Bilateral and regional initiatives – the 2nd call

The second call for applications for bilateral and regional initiatives runs from April 4th to April 30th, 2024. Under the call, Polish civil society organisations can obtain funding for the implementation of international initiatives for the exchange of knowledge and experiences.

About the call

We invite Polish civil society organizations to submit proposals for bilateral or regional initiatives aimed at knowledge and experiences/know-how sharing, prepared in partnerships with entities from Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), Beneficiary States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary) or Ukraine.

The applications can be submitted until September 30th, 2024.

The mechanism is aimed at supporting know-how/experience exchange that can take the following forms:

internship (a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a civil society organisation’s interest),
job-shadowing (a professional learning experience that offers the observing of a person at work by someone who is interested in a similar career/position),
other forms of know-how/experience exchange such as study trips, training (for both teams), mentoring etc.

Who can apply?

Funding under this mechanism is available for NGOs that are established and registered in Poland, and do take at least some of their statutory actions related to the goals of the ACF-Regional Programme outside of the city of Warsaw.

An application must obligatorily include a partnership with at least one entity from a Donor State (Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway), another Beneficiary State eligible for EEA and Norway Grants (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), or Ukraine.

One organization may submit only one application under the call.

Applicants do not have to be grantees of the Active Citizens-Regional Fund Program.

An application under this recruitment may be submitted only in English, using the application form specified by the Operator (see below) and must contain signatures of the Applicant’s representative(s) and foreign partner(s) representative(s) (in the form of scans or electronic signatures).

NOTE: If the number of applications in the call exceeds the possibility of financing all submitted initiatives, priority for funding will be given to applications from organisations that have not previously received funding for a bilateral or regional initiative under the Active Citizens-Regional Fund Program or the Active Citizens-National Fund Program (in the event of obtaining the same number of rating points).

What can be funded?

The funding of the initiative can amount up to 6 000 EUR for a bilateral initiative (with at least one partner from one of the Donor States) and 5000 EUR for a regional initiative.

Awarded funding may constitute up to 100% of eligible expenses.

The initiative (including preparation and evaluation) may last from 1 to 6 months.

All activities should terminate no later than 30 April, 2024.

In case of initiatives including internship/job-shadowing the practical learning mobility element of the initiative could last from 5 up to 10 working days for the visit in the hosting organisation.

The activities within the initiative may take place in Poland, in any of the Donor States, in any of the Beneficiary States of the EEA and Norway Grants or in Ukraine.

Read the full invitation to apply (in English)
Download the application form

Contact for inquiries

Should you have any questions about the mechanism and/or application procedure, please contact Ewa Stokłuska (ewa.stokluska@fed.org.pl, +48 720 801 013).

Results of the first call

The first call for bilateral and regional initiatives lasted from January 23rd to April 30th, 2023.

As part of Round 1 of the call (applications submitted between 23 January and 20 February 2023) within the Active Citizens Fund – Regional Programme we have received 8 applications: 4 for bilateral initiatives and 4 for regional initiatives.

We awarded funding to two initiatives:

a bilateral initiative whose Applicant is the Dom Kultury Foundation and the partner is Kriminalomsorgsdirektoratet from Norway (the application received 13 points out of 15);
a regional initiative whose Applicant is the Wrocław Foundation for European Education and International Cooperation FREYA, and the partner is Generation for Change CY from Cyprus (the application received 14 points out of 15).

In addition, the application for a regional initiative submitted by the NOVA Foundation and its partner Plan Be, Lan It Be It from Cyprus, was redirected to the Active Citizens Fund – National Programme and co-financed within the National Programme (NOVA Foundation is a grantee of both programmes).

As part of Round 2 of the call for bilateral and regional initiatives (applications submitted between 21 February and 20 March 2023) within the Active Citizens Fund – Regional Programme we have received 7 applications: 4 for bilateral initiatives and 3 for regional initiatives.

We awarded funding to four initiatives:

a regional initiative whose Applicant is the Ukraina Foundation from Wrocław, and the partner is Organizace pro pomoc uprchlíkům, z.s. from Czechia (the application received 14,5 points out of possible 15);
a bilateral initiative whose Applicant is the Association for the Support of Immigrant Families of Persons with Disabilities Patchwork from Cracow, and the partner is As Stryktarfelag from Iceland (the application received 11,5 points out of possible 15);
a regional initiative whose Applicant is the Wielkopolskie Centrum Przedsiębiorczości Foundation, and the partner is Hrvatski Ured za Kreativnost i Inovacije from Croatia (the application received 11 points out of possible 15);
a bilateral initiative whose Applicant is the Rysy Foundation from Potasza, and the partner is Félagsmiðstöðin OZ from Iceland (the application received 10 points out of possible 15) – required changes in the final budget of the application.

As part of Round 3 of the call for bilateral and regional initiatives (applications submitted between 21 March and 30 April 2023) within the Active Citizens Fund – Regional Programme we have received 14 applications: 5 for bilateral initiatives and 9 for regional initiatives.

We awarded funding to five initiatives:

a bilateral initiative whose Applicant is Kłodzkie Towarzystwo Oświatowe from Kłodzko, and the partner is Phronesis SA from Norway (the application received 11,5 points out of possible 15);
a regional initiative whose Applicant is Instytut Przeciwdziałania Wykluczeniom Foundation from Toruń, and the partner is Foundation Resource Center Bilitis from Bulgaria (the application received 11,5 points out of possible 15);
a bilateral initiative whose Applicant is the Association for Education ‘Pomost’ from Świebodzin, and the partner is Mannréttindaskrifstofa Íslands z Islandii (the application received 11 points out of possible 15);
a bilateral initiative whose Applicant is GROWSPACE Foundation from Warsaw, and the partner is Samtökin ’78 from Island (the application received 10,5 points out of possible 15);
a regional initiative whose Applicant is Foundation for Cultural Exchange toTU toTAM from Przemyśl, and the partner is O3 Out of the Ordinary from Greece (the application received 11,5 points out of possible 15) – required changes in the final budget of the application.

You can find the results of the call under the Active Citizens Fund – National Programme on the Programme’s website.