Deadline: 31-Jul-23
The SMART Balkans Project announces a Second Public Call for Core Grants Applications, for applicants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia as beneficiary countries of the SMART Balkans Project form a geographical region in which these countries have political, social, cultural and historical ties.
Strengthening the capacity of CSOs in the region, through improving cooperation between civil society and the government and through building regional partnerships at all levels in order to increase the influence that citizens have in decision-making processes will contribute to the desired change in the creation of peaceful and inclusive communities in the Western Balkans that will promote sustainable development in their societies.
The SMART Balkan project seeks to reduce the gap between all actors of civil society and encourage civil society organizations to return and/or maintain their focus of action that is in line with the organization’s basic mission through the tool for funding actions – Core grant.
Objectives
- Overall objective of the Project is to contribute to strengthening participatory democracies and Euro Atlantic integrations in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society organizations and CSO networks for stronger and active role in creating peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
- Specific objectives of the SMART Balkans project are:
- Stronger, more sustainable, and vibrant CSOs in the six countries of the Western Balkans region
- Developed strong regional partnerships between civil society organizations from the region of the Western Balkans themselves and with their EU counterparts and public authorities
- Increased effectiveness of citizen influencing change through CSOs that advances Security and Stability and Governance in the Western Balkans region
- Increased awareness of public on importance of active participation of civil society in major development initiatives in the region of Western Balkans.
Thematic Areas
- Through core grants, funding will be offered to civil society organizations, The applicant must be registered on the GMP2 Grants Management Platform accompanied by capacity building as needed, to enable CSOs to promote and work with their policy agendas, independent of donor priorities and focus on fulfilling their mission and serving the groups that are the object of their work. This will make it possible for them to break away from dependence on international organizations, which increase funds and human resources, and increasingly use CSOs as service providers at the local level. Organizations receiving support will have to work and have an impact in at least one of two main areas: Security and Stability or Governance and have the potential to increase their impact.
Areas
- Core Grants will provide funding for projects related to two main areas:
- Security and Stability
- Governance
- Safety and stability
- Management
Funding Information
- Each grant will have a value between NOK 306,000 and NOK 1,020,000 (approximately EUR 30,000-100,000 in total for the entire support period).
- Duration: The period of support for organizations will be 24 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible to apply for grants, the applicant must:
- be a legal person and
- be non-profit and
- be a civil society organization (CSO) working in one or more important thematic areas defined in this Call for Applications, excluding political and religious organizations, as well as local branches of international organizations and
- to be created in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia
- have at least 3 years of experience in the fields defined in this call and
- be mainly oriented towards advocacy.
For more information, visit Core Grants.