ACF – Slovakia: Seeking Proposals to Increase Citizen Participation in Civic Activities

Deadline: 22 January 2019

The Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia programme is seeking proposals from eligible applicants to Increase Citizen Participation in Civic Activities.

The overall objective of the ACF programme is ‘Civil society and active citizenship strengthened and vulnerable groups empowered’.

The social activity and interest of citizens in the state, regions and their communities is an essential part of a functioning democracy. By promoting public participation in decision-making and engaging citizens in civil society activities, the ACF – Slovakia aims to increase confidence in democratic institutions and promote public discussion on phenomena that influence development of the society.

The ACF – Slovakia will focus on improving the conditions where the public has an opportunity to engage in public debate to enhance its participation in decision-making. The programme will improve the conditions for civic participation through support for organizations, web tools, platforms and workgroups, but will also enable renovation or improvement of physical spaces (community centres, cultural centres etc.) that serve the long-term purpose of civil participation.

Funding Information

The financial allocation in this call for proposals is 420,000 €.
The minimum and maximum grant amount per grant shall be as follows: 30,000 € – 65,000 €.
The duration of projects in this call for proposals must be as follows: 12 – 18 months.

Eligible Applicants

Applicants eligible to carry out and implement projects are non-governmental organisations (NGOs). An NGO is a legal entity in the Slovak Republic, having a non-commercial purpose, independent of local, regional and central government, public entities, political parties and commercial organisations. NGOs are voluntary in nature, formed voluntarily by groups or individuals and usually involving an element of voluntary participation in the organisation.
An eligible applicant is registered in the Slovak Republic in one of the following categories:
- Civic Association according the Act No. 83/1990 Coll. on the Association of Citizens;
- Foundation according the Act No. 34/2002 Coll. on Foundations;
- Non-profit Organisation Providing Public Beneficial Services according the Act No. 83/1990 Coll.
- Non-investment Fund according the Act No. 34/2002 Coll. on Non-investment Funds;
- Non-profit Organisation according the Act No. 116/85 Coll. on terms for activities of organisations with international aspect;
- Association of Legal Entities under the Act No. 40/1964 Coll. on Civil Code;
- Slovak Red Cross under the Act No. 460/2007 Coll. on the Slovak Red Cross.
Political parties, religious organisations, social partners, profit distributing cooperatives, informal and ad-hoc groups and individuals are not eligible applicants.
Organizations that have not recovered amounts due, following a final court decision in connection with the NGO Programmes 2009 – 2014 in Slovakia, shall not be considered eligible applicants and/or project partners.

Eligible Project Partners

Projects may be implemented in partnership with project partners. Project partners share a common economic or social goal with the project promoter, which is to be realized through the implementation of the project. The purpose of creating a partnership is to ensure close co-operation between different types of organizations with different experience in solving the issues in the field. Project partners shall be actively involved in and effectively contributing to the implementation of the project.
The following entities are eligible to be project partners:
- Any public or private entity, commercial or non-commercial, as well as non-governmental organisations established as a legal person either in the donor states (donor project partnership), beneficiary states or a country outside the European Economic Area that has a common border with Slovakia;
- Any international organisation or body or agency thereof;
- Informal, ad hoc and self-help organisations (including grassroots organisations) that are not registered legal entities in the beneficiary state (informal groups). Such organisations must however meet the requirements that they are not for personal profit, act for public good, are voluntary and non-discriminatory in nature, independent of local, regional and national government and other public authorities, and are independent of political parties, religious institutions and commercial organisations. These informal groups shall be represented by one single person, who signs the project partnership agreement on behalf of the group. An informal group cannot not be a direct recipient of the project grant.
Legal entities based according to the Commercial Code are eligible project partners, but they cannot receive financial contribution from the Programme.
Applicants may participate in the partnership with up to two other partners.
Further requirements for partners´ participation in the project:
- participation of project partners is irreplaceable, without partnership it would not be possible to implement the project properly and meet its goals;
- partnership normally involves financial transactions, where the partner is awarded a financial compensation for realisation of activities in the project;
- cooperation is not be that of supplier – customer relationship.
In case of a project planned in partnership, the Partnership Declaration (Annex No. 3a, respectively 3b) is a mandatory attachment to the project application.