When a public contract worth millions is awarded without real competition, there is a high likelihood that accountability is lacking within the institution itself. In such cases, the pressure begins from the outside, from civil society organizations and activists who closely monitor the processes and ask the difficult questions.
In the Western Balkans, corruption is not an abstract concern. It is a lived experience. Recent data from North Macedonia and Albania illustrate how deeply corruption continues to shape public life across the region. In North Macedonia, 36.7% of citizens report being exposed to corruption pressure and 30.6% admit to having given a bribe in the past year, while two-thirds (66.6%) believe corruption cannot be significantly reduced. Comparatively, in Albania, the situation appears even more alarming, where 59% of citizens acknowledge having given a bribe, and 77% believe the current corruption situation will persist.
This picture is not drastically different in the other neighboring countries. Together, these figures reveal not only widespread exposure to corrupt practices, but a growing normalization of bribery and a dangerous level of public pessimism about reform.
Corruption is a structural problem. And structural problems require sustained, systemic responses, in most of the countries rarely existent. In such context, across the region, civil society organisations, coalitions or more often grassroot activists, challenge these negative trends.
This is exactly where SELDI’s regional role becomes essential. By combining corruption research, evidence-based analysis, and targeted support to grassroots actors, SELDI connects data with action ensuring that regional assessments of corruption risks translate into concrete accountability efforts on the ground.
On 27 February, World NGO Day reminds us that democracy depends not only on formal institutions, but on independent actors who scrutinise them. In the Western Balkans, civil society organisations serve as watchdogs, educators, and reform advocates. Through its Small Grants Program, SELDI strengthens this ecosystem of accountability by equipping local organisations with the tools and space to act.
There is a persistent assumption that confronting systemic corruption requires large budgets and sweeping interventions. Yet experience across the region through SELDI-supported initiatives, shows that targeted, flexible support can unlock concrete and measurable change.
Through the Small Grants Program, grassroots organisations have transformed modest funding into meaningful accountability action. As illustration, with the activities of one initiative in North Macedonia, 168 law students participated in specialised training on corruption risks and legal safeguards in North Macedonia, strengthening the capacity of future lawyers to recognise and challenge integrity violations. Similarly, in Kosovo, more than 110 young people engaged in screenings and discussions examining how corruption affects everyday life, public services, and trust in institutions. These efforts do more than raise awareness, they build long-term civic resistance to corrupt practices.
Small grants have also enabled structured engagement with decision-makers in the region. Civil society organisations held consultations with stakeholders and public representatives to identify integrity gaps and propose solutions. One supported project produced a strategic plan with ten concrete recommendations for reform in the education sector, creating a reference point against which institutional progress can be measured. Other initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro facilitated working group meetings and stakeholder roundtables that placed anti-corruption concerns directly within policy conversations rather than outside them.
The impact of these initiatives may not always make headlines. But accountability rarely emerges from a single dramatic intervention. It grows through sustained pressure, informed dialogue, and public scrutiny. Each consultation increases expectations of transparency. Each recommendation clarifies reform priorities. Each engaged citizen raises the political cost of corruption.
In contexts where almost half of citizens report direct involvement in bribery, and where majorities doubt corruption can be reduced, these efforts are not peripheral. They are stabilizing forces. They rebuild civic literacy, restore public debate, and increase the political cost of corrupt behavior. By reinforcing independent oversight across multiple countries, SELDI contributes to a regional layer of democratic resilience that complements institutional reform efforts. Corruption does not weaken democracies overnight. It erodes them gradually through normalization, resignation, and declining expectations.
At a time when civic space across parts of the region remains fragile and trust in institutions is uneven, supporting independent civil society is not optional. It is foundational. Monitoring of the enabling environment for civil society development show that, despite legal protections, organizations continuously face bureaucratic obstacles, unstable public funding, and political pressures, which restrict their independence and role in democratic processes. Without continuous oversight and civic engagement, even well-designed reforms risk stagnation. World NGO day is therefore more than a celebration. It is a reminder of where democratic resilience truly begins. Through its regional monitoring and targeted support to grassroots actors, SELDI will continue to strengthen the accountability infrastructure that democratic systems require.
In the Western Balkans, the path toward stronger rule of law will depend not only on policies adopted, but on accountability sustained. And often, that sustainability begins with a small but strategic investment in those who are willing to ask difficult questions, and persist until answers are given.
