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Norway invests in Western Balkans security and stability
3 MILLION EUR AWARDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 33 PROJECTS
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to invest funds in the development and security of six Western Balkan countries, with special emphasis on stronger impact of civil society in areas of security and stability as well as good governance. SMART Balkans especially encourages regional cooperation and focuses on important topics in the sector through regional projects, conferences, study visits, online talks and networking with diaspora. Since 2022, SMART Balkans project is implemented, through which funding is provided for civil society organizations, media, and informal groups. Within this four-year-long project, 450 grants will be awarded in total amount of 14,5 million EUR.
Even though project offers support through seven types of grants, adopted for different aspects of civil society work, it is important to mention that SMART Balkans awards Core grants as well. Core grant is type of support that each organization in Western Balkan region dreams about, since it presents core support to organization, directed towards results in community and strengthening internal structures of organization in order for it to be relevant and strong voice of target groups, due to which it is established in the first place. “– said Dajana Cvjetković, Project Manager.
Beginning of 2023 was marked with contract signing for 33 grants, out of which 9 Regional grants have been awarded in total amount of 1,692,000 EUR and 24 Core grants in total amount of 1,234,000 EUR. 365 applications were received through public call, of which 234 were for Core grants and 122 for Regional grants. This clearly presents need and will of organizations to act more strategically, in line with mission and results-oriented focus, but also to have institutional strengthening, much needed in time when degradation and shrinking of space for civil society in all 6 countries is presented.
List of organizations that were awarded with grants is available on web page www.smartbalkansproject.org.
Public calls for new grants in all 6 countries are currently open, for organizations that work on national level, local organizations, media and creative groups. Support for more than 110 projects are planned, in total amount of 2,8 million EUR. Deadline for submission of project proposals via Grants Management Platform is February 15, 2023.
„Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through SMART Balkans project, offered us trust, as local consortium, not only in terms of project and financial managements, but also in terms of methodology implementation for strengthening capacities and role of civil society organizations and award of Core grants as the most challenging process in grant scheme. With this approach, donor showed its dedication to indeed work systematically, brave, and essentially on civil society development, that is necessary for stable, peaceful and sustainable region. On the other side, we as a consortium are honored that donor has recognized our values: transparency, local ownership, professionalism, and integrity, that we will incorporate in each project segment. “ said Cvjetković.
SMART Balkans – Civil Society for Shared Society in the Western Balkans is a four-year regional project that in region of Western Balkans is implemented by consortium, led by Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with partners Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Albania and Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) from North Macedonia. Project objective is strengthening participative democracies and Euro-Atlantic integrations in Western Balkans through empowerment of civil society organizations and networks, for stronger and more active role in creation of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Project is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with more than 17 million EUR.
Contacts for press statements and media appearances:
- Dajana Cvjetković, SMART Balkans Project Manager, CPCD, BiH and MNE [email protected] +387 61438577
- Kledia Lika, Project Coordinator for Albania and Kosovo, IDM [email protected] +355 684092099
- Aleksandar Cekov, Project Coordinator for North Macedonia and Serbia, CRPM [email protected] +389 72 702 995
Press releases in local languages can be found at the following links:
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Kosovo Albanian Language
- Kosovo Serbian Language
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Serbia
Contracts signed with CORE grantees from N. Macedonia and Serbia
On January 25, 2023, we awarded eight CORE Grants to civil society organizations from N. Macedonia and Serbia within the project SMART Balkans – Civil society for shared society in the Western Balkans, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The awarded grants will be implemented in the following 24 months, which will strengthen the selected organizations’ internal capabilities and their pivotal role in society through advocacy and direct influence on the community.
Our grantees will tackle issues under the project’s main thematic areas, security and stability and good governance, specifically gender issues, human rights, digital rights, civil society development, democracy, and spatial and urban planning.
