Slovenia

 NGO Programme 2009-2014

Total allocation: €26.9 million
Allocation to NGO Programme: €1.875 million

There are approximately 25,000 NGOs in Slovenia, including more than 22,500 associations, 2350 private institutes, and 250 foundations. Majority of organizations works on grass-root level. Structure of NGOs per area of work: sports and recreation (27,7%), culture and arts (13,3%), social protection (8,9%), fire safety (5,3%), tourism and community development (4,1%), environment (2,1%), law and advocacy (1,1%).

 

Positive aspects 

• Constant increase in number (2003: 15.668 NGOs, 2012: 25.056 NGOs),
• Constant spreading of services and areas of work,
• Constant increase of income (2003: 505 mio EUR, 2011: 836 mio EUR),
• Increase of public resources (nominal increase that is; share of public funding constantly remains app. at 30 %),
• Increase of involvement in provision of public services,
• Increase of volunteers,
• Increase of networking,
• Better infrastructural support,
• Increase of international cooperation.

 

Negative aspects 

• Weak support environment (see international comparison bellow),
• Weak efficiency due to low number of employees,
• Weak transparency (Transparency International's score: 5/10),
• Weak ability to generate income from economic activities,
• Dependence on public resources (consequence: project driven organisations),
• Mutual cooperation is limited (consequence: duplication of services and other activities),
• Low public image (Individual organizations are positively recognised, while the sector as a whole confronts many negative prejudices),
• Low recognition by the decision-makers.

 

NGO Programme Slovenia

The overall objective of the NGO Programme in Slovenia is to strengthen civil society development and enhance contribution to social justice, democracy and sustainable development. Proposed project proposals need to be in line with priority areas, activities and outcomes described below.

The Programme aims at:
- Supporting deficit areas (areas and activities that are underfunded in comparison to other fields of activity);
- Supporting organizational development of NGOs and ideas with the long-term perspective;
- Addressing current concrete problems in the society (e.g. youth unemployment, decrease in participatory democracy, migrant workers, increasing poverty, etc.).

 

There is 1.275.000 € available within this public call. Funds are divided between six priority areas. Project proposals need to address at least one of the priority areas. In the case of cross-cutting project proposals (projects that target more than one priority area), primary priority area needs to be selected.

 

Priority areas and division of resources:

• Democracy (191.250 EUR available under this public call) is tackling issues such as good governance and transparency, participatory democracy, anti-corruption, rule of law, etc.
• Human rights (191.250 EUR available under this public call), is addressing especially the rights of minorities and marginalized groups, such as homosexuals, Roma, etc., rights of migrants, antidiscrimination, gender equality, etc.
• Social equality (255.000 EUR available under this public call) is addressing poverty, social inclusion and activation of marginalized groups (activities that support beneficiaries in finding new sources of living, building their skills, etc.).
• Children and youth (255.000 EUR available under this public call) is tackling issues, such as youth unemployment, informal education, prevention of youth crime with the aim to support the children and youth in realizing their potential.
• Protection of environment (255.000 EUR available under this public call). Issues addressed: biodiversity, climate change, renewable sources of energy and efficient use of energy, sustainable mobility, local food production, etc.
  Provision of welfare and social rights (127.500 EUR available under this public call): social innovations (development of new services, broadening of the existing services to new beneficiaries). Project proposals should not include services that are already being provided by the public institutions or already financed by the public funds.

 

The whole NGO Programme in Slovenia is targeting 5 outcomes, which are addressed through specific activities and target groups (see chapter 5.). The programme's outcomes can only be reached if they are addressed also on the project level. Therefore, project proposals should address at least one of them. When designing project activities the applicants should also have in mind indicator used for specific outcome (e.g. if you decide to address the advocacy and watchdog role developed outcome, one of the activities could be advocating for the specific change in the legislation).

 

Bilateral partnerships: 

The Fund Operator encourages applicants to submit applications in partnership with partners from Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway). If an application is submitted in a partnership, it is necessary to append a document which confirms the establishment of the partnership, in the form of a partnership agreement. Prior to the conclusion of the project implementation agreement, a presentation of a signed partnership agreement will be required.

In order to support the process of establishing partnerships with partners from Donor States, a special fund for networking, exchange and transfer of knowledge is available to the project promoters. The fund provides an opportunity to apply for extra funding over and above the project budget, to liaise with donor state entities, and participate in seminars or conferences in donor states.

There is 16.235€ available within that fund, and simplified selection procedure is applied for receiving the funds. Project promoters have to describe the purpose of the extra funding, whom they intend to visit or with whom they intend to meet, duration and foreseen costs. The application form will be available at the time of the approval of the projects on the http://norveski.nvosklad.si/. There will be no deadline for the submission of applications, however, project promoters need to have in mind that the call will be opened until all available resources are disbursed.

FO will assess all the applications and decide about covering the costs according to the following criteria: relevance and importance of the activity for the project implementation, expected results and broader effects, and the cost-efficiency.
Maximum grant amount is 2.000€, and the grant rate is 80% of eligible costs.

Project promoters receiving the additional funding will have to consider the reporting requirements, and submit the reports about the activities and their results. They will have to prove the expenditures and provide supporting documents.

 

Programme operator:

The consortiom of two organizatios is appointed as a NGO Fund operator in Slovenia. The lead partner is REC Slovenia (The Regional Environmental Center, Country Office Slovenia) and the other partner is CNVOS (Centre for information service, co-operation and development of NGOs

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: http://norveski.nvosklad.si/

 

Launch/ Timeline

The launching event will be organized on June 19, 2013 in Ljubljana.

There will be two open calls published within NGO Fund.

In June 2013 the first open call for MEDIUM and LARGE projects, this is divided into two lots:
Lot 1 - for the medium grant from 20.001 EUR - 60.000 EUR
Lot 2 - for the large grant from 60.001 EUR - 120.000 EUR

In January 2014 the second call for proposals for the small projects (up to € 20.000) will be published for the same areas of support.

 

For more detailed information on the support to Slovenia click here