In addition to the financial assistance via grants allocation, the civil society support Programme CIVICA Mobilitas provides the opportunity for capacity strengthening of the organizations by means of trainings, technical support, as well as networking meetings and debates.In addition to the institutional and project grants, the capacity strengthening is an additional instrument to use in achieving the goals of the programme, i.e. raising the organizational sustainability of the grantees.

By planning investments in the area of organizational strengthening the civil organizations will be able to build sustainable staff development policies which implies that the employees of the organizations will attend trainings, meetings and will receive mentor support with the aim of them having long-term commitment in their respective organizations and using the knowledge and skills acquired through the capacity strengthening interventions for the benefit of the organizations.

Trainings

The trainings for capacity and sustainability strengthening of the organizations are provided within the frames of the institutional support as one of the main instruments for achieving the programme objectives of CIVICA Mobilitas.

The trainings are individualised and adjusted to the requirements of the grantees and are delivered upon consulting with each organization individually.  The topics covered at these trainings read as follows:

Basic operation of the civil organizations:  Project management, human resources management, financial management, strategic planning, collecting financial assets, advocacy and lobbying, team building etc.

The areas relevant to the mission of the civil organizations read as follows:Human rights, citizen participation, gender equality, monitoring the budget of the local self-governments, interethnic relations etc.

Having in mind that it is common for several organizations to share similar needs, the trainings are also organized for a group of organizations which increases the efficiency due to the opportunity of the organizations to work jointly and share relevant experiences and positive examples thus increasing the work efficiency.

The trainings are delivered by local and international trainers that have proven knowledge and experience in a specific area as well as by the CIRa team of trainers.The training delivery plan is prepared at an annual level in accordance to the requirements and abilities of the grantees.

Technical support

The very notion of “technique” comes from the Greek work τεχνική – which translates into skill, capability.

As part of the grant implementation process CIRa in addition provides technical support to the grantees with the aim of raising their level of skills and knowledge.This process implies regular communication and mentoring by CIRa for the purpose of ensuring successful realization of the annual programmes or projects of the organizations thus achieving complete strengthening of the organizations.

Networking

The networking meetings are another capacity strengthening tool. These meetings are organized for all of the grantees in the CIVICA Mobilitas Programme and are held twice per year.The topic discussed at these networking meetings is specific and of utmost importance for the civil society.

Apart from the fact that the participants have the opportunity to learn matters that will be beneficial for their respective organization, these meetings also put the emphasis on mutual experiences, establishing cooperation as well as on implementation of activities that are beneficial for the civil society as a whole.

Debates

In order to meet the wide scope of requirements of the civil society the CIVICA Mobilitas organizes debates on the role of the civic society in the countries, encompassing key aspects (quality standards, transparency, inclusion on the civil society, reputation of the civil organizations, their sustainability etc.).

Currently in Macedonia there is a trend of gradual decrease of financial support from donors and their plan is to leave Macedonia as the country joins the European Union.This is why the strengthening of the organizations is of essential significance in order for them to be able to diversify the sources of financing. The organizations need to improve the quality of their work and adjust it to specific standards.Thus the need to organize public debates which will may lead to improving the quality of services that the civil organizations have to offer to their target groups and citizens. All of this also leads towards improving the image of the civil organization in the local communities which in turn contributes to the strengthening of their sustainability.