In the framework of the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme, 4,974,617 Swiss Francs were committed for financing 44 projects aiming to strengthen Romanian NGOs and to enable their active participation in policy processes.

On May 10, 2012 the Swiss Intermediate Body (SIB) for the Thematic Fund “Civil Society Participation” launched the first Call for Proposals for the NGO Block Grant that is aiming to strengthen Romanian NGOs and to enable their active participation in policy processes. It offers support in two major domains: social issues and environmental protection. Small grants ranging from CHF 10,000 to CHF 75,000 and large grants ranging from CHF 75,001 to CHF 250,000 (only for social projects) are offered.

This first round of Call for Proposals was very successful showing a high demand from Romanian NGOs. The SIB received 779 project proposals within the deadline of July 12, 2012. 109 concerned the environmental domain and 670 the social domain.

Initially, CHF 2.6 million was available for the first round. Due to the high number and good quality of applications received the Steering Committee decided to reallocate additional CHF 2.4 million to the first round of Call for Proposals. A total amount of CHF 5 million was therefore available: 1 million for projects in the environmental domain and 4 million for projects in the social domain.

Independent evaluators assessed the project proposals having passed the administrative verification and eligibility check carried out by the SIB. The evaluation process resulted in 15 projects recommended to be financed in the environmental and 29 projects in the social domain (14 small and 15 large grants). The Selection Committee, formed by representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSO), the Swiss Contribution Office (SCO) and the National Coordination Unit (NCU) committed 4,974,617 Swiss Francs for financing those projects on March 21, 2013. The applicants will be informed about the evaluation results till the end of March 2013.

The second Call for Proposals for the NGO Block Grant is planned to be launched in 2014.

Bucharest, 28th of March 2013

SIB - A consortium formed by KEK-CDC Consultants, the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) and the

Romanian Environmental Partnership Foundation (REPF)