September 2008 – NACAB General Assembly

For NACAB, the year of 2008 was a defining one with regards to the organizational development of the Citizen Advice Bureaux (CABs). This idea was also taken into account on the occasion of NACAB General Assembly, on September 2008. The NACAB GA was organized under the project NetworCAB – Development of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, financed by the European Commission.

At the General Assembly, the NACAB members took into account both the activities of the successful CABs within the network and the activities of those CABs that did not meet the minimum standards for functioning due to last years’ financial constraints. The topic of CAB sustainability was discussed after a thorough evaluation of the services offered by each CAB. Following the GA, 9 members (CAB supporting NGOs) were withdrawn the membership status within NACAB. Moreover, in order to enhance the network’s efficiency, the NACAB members established new functioning standards for the CABs, new criteria for accepting and expelling members from NACAB, as well as new strategic directions for the National Association. A well-debated subject within the GA was the establishment, at the level of NACAB Executive Secretariat, of a Public Policy Department. The idea is rooted in members’ wishes for NACAB to involve in advocacy campaigns with regards to changes in policy both at the local level and at the national level. The project would need to be rooted in CABs’ direct relation with citizens and their problems/needs. NACAB members all agreed that the network of CABs reached the level of development in which it could develop on the statistically significant cases from citizens, turning them into issues on the Romanian public agenda. NACAB has both the potential and capability to act as an actor in influencing the public policy making, both at the local level and at the national level.