Croatia CSI Report: Executive Summary. Downloadable in pdf [47 KB]
Croatia CSI Report: Full Report. Downloadable in pdf [786 KB]
Project Evaluation for Croatia: Executive Summary Downloadable in pdf[44KB].

Society in Croatia: Gaining trust and establishing partnerships with the state and other stakeholders

The Civil Society Index report for Croatia provides interesting findings on and recommendations for civil society in Croatia. Civil society in Croatia was seen as rather well balanced and of medium size. The structure and impact dimensions are slightly less developed and consequently include a larger number of weaknesses than the environment and values dimensions.

With regard to civil society’s structure, the lack of widespread and active membership in CSOs and the low levels of civic engagement are still key concerns. The low levels of trust, among CSOs and citizens in general, were also identified as a key concern. This is intensified with the generally negative coverage of civil society by the media, which often focuses on scandals.

CSOs were found to be concentrated in urban areas, however, a range of newly emerging corporate social responsibility initiatives are likely to provide substantial impetus for the development of civil society at the local level, even if these initiatives are often viewed as driven by companies’ public relations goals. Another positive finding is that CSOs appear more proactive and attentive than the state in meeting the needs of marginalized groups. Among the main recommendations were: the need for increased public trust in CSOs, increased networking and professionalism of CSOs, the need for new means of financial support and increased cooperation and communication between the state, the corporate sector and the civil society sector.