How to Make a Successful Transition from External to Locally Funded Civil Society?

Some lessons from Croatia

Igor Vidaak Government of the Republic of Croatia Office for Cooperation with NGOs e-mail: igor.vidacak@uzuvrh.hr

1.Strategy for creating enabling environment for civil society development - requires strong local ownership and effective horizontal and vertical policy coordination

National strategy for creating enabling environment for CSOs local ownership

broad consensus among civil society and government representatives, about the strategic priorities in the period 2006-11 common platform that brings together different key stakeholders vital for creating conditions for sustainability of an independent and vibrant civil society basis for better cooperation among national/ international donors

Allignement and harmonization of donors in supporting the Strategy

Strategic goals alligned with EU accession requirements EU actively supported implementation of strategy basis for PHARE 2006, IPA 2008-2011 grant schemes, TACSO DECIM (donor exchange,coordination and information mechanism) in Croatia efforts in 2007-2008 Importance of coordination of national public funding for CSOs

Monitoring Strategy progress

More than 30 institutions involved in the implementation of measures Complex area need for effective vertical and horizontal coordination, consultation and monitoring mechanisms Annual reports on the Strategy implementation Important of continuous involvement of CSOs - Council for Civil Society Development monitoring progress of achieving strategic goals

Council for Civil Society Development

12 elected representatives of NGOs 1 Trade Unions 1 Employers 1 Foundations 12 appointees from state administrative bodies

1. Protection & promotion of human rights 2. Health protection & improvement of quality of life 3. Disabled persons care 4. Child care 5. Environmental protection & sustainable development 6. Social welfare 7. Youth 8. Democratization & social development 9. Culture 10. Homeland war-veterans care 11. Sports 12. Technical culture

1. Union 2. Employers Association 3. Foundation

1 Ministry of Science, Education and Sports 2. Ministry of Health and Social Welfare 3. Ministry of Culture 4. Ministry of Family, War Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity 5. Ministry of Finance 6. Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction 7. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration 8. Ministry if Administration 9. Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship 10. Office of Prime Minister of Croatia

11. Government Office for Human Rights

12. Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs

2. Structures are essential - but not substitutes (or excuse for the lack of) genuine dialogue - need for active search for inputs from CSOs and continuous opening of new entry points for dialogue with CSOs and citizens

Structures for State-CSOs dialogue 13 years of efforts

Specialised bodies: Office for Cooperation with NGOs (1998), Council for Civil Society Development (2002), National Foundation for Civil Society Development (2003) more than 100 Government advisory bodies involving around 800 representatives of CSOs 25 Parliament working committees involving more than 100 representatives of CSOs Increasing number of local charters of cooperation between CSOs and local governments

3. Sustainable funding:
transparency of funding procedures (essential for confidence building) diversification of funding mechanisms ensuring operating grants for (advocacy) CSOs do not forget small CSOs

Ensuring transparent funding of CSOs programmes and projects

Code of Good Practice, Standards and Benchmarks for the Allocation of Funding to Programs and Projects of CSOs 2007 (adopted by Croatian Parliament) Transparency of funding all data on grants awarded accessible through internet Coordination meetings/ regular training seminars for public officials at all levels Annual Info days presenting all forthcoming calls and discussing possibilities for their improvement with CSOs

Diversification of funding
Decentralised system of public funding - 20 ministries and other central government bodies providing funding for CSOs cca 70 calls for proposals each year extensive funding from regional and local government bodies (21 counties, 129 cities, 429 municipalities); National Foundation for CSD operating grants mainly for advocacy CSOs regional networks and foundations promoting philantropy at local level

Ensuring institutional support (operating grants) to CSOs

increase the level of sustainability of CSOs which contribute to the democratization and development of civil society in Croatia invest, over a three-year period, into organizational development or stabilization of the work of CSOs encourage the development of self-financing strategies of CSOs support the adoption of quality assurance mechanisms in the work of CSOs

National Foundation institutional grants - lessons learned

institutional support - very delicate issue requiring a deep understanding of CSO operations, organizational development, the donor-CSO relationship, and other issues such as financial management or governance. importance of clear objective criteria and reporting requirements special attention to conflict of interest policies to ensure transparent and fair process need for continuous evaluation of impact of institutional grants on CSO sustainability Involve CSOs in discussing criteria for institutional grants (annual consultation meetings)

Small CSOs/civic initiatives

4 regional foundations focusing on supporting small civic initiatives Importance of ensuring EU funding mechanisms for small CSOs after the accession (micro projects) Encouraging partnerships between big and small CSOs through specific CfPs /GfAs requirements Make adequate use of country system and processes Direct involvement of citizens in drafting and evaluating funding strategy