What is ORI 

ORI in Albanian

Observatory of Regional Integration (ORI) aims to establish a platform for the observation, collection of empirical data, analysis and promotion of regional integration component, in the context of cross-border, trans-national and inter-regional cooperation initiative in the Western Balkans. The completion of the first phase has seen the establishment of the methodology, of a database of circa 550 projects and of a library of main studies and publication on regional cooperation and integration in the Western Balkans.

This initiative, which is supported by the Agency for the Support of Civil Society (ASCS) and Friedrich Ebert Foundation – Tirana Office contributes to the promotion, strengthening and sustainability of the initiatives of regional cooperation carried on, not only by the civil society organizations, but also by other societal actors as well as state-related structures and institutions. By increasing the visibility, the transparency, providing appropriate information, by disseminating it via the web, and by producing factual analysis, ORI will provide very useful information to organizations seeking to enter or which are already engaged in regional activities. It will also contribute to the policy making process by making available empirical information organised by country, sector, cost, form of legal entity, etc on the state of affairs of the existing cooperation initiatives.

The collaboration between the institutions and the organizations of the Balkan region occurs at many levels; it is multi-actor, multi-sector and includes state bodies cooperation as well as simple exchanges of citizens, as well as various agencies, businesses, academy, civil society organisations, etc. The cooperation in the context of the regional integration process is promoted mainly by the European Union – the destination of all Western Balkan countries – and other donors, as a prerequisite for access to IPA funds Instrument for Pre-accession-and in bilateral assistance.

What does ORI offer

The interested partners will find in ORI a database with over 550 regional and cross-border projects where at least one partner is an Albanian institution / organization. The database is completed with studies, analysis and reports that treat regional integration in the Western Balkans.

In a first phase, this platform will serve all the interested on the status of regional integration of Albania, the progress of cooperation, the covered activities, involved donors and the impact on the ground. ORI particular objective will be promoting regional integration values in the context of the journey of Albania towards the EU.

The second objective of ORI would be to provide information on all cooperation initiatives in the Western Balkans countries, even where there are no Albanian partners involved.