CSR Nest Association launches the “Capacity building of small or inexperienced NGOs in South-West Oltenia, South-Muntenia and South-East Regions – NGO Incubator” project

Working towards a green, competitive, and inclusive Europe, the CSR Nest Association announces the launch of the project “Capacity building of small or inexperienced NGOs in South-West OItenia, South-Muntenia and South-East Regions – NGO Incubator”. The project is carried out by CSR Nest Association with the financial support of Active Citizens Fund Romania, a programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA Grants 2014-2021 and has received funding of 246.621,99 EURO, for a period of 21 months starting in August 2022.

The aim of the project is to increase the organisational capacity and sustainability of 10 small or inexperienced NGOs in the South-West OItenia, South-Muntenia and South-East Regions, which show an increased interest towards community involvement. The approach is the implementation of strategic organisational development measures, which include: trainings; participatory strategic planning; organisational capacity building through the development of internal organisational, evaluation and monitoring tools; strategic membership of the 10 NGOs in a federation for small or inexperienced organisations.

Capacity building of small or inexperienced NGOs in the South-West-Oltenia, South-Muntenia and South-East Regions – NGO Incubator” responds to an existing need in the Romanian NGO sector. Thus, at national level, small or inexperienced NGOs lack the financial resources and know-how to build an adequate organisational capacity. According to the “Romania Report 2017 – Non-Governmental Sector: profile, trends, challenges”, conducted by the Foundation for Civil Society Development (FDSC), in the case of small organisations, with a small number of employees and limited income, there are no organisational development strategies and no specialised departments to develop, implement or monitor strategies.

“The reality in Romania shows that in the case of small or inexperienced NGOs, it is almost always a survival strategy and the main objective is that the organisation does not disappear. In order to remain competitive and to have the strongest possible impact in the communities in which they operate, NGOs need to adapt to different social, economic or political contexts. There are several ways for NGOs to adapt to the market, one of which is to develop strategic directions for strengthening organisational capacity, embedded in a clear plan for sustainable development. In this respect, one of the most effective tools to respond as quickly as possible to the needs in the community is to go through an organisational development process, with the aim of increasing its effectiveness through planned interventions at the level of management, employees, volunteers, processes, culture and organisational structures”, says Sorin Boboc, Project Manager.

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The main activities of the project are:

• Development of tools and methodologies
• Establishing the direct beneficiaries of the project
• Training for organisational development
• Strengthening the organisational capacity of the 10 NGOs included in the project
• Development of a federation for small or inexperienced organisations

Project results include:

• 1 methodology for the selection of NGOs included in the project;
• 1 methodology for assessing the organisational needs of NGOs;
• 10 NGOs from South West Oltenia, South-Muntenia and South East regions selected in the project;
• 10 evaluation processes of the 10 NGOs included in the project;
• 7 trainings on pre-defined topics: NGO management, NGO communication, financial management, diversification of funding sources, human resources management, strategic planning, adaptation of organisations in crisis conditions;
• 3 specific training sessions tailored to the typology of each NGO;
• 50 workshops on the elaboration of the strategic development plans and organisational manual of the 10 NGOs included in the project;
• 10 websites presenting the NGOs included in the project developed and available online;
• 10 organisational manuals for each beneficiary NGO developed and owned by each NGO;
• 150 hours of online coaching and mentoring for the 10 beneficiary NGOs of the project;
• 10 fundraising campaigns developed and implemented for the 10 NGOs included in the project
• 1 best practice exchange event organised and implemented;
• 1 federation of NGOs included in the project established;
• 1 web platform of the federation developed and available online.

For more details about the project, please visit www.csrnest.ro/proiecte-in-derulare/Incubator-ONG or the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Incubator-ONG.

The Active Citizens Fund Romania programme is funded by EEA Grants 2014-2021. The overall objective of the Grants is to reduce economic and social disparities and strengthen bilateral relations between the 15 beneficiary countries and the donor countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway). The programme is managed by the consortium composed of the Civil Society Development Foundation, the Partnership Foundation, the Resource Centre for Roma Communities, the PACT Foundation and Frivillighet Norge, acting as Fund Operator designated by the FMO – Office of the EEA and Norwegian Grants Financial Mechanism. Active Citizens Fund Romania aims to strengthen civil society and active citizenship and increase the capacity of vulnerable groups. With a total allocation of €46,000,000, the programme aims to develop the long-term sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector, enhancing its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship and human rights while strengthening bilateral relations with the donor states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For more information about Active Citizens Fund Romania, please visit www.activecitizensfund.ro.

The CSR Nest Association was established in 2010 with the mission to promote social responsibility among civil society and companies and environmentally responsible behaviour, and is involved in a number of community and organisational development initiatives to create sustainable communities and contribute to the progress of civil society at national level.