The Project Generation Facility - Making the most of EU Funding for Roma - managed by the OSI-LGI

THE RPA/KAI CONSORTIUM WORK WITH ROMA COMMUNITIES

 

For the Hungarian non-profit, non-governmental organizations the biggest challenge is to what extent they will be capable of applying for EU funds, and, additionally, to what extent they will be able to develop organizationally and professionally. According to the research, the operability, organization, institutional capacity of the Hungarian non-governmental organizations is unstable, which is further intensified by the financial vulnerability of the organizations. The stability of the organizations is often questionable from the organizational point of view as well. In view of these factors, only part of the organizations has, due to their organizational development and management capacity, become capable of implementing projects and of having ongoing operation.

As regards Roma organizations, these problems are increasingly present. The Roma civic sector is significantly weaker in terms of human resources, organizational capacity, management knowledge, sectoral (employment, education, social services) expertise. 

In the current system of provision of support, project-financing prevails to the detriment of operational core-funding. As a result, frequently organizations, due to a lack of project financing, cease to exist or stagnate, and, similarly, a balanced provision of human resource and infrastructural background for an organization’s operation has virtually become impossible. Moreover in the most underdeveloped regions there are civic organizations  as such in the Roma communities.

The EU founded projects require an appropriate organizational development, knowledge of project management also acquaintances with professional expertise and financial management. Our project will provide them a mentoring from the planning of the project until the implementation. According to their organizational development  we will offer them a specific tailored training which enable them to implement all kinds of projects. 

Since the initiative for partnerships on the part of Roma organizations is low, in the course of the programme our aim will be for them to reach the inter-sectoral cooperation (including in the partnership the business world, the state, self-governmental and non-governmental organizations as well).

The strategic planning of Roma organizations is also weak, based exclusively on submitting ad-hoc applications. The EU applications are programmatic and allow for several years’ of planning, which was missing from the Hungarian practice. Therefore, this change is indeed a significant positive aspect of the future finance ability of the field. In the course of the programme, due to the trainings, Roma organizations will not only acquire the short-term and mid-term, but also the long-term strategic planning knowledge.  

Overarching aim of our program is to initiate a local participatory strategic planning and project generation with strong involvement of the Roma communities, to create an environment where local economic and social developments are promoted.  

· The aim is to activate and encourage the local Roma communities- where necessary establish formal organizations- to become an actor to initiate a social and economic change in the community.        

· Our project aim to capacitate local Roma NGOs to access and implement projects which are founded by EU structural funds or any other foreign/national agency.

· Moreover, our aim is to facilitate Roma NGOs to cooperate with various key local and regional actors such as the local authorities, regional state representatives, private agencies and other NGOs.

Based on this objectives and concerns we started to work in five settlements in the North-Hungarian Region which are the following: Heves, Szikszó, Gadna, Beret, Kovácsvágás.