSOs have not provided working funds for 2012 (according to data from June 2011)


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The Most Important Problems Regarding CSO Sustainability


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In your opinion, how important are the following problems for sustainability of the CSO sector in Serbia ?

78

82

64

56

59

62

72

55

73

64

Lack of support by the State

Undeveloped donorship in the business sector

Withdrawal of international donors

Insufficient cooperation with local authorities

Unstimulating legal regulation

Undeveloped donorship with individuals

Undevelopment of the CSO sector itself

Insufficient (undeveloped) cooperation between CSOs

Poor cooperation with media

Negative attitude of the environment, citizens

% answers “important” (very important + important)

The majority of CSOs agreed that all of the specified problems are important for CSO sustainability, but the greatest importance is given to the support by the State, undeveloped donorship in the business sector and withdrawal of international funders, while the least importance is given to cooperation with media and attitudes of the environment and citizens


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Now, please, rank the same problems by priorities for your organization, regardless of the general conditions in the CSO sector

8

4

810

3230 29

13

24 2321

29

2426

16

11

19

14

9

18 18

141315

9

14

1113 13 12

1514

10

16

10 10

5

15

710 89 9 10

6

15

5 69

4

11

8 689

7

24

8 109

6

12

5 46

14


Edu. &research



Law, adv. &politics


Notclassified

Lack of support by the State

Insufficient cooperation with local authorities

Undeveloped donorship in the business sector

Withdrawal of international donors

Undevelopment of the CSO sector itself

Unstimulating legal regulations

Negative attitude of citizens

Lack of support by the State is the most often specified priority problem for one’s organization

Priority problem (rank 1)