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Description
The project addresses the need of the NGO sector to become a promoter of projects and initiatives that are better anchored in the budgetary processes and in the limitations imposed by a very complicated period from the economic perspective. The need of the sector to know the budgetary processes and to anchor its project proposals or advocacy initiatives in concrete elements currently benefits from a favorable framework - the Covid-19 crisis that seems to come with less money as a result of the economic crisis, but also with the orientation of European funds, especially on social and environmental topics, a context which will probably make the authorities a little more open to a dialogue, if the non-governmental partners know how to come up with concrete solutions and will not be fooled.
The project starts from this need identified directly by us through requests for support in this field that come mainly from small organizations or underserved areas (human rights, working with very vulnerable groups or geographical areas not covered), but also by observing indicators such as those in the Open Budget Survey which place the Romanian budget process very high in terms of transparency and at almost 0 in terms of participation.
We want to map vulnerable communities (geographically or by area) and their training needs in terms of understanding the budget process and their opportunities to participate in it. We want to develop the capacity of the sector to be able to substantiate and use the processes that lead to well-founded proposals, but also to succeed in communicating the actions and results in the field to a wider public. We do this by forming 40 NGOs, but also by creating a support center and support tools (including coaching) so that as many organizations as possible can have the capacity to request and receive resources for the communities they serve.
Summary of project results
The project "Development of advocacy capacity of NGOs in fiscal and budget policies" aimed at increasing the capacity of 40 organizations or civic groups from underserved geographic areas and/or from underserved thematic areas to manage and communicate effective programs and coherent advocacy activities in the field of spending public money for the communities in which they work. The need for the project was anchored in the fact that the participation rate of civil society organizations in the decision-making process/public consultations with public institutions is very low, even if the promoter has received in recent years numerous requests to support organizations in such actions.
To be able to support the increase in the capacity of governmental organizations or civic groups to be effectively involved in the field of spending public money, the Promoter carried out, within A3, a mapping and a research report on the vulnerable areas and training priorities in fiscal-budgetary policies in Romania. Then, an analysis of their training and support needs was carried out (within A4), which involved the organization of sociological consultations and interviews - in total 114 participants contributions to the needs analysis. Within A5, a virtual Center / a structured program was developed internally, within the organization, to support the organizational development of NGOs in this field. According to the Promoter, the Virtual Support Center included the creation of explanatory materials to be used to understand the way of working with public budgets in Romania and for the beneficiaries'' understanding of fiscal-budgetary rules and concepts. Also, the Center was thought of as daily support for the organizations that will ask for their support after the end of the project. The following are the results of the implementation of the activity: at least 40 coaching sessions with the supported organizations/groups; the transmission of newsletters, an analysis of the state budget for 2023, a comprehensive Guide on budgets (https://its.funky.ong/enMZB8), 11 micro-analysis materials summarizing the published guide, a Guide on local public investments (https://its.funky.ong/ensGsj), a Guide on public procurement (https://its.funky.ong/4D8QzF), a Guide on the state budget (https://its.funky.ong/ dpe2sb), a Guide on European Funds (https://its.funky.ong/lVkFtf), a Local Budget Debate Model (https://its.funky.ong/e6q7SX), a Local Budget Appeal Model (https: //its.funky.ong/zn3HAe), a Local Budget Amendment Model (https://its.funky.ong/ambl), video materials and budget analyses: regarding the PNRR Budget (https://its.funky.ong/ 8MDPav), about the "Hole" in the Romanian budget (https://its.funky.ong/cc9hKZ) and about the rectification of the Bucharest City Hall budget (https://its.funky.ong/mFf4dI). Within A6 - Organization of online and offline training - 3 one-time training sessions of 3 days each (offline) were held with 73 participants in total; two more summer school training sessions were held (in Cluj-Napoca and Murighiol), 3 days each, to deepen the knowledge assimilated in the first training. To ensure the sustainability of the project, but also its scalability in even more areas or fields, 11 multipliers (within A7) who participated in a Trainer of Trainers course were selected from among the beneficiaries who participated in the training sessions. for 3 days, in the field of budgets and the realization of some advocacy actions that also resulted: in the publication of an analysis of the local budget executions in Bistrita-Nasaud; an analysis of sanitation expenses in different cities of the country, and an analysis of selective collection; carrying out a budget analysis exercise on the use of European funds by Timisoara, Rovinari, Bistrita, and Turda; data processing regarding direct purchases from SICAP, for the "environmental protection" field; the transmission by the beneficiaries of various invitations to events of interest for NGOs; various requests for information of public interest regarding the evolution and level of collection of local taxes.
Through this project, Funky Citizens aimed to address the need of the NGO sector to become a promoter of projects and initiatives that are better anchored in the knowledge of budgetary processes and within the limits imposed by a very complicated period from the economic perspective. After the mapping of vulnerable communities, from which the selection criteria for participants emerged, four training sessions of three days each were organized. The individual support subsequently provided to the organizations that participated in the training sessions included intervention and advocacy methods on local budgets, with feedback from Funky Citizens. Subsequently, a three-day ToT was organized. At the same time, they published analyses of state and local budgets, informational materials on current issues ("the hole" in the budget), and applied guides that enable citizens to understand how budgets and public procurement work. They maintained effective and continuous communication with project beneficiaries through WhatsApp groups. The premise that there is a need for understanding and support in civil society on the topic of public budgets was confirmed through the delivery of the training sessions and subsequent support to NGOs. As a result of the training, other NGOs started initiatives of analysis or advocacy on public budgets in different areas.