CMPG

The mentoring support aimed at increasing openness and transparency among municipalities in the Republic of North Macedonia is ongoing. This initiative, provided by the Rural Coalition in collaboration with the Metamorphosis Foundation, supports nine municipalities across eight planning regions where the digital tool mZaednica is either being implemented or planned for implementation.
Among the first municipalities to receive this opportunity to strengthen the capacities of the municipal administration towards proactive publication of documents, improving transparency and openness, as well as overcoming current challenges, in order to encourage more informed civic participation in local decisions, are the municipalities of Kocani, Kriva Palanka, Valandovo, Aerodrom, Demir Hisar, Gostivar, Negotino, Struga, and Štip.
The mentoring is conducted online in January and February 2025, based on a methodology for strengthening the capacities of municipalities developed according to the Openness Index of local self-government, with an emphasis on systematization and prioritization of information based on the results of the Openness Index.
The mentoring is conducted online in January and February 2025, following a methodology developed to strengthen municipal capacities, based on the Openness Index. The primary focus is on systematically prioritizing information according to the latest results from the monitoring of local self-government openness, as shown in Assessment of Good Governance in Local Self-Government Units in the Republic of North Macedonia Using the Openness Index.
The ultimate goal of this activity is to train public officials who will be able to work independently on consistently improving the openness of their municipalities.

This activity is part of the project (DIGILOC) Digital transformation at local level – Engaged community for corruption resilience supported by the Government of Switzerland through Civica Mobilitas.
Partners in the project are Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society, Rural Coalition, and Center for Social Innovations Blink 42-21.

The Metamorphosis Foundation in partnership with the Rural Coalition has begun the implementation of this year’s measurement of openness of local self-government units in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The measurement of openness for all 81 local self-government units will be conducted using the Openness Index, a composite indicator that gauges the degree of institutional openness to citizens and society. It was created to assess how effectively institutions provide citizens with clear and accessible information.
To measure the degree of openness in local self-government, monitoring through the Openness Index is conducted in accordance with legal regulations, international standards, recommendations, and best practices. This evaluation is based on specific quantitative and qualitative indicators, including access to information on official websites, published data on institutional operations, public procurement, and the spending of public funds, among others.
Upon completing the openness measurement of local government units, and based on the analyzed data, the Metamorphosis Foundation will prepare a public policy document that will be shared with local government and the public, in order to help promote the openness of local government to citizens.
Additional information on the latest measurement of openness in local government units can be found in the publication Assessment of Good Governance in Local Self-Government Units in the Republic of North Macedonia Using the Openness Index.
This activity is part of the project (DIGILOC) Digital transformation at local level – Engaged community for corruption resilience supported by the Government of Switzerland through Civica Mobilitas. Partners in the project are Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society, Rural Coalition, and Center for Social Innovations Blink 42-21.