New normal – challenges and opportunities for NGOs

Description

The project "New normal - Challenges and Opportunities for NGOs" aims to ensure sustainable and consistent development of the NGO sector, adapting to new realities and enabling high-quality and full involvement and participation of NGO representatives in decision-making processes from the very beginning at all stages. The target group of the project is representatives of NGOs (employees, volunteers, members of management bodies), state politicians (elected / appointed) and representatives of the public sector (civil servants, employees of state institutions and bodies, managers and employees of state or municipal enterprises).

The project aims to (1) ensure equal and consistent (involvement) cooperation of NGOs with authorities and institutions and (2) strengthen weak civil society organizations in order to increase civic participation in society and (3) seek opportunities to ensure sustainable and long-term funding for NGOs.

The project activities directly and consistently contribute to the main objectives of the ACF program and seek to sustainably strengthen civil society, enable it to play a more active and responsible role by strengthening civil society representation, advocacy and common values - freedom, respect for human dignity and rights, democracy, equality, the rule of law, responding to a zero waste culture, a green course, etc. Particular attention will be paid to activating organizations operating in the regions by strengthening their capacities and skills.

Summary of project results

The goal of the project "New reality - challenges and opportunities for NGOs" is to ensure sustainable and consistent empowerment of the NGO sector, strengthening skills and activities that would help to adapt to new realities created by COVID ("new normal") and to enable high-quality and full-fledged involvement and participation of NGO representatives in decision-making processes from the first stages.
The project "New Reality - Challenges and Opportunities for NGOs" aimed to address several challenges:

• The need for the NGO sector to adapt to the new realities created by COVID-19 ("new normal").
• The limited involvement and participation of NGOs in decision-making processes at various levels.
• The ongoing issue of sustainable financing for NGOs, which required urgent attention.

The project implemented a variety of activities:

• Capacity-building sessions were organized to improve the advocacy and communication skills of NGO representatives.
• A long-term strategy development session for the NGO Coalition was conducted.
• The project engaged NGOs in national and local decision-making processes, particularly through their participation in working groups and commissions.
• It successfully advocated for amendments to the Law on Charity and Support, enabling NGOs to receive 1.2 percent of income tax (GPM) from 2025 as an alternative source of funding.

The project had significant outcomes:

• Over 200 representatives from the NGO Coalition actively participated in working groups and commissions at the national and local levels, indicating broader and better participation of the NGO sector in governance.
• NGO representatives gained strengthened skills and were empowered to participate more effectively in decision-making processes.
• The National NGO Coalition and its members became more visible and engaged in public authorities'' supervision, ensuring greater transparency and accountability from state and local government institutions.
• The project beneficiaries were NGO representatives, civil servants, elected officials, and public sector employees, who all benefited from the enhanced participation and improved governance practices that resulted from the project''s efforts.

In summary, it can be said that the implemented project made a significant contribution to ensuring sustainable and consistent empowerment of
the NGO sector, strengthening skills and activities that helped to adapt to the new realities created by the COVID-19 ("new normal") and other
newly emerging challenges and crises, and created prerequisites for quality for the involvement and participation of NGO representatives in
decision-making processes. The supervision of public authorities carried out by NGOs was also strengthened, ensuring greater openness and
accountability of state and local government institutions and bodies to the public, continuous monitoring of measures and programs of state
institutions, relevant legal acts of NGOs and its implementation at the national and local level, proposals to be submitted, as a result of which it
became stronger and the National NGO Coalition and its members, representing the consolidated position of the NGO sector in state institutions
at the national and municipal level, became more visible and audible.