A Marketplace of Ideas 
Strengthening NGO Participation in the Fight Against Corruption 

TIRANË—On Saturday, September 30, 2006, Albanians thronged the Tirana International Hotel, the venue for Albania’s first NGO Marketplace.  In the hotel’s spacious lobby, conference rooms and ballroom, a diverse collection of Albania’s civic groups were fervently ‘selling’ corruption-fighting ideas to thousands of ‘buyers’, who in turn cast ballots for the groups with the best concepts.

“The participation at this event is really unexpected,” said Edward Landau, Mission Director of USAID/Albania, “It is an exciting and encouraging sign of the commitment of average Albanians to find ways to end corrupt practices in their country.”

The brainchild of USAID’s Rule of Law project, the Marketplace typifies the project’s nuanced approach to supporting the fight against corruption. In Albania, corruption is as much a local phenomenon as a national one. Following the publication of the USAID-sponsored Corruption in Albania 2005 Survey, the Rule of Law project organized a series of discussion sessions in 10 Albanian cities to inform local governments and communities about the survey findings. The roll-out demonstrated that different regions in Albania consider some forms of corruption as more critical, leading the project to focus at the local, grass roots level.

According to Gerald Meyerman, Chief of Party of USAID’s Rule of Law project, the right strategies to fight corruption and foster transparent and accountable governance need to be tailored to local realities and culture, by inviting community groups and NGOs to propose innovative ideas that deliver results at the local or national level.

The project’s first call for proposals resulted in submissions from 144 NGOs across Albania, of which 54 were selected to compete as finalists and exhibit proposals at the event. Twenty-five finalists were organizations from outside the capitol city, Tirana.

“From a local perspective, we hope to see cities like Gjirokaster, for example, take the lead in fighting corruption in education, Saranda in monitoring building permits, Vlora in health,” explains Meyerman.  “Such an approach builds local support for the national fight and assists in building a knowledge-base of what works and what does not.”

After installing themselves in booths throughout the hotel, the NGO participants spent the better part of the day “pitching” their concepts to the public, a panel of judges and the media.
Winners were selected by Public Voting (20%), Technical Evaluations (40%) and a Panel of Judges (40%). Public turnout was truly unexpected—at the end of the day additional support was needed to count 1500 ballots before announcing the winners. All participants received certificates of participation and 31 winners received plaques and a promise by the USAID Rule of Law program to help flesh out and subsequently receive funding. After the October 24 deadline, proposals will then be fully evaluated and processed in accordance with USAID Regulations and Grant awards.

To find solutions beyond the established channels through an open, transparent, and competitive process proved to be a unique and welcomed approach. Fifteen of the 31 pre-qualifying winners are from organizations outside of Tirana, and 17 winners are women’s organizations; increasing the level of attention and participation of lesser-known NGOs in Albania.  The Marketplace galvanized not only NGOs, but volunteers, children (courtesy of the Albanian Ballet School), and Albanians young and old to contribute to the fight against corruption.