Capacity building of youth NGOs

Civic Initiatives, with the support of Balkan Children & Youth Foundation (BCYF), starting from November 2003, started regional programme of capacity building of regional youth NGOs which provide services to young people of Serbia.

Programme is designated to youth organizations distintictively, also to organizations which provide services to young people, as well as to non-formal youth groups.

Programme is being realized through the following fazes:

The first faze is applying of candidates who are interested in this programme and their assortment, according to set criteria. With chosen organizations a contract is being signed, according to which they are obliged to actively participate in integral educational programme.

The second faze is needs assesment of the organizations included in the project. Assesment is conducted by trainers of Team TRI who visit each of organizations included in the programme and by one-day workshop, using «McKinsey tool for capacity assesment ». Trainers, in cooperation with each organization, retrench which type of training is indispensable.

Next faze is consisted of one-day trainings designated to each of the organizations. Namely, our trainers, depending on needs of particular organization, visit each organization up to three times during lasting of the programme. Trainers are having consultations in the fields that showed to be the most requisited. Each of the organizations, included in the project, has one trainer-mentor assigned to them particularly. The trainer-mentor leads organization through training programme and helps it during this period in solving current problems of the organization. Along with this, trainer-mentor gives advisory help.

The last faze of the project is evaluation of the state of the organization after termination of nurture, which is performed on the same way as proceding needs assesment, hence using «McKinsey tool for capacity assessment». In that way, advancement is strictly determined, and together with the representatives of NGOs, future direction of developement of each NGO is being defined.

In the period between trainings and consultations, participants are obliged to work on capacity building of their own organizations, applying newly acquired knowledge and skills, and give reports on that in each of the following meetings.

There is an opportunity given to the organizations, which pass through the educational program successfully, to apply projects for grant programme of BCYF. Along with that, there is also possibility of regional education with similar organizations from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Kosovo.

Up to now, one yearly cycle of the programs has been realized, from November 2003 till November 2004. Following organizations have been included: «Decje srce» Belgrade, «Somborski omladinski BOOM» Sombor, «Stvaralacko vaspitanje» Belgrade, «Dobro drvo» Zajecar, «Otvorene perspektive» Subotica, «Gradanska citaonica Pirgos» Pirot, «Dom mladih Bratstvo jedinstvo» Novi Becej, «Istraživaci Junior» Bajša, «AEGEE» Belgrade and «Novosadsko udruženje studenata sa invaliditetom» Novi Sad.

The second cycle of programme started in November 2004, and following youth organizations and informal groups are included: «Omladinsko Timocko udruženje za borbu protiv side» Zajecar, «Inicijative mladih Srema» Sremska Mitrovica, «Omladinska terenska jedinica Hiron» Indija, «Forum mladih» Vlasotince, «Goma» Ada, «Udruženje studenata sa hendikepom» Belgrade, «Participativna grupa kluba mladih u okviru asocijacije za alternativno porodicno staranje o deci Famili-e» Belgrade, «Klub studenata književnosti ''Talas'' Belgrade, "Klub OPA - Omladina preuzima akciju" Belgrade, "In Stage organization - ISO" Belgrade, "Forum tim" Belgrade, "Volonterski centar Agromreže" Belgrade and "AEGEE" Belgrade.