IDM Albania - SMART Balkans

Democracy for Development (D4D)

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Democracy for Development’s mission is to influence the development of public policy in order to accelerate socio-economic development, improve governance, and strengthen democratic culture in Kosovo. D4D promotes an active and educated citizenry that both fully participates in the public space and utilises the public arena of representation and decision-making to deliberate and build consensus over smart, efficient, and sustainable resource allocation as well as equitable development. As a general objective that D4D contributes to the strengthening of democratic culture in Kosovo through influencing socio-economic policies, promoting good governance practices and field-based research that informs the public interest in Kosovo.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

D4D is a think-tank which primarily aims at decision-makers. In this aspect, if D4D identifies a sector that is performing below the desired optimum, it identifies bottlenecks and provides evidence as to why another decision would be better. Targeted advocacy then uses these arguments to convince a particular decision maker why pursuing a different course in the public interest would also benefit them. Therefore, D4D’s strategy is to work with the media and other influential actors in parallel with targeted advocacy. This dualistic approach tries to balance a close (but not too close) relationship with decision makers, to gain sufficient trust, but also to act in the public interest. In addition to decision makers and the media, D4D targets a number of other profiles.

Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies is an independent policy research centre dedicated to security sector development and reform in Kosovo and the Western Balkans. KCSS aims to promote the development of the security sector in Kosovo and the region, while also strengthening democratic oversight of the security sector through the formulation, implementation, monitoring and security policy reform, promoting cooperation between civil society and public institutions with special focus on the security sector, justice, and rule of law, and enhancing the voice of civil society towards peace-building policies. Through its research and advocacy work, KCSS has covered a wide range of security-related issues, including security sector development and reform, identifying and analyzing security-related risks stemming from terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime, women’s role in the security sector, foreign policy and challenges in regional cooperation, and emerging threats such as disinformation, cyberthreats and safeguarding of critical infrastructure.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

The primary beneficiary of KCSS’ work in the scope of the SMART Balkans project are public institutions and executive agencies that are directly involved in policymaking and management of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure sectors. These include the MoI, MoD, the Kosovo Police, the to-be-established Cybersecurity Agency within the MoD and the Division for Critical Infrastructure within the MoI, among others. These public stakeholders will benefit from KCSS’ research-based expertise which will be primarily focused on needs assessment and monitoring. Ultimately, KCSS will contribute towards improving the capabilities of the above-mentioned institutions to better respond to challenges related to cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and disinformation.

Group for Legal and Political Studies

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit public policy organization based in Prishtina, Kosovo. GLPS mission is to conduct credible policy research in the fields of politics, law and economics and to push forward policy solutions that address the failures and/or tackle the problems in the said policy fields. By providing solutions based on continued research and advocacy, the GLPS tends to provide continuous expertise to support the further democratic development of the country in terms of substantive reforms and institutional sustainability, to strengthen the rule of law and the performance of justice institutions through sustainable reforms, support economic development by promoting strategies that promote growth and economic stability in the country, support regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations, and finally, to directly support Kosovo’s efforts towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

The main beneficiary of this core grant support is the organization. In addition, other beneficiaries include GLPS constituents, institutional stakeholders, civil society, youth, media and citizens at large, with particular focus on underrepresented groups of the society in Kosovo.

KCSS: How can we leverage from European practices to enhance critical infrastructure identification in Kosovo?

