Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Report on the Conference
“Public financing of Civil Society Organisations in Montenegro”
This event was organised within the framework of People to People (P2P) component of the TACSO project.
P2P is one of the three strands of the Civil Society Facility and it provides an opportunity for CSOs in the
countries of Western Balkans and Turkey to expand their knowledge about the EU and the accession
process through visits to the European Institutions, meetings with European CSOs and the opportunity to
network internationally and regionally.
The aim of the Conference was to support process of improvement and implementation of regulations
concerning the financing of NGOs from public funds.
The current legislation that provides funding of NGO projects was presented on the conference, and also
recommendations useful for the development of new regulations in the field of NGO funding will be
created. In the Strategy for the development of NGOs in Montenegro (adopted in December 2013.) it was
planned to have prepared amendments to the Law on NGOs in the area of finance and the development of
a bylaw that would more closely regulate this area by the end of the second quarter of 2014.
Representatives of CSOs from all parts of Montenegro, focal points/contact persons appointed for
cooperation with NGOs in ministries and other state institutions, representatives of international
organizations, Delegation of European Union participated on the Conference.
Presentations were made during panel sessions on Financing of CSOs from Public Funds in Montenegro and
EU countries to provide a comparative perspective. Group work enabled participants to focus on specific
issues concerning legal solutions to public funding as well as important points to consider in the process.
The details of the working group discussions can be found below.
Conclusions of the conference:
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Public funds should be used for the creation and implementation of public policy at the state and
the local level
Ministries and the Secretariats of local governments should be involved in the process of financing
of NGO projects because they are most familiar with the policies which should be realized.
The Government should implement the Law on Games of Chance and the prescribed fixed amount
that have to be directed for funding NGOs projects and programs
The Government should urgently establish a working group for drafting amendments to the Law on
NGOs and bylaw regulating the procedure of financing
Carefully consider the experience of the EU countries and in the region and consider the possibility
of holding the fund from games of chance with the introduction of new funding opportunities
through the ministries
It is necessary to continuously strengthen the capacity of government authorities that conduct the
procedure of funding
It is necessary to establish a minimum percentage of the budget that will be targeted for the
funding NGO projects
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations





This project is funded
by the European Union.
Evaluation of projects should be done by independent experts who were not involved in NGOs and
State administration.
The Law on Local Self-Government should establish the percentage of the budget that will be
aimed for the funding NGO projects
It is necessary to improve the model of decisions on funding of NGO projects
It is necessary to increase the transparency of the process (including project evaluation,
explanatory process and evaluation ...)
Monitoring, auditing and evaluation of the projects should be implemented in a professional
manner
Results of Group Work – Day I
Group I - Legal solutions in financing NGO projects amendments to the Law on NGO)
Support from the state
Article 31
The state provides support to non-governmental organizations by providing funding to support
the budget, as well by the introduction of taxes and other benefits to non-governmental
organizations, in accordance with the law.
COMMENTS:
• After the state add "and local self-government"
Financial support from the budget
Article 32
The annual Law on Budget of Montenegro provides funds for projects and programs in the areas
of public interest, carried out by NGOs.
Areas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are considered: social and health care, poverty
reduction, protection of persons with disabilities, social care for children and youth, assistance to
the elderly, protection and promotion of human and minority rights, rule of law, civil society and
volunteerism, Euro-Atlantic and European Integration of Montenegro, institutional and noninstitutional education, science, art, culture, technical culture, environment, agriculture and rural
development, sustainable development, consumer protection, gender equality, the fight against
corruption and organized crime, the fight against addiction as well as other areas of public
interest stipulated by a special law.
The project, in terms of this Act, is a set of activities in the areas referred to in paragraph 2 of this
Article, which are implemented in a period that does not exceed one year.
The program, in terms of this Act, is a long-term plan for the development of the organization
and implementation of activities in the areas referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article for a
period that does not exceed three years.
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
The Government of Montenegro (hereinafter: the Government) shall, at the proposal of the
advisory body established by the Government, at the end of previous year, by a special act,
identify priority areas of public interest referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the amount
of funding for projects and programs in these areas.
COMMENTS:
• Given the time frame of the preparation process and the formulation of the budget, it seems
too late for the Government to determine the priority areas by the expiration of the previous
year (no later than the end of the second or third quarter);
• It is necessary to define certain areas as a priority each year (disability rights) - a potential
solution lies in the Slovenian model where funds from the National Lottery in a certain
percentage allocated to the projects of disability organizations / Fund for professional
rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities;
• An alternative view: All areas should be treated in the same way
• It is necessary to determine the percentage of the current budget that will be allocated for
projects and programs of non-governmental organizations (1% of the current budget). In the
case that all allocated funds are distributed, it is necessary to establish dedicated (reserve fund)
from which the funds can be used in the allocation of funds for projects and programs of nongovernmental organizations in the next calendar year.
Alternatively, Article 34 paragraph 2 of the law should predict that public tender is published no
later than the end of the first quarter of this year (instead of the scheduled April 30 of the
current year), and the possibility that, if a certain amount of funds remains undistributed,
announce another call during the calendar year.
Commission for the allocation of funds
Article 33
The distribution of funds under Article 32, paragraph 1 of this Law shall be decided by the
Commission for the allocation of funds to non-governmental organizations (hereinafter: the
Commission), established by the Government.
Members of the Commission are proposed by the state administration that are responsible for
the areas referred to in Article 32, paragraph 2 of this Law, and non-governmental organizations
whose goals and activities relate to these areas.
Member of the Commission can not decide on the support of projects and programs by nongovernmental organizations in which he is employed, or has the capacity of legal representative
or a member of the governing body or other body or non-governmental organizations with
which it contracted.
The Commission submits the annual report on its work to the Parliament of Montenegro until 31
March of the current year for the previous year; the report contains information about
supported projects, the financial statements, the results of monitoring and evaluation.
Composition, criteria for selection and nomination procedure members of the Commission,
jurisdiction, the term of office and other issues of importance to the organization and work of
the Commission are determined by an act on establishing the Commission.
COMMENTS:
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
• The so-called Centralized model of financing created by the existing law on NGOs should be
replaced so. combined model of centralized and decentralized models of financing. The
centralization of the model would be reflected in the fact that the Government of Montenegro,
at the proposal of the advisory body established by the Government determines priority areas of
public interest and the amount of funding for projects and programs in these areas.
Fragmentation of the model lies in the fact that the ministries lead the resource allocation
process through its working bodies constituted of two representatives of the Ministry and an
external evaluator.
The criteria for the allocation of funds
Article 35
Allocation of funds under Article 32, paragraph 1 of this law is applied through the following
criteria:
1) contribution to the public interest in a particular area;
2) the capacity of the organization to implement the project, or program;
3) quality of the proposed project or program;
4) transparency of non-governmental organizations.
A non-governmental organization that has received funding from the budget cannot in some
other way receive funding in accordance with the law.
Detailed criteria for the evaluation of projects and programs, and the forms of applications are
regulated by the Government.
COMMENTS
Delete the phrase “A non-governmental organization that has received funding from the budget
can not in some other way receive funding in accordance with the law. “
Allocation decision
Article 36
The decision on the allocation of funds under Article 32 of this Law is published on the website of
the Government and in all daily newspaper printed and distributed in Montenegro.
The Commission signs with the NGO the contract on the use of funds, reporting
and supervision of the implementation of the project or program for which the funds were
allocated, within 30 days of publication of decision referred in paragraph 1 of this Article.
The Commission submits to the advisory body referred to in Article 32, paragraph 5 of this law,
once a year, a report on the implementation of projects and programs funded.
Control of the designated use of funds allocated to NGOs is performed by external auditors hired
by advisory body.
Allocation decision
Article 36
The decision on the allocation of funds under Article 32 of this Law is published on the website of
the Government and in all daily newspaper printed and distributed in Montenegro.
The Commission signs with the NGO the contract on the use of funds, reporting and supervision
of the implementation of the project or program for which the funds were allocated, within 30
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
days of publication of decision referred in paragraph 1 of this Article.
The Commission submits to the advisory body referred to in Article 32, paragraph 5 of this law,
once a year, a report on the implementation of projects and programs funded.
Control of the designated use of funds allocated to NGOs is performed by external auditors hired
by advisory body.
COMMENTS:
• Specify the term external auditors
• Alternatively, the control of the designated use of the funds should be performed by the State
Audit Institution (SAI).
• It is necessary to define the amount of projects and programs to be audited, taking into
account the cost of hiring external auditors to be proportional to the amount of the project to be
controlled.
• It is disputable why an advisory body needs to hire an external auditor for the Government or
its competent authorities considering that the government by the Constitution and the law is
responsible for proposing and implementing the budget.
The publication of the report
Article 37
A non-governmental organization that during the calendar year, at all grounds achieved revenue
of more than EUR 10,000.00 is obliged to publish its annual financial report, approved by the
competent authority of that organization, on its website within ten days of the adoption of the
report.
COMMENTS:
• Instead of "on all grounds" put "from public funds"
• Instead of "generated income higher than € 10 000" put "realized incomes"
• Financial statements may be submitted to the Ministry of Interior that can be incorporated in
the register of NGOs (according to the PADOR) or Tax Office that could publish them on its
website
• The issue of project co-financing from EU funds should also be treated by Law on NGOs.
Group II: The procedure for allocation of funds for NGOs (bylaw) prioritization
moderator-Goran Forbici
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PROBLEMS
There is not always a clear picture of
available resources and is therefore
difficult to set priorities

