practices and experiences of the croatian model of financial supporting for programmes and projects...
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PRACTICES AND EXPERIENCES OF
THE CROATIAN MODEL OF FINANCIAL
SUPPORTING FOR PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS
OF ASSOCIATIONS AND OTHER CSOS
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The new normative framework for operation and funding of associations and non-profit organizations
Law on Associations (The Offical Gazette, no. 74/14)
• entered into force on 1st October 2014• all associations were obliged to adapt their statutes to this Law within one year of its
enforcement (until 1st October 2015) • the aims of the enactment of this Law: • to ensure the effective operation of associations as legal entities • to create conditions for effective funding of programmes and projects of interest to the public benefit
implemented by associations in Croatia
• Regulation on the content and on means of conducting the Register of Associations (the Official Gazzette, no. 4/15)
• Regulation on the criteria, benchmarks and procedures for the allocation of grants for programmes and projects of the common good interest implemented by associations (the Official Gazzete, no. 26/15)
Law on financial activities and accounting of non-profit organizations (the Official Gazzete, no. 121/14)
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Funding of programmes and projects of associations from public sources
• the yearly amount of almost 218 million € is allocated to associations: • 85 m € from the state budget (2014) • 132 milion € from the budgets of municipalities, towns and counties (2014) • 19,3 m € from sponsorships and donations of the public trading companies
(2012) • over 70 m € from EU funds in the pre-accession period • for 2014 – 2020 the amount of 300 m€ from the ESF is available,
out of which 60 m € within the purview of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs
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Allocations from the public sources for CSO programmes and projects
Funding sourcesThe amount
allocated in 2014 (€)%
Budget of towns 59,760,822 27%
Share of revenues from games of chance 46,855,467 21%
Budget of the City of Zagreb 35,830,935 16%
State budget 38,168,272 18%
Budget of municipalities 22,303,665 10%
Budget of counties 14,160,878 6%
Croatian Radio and Television fee 385,376 0.18%
Environment protection fee 223,957 0.10%
Non-financial means (national level) 260,981 0.12%
Total 217,950,353 100%
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Programme and project for the public benefit implemented by association - the definition by the Law of Associations:
• Although there is no implicit obligation for funding activities, programmes and projects of associations, nor implicit right of associations to receive public funds, there should always be a possibility for public funding, depending on the quality and content of projects and programmes for public benefit
• approx. 40 various activities for the public benefit and implemented by associations listed (an open list)
COMPLETE, THEMATIC AND CLEARLY DEFINED SET/S OF ACTIVITIES THAT ARE IN LINE WITH THE VALUES PRESCRIBED BY THE CROATIAN CONSTITUTION , THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WHICH IN LONG TERM OR LIMITED TIME PROVIDES ADDITIONAL SOCIAL VALUE WHICH INCREASES THE
QUALITY OF LIFE OF INDIVIDUALS AND IMPROVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIDER SOCIAL COMMUNITY
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Which public source funds, who and how finance programmes and projects in the public benefit interest?
state budget (including revenues from games of chance) budgets of local and regional self-government units (LRSU) income of public trading companies and other public institutions EU funds international public sources
line state bodies (ministries, the Government offices) local and regional self-government units other public institutions trading companies owned by the Republic of Croatia and LRSU other legal entities when using public sources to finance programmes and
projects of associations, donate or sponsor associations
in line with the criteria, measures and procedures of funding programmes and projects in the common good interest implemented by associations, which are determined by the Regulation
PUBLIC SOURCE FUNDS
WHO
HOW
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Criteria, measures and procedures of funding programmes and projects in the public benefit interest implemented by associations
the Croatian Government enacted the Regulation on the criteria, benchmarks and procedures for the allocation of grants for programs and projects for the public benefit interest implemented by associations
with the enactment of this Regulation, the Code of positive practice, standards and measures for receiving financial support for programmes and projects of associations ceased to be in force
adaptation of procedures of funding from national sources with those of the EU funds allocation (regulated by the Common National Rules for implementation of projects and programmes within the EU structural funds)
the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs published the Manual for the implementation of the Regulation with necessary forms
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What is defined by the Regulation? parties obliged to implement the
Regulation pre-conditions to be fulfilled by the
funding authorities : • financial resources, • organizational capacities and • human resources
basic standards and procedures of funding, contracting and monitoring the implementation of projects and programmes in the common good interest from public sources which need to be implemented by the funding authorities
criteria to be met by associations which implement projects and programmes in the common good interest
competences and activities of the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs in coordination of monitoring the funding of projects and programmes in the common good interest implemented by associations