In an era of rapid technological advancement, safeguarding critical infrastructure (CI) has become a matter of utmost concern for nations across the globe. The European Union (EU) defines critical infrastructure as threats to citizens’ security and well-being. Strategically located in the Balkan region, Kosovo faces the all-important task of identifying and securing its critical infrastructure assets. Drawing insights from diverse methodologies, legislative frameworks,
and collaborative strategies adopted throughout Europe, Kosovo aims to secure its critical infrastructure protection (CIP). While Kosovo has regulated some aspects of its CI through sector-specific laws, the dedicated Law on Critical Infrastructure (LCI) was enacted in March 2018. This law defines critical national infrastructure, establishes criteria for identifying European critical infrastructure (ECI), outlines risk assessment and management procedures, and assigns roles and responsibilities for security coordination in this sector. Despite its promising intent, the LCI has faced challenges in the implementation process due to political crises, the pandemic, and government negligence. Efforts to implement the LCI have gained traction in recent years, with steps taken to establish a dedicated Division for Critical Infrastructure (DCI) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA). Harmonizing with evolving European legislation, particularly the EU-NIS Directive 2, poses an additional challenge. It advocates for accelerating LCI implementation and draws from European best practices to guide the identification and protection of critical infrastructure in Kosovo. Given Kosovo’s sensitivity to both natural and man-made hazards, including floods, earthquakes, and security risks, fortifying CI resilience is vital. Key provisions of the LCI mandate the development of operator security plans and the appointment of security coordinators. The limited resources of the newly formed DCI raise concerns about its operational capacity. International financial assistance, especially from the EU, is crucial to ensure effective protection measures. The EU’s emphasis on safeguarding CI aligns with Kosovo’s aim, and support in implementing the LCI can foster regional and European security collaboration. In comparison to international models, Kosovo’s CI sector remains in its inception phase. The identification of key sectors, alignment with European directives, and the need for cross-border protection reflect shared challenges. Successful frameworks from countries like the UK, Sweden, and EU member states can inform Kosovo’s strategy to enhance CIP. Strengthening CIP in Kosovo demands a proactive implementation of the LCI, informed by international best practices. This effort aligns with the EU’s commitment to secure CI resilience and contribute to regional security. By prioritizing CIP, Kosovo can bolster its national security, public safety, and overall societal well-being.

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ALTERNATIVNA

Description and purpose of the project: This initiative aims to establish cooperation between professional journalists and activists of different ethnicities (Serbian, Albanian, Bosnian, Roma, Goran and Turkish) dedicated to fair and professional information in Kosovo. Focusing on person-to-person communication as a more efficient form of operation, development of joint workshops in order to raise capacities and identify areas of deepening cooperation, realization of common information content, as a prerequisite to achieve cooperation between of organizations as legal entities whose purpose is to fight against ethnically based disinformation, as a means of security threat.

Target Group and main beneficiaries: Kosovo-Albanian journalists and media activists, Kosovo-Serbian journalists and media activists, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian journalists and media activists, Gorani and Turk journalists and media activists, the general public, the professional public, and decision-makers.

Institute for Strategic Development event meeting

Yesterday, the SMART Balkans team was present at the School as Community Center “Koli Sako”, in Divjaka, to closely follow the works of the Institute for Strategic Development, which is supported by the local grant mechanism. The Institute for Strategic Development is implementing the initiative “Increasing the empowerment and role of young people in the decision-making process at the local level” directly targeting the Local Youth Council (LYC) in the Divjak Municipality as well as administration employees who are responsible for youth issues. After the establishment of LYC Divjak, the Institute for Strategic Development has assisted the Municipality of Divjak in the standardization of LYC and the drafting of regulatory and procedural acts that will serve for the good functioning and transparency of the latter. The meeting took place in the form of a focus group, where following the plan of developed activities, the young participants were consulted on the regulatory package and the translation of Law 75/2019 On Youth” in the local level. Part of the meeting were not only members of LYC, but also students part of the school senate as well as young people engaged in social and cultural activities. The added value of this meeting was the presence of the public administration officials with a focus on youth, education, employment and socio-cultural life. In her speech, Mrs. Erisa Proko, Executive Director at the Institute for Strategic Development, said that investing in young generations is a fundamental pillar in creating a favorable climate for sustainable development of the city. She emphasized that the role of LYC should be conceived as a wider role in society, where communication with the community and advocacy at the Divjaka Municipality should be at the core of their work. Mrs. Proko, expressed her willingness to further support LYC Divjakë, where in addition to standardization and technical and legal assistance, she emphasized the further need to increase the capacities of KVR members and properly inform other young people, as potential candidates. for further. Mrs. Manuela Kolonjari, responsible at the Directorate of European Integration and Foreign AID, said that this initiative was iniciated from the need of the Municipality and the members of LYC, since the latter is a new but very important body in the Local Development Plan. Mrs. Enxhi Lipa, Grants Officer at SMART Balkans, said that investing in young people should be a continuous work that requires the will and investment of many parties to have tangible results that improve the lives of young people in the Municipality of Divjaka and administrative areas. She emphasized that this initiative is a very good example that materializes the mission and objectives of the local grant mechanism as part of the SMART Balkans initiative.

