Experiences of Polish and Hungarian CSOs in the Policymaking Process Shared in Budva, MNE

May 12-13, 2017 – A two-day regional training CSO Participation in the Policymaking: Experiences from Poland and Hungary was held in Budva, Montenegro. The training, which was organised by CEP, gathered member organisations of the TEN network, partners from Poland and Hungary, as well as a representative of Regional School of Public Administration – ReSPA . Participants had the opportunity to gain knowledge and insights into the features of Poland’s and Hungary’s policymaking systems, practical considerations and experiences of CSO involvement in the policymaking, as well as other good practices regarding the participation of civil society in these countries. The training was interactive and provided the platform for discussion and sharing opinions among the participants.

Mr Maciej Kolczyński, the expert at IDEA foundation from Poland, talked about the policymaking practices and CSO participation in Poland, presenting the Citizens for Democracy case. He explained that CSOs in Poland suffer from adhoc, project-based funding which threatens their sustainability and influence.

Mr Andrew Cartwright, Research Fellow at the Center for Policy Studies of the CEU, introduced participants into the Hungary’s policymaking system and gave insights into the best practice examples of involvement of Hungarian CSOs in policymaking processes. Among other experiences, he shared that the NUTS transformation in Hungary was artificial and made a negative impact on the CSOs cooperation and capacities to influence policymaking.

The training was part of the project Raising capacities and advocacy potential towards the more substantive involvement of CSOs of V4 and WB6, implemented by the TEN network and supported by the Visegrad fund.