Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation Grants

Deadline: 21 August, 2012
Open to: National civil society coaltions from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain
Grant: The Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation will grant 10,000-30,000 euro per national civil society coalition. The average grant is expected to be 20,000 euro.

Description

The Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation announces a call for proposals for civil society coalitions to monitor the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies and Decade Action Plans. The call is open to civil society coalitions to monitor the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies and Decade Action Plans in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain. Total of 8 civil society coalitions will be granted.

Context of the Proposals Call

In response to the European Commission’s EU Framework of National Roma Integration Strategies, all EU Member States developed plans to improve the economic and social integration of Romani citizens. EU candidate countries participating in the Decade of Roma Inclusion developed earlier Roma inclusion strategies and action plans. The EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies explicitly calls upon Member States to design their national inclusion strategies with a view to including strong monitoring mechanisms. Furthermore, the recent communication of the European Commission urges Member States to “involve civil society, including Roma organizations, in the implementation and monitoring of the strategies.”

Purpose

The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to encourage Roma NGOs, advocacy organizations, and think tanks, with complementary capacities, to form national coalitions in order to monitor the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies and Decade Action Plans and to produce and submit shadow reports to the European Commission and the Decade Secretariat by February 2013.
In the shadow reports civil society coalitions will supplement or present alternative information to Decade Progress Reports State parties submit to the International Steering Committee and the results of their monitoring system to be shared with the European Commission.
Civil society coalitions will be supported to monitor the local implementation of strategies in the four priority areas (employment, education, housing, health), in the fields of anti discrimination, gender equality, fight against poverty, and in terms of structural requirements (such as coordination with local authorities and civil society, use of EU Funds, mainstreaming of Roma inclusion measures, adequacy of monitoring and evaluation, etc.)

For more general information please consider this document HERE.

Requirements

The coalition must have

1. a proven track record in monitoring policy implementation
2. prior engagement in Roma issues and recognition among Roma civil society actors
3. sufficient management capacities to coordinate the work
4. a lead researcher with post-graduate qualification in a relevant subject, significant research
5. experience, and good written and oral English language skills

The ideal civil society coalition comprises

1. a research institute, think tank, or other organization with proven track record of policy researchand advocacy, preferably including on Roma issues, and:
2. one or more Roma and pro-Roma NGOs with proven experience of independent national level research and advocacy; and/or:
3. grassroots Roma organizations with experience in local level implementation monitoring and research

About the grant

The Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation will grant 10,000-30,000 euro per national civil society coalition. The average grant is expected to be 20,000 euro. Maximum eight civil society coalitions will be funded in the first, pilot year of monitoring.
The duration of the project is from September 2012 to June 2013. Shadow reports are to be submitted by February 2013. Follow up advocacy may also be provided for in the proposal. It is anticipated that future calls from Open Society Foundations may provide additional opportunities for related advocacy.

Application

Applicants are encouraged to form partnerships or consortia with other organizations which may bring complementary knowledge, skills and experience in the areas of Roma inclusion, monitoring, and policy analysis. You can have the on-line application HERE.

The lead organization of the coalitions should submit:

1. Application form (please complete all fields, do not leave any sections empty, write N/A if not applicable)
2. CV of the key staff members and consultants involved in the project in all the participating organizations
3. A three-page-long summary of how the members of the coalition plan to cooperate in monitoring the implementation of strategies and action plans. Please make explicit the role of each organization in the consortium. Please discuss the methodology, research activities, timeline, list of expected outcomes, advocacy targets, potential risks and how you will address them