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 CSF are civil society organizations engaged in initiatives aiming at empowering groups and individuals that have been marginalized and excluded from the public realm.

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.

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.

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.

Examples of items and activities that are usually not eligible include 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.

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 or Croatian should be sent by post with Civil Society Fund mark by May 07, 2011 to:

The World Bank Croatia Country Office
Radnicka cesta 80/IX
10000 Zagreb
or by e-mail: mbalenovic@worldbank.org