Description
The project addresses the need to boost the NGO capacity to overcome the barriers to civil involvement in public policy-making. The project aims at boosting the NGO capacity via a set of e-tools for monitoring and participation, 2 online platforms and 3 trainings to work with information. First, the needs of NGOs will be mapped. Second, NGO staff and active citizens will attend 3 workshops on using the existing online mechanisms for monitoring and advocacy, the social media, open source systems (WordPress) and creating own blogs and websites. Third, the platform Signali.bg will be created to enable NGOs to have access to monitoring. Fourth, the website of BlueLink.net will be upgraded. Finally, the 2 platforms will be discussed and tested at a forum. BlueLink’s Free Electron Award will be also awarded at the forum. The project will benefit the NGO sector, young activists and the public. The 2 partners will be involved with their expertise via IT experts and volunteers in the project.
Summary of project results
The available electronic mechanisms for participation of citizens and NGOs are hardly used due to a number of challenges. The project of BlueLink Foundation developed a mechanism for facilitated intuitive access to institutional websites and tools that are otherwise homogeneous and diverse in terms of logic and design and difficult to access and use. The project made a step to overcoming the passive attitude of citizens and their feeling of inaccessible institutions that has developed over decades. Three workshops were organized under the project for active citizens and NGO members to learn how to use web tools for monitoring, advocacy and influence over public policies. 50 participants were trained. Four training materials were developed for that purpose about the use of social networks, WordPress, guidance to signali.bg and guidance for creating web content. The participants created more than 30 study WordPress websites. Signali.bg was set up. This is an online platform for alerts, feedback and/or information submitted to institutions, companies and NGOs. The social network portal for Bulgarian NGOs and active citizens BlueLink.net was reorganized. The Time for Action 2016 Forum focused on civil society engagement mechanisms tools and the project outcomes, the platform signali.bg in particular, were officially presented. Online streaming was conducted and 260 more people could take part. In addition, the platform was tested interactively with the participation of the Forum visitors. Next, a report on the mechanism for civil society participation was drafted. 5 short videos were prepared under the project. The videos presented each of the nominations for Free Electron 2015 Award. Most of the participants in the workshops, working discussions and the users of the new e-tools (signali.bg) are NGO members and young people. In addition, volunteers and members of organizations involved in volunteering were trained. Representatives of Roma organizations, people at risk of poverty and representatives of local communities were included. All of them raised their capacity and acquired practical skills for work with the e-tools. Investigative journalists and people who sent alerts about corruption were informed and consulted under the project. The overall impact from the project results will be evaluated in the long run through monitoring of the number of users of the e-tools created for civil society participation.
Summary of bilateral results