FoRS projects

The FoRS platform is a partner of several projects, which are the tools of fullfilling its mission and goals.

Fostering Global Responsibility: Building a Development Policy Knowledge Network to Enhance NGO Public Outreach Initiatives in EU New Member States

Leading organisations: CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research (Poland), ODI – Overseas Development Institute (UK)
Partners and associates: FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Co-operation (Czech Republic), HAND – Hungarian Association of NGOs for Development and Humanitarian Aid (Hungary), Zagranica Group – Association of Polish NGOs working abroad (Poland), MVRO – Slovak NGDO Platform (Slovakia), developing country partners (CASE Kyrgyzstan, CASE Moldova, CASE Transcaucasus, and ODI partners in Latin-America and Africa)
Grant: European Commission
Amount: 387,000 EUR  
Period: 30 month project (2007-2010)

This project intends to foster new linkages among non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) and leading development think tanks in old and new EU Member States as well as among their respective developing country partner networks. This serves several aims: greater understanding of development challenges, greater public support in New Member States for development cooperation and poverty reduction efforts, and a more strategic and evidence-informed policy dialogue and engagement on international development issues in EU policy forums.

The project activities include an inception workshop, a project website, the publication of policy briefs, and a series of 8 roundtable meetings. FoRS hosted the second roundtable in Prague in January 2009. Furthermore, a survey was carried out among NGDOs in the 4 New Member States involved in the project (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) providing insight in the real needs of NGDOs, the NGDO sector and the political context in these countries. The results of this survey are available here in a report. There is also a report focusing only on the Czech NGDO sector by means of a secondary analysis of the existing survey data. The full report for the Czech Republic is available here; the executive summary can be found here. 

Starting Up Policy Activities of the Czech NGDO Platform

Leading organisation: FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Cooperation
Partners: BOND – British Overseas NGOs for Development (UK), Dóchas – association of Irish Non-Governmental Development Organisations (Ireland)
Grant: Presidency Fund
Amount: 44,796 EUR
Period: one year project, started January 2008 (project has been prolonged until June 2009)

This project aims at starting up FoRS policy activities in order to foster the active participation of Czech NGDOs in development policy work on national and European level, thus supporting a stronger contribution by the Czech Republic and the EU towards the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

One of the main activities of this project is the establishment of the position of FoRS Policy Officer as well as a policy working group. Furthermore, it focuses on setting up a structure for FoRS policy work (including the formulation of a policy strategy and the creation of a set of policy tools) and conducting policy work at Czech and European level.

Development Aid Watch in New Member States

Leading organisation: Polish Green Network
Partners: FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Co-operation (Czech Republic), Slovak NGDO Platform MVRO
Grant: European Commission
Amount: 5 134 EUR (FoRS)
Period: 2008

This project intends to support civil society groups in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for monitoring and awareness raising aimed at transparent and effective Official Development Aid (ODA). A workshop was the initial step for cooperation and common monitoring activities undertaken by civil society workers from the three countries.

The main output for the Czech Republic is the Aid Watch report on the Czech ODA for the year 2007, “How the Czech Republic Helps”. The report has been published in Czech and has about 30 pages; an executive summary of the report is available in Czech and English. The report was officially launched on 12 November 2008 during the parliamentary debate “The Czech Republic and new impulses for the international development” held in the premises of the Czech Parliament. The report was furthermore presented to a wider range of journalists and media during a press conference on 17 December 2008 in the presence of Jan Kohout, the Czech Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for development cooperation.

You can find the executive summary of the Aid Watch report in English here. The full version of the report is only available in Czech (you can download it here).

FoRS project for the Czech EU Presidency: Civil Society Organisations Development Effectiveness

Leading organisation: FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Co-operation
Partners and associates: ADRA, Development Worldwide, EDUCON, Multicultural Centre Prague, People in Need, Prague Global Policy Institute – Glopolis
Grant: European Commission (Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development)
Amount: 240,000 EUR
Period: 12 month project (October 2008 – September 2009)

The overall objective of the project is to contribute towards effective EU development co-operation through engagement of civil society and enhanced public and political support. More specifically, the project aims at formulating and sharing principles on development effectiveness in civil society organisations (CSO) practice and to promote these towards public and political stakeholders in the context of the Czech EU Presidency from January till June 2009.

The activities of the project focus on the CSO development effectiveness process and principles and on capacity building and networking related to some specific development topics, by means of information exchange, expert seminars, conferences and studies. Furthermore, attention is being given to advocacy actions, awareness raising and media activities.

More detailed information on this project can be found here.

 

Helpdesk platform and support to New Member State (NMS) non-state actors and local authorities in the development sector

Leading organisation: punto.sud (Italy)
Partners and associates: FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Co-operation (Czech Republic), Hungarian Baptist Aid (Hungary), APEL SERVICE (Romania), People in Peril (Slovakia), Caritas Poland (Poland), Support To Life (Turkey)
Grant: European Commission (Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development), cofinacing provided by the Czech Ministry o Foreign Affairs.
Amount: 289,566 EUR
Period: 24 month project (2009-2011)

The project intends to strengthen the capacity of non-state actors and local authorities (including networks and platforms involving NMS organisations) in developing multi-actor partnerships and in dealing with the EU institutions. A major emphasis is on solving the problem of poor access to key information related to EuropeAid projects.

Main activities include the design of a website specialised in EuropeAid programme support in order to better target NMS organisations needs, and the preparation of guidelines for EuropeAid programmes. Furthermore, a permanent punto.sud team (the so-called helpdesk) will be established for delivering day to day support to the target organisations. A number of trainings will be organised for NMS organisations on how to develop consortia, plan the participation to a Call for Proposals and manage EC funded projects. Also, hands-on monitoring will be delivered to a selection of 20 projects of NMS organisations in order to increase the current capacity of these organisations to plan and manage EC funded development projects.

More information about the helpdesk can be found in the project leaflet.

If your organization/ local institution is interested in support offered by the assistance team or in other activities of the "EuropeAid Helpdesk platform", please fill out this questionnaire. Explanatory note for the questionnaire can be found here. The questionnaire will give assistance team more information about your experience with projects funded by the EuropeAid and about your concrete necessities.  Please, send the questionnaire to Marie Zazvorkova marie.zazvorkova(add)fors.cz