T
he Lead Applicant - Center for Sustainable Development ALKA is a non-profit civil society organization established and operating in the Republic of Macedonia. For 15 years, ALKA has been implementing actions in the spheres of development of rural areas (development of rural municipalities) and tourism (alternative tourism, rural tourism, agro-tourism, organic production etc.). The most relevant implemented projects in this sphere include:
Relevant projects and activities:
Expertise on project Backing Regional Tourism Potential, within the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Kosovo - former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia under IPA II 2014 and 2015 allocations; Period 2018-2020; Amount 229.889 EUR. The project objective is to enhance tourism potentials and promote regional values of CB regions, and more specifically to work on (1) Introduction of new tourism opportunities and quality improvement of the products and services and (2) Development of competitive tourism products - promotion/marketing actions to attract more domestic and foreign tourists.
Expertise on project Sustainable Tourism Development – Means of Cross Border Cohesion and Progress (Ref. No. CV006.1.22.122) for collecting information about established / offered tourism routes and a map of tourism services in the East Region in Republic of Macedonia; Data collection and integration in a joint online platform MK/BG; An in-depth analysis of the concentration of tourism routes and services in a particular region.
Expertise on project Produce Organic – Pack Ecologically, Interreg IPA PS. The aim of the action is to strengthen the awareness and capacities of the beneficiaries / stakeholders on the potential of becoming organic farmers and further economic and rural tourism development, creation of new business connections, new markets and networking between different relevant sectors.
Project Branding: Establishing the path to promoting and protecting local products in the cross-border region, IPA PS MK/AL; Period 2012-2013; Amount 96.000 EUR. Regional economic / tourism development, promotion of local products and brands and sustainable local production. ALKA has realized a series of activities: workshop for exchange of experiences, trainings, educational workshops for transfer of knowledge on branding of local products, regional branding, strengthening of business management, alternative tourism, management, as well as the legal framework in EU, Macedonia and Albania.
The Association for equitable development – Development Solutions (DeSo) is a young organization, founded in 2013, which combines the expertise of an experienced staff. DeSo has strong experience in online marketing, combined with experience in regional / local development, with particular focus on tourism, promotion and employment creation. DeSo has been recognized by its excellence in research and performance appraisal and technical assistance. DeSo maintains cooperation with many public and private organizations in Macedonia, the region and the EU Member States. The workshops and trainings organized by DeSo have been attended by a large number of representatives of municipalities in Macedonia, national public institutions and civil society organizations and businesses.
Relevant projects and activities:
E-Platform for cooperation and development of civil society in Macedonia. The objective of the project is to develop and promote an advanced E-platform for cooperation between CSOs in Macedonia. The project is financed by the Civica Mobilitas program (grant: EUR 50.243), which works closely with its implementing partner, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC). The E-Platform will serve the needs of the grantees of Civica Mobilitas, other CSOs and stakeholders. Users will benefit from the platform through the introduction of advanced features, including networking and coordination, calendar of activities - rich web summary, automatic self-assessment, etc. The project includes the identification of a contractor for software development, design of functionalities, assessment of the needs of CSOs and promotion of the use of the E-platform.
Development and technical support services. (Value: Approximate amount (2013-2016): EUR 30.000). The program includes regular delivery of development services and technical support to customers / users in the public and private sectors. Services include, but are not limited to, research, analysis, assessment, and training. The areas include local / regional development, employment, project management, EU funding, online marketing and promotion.
Team members from both organizations use different approaches in order to secure their long-term financial sustainability. One of the sustainability pillars of both organizations is the diversification of funds, in order to reduce dependence on one or two donors. Partner organizations have different donors: EU, international, domestic, government, local businesses and individuals.
Both organizations involve business representatives and other sectors as much as possible in their activities. This is done in order to bring them closer to the CSOs and to identify the common interest in initiating joint actions, although the underdeveloped business sector and the poor economic situation in the country, accompanied by unfavourable legislation, inhibit the development of such a partnership.
The partner organizations are also investing efforts for the introduction of a philanthropy program. These innovative concepts can act as a catalyst in the community, provide resources, and support initiatives that would have an impact on the community and would encourage the development of new organizations and programs / projects. ALKA tries its best in each of its actions to mobilize all possible human and material local resources, as well as attract financial participation of various stakeholders in achieving higher project results.
The partner organizations have already designed a set of services offered to beneficiaries and stakeholders: training modules, consulting services and technical support on various topics, rental of event rooms, organization of workshops, conferences, round tables, rental equipment, etc. ALKA and DeSo offer their trainings at market prices to the general public, but also prepare and deliver tailor-made training programs for different organizations. Delivery of training is one of the key services of the DeSo. DeSo is best known for its training programs that relate to the management of EU projects, but it also offers other popular training courses, such as project management or office management. More than 1.200 individual and 300 institutional clients have attended various training programs organized by DeSo in the past period.
ALKA and the DeSo help organizations to plan, design, prepare and implement projects funded by the EU and other multilateral, bilateral, and private donors. Both organizations have strong domestic expertise with project development adapted to the specific needs of different clients and an advanced understanding of the requirements of many different donors.