published the Manual for the implementation of the Regulation with samples of tender documentation
consultations and education of funding authorities on all levels
compiles annual reports on funding programmes and projects from public sources and the implementation of the Regulation
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When to implement the Regulation?• implementation of programmes and projects which meet the goals and priorities defined by strategic and planning documents
• implementation of national, regional and local programmes of public needs determined by a special law (sports, culture, technical culture)
• performing certain public needs which authorities entrusted to CSOs by a special law(s)
• provision of social services based on special regulations• co-financing obligatory contribution of the beneficiary for
the implementation of programmes and projects contracted from the EU funds and international public sources
• support for institutional and organizational development of an association
• employment programmes or projects of CSOs• donations and sponsorships and • other forms and purposes of allocating public funds
When public funds are allocated to
associations for:
When association are allocated non-
financial support in rights, movable and immovable property
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Basic standards of funding programmes and/or projects of associations
A) standards in planning
B) standards in implementation
C) standards in monitoring, evaluation and reporting
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A) Basic standards in planning of funding
1. defining funding priorities on an annual basis 2. funding conducted via public tender or public call 3. publishing an annual tender plan on webpages4. public tender must include application criteria, evaluation
standards, approval procedure and complaint procedure 5. public tender must be open no less than 30 days6. number of projects, the lowest and the highest amount of funding
to be known in advance 7. procedure for avoiding conflicts of interest in the tender
implementation to be set in advance
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B) Basic standards in implementation of funding
1. tender is conducted by a special organizational unit or committee
2. tender documentation is determined 3. support provided for potential applicants-
published answers to questions and/or workshops for project proposal drafting
4. application delivery method- electronically and/or in paper
5. check of the fullfilled formal tender requirements
6. project proposals are evaluated by an expert committee
7. members of the committee sign a declaration of impartiality and confidentiality
8. the committee costs are included in the costs of the whole tender
9. tender results are publicly announced 10. each applicant receives a written
notification on their project evaluation 11. possible afterward insight by an applicant
into the cumulative score of the quality of their programme or project proposal
12. possibility for filing a complaint on the decision about not fulfilling the tender requirements, i.e. on the decision on financial allocations
13. obligatory grant (funding) contract 14. provision of a declaration of absence and
avoidance of double funding made by an applicant
15. filing documentation referring to programmes and projects that were not approved for funding
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C) Basic standards in monitoring, evaluation and reporting
1. a funding authority monitors the implementation of activities of the approved programmes and projects, as well as dedicated expenditure of funds, and evaluates the tender effects on the basis of monitoring the programme or project implementation
2. a funding authority is obliged to submit an annual report on allocated public funds, implemented procedures and effects of funded programmes and projects to the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs
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When can funds be directly allocated, without announcement of public tender?
in justified and exceptional cases, when unforseen circumstances oblige a funding authority to act promptly in cooperation with associations, and within a period when it is not possible to conduct a tender procedure– a contract on direct (grant) allocation is to be signed
when an association or a group of associations has an exclusive jurisdiction in the field of operating and/or geographical area for which financial resources are allocated, or an association is the only organization operationally capable for work in a certain field and/or geographical area on which the funded activities are carried out– a contract on direct (grant) allocation is to be signed
when a regulation defines a certain association as the implementing body for a certain activity – a contract on direct (grant) allocation is to be signed
The criteria to be fulfilled by an association which is funded from public sources registered in the Register of
Associations and the Register of Non-Profit Organizations
has specified (in its statute) the operations and activities which are subject of funding and which promote beliefs and goals that are not contradictory to the Constitution and law
duly fulfills its obligations from all previously signed contracts on public funding
duly pays contributions and taxes, as well as other fees to the state budget and budgets of LRSU
no criminal proceedings have been launched against an association, i.e. its authorized representative and programme/project manager, and who have not been convicted for an offense or a crime stated in the Article 48 of the Regulation
an association needs to have organizational capacities and human resources for the project implementation, as well as transparent management of public funds
additional criteria determined by a funding authority (volunteers, networking, international activities, employment, cross-sector partnership in the project implementation, etc.)
