National foundation and EU programs
In accordance with its mission, program goals and basic activities, the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society has gone through the following periods with all activities related to enabling civil society organizations to use and participate in EU programs:
-
the period from 2004 to 2006 - when it was in the preparatory process for obtaining the status of an intermediary implementing body and when it provided consulting services for the Delegation of the European Commission through the implementation of tender procedures and monitoring the implementation of projects within the framework of the financial support scheme "CARDS 2002 - Provision of services in health protection, social care and non-institutional education" based on Service Contract No. 96498 concluded with the European Commission on March 11, 2005 ... more (HR)
-
the period from 2006 to 2010 - when, after the decision that the implementing body for the use of EU funds and programs for civil society organizations in the Republic of Croatia would be the Government Office for NGOs, it continued to deal with strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations to participate in the processes of European integration through training (in cooperation with ECAS - European Citizen Action Service from Brussels), availability of information (Croatian edition of the books: Guide to EU Funds and Guide to Associations in the European Union) and continuous information on the activities of civil society organizations in the European Union through electronic newsletter "Civilnodruštvo.EU".
-
period from 2010 to today - based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on strategic documents and the institutional framework for the use of structural instruments of the European Union in the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 116/2010) and audits for the accreditation of the National Foundation as an implementing body for IV. component of the IPA program, OP Human Resources Development, on August 16, 2012, the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society received the Decision on Accreditation from the European Commission. The National Foundation is accredited as a level 2 intermediary body, for the 2nd measure from the 5th priority – Strengthening the role of civil society organizations for socio-economic growth and democratic development. In the framework of IPA IV. component, three tenders were announced for projects in the area of civil society: Strengthening of regional and local structures to support the development of civil society, Support of the program of civil society organizations in the area of advocacy and motivation for socially excluded groups, and Support of the program of civil society organizations active in the field of volunteering to strengthen the economic and social cohesion.
European Social Fund
The European Social Fund - ESF, is a structural instrument established in 1958 that serves to achieve the strategic goals of employment policy in European regions affected by high unemployment rates, with the aim of establishing economic and social uniformity at the level of the entire European Union, all within the framework of the goal of convergence.
After joining the European Union, Croatia gained the right to use this instrument in order to, through various projects, effectively implement national policies aimed at increasing employment.
Some of the basic priorities supported by this instrument are:
-
Encouraging investment in human resources (lifelong learning, innovation and entrepreneurship, improvement of management skills, professional guidance, training of lecturers in various professional fields),
-
Support for the return of the unemployed to the active workforce (financing of seminars, trainings),
-
Adaptation to economic changes (more productive organization of work, targeting of knowledge and skills, employment and training),
-
Access to the labor market (modernization and strengthening of institutions, active employment measures, inclusion of women and migrants),
-
Social inclusion (fight against discrimination, employment, assistance and services)
-
Support for the work of employment services (networking with research centers, preparation and implementation of studies on the needs for a specific workforce profile).
On the basis of the Regulation of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on bodies in the system of management and control of the use of structural instruments of the European Union in the Republic of Croatia, the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society has been appointed in the Operational Program Human Resources Development as a Level 2 Intermediary Body for priority axis 5 - interventions in the field of civil society .
