About the NGO Support Programme

Ever since the founding of REC in 1990, the Center has focused much of its work on the needs of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the region. The REC sees the growth of a strong, vibrant and influential environmental NGO movement as crucial to the protection of Central and Eastern Europe's environment. Following REC restructuring in mid-1999, the former grants department has expanded its support to other forms of NGO support, hence the formation of the new NGO Support Programme.

The objective of the Programme within CEE is to advance the development of civil society in the environmental field by promoting environmental protection standards and sustainable development principles in the process of transition and development.

The NGO Support Programme provides support for organisational development and activities of environmental NGOs in CEE as important components of civil society, primarily through various "Support Tools": financial resources, access to information and capacity building assistance. The Programme also assists NGOs in roles pertinent to regional processes affecting the environment, such as: EU Accession, Environment for Europe and the REReP.

The REC's view on the role of civil society

Among other things, a "civil society" performs the following essential functions:

advancing democracy, pluralism and diversity in society under the rule of law;
promoting and enforcing transparency and accountability in government and the economy;
creating alternative institutions for serving public needs;
improving decision-making by more efficiently representing public and private interests; and
serving as a link between individuals, governments and the marketplace.

What we do

The REC provides support for organisational development and activities of environmental non-governmental organisations in CEE as an important point of civil society, primarily through financial resources, access to information and capacity-building assistance. Activities include:

providing of regional, national, local and topic-specific grants to a number of donors;
capacity-building programmes (i.e. Training for Young Environmental Leaders);
promoting NGO participation in environmental decision-making (within the REC's Public Participation Programme);
researching new support mechanisms for NGOs (i.e. Sustainable NGO Financing);
promoting the strengths of environmental NGOs to other stakeholders and facilitation or dialogue between sectors; and
free access to REC information resources.

How we do it

The REC has an entire range of activities designed specifically for NGOs. Some projects that comprise the programme have a established pedigree, while others are quite new. The REC constantly adapts its programmes to changing constituent needs and new methods of support. The following projects currently comprise the main activities of the NGO Support Programme:

Grant-giving (financial support to NGOs)

Small (local) grants to fledgling NGOs: supporting small-scale projects, these grants do not exceed EUR 5,000 per NGO per year. The grants are administered locally in national languages;
Medium (national) grants: addressing issues of nation-wide importance, these grants do not exceed EUR 10,000 per project. These grants focus on supporting NGO-local government cooperation; and
Regional grants: grants of up to EUR 35,000 to assist NGOs in addressing cross-border environmental issues. NGO partners from different countries in the region work together on these grants. The programme is administered from the REC Head Office.

Viable NGO development and sustainable NGO financing

Looking into the requirements and methods for offering the development of alternative funding sources for NGOs and their institutional development.

Capacity building and training

Fellowship programmes: both nationally and regionally based fellowship programmes are available. Regional training allows for trans-national experience-sharing.
Internship programme for students.
Training curricula in regional languages.

Information and research

There is constant need for information on the status of the NGO movement and the impact of NGO activities. In recent years, the REC has produced a fourth edition of the NGO Directory and a review of financial resources for NGOs.

NGO networking

Through its projects, the REC facilitates NGO networking and partnership within and beyond the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region.

Country offices

The REC's network of Country Offices also provides many country-specific ways of supporting NGO activities.

Our partners

The projects described above have been supported by a great variety of donors/partners:

Country donors include:
Belgium, Denmark, the European Union (DG-Environment, PHARE Multi-Country Programme, PHARE Partnership Programme), Finland, Italy, the Netherlands (Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Norway, Switzerland, and the United States of America (USAID and USEPA).

Foundation/institution donors include:
Sainsbury Foundation (UK), Soros Open Society Institute, the World Bank and Coca-Cola Foundation.

Our recipients

The REC designs support projects and programmes for CEE Environmental NGOs.

The REC targets the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, FYR Macedonia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Serbia and Montenegro. However, the REC has also assisted NGOs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Moldova, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Furthermore, in a limited number of projects, we have given non-financial assistance to NGOs from Western Europe, North America and the rest of the world by facilitating cooperation with CEE NGOs.

Our strengths

The REC and its programmes are mission-led, giving a focus to our activities.
The programme has a full-time professional staff - the majority of whom is from the CEE region - with many years experience in designing and implementing NGO support programmes.
We have a proven track record in granting programmes and experience in financial control and reporting based on international standards.
The REC has extensive contacts with local stakeholders, so we can ensure that our projects are approached in a sensible and appropriate manner.
As an independent and non-partisan organisation, the REC is open to all stakeholders, and proceeds with in a highly transparent manner.
The REC is flexible in its approach, with many result-oriented programmes tailored to particular needs and situations.

For more information about programme activities please write to:

NGO Support Programme
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre ut 9-11.
2000 Szentendre, Hungary
Tel: (36-26) 504-000
Fax: (36-26) 311-294
E-mail: NGOSupport@rec.org

Contents of this page:

The REC's View on the Role of Civil Society