Civil Society Fund 2009

Available in: English/Hrvatski

About the Program

The Civil Society Fund (formerly known as the Small Grants Program) of the World Bank aims to make development more inclusive and equitable by empowering citizens to have greater ownership of development processes.

The World Bank is pleased to announce the Civil Society Fund for 2009 in Croatia. The total amount of grant money this year is $45,000. The deadline for applications is March 13, 2009.

The amount of the grants awarded will be in the range of US$3,000 to US$7,000.

The Civil Society Fund (CSF) supports activities whose primary objective is civic engagement in support of activities that empower and enable citizens to take initiatives to enhance and influence development outcomes.  Activities strengthen mechanisms for inclusion, accountability, and participation. Activities also strengthen partnerships with public sector, other civil society organizations, and the private sector. The activities to be funded by the CSF could also facilitate the empowerment of citizens to have greater ownership of development processes, thus making them more inclusive and equitable. The CSF, created in 1983, continues to promote dialogue and dissemination of information about development in forums outside the World Bank's regular operations.

We also want to support dissemination of the information on the above mentioned themes as well as on entrepreneurial opportunities, development of skills which can empower poor and marginalized groups, and the influence civil society and the private sector can have on decisions made by central and local authorities.

You can send your application by post to the World Bank Croatia Country Office: Radnička cesta 80/IX, 10000 Zagreb, with Civil Society Fund mark by March 13, 2009, or by e-mail: vfrajtic@worldbank.org.

Application Form for 2009

Guidelines

Before you apply please read about the Civil Society Fund:

Civil Society Fund: Questions & Answers

What is Civil Society Fund?

The program provides grants to civil society organizations to promote dialogue and disseminate information about development. The Program, funded by the Development Grant Facility, was created in 1983.

The Civil Society Fund provides grants to civil society organizations through participating World Bank Country Offices. To reinforce the empowerment dimension of poverty reduction, the Civil Society Fund focuses on civic engagement for the empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups. The purpose of the Civil Society Fund is to support the empowerment of citizens to have greater ownership of development processes, thereby making these processes more inclusive and equitable.

Crucial ingredients for empowerment of vulnerable groups include: access to information, access to organizational links outside the local domain, capacity to influence the public arena and to negotiate with local and national authorities, the existence of trustful national and local institutions, and the presence of enabling policy and legal frameworks for civic engagement. Civil society organizations perform a valuable role in engaging their fellow citizens in the fight against poverty and exclusion. Thus, the intended beneficiaries of the Civil Society Fund are civil society organizations engaged in initiatives aiming at empowering groups and individuals that have been marginalized and excluded from the public realm.

What Kind of Activities are Supported?

The Civil Society Fund supports activities related to civic engagement for the empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups. Civic Engagement is the process through which civil society organizations actively engage in relationships and actions with the state and other development actors to address issues of public concern.

Examples of Activities Supported by the Civil Society Fund in Croatia:

Promotion of Gender Equality: "Right to Equal Opportunities" project promoted gender agenda and the achievement of equality between men and women in matters of human rights and social justice. The grant funded a series of seminars organized in partnership with the Government Office for Gender Equality to raise awareness on gender issues, and increase capacities of all stakeholders to participate in development of operational community projects with strong gender perspective.  This led to stronger partnerships among local self-governments, NGO’s and local communities. Through the seminars the participants were educated and prepared to implement and promote gender-related policies at the local level. Capacity building resulted of local commissions for gender equality in enabling them to effectively mainstream gender issue; encouraged development of joint projects (NGO and local government), promoted gender-related policies and procedures at the local municipal level. It also helped initiate programs, which engaged local residents, with the aim to locally implement the National Policy for the Promotion on Gender Equality and Law on Gender Equality (equal opportunities on labor market, measures that will help in reducing domestic violence, health issues regarding women, childcare, and equal opportunities in political life…)

Empowering Youth: Educational workshops for young members of the Youth Council in the town of Pula were held to empower the young members to act as partners in development and agents of change in their local communities.  The Town Youth Council was founded to improve the communication and build relationship with the town authorities as to better address the needs of local youth and to constructively engage them in local policy dialogue on the issues that affect their lives. The young members of the town council gained knowledge on the topics like the functioning of the town council; national, regional and local administration; tolerance and democracy; political parties; human rights; minority rights; defining and prioritizing the needs of local community, public presentations, role of media, etc.  Thus empowered, young council members will be better positioned to influence policy making for youth inclusion -- as they say "for youth with youth". This initiative demonstrated true partnership of local government and youth NGOs since some other youth NGOs are also involved as training providers.

