STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES FOR CIVIL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN BULGARIA

Abstract

Seventeen years after Bulgaria's accession to the European Union is an appropriate period to assess the changes that have taken place in the civil sector and to highlight the current problems of its development. This is the research task of the study. In addition to the analytical part, a strategic framework and a model for supporting the development of CSOs have been developed. Despite positive changes, the main findings of the analysis are that there is a lag in the sustainability of the third sector: the territorial distribution of CSOs is highly uneven, and there is a lack of state policy for interaction with the sector. Two strategic alternatives are outlined. One is to maintain existing trends and adopt a position dealing with unimportant current and prospective issues; the other alternative has a purpose to concentrate on helping to solve important current societal problems and, to a greater extent, prospective ones.