This preannouncement is relevant for non-governmental organizations as well as for commercial and public entities in Croatia.

 

Structural/IPA Funds and other EU financial resources are an extremely important source of funding available for national governments to assist the inclusion of the Roma in societies of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The Open Society Foundations plan to pursue a flagship role in connecting the objectives of the Decade of Roma Inclusion to the machinery of various European Funds. Governments should make the European funds “flow” to local governments, civil society and private sector actors, who have the capacities to contribute to the social inclusion of the Roma. The “Making the Most of EU Funds for Roma” (MtM) initiative continues to address these obstacles by complementing EU and national facilities and instruments available in Decade countries. The initiative contains several interventions and the Foundations are currently expanding its operation in Croatia with starting the implementation of the Project Generation Facility (PGF).

 

The facility focuses on giving Roma and others working for the benefit of the Roma communities’ access to the same level and quality of project design and lobbying as other IPA applicants. At the same time, it would utilize the experience and capacity of the Open Society Foundations to stimulate interest of potential beneficiaries and steer them towards projects bringing sustainable improvement for the Roma.

 

For implementation of the facility in Croatia, in March 2012, the Open Society Foundations ares going to announce a call for proposals by institutions wishing to participate in implementation of the initiative at the national level. Expected deadline for the call is late April and the successful applicants should be ready to start with the implementation by September 2012.

 

The ideal candidate would be an NGO or a consortium of NGOs and other organizations with a long-standing experience in Roma issues in general and in key sectors (employment and social inclusion, education, local economic development, municipal infrastructure) as well as in design and implementation of projects from IPA Funds with a demonstrated commitment to open society values and track record of successfully delivering complex projects.

 

In terms of eligibility, proposals can be submitted by individual organizations or consortia of organizations. Only an NGO can submit an individual proposal or be a leader of a consortium. However, public bodies1 and forprofit organizations can participate in the consortium as a junior partners if their value added and indispensability to the proposal can be shown.

 

The selected institutions would primarily serve to implement the Project Generation Facility, but could be also used for specific roles in other actions within the “Making the Most of EU Funds for Roma” Initiative.

 

The purpose of this preannouncement is to allow potential applicants to start preparing for the call for proposals, particularly with regard to formation of future consortia. For more information please visit our website at http://mtm.osi.hu.

 

Contact: Nadir Redzepi
E-mail: pgfapplications@osi.hu 

 

1 institutions and bodies of the European Community, national and local governments, governmental bodies, authorities, organizations and bodies governed by public law, and international and intergovernmental organizations