Working with associations
Providing support to associations’ initiatives has been one of the Coordination Body’s priorities for the past five years. We were among the first ones to recognize the necessity of establishing partnerships with associations. It is well-known that associations, through their projects and activities, contribute significantly to the development of society and the establishment of democratic values and that they have the ability to reach out to all sections of the population. Therefore, over the past five years, we, in partnership with the local self-governments, announced open competitions for grants for giving an incentive to their programs or to the missing part of funds to finance the programs of public interest that associations implemented in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.
The open competitions of the Coordination Body’s Office were aimed at:
- Capacity - building of the associations and civil society in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja through the implementation of the projects that are of importance to the citizens of the three municipalities;
- Creating a climate of cooperation and understanding of all ethnic communities living in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja;
- Encouragement of youth activism, implementation of youth projects and involvement of young people from Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja in societal events ;
- Cooperation and networking of associations from Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja;
- Improvement of the knowledge of NGO activists in fields relevant to civil society;
- Encouraging projects in the fields of culture (theater, film, literature, literary workshops, visual arts) and non-formal education;
- Encouraging education of the population;
- Bringing young people from Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja closer to their peers from other parts of the Republic of Serbia;
- Improving the living conditions of persons with disabilities.
Open competitions were announced pursuant to the Conclusion of the Government of the Republic of Serbia on approving the Program on funds for fostering programs or the missing parts of funds for financing the programs of public interest that the associations implemented in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. All funds for the programs and projects under this program are provided by the Law on the Budget of the Republic of Serbia. The procedure of allocating the funds was carried out by the Commission, which was established by the Director’s decision, while the Decision on the amount and allocation of the resources is adopted by the Director, at the Commission’s proposal. Representatives of the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja took part in the commission’s work.
Entitled to apply in the open competitions for associations were only those organizations that were registered in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, that were entered in the register of the competent body and that exercised their statutory objectives in one of the areas in which they implemented their programs and projects, with the objectives set out in the open competitions of the Coordination Body’s Office.
Here are the most important criteria for selection of the projects:
- Quality, originality, relevance and importance of the projects for the improvement of the situation in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja;
- The form of the budget, which guarantees feasibility and sustainability of the projects;
- Capacity to manage projects and programs through the appropriate references;
- Clearly measurable results in relation to the proposed costs, which will be defined in the Guidelines of the competitions;
- Experience in implementing projects in the areas covered by this program;
- A willingness to build partnerships with the public, the non-governmental sectors and the citizens and a degree of successfulness in implementing the project activities, if they have already received the funds for implementing projects.
Upon the Open Competition Commission’s proposal and the Director’s decisions on the allocation of funds, all the associations, to which the funds had been approved, were required to sign a contract with the Coordination Body’s Office, in which the rights and obligations of the contracting parties were strictly regulated, as well as the manner of implementating the program and reporting on the expenditures. Under the contact on the use of grant funds, the beneficiaries are obliged to repay the allocated funds to the budget of the Republic of Serbia if the funds were used improperly. The Coordination Body’s Office didn’t have any such cases in its five years of experience in the allocation of resources and implementation and control of the programs of public interest that the associations implemented in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.
DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS BY YEARS:
In 2009, the Coordination Body’s Office announced two open competitions for awarding grants to civil society and media support projects. The commission for the selection of projects included one representative from each municipality and three representatives of the Coordination Body's Office. In 2009, the Coordination Body approved 5,984,740.50 dinars for associations and media projects. A total of 21 associations and media projects were approved.
In 2010, the Coordination Body’s Office announced three open competitions for awarding grants to civil society and media support projects. The commission for the selection of projects included one representative from each municipality and three representatives of the Coordination Body's Office. In 2010, the Coordination Body approved 19, 146,035.19 dinars for associations and media projects. A total of 54 associations and media projects were supported.
In 2011, the Coordination Body’s Office announced three open competitions for awarding grants to civil society projects. The commission for the selection of projects included one representative from each municipality and three representatives of the Coordination Body's Office. In 2011, the Coordination Body approved 13,723,027.00 dinars for civil society projects. A total of 28 civil society projects were supported.
In 2012, the Coordination Body’s Office announced three open competitions for awarding grants to civil society and media support projects. The commission for the selection of projects included one representative from each municipality and three representatives of the Coordination Body's Office. The Coordination Body’s Office approved 7, 789,880.00 dinars at the three open competitions. A total of 22 civil society and media projects were supported.
In 2013, the Coordination Body’s Office announced one open competition for awarding grants to civil society projects. The commission for the selection of projects included one representative from each municipality and representatives of the Coordination Body's Office. The Coordination Body’s Office approved 698,500.00 dinars at one open competition. A total of 2 civil society projects were supported.
In the period from August 2009 to April 2013, a total of 127 associations’ and media projects from the three municipalities were supported and a total of 47, 342, 182.69 dinars were awarded.
The associations’ projects contributed significantly to the development of the three municipalities. Not wishing to single out any project, we note that, over the past five years, we supported a number of projects in the field of culture and information, sports, gender equality, youth activism, learning Serbian as a second language and connecting members of different ethnic communities living in South Serbia. The associations, with the help of the funds received in the open competitions, organized theater performances and workshops, training courses for journalists, study tours and many other activities that improved the quality of life in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.
Also, in the first week of June 2011, the Coordination Body’s Office, in partnership with the United Nations PBILD program, organized a four-day training course for representatives of non-governmental organizations from the three municipalities in South Serbia. The focus was on the organizations whose projects dealt with the solving and addressing of youth issues.
The training was aimed at strengthening the capacity and improving the knowledge and skills of youth organizations working on the projects in the field of cultural and educational policy and minority and gender rights. One part of the training was devoted to the topics of project cycle, teamwork and team roles.
What is an association?
Under the Law on Associations (hereinafter referred to as the Law), an association is a voluntary, non-governmental and non-profit organization based on the freedom of associating of several natural or legal persons, established for the purpose of achieving and improving certain common or general goals and interests, which aren’t prohibited by the Constitution or the Law. One of the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms is the freedom of association. This freedom is a legal guarantee for connecting of several people, which results in an association.
LINK: TRAINING COURSES FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF CIVIL SOCIETY