Romanian Business Associations Development Program (2000-2003)

Under this program, CIPE targeted three sectors- tourism, manufacturing and ICT, working with business associations and chambers of commerce towards institutional development and involvement in public policy advocacy.  The institutional development component was sustained through:

• Information: CIPE organized numerous forums, workshops and conferences on a variety of issues relative to organizational development, public policy, membership, etc.
• Volunteer Experts: CIPE provided much of its assistance through volunteer experts who worked with participating associations, providing them with counselling and expertise
• Grants: CIPE administered a grant program to provide seed funding to associations that allows them to start new programs and develop creative ideas.

CIPE assisted business associations within the target sectors in the identification of public policy issues and in the development of public policy campaigns to communicate their priorities to their membership, the public and to elected officials and regulators. As a result of this process, three coalitions were formed- Tourism for Today and Tomorrow Coalition, Tech 21 Coalition and ProGlobe Coalition, which engaged in a National Advocacy Tour and the Open Doors Campaign to gain grassroots support for their priorities.

CIPE also work with women’s associations, sponsoring two national conferences and editing the ‘Women of Success’ CD.  

Here are some of the proposals of the business support organization that CIPE worked with, implemented by the Government of Romania:

1. Development of a Regional Tourism Promotion Bureaus to be governed by a board of directors consisting of elected members as well as a representative of the Ministry of Tourism and the county council.  STATUS:  Approved by Ministry of Tourism.  First Regional Tourism Bureau initiated in Bucovina. 
2. Reduction/alleviation of the 3% special fund tax paid by tourism enterprises.  STATUS:  3% special fund tax cancelled as of June 2003.
3. Reduction/alleviation of salary taxes for software developers so as to increase employment and wages in technology career fields.  STATUS:  Approved by the Government of Romania. 
4. Support for the passage of an electronic signature law in order to initiate growth in e-commerce applications.  STATUS:  Adopted by the Government of Romania. The Tech 21 Coalition supported the measure. 
5. Passage of a law authorizing the development of private technology parks. 
6. Development of a procedure to analyze and monitor the regulations under which SMEs operate, in order to systematically reduce unnecessary bureaucratic constraints.  STATUS:  In conjunction with IRIS, the Coalitions have supported implementation of anti-bureaucracy initiatives.  These initiatives have been embraced by several ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs. 
7. Support for the passage of a Freedom of Information Act.  The Coalitions joined with strategic partners to promote passage of this act.  STATUS:  Adopted by the Government of Romania.  Norms being drafted.
8. Recommendation of thirteen specific changes to the Romanian Labor Code.  STATUS:  The recommendations, which were developed by a panel of experts after input gained from a public hearing, were submitted to the Minister of Labor.  The Minister agreed that the recommendations were appropriate and established a private sector task force to analyze specific sections of the law prior to the creation of the implementation norms.

An important outcome of this program was the creation of the Advocacy Academy in Timisoara, an independent organization which became an important resource center in public policy advocacy for the Romanian business support organizations. The Academy organizes public consultations and training programs. Some of the most important national public consultations that the Academy organized  discussed issues such as the tax on pollution for second-hand automobiles (2008), the uninominal vote system (2007), the Law on Employers’ Associations (2007),  the Law on the Romanian Intelligence Service (2006), the draft law concerning the interdiction of the former communist leaders and bureaucrats to occupy public positions in the administrative and governing structures (2006), the Law on Companies (2006), the Pharmacy Law (2005), and the necessity of having a lobby law (2005).


Click here to see more pictures from the events organized during this program.
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