WEBecon membership is determined and governed by a set of general principles, which align with its mission, objectives and functionality. The network is established and organized on voluntary basis with all members having equal rights, obligations, and responsibilities. WEBecon is originally constructed as a closed group constituted by six organizations, representing all countries of the region.
Each member of WEBecon adheres to the joint vision, mission, and values of the network. As a rule, members of WEBecon are think-tank non-profit organizations registered and based in the Western Balkans who work on social and economic development. The network’s focus is in three general thematic areas: Growth and EU Integration, Labor Markets & Migration, and Development Policies. Members must have substantial experience in applying rigorous economic methods, producing evidence based on data, and well-positioning and influencing the policy debates in their own country, in these areas. Their engagement should be reflected in their activities and projects portfolio, but also in their organization statute and their public profile.
Members need to be well-established organizations (5+ years of experience) and have a good reputation and visibility in their country (or region), being very active in the public sphere. They must demonstrate continuous collaboration and interaction with relevant domestic stakeholders of the network, such as public institutions and agencies, policy makers, the private sector and their associations, academia, civil society, international organizations, development agencies, donors, etc.
All organizations that are part of WEBecon must have good management and professional staff, as well as orderly and transparent financial documents. Members need to ensure high level research skills, credible image of its experts at the national level, and specialized thematic focus. Experience at regional level is mostly welcomed. Members need to have had previous cooperation experience with at least one other member of the network. In case a member decides to leave the network, a new member is invited after the other members will agree on replacing it with another organization from that particular country, which will need to fulfill the abovementioned criteria and comply with all the membership rules of the network.