Regional Program of Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD2)

Deadline: 08-Apr-24

The Gacko Municipality in Partnership with the United Nations Development Program announces public call for civil society organizations/non-governmental organizations to submit project proposals as part of the project Regional Program of Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD2).

The subject of the Public Call is to strengthen partnership relations between civil society organizations and LGUs by building awareness of the usefulness of mutual cooperation and encouraging sustainable dialogue, all with the aim of providing better services to the local community. The activity is carried out as part of the ReLOaD2 project, financed by the European Union (EU), and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in six countries of the region, namely: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia.

The overall goal of the project is to strengthen participatory democracy and EU integration in the Western Balkans, by empowering civil society and encouraging young people to actively participate in the decision-making process, as well as improving the stimulating legal and financial environment for civil society.

The specific goal of the project is to strengthen partnerships between local authorities and civil society in the Western Balkans, by expanding the successful model of transparent project financing of CSOs (LOD methodology) from the budget of local self-government units, aimed at greater civic participation and youth participation in decision-making processes and improvement of service provision in local communities.

The general goal of this call is to further strengthen partnership relations between civil society organizations and LGUs by building awareness of the usefulness of mutual cooperation and encouraging sustainable dialogue, all with the aim of providing better services to the local community.

Thematic Areas

The following thematic areas were prioritized within the framework of the public call:
- Social Politics
  - Projects that increase the social inclusion of people with developmental disabilities;
  - Projects that work to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities;
  - Projects that encourage the improvement of knowledge and skills on the labor market, especially for categories of the population that are difficult to find employment, with a special emphasis on women;
  - Projects that encourage new services for the elderly and socially vulnerable categories of the population;
- Culture
  - Improving the quality and availability of cultural content for all categories of the population through the promotion of various forms of culture, art, cultural and artistic amateurism and volunteerism;
  - Projects that contribute to encouraging the cultural and creative creativity of young people;
- Sports
  - Support for projects that encourage the development of sports content for children and young people in an innovative way;
  - Projects that affirm amateur sports with an emphasis on people from socially excluded categories of the population;
- The Young
  - Improvement of healthy lifestyles and activities for quality leisure time;
  - Supporting projects that encourage youth activism and respond to the needs of young people, offering new and innovative content for young people;
  - Projects that include empowering young people for peer teaching activities or solidarity towards young people who do not have equal conditions for personal development (development of volunteerism in the field of informal education);
  - Support for projects aimed at education and prevention of diseases among young people (e.g. sexual education, reproductive health, addiction diseases, etc.);
  - Organization of various entertainment, cultural and artistic content for young people (film screenings, theater performances, street festivals, creative workshops, fun get-togethers and the like);
- Rural Development
  - Projects that help improve the quality of life in rural areas through improving the knowledge and skills of the population in rural areas with a focus on typical products of this region;
- Protection of the Environment
  - Projects that promote environmental protection and environmental protection with civic volunteerism and activism;
  - Projects that contribute to the creation of educational and recreational content in the field of environmental protection for the entire population.

Funding Information

The value of project proposals to be awarded under this call must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- minimum amount: 10,000.00KM
- maximum amount: 50,000.00 KM
One civil society organization can submit several project proposals within one or more public calls, with the maximum monetary amount of funds that can be allocated for the implementation of projects to one civil society organization during the total duration of the ReLOaD2 project being KM 120,000.00.

Duration

The duration of projects can be from 5 (five) to 7 (seven) months, in the period from May 2024 to November 2024.

Location

Projects must be implemented exclusively in the territory of the municipality of Gacko and for the residents of the municipality of Gacko. In exceptional cases, it is allowed to carry out certain activities on the territory of another LGU if there are objective reasons for this, which are stated in the project proposal.

Eligibility Criteria

Participation in this public call is open, on equal grounds, to all formally registered CSOs (association/association or foundation), in accordance with the applicable legal regulations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In order to apply for the public call, applicants must:
- be a formally registered CSO in accordance with applicable legal regulations (association/association or foundation).
Potential applicants cannot participate in the call or receive grants if they do not submit a signed and scanned statement of eligibility with the project proposal.
This public call is not open to branches of foreign and international associations, foundations and other non-profit organizations registered and operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Applicants will be excluded from participation in the call or from the awarding of grants if, at the time of the call for submission of project proposals, they are:
- subjects of conflict of interest (e.g. employees of partner LGUs who at the same time hold executive or management roles in CSOs);
- provided false information or failed to provide necessary information;
- tried to obtain confidential information, influenced the evaluation committee or the authorized party for contracts during the evaluation process of the call for submission of project proposals.
Applicants can apply independently or in partnership with other civil society organizations/non-governmental organizations.