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Description
In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, NGOs, especially those activating in social area, are facing a difficult situation: the demand for social services increased substantially, the available resources are diminishing due to economic crisis, while the economic and social environment is more and more unpredictable. Under the pressure of responding to varied and urgent needs of their beneficiaries, the NGOs are often focusing all their needs and resources towards the services they provide, while neglecting the internal process, respectively those efforts targeting the capacity of the organization.
The project will develop the capacity of Filantropia Federation (as a support structure) and of 5 member NGOs, providers of social services, to become sustainable and to have a strong impact in the communities they serve. Along a period of 24 months, the selected organizations will benefit of participatory in depth assessment of capacity building needs, coaching and mentoring in the areas of governance, management, public communication and financial sustainability; exchange of experience in the field of organizational development.
The outcomes of the project will be documented by the 5 targeted NGOs and the Filantropia Federation, providing an understanding of the organisational experience as a process of consolidating the sustainability, organisational learning and adaptation to a changing environment. 5 NGOs will be better prepared to adapt to the economic, social and medical context. Filantropia Federation will enhance its capacity to provide direct and long term support to other less experienced nongovernmental organizations, at national level, by developing a structured program of capacity building.
The projects is implemented in partnership with Alternative Sociale Association and CBNRM Networking from Norway.
Summary of project results
The project meets the need of increasing the efficiency, sustainability and impact in community, according to the vision and mission undertaken, of 5 NGOs members of Federation Filantropia, as well of the Federation itself, as a support structure. The goal was to develop the capacity of Federation Filantropia (FF) and of 5 member NGOs to become sustainable and to have a strong impact in the communities they serve.
Through the use of the PIA (Participatory Institutional Analysis) Organizational Development Needs Assessment tool, the project provided consultancy and mentoring in the strategic planning of the 6 organizations, revision of organizational documents, improvement of the functionality of their Board of Directors and General Assembly, strengthening the collaboration with partners: the Association Alternative Sociale Iasi (AAS) and CBNRM Networking Norway, on the topics of ethics in social services and organizational management.
Five Organizational Manuals, elaborated through the consultancy process, the tool for monitoring, evaluation and supervision in social services was developed by the partner AAS, as well as communication plans, strategic partnerships and media, sets of promotional materials, improved websites of the 5 target group organizations, and resource attraction campaigns. All this was achieved on a consolidated basis through the implementation of 13 training programs, addressed to the target group organizations, of which 3 courses authorized according to the Romanian COR Code, 108 unique persons trained, 18 representatives of the Federation member organizations participating in the Organizational Monitoring and Evaluation course (supported by CBNRM), 130 persons participating in 2 best practice webinars and thematic groups.
Summary of bilateral results
The CRESC project was implemented in partnership with CBNRM Networking Norway, an institution with extensive experience in the field of social services and organizational development. During the implementation period of the project, the involvement of the Norwegian partner in the activities consisted of: making and supporting the presentation at the Fr. CRESC, from Nov.2021, participation in the Project Conclusion Conference, from Oct.2023. active involvement in the preparation of the organizational evaluation process of the 5 NGOs in the target group, through participation in an online workshop, which aimed to discuss and establish the capacity building needs assessment tool, which was subsequently applied in the capacity building evaluation process, in the 6 beneficiary NGOs. Due to the expertise of the Norwegian partner, it was concluded that it is more appropriate to use the PIA (Participatory Institutional Analysis) tool, by reference to the target group for a higher impact of the capacity building process; involvement in the development of training documents and delivery of the course "Organizational Monitoring and Evaluation" held by Mr. Lars Soeftestad, the legal representative of CBNRM Norway, who have improved their knowledge and skills in monitoring and evaluation. The collaboration with the Norwegian partner was a good one, promptly responding to the requests from the Promoter, in order to make a good impact. and runs has been active in the project.