Description
Low income, discrimination, lack of active ageing opportunities, decent and adapted housing, health care services are just some of the problems third age people experience every day. Thus, it’s mandatory that third age becomes a priority on the public agenda. In this context, our project aims to increase the advocacy role of The National Federation of Pensioners’ Mutual Help House Associations in Romania - Omenia, by 137 member associations and more than 1.400.000 individual pensioner members. The main goal of the project is to build the capacity of the Federation’s leadership in the area of efficient advocacy activities, increasing the level of information in advocacy process for member organizations, public authorities, and NGOs which were invited to take part in debates. In the final stage of the project, the Federation will develop an advocacy strategy, in a participative process, and an Advocacy and Management Center, with permanent activities in monitoring the advocacy agenda and organizing advocacy campaigns and events.
Summary of project results
The project represents an answer to the development needs of “OMENIA” National Federation, from the perspective of organisational capacity: it aimed to increase the involvement in developing social policies of the "Mutual Help House"-type associations, thus influencing positive legislative processes regarding elderly issues. A number of legislative problems, poor public policy development, and weak management mechanisms led to these important needs of the federation. Within the project, federation's member organisations benefited from trainings. Executive Committee members of the “OMENIA” National Federation and the Federation Secretariate developed their skills in communication, good governance and advocacy. A qualitative research that targeted the Executive Committee and a quantitative research for all the 137 member-associations of the Federation was conducted. Based on its results, an advocacy strategy that sets the priorities of the Federation was developed. Moreover, Pensioners’ Mutual Help House Association Omenia from Bucharest was evaluated in terms of organisational management, and the members of the Management and Advocacy Centre (created within the project) were trained for using the evaluation instrument. 4 public consultations were organized with representatives of local and central authorities; the main conclusions were drafted in a position paper. The Management and Advocacy Center's trained staff will accomplish the objectives of the strategy, will contribute to a better understanding of organisational needs, and will strengthen the cooperation between member organisations and public central and local authorities, which are important assets in favour of sustainability. The main outputs and results of the project are: a research involving 137 member organisations regarding the advocacy capacity of the federation, 1 report assessing the need for advocacy, 20 professionals trained, 1 institutional evaluation carried-out, 1 advocacy strategy nationally validated, a Management and Advocacy Centre with trained personnel established, a significant number of NGOs and public authorities informed and involved in debates regarding third age in Romania.
Summary of bilateral results