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Information available from the Register of Associations
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all the data entered in the Register of Associations (including the statute of an association) publicly available on the webpage of the Ministry of Public Administration
the aim: to facilitate the public access to operations of associations and their public funding, as well as to contribute to the transparency of their activities for the public benefit
Innovated Register of Associations brings a number of interesting aggregate data
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Associations in Croatia on 30th June 2016
CountyThe total
number of registered
associations
Out of the total number of registered associationsThe total number
of deleted
associations
The total number of associations with the note- „A request for entry of the statute change has been submitted and it is being
processed”
The total number of associations which have adapted their
statutes in line with the Law of
Associations
The total number of associations in the
discontinuance procedure
The total number of „passive” associations that have not held an
Assembly for more than 8 years
Bjelovar-Bilogora 1.383 815 18 685 110 35Brod-Posavina 1.638 625 42 987 34 1Dubrovnik- Neretva 1.943 749 26 866 130 208the City of Zagreb 12.724 2.719 341 6.364 1.041 2.754Istria 3.014 900 14 1.313 46 734Karlovac 1.455 712 54 595 71 144Koprivnica-Križevci 1.328 559 61 386 110 338Krapina-Zagorje 1.297 875 36 537 132 16Lika-Senj 642 335 2 350 41 27Međimurje 1.210 645 3 422 197 160Osijek-Baranja 3.903 1.858 7 1.495 539 478Požega-Slavonija 836 523 2 368 101 7Primorje-Gorski kotar 4.075 1.241 94 1.578 270 1.000Sisak-Moslavina 1.776 1.152 15 802 279 6Split-Dalmatia 4.888 2.503 129 2.581 571 125Šibenik-Knin 1.339 581 2 713 84 49Varaždin 1.815 1.039 20 680 180 68Virovitica-Podravina 903 563 16 440 95 14Vukovar-Srijem 1.865 1.131 18 961 301 1Zadar 1.719 596 9 724 51 394Zagreb 3.173 1.119 13 1.911 93 10
Total 52.926 21.240 922 24.758 4.476 6.569% 40% 1,7% 47% 8% 12%
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Why is the Register of Non-Profit Organizations important?
NPO has to be listed in the Register of Non-Profit Organizations on the basis of a request for entry submitted to the Ministry of Finance no later than 60 days after the entry into the main register
entry into the RNO is required to receive funds from the state budget, budgets of LRSU and other public sources
a fine for Heads of state administration bodies and LRSU if they approve the funding of an NPO which has not been registered in the RNO amounts from 1.300,00 € to 6.660,00 €
published annual financial reports of all NPOs since 2013
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The RNO data for 2015 (on 17th June 2016)
• 34 409 NPOs, out of which 32 281 associations (93,8%)
• out of 23 017 NPOs 21 527 associations (93,5%) submitted their financial reports for 2015
• 468 NPOs submitted a Declaration on inactivity (1,4%)
• 10 722 associations listed in the RNO did not submit their financial reports (33%)
• In 2015 associations had: • 320 mil EUR donations (over 50% from the state and local budgets, over 20% from
international governments and organizations, and almost 15% from the income of trading companies and other legal entities)
• 12 749 employees
• 35 533 volunteers
• 2 361 877 volunteer hours
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Who is obliged to submit the data on funded programmes and projects from public sources?
• state administration bodies (ministries, state offices and state administration organizations)
• offices and bodies of the Government of the Republic of Croatia• other public institutions (public foundations, funds, institutes,
agencies, etc.)• local and regional self-government units (counties, towns and
municipalities)• public trading companies (owned by the Republic of Croatia, one or
more LRSU, regardless of ownership shares and obligation of submitting a declaration on fiscal responsibility)
• other legal entities when allocating public funds to projects and programmes of associations (sports communities, fire-fighting communities, technical culture communities, tourist boards, etc.)
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The new reporting system on funds allocated to associations• via the internet application e-IzvještavanjeOCD by using the access data
provided by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs • each funding authority fills in:
• excel table of the Detailed report on all the funded CSO projects and programmes in 2015 and• e-Questionnaire for the assessment of the procedure for funding
associations and other CSOs complied with the Regulation criteria • excel table of the Detailed report on funding programmes and projects
within EU programmes (only contracting authorities which allocated EU funds to associations and other CSOs who are project beneficiaries or partners )
• the report submission deadline: 31st October 2016 • funding data are included in publicly available and searchable database on
the website of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs, which contains the data on funded programmes and projects of associations since 2004
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The tasks and duties of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs
The Croatian Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs coordinates the implementation of the Regulation on the criteria, benchmarks and
procedures for the allocation of grants for programmes and projects of the common good interest implemented by associations
coordinates the preparation, implementation and monitoring of public tenders organizes the INFO DAYS
announces the annual tender plan facilitates the information exchange among funding authorities prepares the Manual for the implementation of the Regulation
conducts consultations and education on the Regulation implementation prepares reports on funded programmes or projects of associations and other CSOs
from public sources on the national, regional and local levels, as well as from EU funds, which are submitted to the Croatian Government, as well as publicly
announced