CSOs that received CORE Grants:
North Macedonia
- HOPS – Healthy Options Project Skopje / ХОПС – Опции за здрав живот Скопје (765,000.00 NOK)
- Local Community Development Foundation Shtip / Фондација за развој на локалната заедница Штип (414,120.00 NOK)
- Organization of women of municipality Sveti Nikole / Здружение Организација на жените на општина Свети Николе (306,000.00 NOK)
- Humanitarian Association for Help and Support of People with Special Needs “Bravura Cooperativa“ – Delchevo / Хуманитарното Здружение за помош и поддршка на лицата со посебни потреби „Бравура Кооператива“ – Делчево (306,000.00 NOK)
Serbia
- SHARE Foundation / SHARE Fondacija (816,000.00 NOK)
- Institute for Urban Politics / Institut za urbane politike (612,000.00 NOK)
- Women’s Rights organisation FemPlatz / Udruženje građanki FemPlatz (550,800.00 NOK)
- Tok21 (408,000.00 NOK)
Congratulations! We look forward to seeing the achievements and the impact of these projects.
Info session for applicants from Montenegro was held
Today, an info session was held on the current public calls of the SMART Balkans project for applicants from Montenegro. The session was attended by over 80 representatives of organizations interested in awarding grants in the categories of National Initiatives, Local Initiatives, Creative Box and Media.
The SMART Balkans project manager and program manager of the Center for the Promotion of Civil Society, Dajana Cvjetković, addressed those present who presented the project, partner organizations, and CPCD. What is essential to emphasize are the values of the SMART Balkans project, i.e., transparency, professionalism, and local ownership. We want to pay special attention to local ownership, which does not mean that local organizations implement projects at the local level but that organizations that apply for projects should be able to adapt their project ideas to their missions and visions and not exclusively to the goals stated in public calls.
The SMART Balkans project is set up to respond to four expected results, and by the end of the project, it is planned to contribute to a stronger, more sustainable, and more active civil society. One of the results we are expecting is a more developed and stronger regional partnership between civil society organizations in the Western Balkan region, partners from the European Union, and the public sector. Then the increased effectiveness of the influence of citizens on changes through civil society organizations, not only the number of participation in decision-making processes but the proper recognition of the work of civil society organizations. Another of the expected results is increased public awareness of the importance of active participation of civil society in development initiatives in the Western Balkans region.
We want to see these four results or primary goals as a contribution to Euro-Atlantic integration and the strengthening of a living democracy that is adapted to the specific needs of our region and countries. Edisa Adžović, grant officer of the SMART Balkans project, presented the Grant Management platform to the organization’s representatives, designed to provide its users with all the necessary information regarding grants within the SMART Balkans project.
After the presentation of the GMP platform and four current public calls, there were many interesting questions from representatives of organizations interested in applying for new projects, which made us especially happy. The questions and answers of the info session for applicants from all six countries of the Western Balkans will be published on February 3 on our website.
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Contracts signed with CORE grantees for Albania and Kosovo
We are pleased to inform you that we signed the contracts with the selected organizations of the first round of applications for Core Grants in Albania and Kosovo.
What is CORE grant?
Core grant, in addition to financial support, offers organizations the opportunity to improve the capacities of the organization and staff through customized training and mentoring support, to multiply their strategic influence and be one step closer to the organization’s sustainability. This approach frees CSOs from the pressure created by short-term financing of projects. It enables CSOs to focus on the priorities of users while at the same time following their mission and working towards the achievement of defined goals. Therefore, this type of grant is intended for civil society organizations that make a significant impact in the areas of security, stability, and governance and have the potential for an even more substantial impact on the community.
The expected period of support through the core grant is 24 months. Core grants will financially support the work of civil society organizations for two consecutive fiscal years. Core grants provide general financial support for CSOs that operate and have an impact in one or both of the following areas:
- Security and stability
- Governance
The awarded organizations of the public call for Core Grants from Albania are:
- Qëndra Psiko Sociale Vartra, with an approved budget of 80.000 EUR;
- Qëndresa Qytetare, with an approved budget of 65.000 EUR;
- Qendra Sociale në Ndihmë të Njerëzve në Nevojë, with approved budget of 30.000 EUR.
