For almost 15 years, the BIS Foundation has been involved in stimulating social and civic activity of the inhabitants of the Lesser Poland Province. Our mission is: “At the BIS Foundation we support people who act socially. We teach how to turn dreams into action”. In our activities, we strive for a situation in which people will be active participants in social life, willing to build local communities, and in the long term – taking part in decision-making and shaping public policies.

This project responds to the problem of still insufficient civic activity in the Lesser Poland Province, and in particular in the Skawina Municipality. It is an urban-rural municipality with a population of over 43,000 inhabitants. The BIS Foundation has been supporting this community for several years, especially in developing the potential of NGOs and their cooperation with local government. In this project, we want to use and disseminate the results of our several years of work in incubating and running community centres using our proprietary method of Residents’ Activity Places.

The project is aimed at people involved in creating conditions for residents’ social activity – both local government officials and those working directly with residents: animators from NGOs and public institutions. In addition, direct beneficiaries will be residents of the Skawina Municipality, who will take part in activities led by local animators, such as neighbourhood actions.