C A L L F O R P R O J E C T P R O P O S A L S
Urban and Community Problems
The Regional Environmental Center conducted a needs assessment in August 1994. This assessment revealed that Central and Eastern European NGOs are interested in environmental problems related to urbanization. For this reason, ECU 125,000 has been earmarked to support projects in this field.
The REC invites project proposals from registered, non-profit, non-governmental, environmental organizations from the following countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia. Requests for funding from the Regional Environmental Center must not exceed ECU 20,000 per project. For this topic, the following exchange rates are in effect: ECU 1 = HUF 165.5, USD 1.34 and DEM 1.86.
One of the REC's highest priorities is promoting Regionwide cooperation among NGOs. Therefore, ECU 60,000 has been set aside for cooperative projects of at least two NGOs from two different countries. If NGOs need help identifying potential partners they should contact the REC Earmarked Grants Team with a brief outline of their project idea and the required partners. We can act as a bridge between partners but the proposal must be prepared by the applicant.
Scope
The scope of this earmarked category covers:
- Communal waste (including wastewater) management problems
- selective waste collection and management systems
- wastewater treating problems
- Public transport, traffic and related health
- Planning (landscaping) problems
- city parks
- environmental impact assessment of developing programs for cities or districts
- Public participation in the environmental decisionmaking process
- use of political, legislative or financial initiatives and civil organizations in developing environmentally-friendly practices
Approach
Projects should approach the issues listed above through one or more of the following methods:
- educating the public and raising public awareness
- promoting the exchange of information between decision makers and the public
- implementing concrete, result-oriented actions with high model value
- lobbying authorities to promote alternative solutions to elaborate new initiatives
- facilitating the implementation of existing economic and legal instruments or incentives
Proposal Preparation
All proposals must be completed in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Earmarked Grants Program Proposal Guidelines, this Call for Project Proposals and the REC's new financial regulations (April 1995). The Earmarked Grants Program Proposal Guidelines are available from the Regional Environmental Center's Head Office and Local Offices.
Proposal Evaluation
All the general evaluation criteria described in the Earmarked Grants Program Proposal Guidelines and outlined in the REC's new financial regulations apply to this Call for Project Proposals. The Standard Scoring Sheet used to evaluate all incoming proposals is also available from the REC's Earmarked Grants Team.
Specific Evaluation Criteria
Priority is given to:
- projects that have an immediate tangible impact on the environmental situation of the given location or the Region
- projects that address "Regionwide" issues, with respect to either physical (i.e. international traffic or highways) or policy (i.e. common legislative or city planning problems) topics.
- Absolute priority is given to cooperative projects involving at least two NGOs from two countries.
NOTE: REC Earmarked Grants do not fund research or information collection as a dominant part of any project. Nor does the REC provide support to businesses or private enterprises. All funds administered by the REC's Earmarked Grants Program are for the CEE countries listed in the introduction only. No activities (i.e. travel expenses) beyond these boundaries will be funded. Please study our guidelines carefully.
Deadline
Proposals for consideration under "Urban and Community Problems" must be received at the REC Head Office (if delivered by hand) or postmarked not later than 1 October 1995.
THE BULLETIN * SUMMER 1995