Strengthening NGOs ́competencies as a way to a strong civil society

Project facts

Project promoter:
Asociace veřejně prospěšných organizací ČR(CZ)
Project Number:
CZ-ACTIVECITIZENS-0066
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€82,945
Final project cost:
€87,411
Programme:

Description

Project contributes to solving a problem of “less experienced” NGOs and their lack of capacities. In includes 17 NGOs
from various regions of Czech Republic with focus on structurally affected regions. The aim is to strengthen
transparency, management and PR of NGOs; improve public involvement, knowledge and skills of the staff. NGOs will
undergo a process analysis and set own specific goals to be achieved within the project, with support of a mentor and
experts. 14 round tables, 2 workshops and 2 project days will take part, as well as internships for NGOs ́ leaders.

Summary of project results

Smaller or less experienced NGOs do not have functional management and organizational processes, lack the necessary know-how for communication with the public and supporters, for evaluating the effectiveness of their own activities, for involving the public in the performance of the NGO''s mission. The leadership of these NGOs is often made up of experts or enthusiasts for the issues the organization addresses, but lacks competence in the areas of organizational management and external communication. 
Lack of internal capacity and effectiveness of NGOs limits the impact of their activities in the longer term. This translates into dependence on one or a few financial resources, with staff/member/volunteer turnover. The sustainability of NGOs is limited by the endurance of one key person. The public does not know, understand or trust the work of the NGO.

1) Organizing roundtables - motivating NGOs to change and selecting NGOs that participated in the project
2) Initial process analysis - the output was a report that included an analysis of the current state of the organization''s processes, specific recommendations for organizational development by the experts, and the formulation of goals/changes that each NGO team would like to achieve by the end of the project.
3) implementation of workshops and project days on topics based on the specific needs and requirements of the project participants (e.g. impact monitoring, fundrising, GDPR,...)
4) Mentoring and expert support - based on the initial process analysis, the management of each NGO had the opportunity to use consultancy and expert advice in different areas.
5) Internships in established NGOs - Staff of the organisations could complete internships with organisations that hold the reliability label. Reports were written on the internships
6) Final verification

The project aimed to strengthen the capacity of 15 small NGOs. The objectives were to be achieved through in-depth analysis and follow-up support from experts and mentors and through internships with established NGOs. At the same time, workshops and project days were prepared for the project NGOs which enabled, among other things, the mutual sharing of experiences of the organisations. 
The project was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.  However, this resulted in savings that made it possible to involve another 5 organisations in the project, for a total of 20 organisations from all regions of the Czech Republic (the Czech Republic has 14 regions). Of these 20 organisations involved in the project, 18 met the project objectives and introduced new or innovative processes into their internal processes, transparency, communication and citizen involvement.
The organization consider the project, not only the above, to be more than successful.
 

Information on the projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants is provided by the Programme and Fund Operators in the Beneficiary States, who are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of this information.