NGOs evaluated the work of the International Renaissance Foundation and commented on the topical issues

IRF Editor International Renaissance Foudation

From January to June 2010, the International Renaissance Foundation team held presentations in 18 cities of Ukraine (Khmelnytsky, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Melitopol, Mariupol, Nikopol, Berdyansk, Yevpatoriya, Sevastopol, Simferopol, Kerch, Yalta, Zhytomyr, Novohrad-Volynsky, Lutsk, Rivne, Kovel). During the events we met with over 520 representatives of the NGOs, as well as the local press, educators, local government representatives. We heard many interesting ideas and useful comments concerning top problems in the regions of Ukraine, the needs of NGOs, and the work of the IRF. We are grateful for your suggestions which will be considered in the course of strategic planning of the IRF activities for the next year and in our cooperation with NGOs.

Following the results of presentations and meetings in the regions, we have prepared a summary that includes comments of the NGOs’ representatives which were expressed during the events and mentioned in the survey conducted by the IRF. In total, 239 questionnaires filled out by participants of the regional activities were processed.

The International Renaissance Foundation continues an open dialogue with representatives of civil society, we invite you to leave your comments, come up with proposals, recommendations and participate in the discussion board on the announced competitions on the IRF website.

Below are only summarized conclusions from the regional meetings of the IRF.

Summarized conclusions from the regional meetings of the IRF

The majority of the NGO representatives, who participated in the IRF presentations in the regions of Ukraine, estimated the IRF influence on the development of civil society in Ukraine as important. Participants of the survey showed a rather high level of awareness of the IRF objectives and priorities, with most respondents noting awareness of the Civil Society Impact Enhancement Program (120 persons), East-East: Partnership Beyond Borders (89) and Anti-crisis Humanitarian Program (59).

Reflecting on the current problems in the regions that require donor support, NGOs noted the relevance of projects aimed at controlling activities of the authorities, development of condominium associations, as well as supporting think tanks in the regions. NGO representatives also emphasized the importance of supporting professional development of NGOs, especially under the conditions when youth joins public sector. In particular, participants noted the need to support cooperation and exchange of experience between NGOs from different regions and seek international partners. They also expressed in favor of supporting workshops on project writing, project management, PR and communication skills development, as well as legal and accounting maintenance of NGOs.

Participants of the survey also noted some current problems in the field of rights protection (education programs, awareness raising campaigns, provision of free legal aid to vulnerable groups and others), public health (HIV/AIDS issues, tuberculosis, palliative care, reproductive health, state regulation of medical services, access to quality medicine, health of children and youth), education (public control over admission campaign, projects in school education, integration of youth with disabilities in the educational process, supporting student government, fair coverage of historical events in the history textbooks), media (support for civic journalism, media deregulation, improving the quality of journalism and supporting independent media, media literacy of citizens, journalistic investigations, ant-crisis support of regional press). In the field of the European Integration representatives of the NGOs recommended to support monitoring of visas issuance, as well as projects aimed at solving problems while obtaining foreign passports, awareness raising campaigns, work with youth and exchange programs; participants also stressed the importance of supporting more European projects in Crimea.

NGO representatives also expressed their vision on the relevant social and anti-crisis projects (assistance to disabled children and orphans, retraining the unemployed and students, support to preschool organizations, kindergartens, including those in rural areas, professional education of the vulnerable groups of population), youth projects (involvement of students to work in NGOs, development of active citizenship, increasing youth activity in rural areas, supporting leisure of youth, training young people for work in government).

Participants mentioned the importance of cultural projects (support for cultural institutions in the regions, translation of literature into Ukrainian, maintaining a file of cultural artefacts), projects related to gender issues and environment.

Information about the IRF: sources and needs

NGO representatives most frequently find out information about the International Renaissance Foundation on the IRF website and from programs representatives, as well as through electronic mailing lists. Other sources of information include: portal Public Space, resource center Gurt and traditional mass media. NGO activists from the regions noted that they are most interested in information about IRF competitions (mentioned by 68 participants) and strategic priorities of the IRF (mentioned by 61 NGO representatives), and less interested in information about supported projects and announcement of events (48 and 47 respectively).

Recommendations of NGOs on improvement of the IRF activity most frequently concerned further enhancement of transparency and strengthening feedback interaction at all stages of cooperation between the IRF and NGOs:

  • Prior to submission of project proposal: provide advice, conduct trainings on project writing;
  • During consideration of project proposal: inform about the stages of project consideration, provide an open registry of submitted projects, introduce an appeal procedure in case of no support for the project, improve personal communication of programs representatives with the grantees;
  • Following the announcement of competition winners: provide information on which projects were supported and by which criteria they were selected, introduce an appeal procedure in case of no support for the project, provide response on why application was not supported, assist NGOs in correcting errors in project proposals;
  • Following implementation of the projects: publication of reports by grantees, post-project support, opportunity to share experience after completion of the project.

Suggestions on projects submission procedures concerned mainly overcoming cumbersome procedure and reducing the number of paper copies (from environmental-friendly viewpoint, in particular), as well as introduction of an opportunity to fill an online application.

As for general remarks concerning the performance of the IRF, representatives of NGOs noted the need to take into considerations problems of regions (including through involvement of regions representatives into the structure of Program Boards), attend more frequently projects events in the regions, cooperate with a wider range of NGOs, engage new grantees in the regions, as well as provide priority to the projects that promote rural development.

Evaluation of the IRF performance

Participants of the presentations positively characterized performance of the IRF, noting such advantages of cooperation with the IRF as openness, impartiality, professional and friendly team, democratic character, simplified procedures, orientation towards a common result with grantees, and attention to projects. NGO representatives appreciated IRF activity towards strengthening its transparency. Participants characterized a new initiative on strategic communication as an opportunity for more effective informing (operative informing, high-quality website, awareness of NGOs projects from different regions), increase of interactivity (possibility to comment, get advice, influence the activities of the IRF), cooperation and exchange of experience, in particular, among the NGOs; and also said that this initiative is an indicator of IRF openness.

Apart from financial support, the surveyed NGOs expect expert advice from the IRF. In particular, it regards conduct of trainings by managers and successful grantees of the IRF on writing project proposals, project management, communication, reporting and monitoring activities.

PR Department of the International Renaissance Foundation

HOW TO APPLY?

Please complete the application form and submit it via your personal account. Applications are accepted exclusively in electronic form, and the assessment process involves several stages. 
Visit