The fourth year of the Civil Society Support Program for Public Advocacy has begun. The program is being implemented within the project „Active Citizens - Better Society: Advocating for Cooperation and Democratic Development" in which 20 civil society organizations will be supported. The focus of this year's Support Program is cooperation of civil society with the business community, and most of the activities will be aimed at strengthening the cooperation of these actors, their advocacy initiatives and/or business sector practices and their compliance with the regulatory framework.

In the previous cycles of the Support Program, 67 civil society organizations were supported, which implemented advocacy initiatives aimed at developing local communities, promoting human and minority rights, protecting the environment, and mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through advocacy campaigns, supported organizations established a number of partnerships with other civil society organizations, citizens and the media, as well as decision-makers at the local and national levels. Thanks to these partnerships, civil society organizations influenced public authorities and contributed to the advancement number of public policies.

In order to achieve longer-term social changes, active citizens will implement advocacy initiatives in this cycle of Support Program through a new form of partnership with the business community. In today's globalized world, responsibility for the general interest and development of society is becoming mutual by the civil, public and business sectors, so initiating cross-sectoral cooperation is recognized as a desirable and innovative approach to solving social and economic problems.

The potential for cooperation between the business and civil sector in the Republic of Serbia is still at the beginning of development, and the previous BOS experience has shown that philanthropic projects are most represented when it comes to cooperation between the business and civil sectors. This fact shows that there is still a need and untapped potential for deepening this type of partnership.

The road to a successful partnership is not easy. Focus on results, commitment and faith in common values ​​and needs of business and civil sector, motivated 20 civil society organizations to show the strength of partnership between these two sectors through their advocacy initiatives, and we will see the first results at the end of the year.

The Belgrade Open School is implementing the project „Active Citizens - Better Society: Advocating for Cooperation and Democratic Development“ in partnership with the Foundation BFPE For a Responsible Society and the Balkan Research Network (BIRN) of Serbia, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Serbia.