Qendresa Qytetare

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Main goal is that through advocacy, efficient civil society coordination, representation, and strengthened capacities, to contribute to the local, national, and regional development agenda.
More specifically, the strategic orientation of the organization is related to:
Enhance activism and knowledge management efforts targeted at fostering an atmosphere that would enable better responses to universal access to public education.
Enhance the effectiveness of the SDGs localization process for the organization’s partners and members through training in educational, anti-corruption and climate change.
Enhance the QQ ability to coordinate and network among its members.

Beneficiaries and target groups:
Young people and students will be taking trainings and strengthening their will to start taking advocating initiatives to ask for accountability from public institutions.

Activists and informal groups will be able to use the organization space, consulting and capacities to mobilize and organize their activities in the good of their causes.
Citizens will have a place to articulate their problems, the lack of information given by institutions, consequences of bad governance, and several violations of human rights.
QQ will exist as an organization whose main focus is to protect the causes of the vulnerable and unheard citizens.

Vatra Psycho-Social Center

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation
“Vatra” Psycho-Social Center aims at preventing trafficking in human beings, domestic and gender-based violence and social-economic empowerment of victims of these phenomena, by:
• Preventing trafficking in human beings, violence, and sexual abuse;
• Identification of victims and potential victims of human trafficking through outreach work
• Rehabilitation and reintegration services for victims of human trafficking, sexual abuse, and violence;
• Capacity building for representatives of local government institutions and other NGOs
• Lobbying and advocacy for improvement of Albanian legislation and policies

Beneficiaries and target groups:
Victims of human trafficking/ Victims of domestic violence and other forms of Gender-Based Violence; Children and other families’ members of beneficiaries, benefiting direct reintegration assistance. Youth of schools; community members and public in general, benefiting knowledge and information to prevent human trafficking and gender based violence. State and non-state employees of institutions that work on anti-trafficking field benefiting capacity building on legislation, policies and best practices to assist with professionalism and dignity victims and their children;

Association “Social Center for Helping People in Need” Fushë-Arrëz (QSNNN).

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Qendra Sociale për Ndihmë të Njerëzve në Nevojë is oriented at the promotion of economic and social opportunities for marginalized populations in the mountain regions of northern Albania which have been left behind by the economic transformations of the past years. Organization have two focuses – on education and empowerment of youth, especially girls, to advance entrepreneurship and new business models based on local opportunities; and on reducing and alleviating poverty in rural areas. QSNNN address these issues from the viewpoint of promoting European values and the integration of northern Albania into the broader European community.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

The immediate target group of this effort will be QSNNN staff, QSNNN members, and the local community in Puka, Fushe-Arrez, Lezha, and Malesisa se Madhe regions. These groups will benefit indirectly from improved organizational capacity and directly from the provision of trainings, the organization of workshops, the empowerment of civil society, and increased awareness of security and stability provided by European integration. We intend to offer trainings covering four chapters of integration which have the most immediate relevance to the socioeconomic conditions of these regions: Chapter 11 – Agriculture and Rural Development; Chapter 12 – Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy; Chapter 15 – Energy; and Chapter 27 – Environment and Climate Change.

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Call for experts for Albania: Development of the curricula in the field of financial management of civil society organizations | Deadline 6 October 2023

Call for experts

Development of the curricula in the field of financial management of civil society organizations

Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) is a non-profit organization that provides expertise, political analysis, applied scientific research, and capacity building for key social actors to promote reforms and engagement in evidence-based policy processes. IDM has issued a call for participation in a tender for experts to undertake the “Development of the curriculum in the field of financial management of civil society organizations” This call aims to contract expert for the development of this curricula in accordance with the specifications outlined in the ToR.

In the application email, you should attach all the documentation listed below:

Annex 1– Financial proposal of the bidder, in Albanian Lek, inclusive of prices for the listed service.
All additional costs related to the service provision should be included in the above-mentioned prices.
The unit price in the financial proposal should specify that VAT is included.
The proposed prices should be valid for the entire contract duration.
The price in the financial proposal must specify that all relevant legal obligations are included.
Curriculum vitae.
Statement of interest (explain how you meet the call requirements and reference relevant experiences).

The evaluation of applications will be conducted according to the following methodology:

CV and/or applicants experience – 60%
Financial proposal – 40%

Can apply individuals or groups of experts.

All interested applicants are invited to submit their application to the email address [email protected] with the subject “Application Smart Balkans – Development of three tutorial videos” by October 6, 2023, at 17:00.