Improving Community Relations: The overall project goal was to encourage civic engagement and reintegration of people of different ethnic groups (domiciled population and Serb returnees in a post conflict area) through peace reconciliation, educational and conflict resolution skills building. The Suncokret - Center for Community Development serves as a catalyst of civic and social change. This community building project improved the exchange of information relevant to the community future, its participation in local development (particularly youth participation).  In order to include youth in a community development process a series of workshops is organized on youth policies/programs as to stimulate their creativity and increase their knowledge and youth networking. A resource centre with all necessary information relevant for youth development and their capacity building is in the process of being set up.

Activities should:

• Promote dialogue and dissemination of information; and
• Enhance partnerships with key players in support of the development process. Key players could include government agencies, civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundation, and private sector.
  Activities may include, but are not limited to, workshops and seminars, costs for publications or audio-visual materials, or other innovative networking efforts that small organizations generally find difficult to fund through their regular program budgets. The activity should be completed within one year of the date the grant is awarded.

Civic Engagement can…

• Promote public consensus and local ownership for reforms and for national poverty reduction and development strategies by creating knowledge-sharing networks, building common ground for understanding, encouraging public-private cooperation, and sometimes even diffusing tensions;
• Give voice to the concerns of primary and secondary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalized populations, and help ensure that their views are factored into policy and program decisions;
• Strengthen and leverage impact of development programs by providing local knowledge, identifying potential risks, targeting assistance, and expanding reach, particularly at the community level;
• Bring innovative ideas and solutions to development challenges at both the local and global levels;
• Provide professional expertise and increase capacity for effective service delivery, especially in environments with weak public sector capacity or in post-conflict situations; and
• Improve public transparency and accountability of development activities, contributing to the enabling environment for good governance.

What Kind of Activities are not Supported?

Civil Society Fund cannot fund:

• Research programs,
• Formal academic training programs,
• Operational projects,
• Ongoing institutional core support (such as equipment),
• Scholarships, fellowships, study programs, individuals applying on their own behalf, or non legal entities.
• Proposed activities should not compete with or substitute for regular World Bank instruments; the activity should be clearly distinguishable from the Bank's regular programs.

Examples of items and activities that are usually not eligible include the list below:

• Direct service delivery;
• Medical equipment, such as hospital equipment, hearing aids, crutches
• Computer equipment and installation;
• Overhead costs, such as rent, maintenance, or general office supplies;
• Workshops on training of business skills, unemployed, HIV/AIDS awareness, unless there is a primary civic engagement objective;
• Building the capacity of CSO’s so that they could become consultants/employees in Bank projects;
• Meeting basic needs, such as provision of water, heat, meals;
• Construction of facilities, such as libraries or sanitation facilities;
• Job creation or employment;
• Disease control campaigns;
• Food aid;
• Full-time salaries of, for example, the director of the NGO;
• Infrastructure projects, such as water systems, wells. 

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Who Can Apply?

• Civil society organizations based in a developing country and working on issues of development can apply for a grant.
• Civil society organizations must be in good standing and have a record of achievement in the community and record of financial probity;
• Priority will be given to organizations not supported by the Program in previous years (organizations are not eligible for more than three grants from the Small Grants Program within a five-year period).
  

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What Size of Grants are Awarded?

Most grants are in the range of $3,000 to $7,000. The Civil Society Fund rarely funds more than half of the proposed budget for an activity, and therefore prefers that its grants help leverage additional contributions from other sources. Applicant organizations are asked to describe how a grant from the World Bank might help them to raise matching funds from other donors.
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How are the Grants Awarded?

All proposals are submitted to the Civil Society Fund Committee comprised of the World Bank staff and other donors. Unfortunately, the Civil Society Fund is able to fund a limited number of proposals.
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How to Apply for a Grant?

Administration of the Civil Society Fund has been decentralized to participating World Bank Country Offices. Not all Country Offices administer the Civil Society Fund. Requests and proposals should not be sent to the World Bank Headquarters, as decisions are not made at the Headquarters.

The Civil Society Fund makes decisions only once a year. Applicant organizations should apply at least four to six months in advance of the date of the grant activity. Applicants are advised to read the criteria and the application form carefully before submitting an application to the Croatia Country Office.

Grants are awarded by a Civil Society Fund Committee, convened in the Croatia Country Office. Applications are screened and reviewed to ensure that the criteria are met. The Civil Society Fund gives prompt consideration to all proposals. The review may take up to four months to complete. Given the very large number of requests, personal visits and phone calls to the World Bank Office by the grantees are not encouraged.

Filled in forms in English and Croatian should be sent by post to the World Bank Croatia Country Office: Radnička cesta 80/IX, 10000 Zagreb, with Civil Society Fund mark by March 13, 2009, or by e-mail: vfrajtic@worldbank.org.

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