The awarded organizations from Kosovo are:
- Democracy for Development with an approved budget of 80.000 EUR;
- Group for Legal and Political Studies with an approved budget of 50.000 EUR;
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies with an approved budget of 50.000 EUR;
- Platforma Civikos with an approved budget of 30.000 EUR;
- Center for Equaliy and Liberty for the LGBT Community in Kosovo, with an approved budget of 30.000 EUR
We are excited to start the two-year cooperation with the winning organizations of this first public call. We encourage all organizations that did receive a grant within this public call, to apply to the other public calls that the SMART Balkans project will publish soon.
Contracts signed with CORE gratees for B&H and Montenegro
We are happy to share that the contract signing ceremony with the CORE grantees for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro was held on December 28th!
What is CORE grant?
Core grant, in addition to financial support, offers organizations the opportunity to improve the capacities of the organization and staff through customized training and mentoring support, to multiply their strategic influence and be one step closer to the organization’s sustainability. This approach frees CSOs from the pressure created by short-term financing of projects. It enables CSOs to focus on the priorities of users while at the same time following their mission and working towards the achievement of defined goals. Therefore, this type of grant is intended for civil society organizations that make a significant impact in the areas of security, stability, and governance and have the potential for an even more substantial impact on the community.
The expected period of support through the core grant is 24 months. Core grants will financially support the work of civil society organizations for two consecutive fiscal years. Core grants are intended for CSOs that have made an important impact in the areas of security, stability, and/or governance and have the potential for an even more significant impact in the community.
Core grants provide general financial support for CSOs that operate and have an impact in one or both of the following areas:
- Security and stability
- Management
Who are CORE grantees?
From Bosnia and Herzegovina:
- Centar za informativnu dekontaminaciju mladih with approved budget of 100,000 EUR
- Association for addiction prevention NAKRKO-NE with an approved budget of 50,000 EUR
- Tuzla Open Center with an approved budget of 30,000 EUR
- Fondacija Centar za zastupanje građanskih interesa with an approved budget of 30,000 EUR
- Vijeće mladih FBiH with an approved budget of 30,000 EUR
From Montenegro:
- Center for civic education with an approved budget of 100,000 EUR
- Center for democratic transition with an approved budget of 50,000 EUR
- Association Spectra with an approved budget of 30,000 EUR
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AD HOC SUPPORT
SMART Balkans Project, funded by the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is implemented by a consortium of organizations: Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD) from Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Lead Applicant, in partnership with Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) from North Macedonia, and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Albania.
SMART Balkans project, through specialized Ad Hoc grants, is providing support for civil society organizations, informal citizens groups, and media outlets in dealing with emergency issues that could not be predicted and require immediate intervention.
Ad Hoc grants are available throughout the year, more flexible, with simplified and accelerated review procedure to ensure timely response to the individual need.
Ad Hoc grants are planned for unforeseen interventions for events that may occur but do not necessarily fall under/belong to any of the other granting categories. This grant represents support for initiatives that respond to unexpected urgent events or events with limited timing of implementation. The maximum amount of an individual grant is EUR 5,000. The size of the grant will be determined based on the proposed activity, the applicant’s capacity for the absorption of financial resources, and the limits of the total fund for this grant line.
The purpose of this grant type is NOT to support activities that could be planned/predicted in advance.
Ad hoc support needs to be in line with the SMART Balkans objectives.
The overall objective of the Project is to contribute to strengthening participatory democracies and Euro-Atlantic integrations in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society organizations and CSO networks for a stronger and more active role in creating peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development in Albania, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
Specific objectives of the SMART Balkans project are:
- Stronger, more sustainable, and vibrant CSOs in the six countries of the Western Balkans region
- Developed strong regional partnerships between civil society organizations from the region of the Western Balkans themselves and with their EU counterparts and public authorities
- Increased effectiveness of citizen influencing change through CSOs that advances Security and Stability and Governance in the Western Balkans region
- Increased awareness of public on importance of active participation of civil society in major development initiatives in the region of Western Balkans
Civil society organization must be registered on Grants Management platform which can be found on following link Grant management platform (smartbalkansproject.org)
The information available on local languages are below:
Newsletter October 2022
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