DESIRED STATE
Clearly define the funds available for
funding NGO projects as a first step in
determining priorities
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
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There is no methodology for determining
priorities (criteria)
Time framework (deadlines) for
establishing priorities has not been
established (eg the last quarter of the next
year)
There is no participation of NGOs in the
process of establishing priorities
There is a lack of technical analysis that
will help to determine priorities
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Cost-benefit analyzes are not done as the
part of the process for establishing
priorities
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This project is funded
by the European Union.
Establish a methodology for identifying
priorities (criteria)
Determine the time framework (deadline)
for establishing priorities (eg last quarter
of the next year)
Ensure participation of NGOs in the
process of establishing priorities
Fund the production of professional
findings that will become the basis for
determining policies and priorities
Ensure crearting of Cost-benefit analyzes
as the part of the process for establishing
priorities
Public calls/tender
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PROBLEMS
No existance of deadlines for launching of
public calls
Publication of calls in a small number of
media
In the public call and time by which
applications must be submitted, time and
date are not clearly defined
Evaluation of projects
PROBLEMS
 Short term for a quality evaluation of
projects
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Insufficient capacities of the Commission
to evaluate the proposals (technical
review)
Composition of the Commission is
burdened by conflict of interest
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In many cases, there is no explanation of
the reasons for the rejection of projects
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
DESIRED STATE
Strict compliance with the legal deadlines
for scheduling of calls
Expand the number of media in which
the public calls are published
Determine the time framework (deadline)
for the submission of project proposals
with clear date and time
DESIRED STATE
In the acts that regulate the deadlines for
a decision on approved projects extend
the deadline for a decision
Provide the necessary conditions for the
proper functioning of the Commission
Composition of Commission should be free
of conflicts of interest (professional
references decisive factor, a public contest
to choose evaluators of the projects)
The website of the authority that issued a
tender should include explanations for all
the rejected projects (evaluation grids
should be published on web station)
Monitoring of projects
PROBLEMS
DESIRED STATE
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations


In almost all processes of public funding at
the state level there is no monitoring of
the implementation of approved projects
even in situations where a implementer of
such activities is known
There is no sanctions for unscrupulous
work of individuals or organizations that
perform monitoring
The audit of projects
PROBLEMS
 Limited number of organizations that are
subject to audit
Assessment of the success of projects
PROBLEMS
 In most cases there is no assesment of the
success.
This project is funded
by the European Union.

In the acts that regulate the deadlines for
deciding on approved projects it is needed
to extend the deadline for making a
decision

Acts that are regulating the process of
monitoring implementation of approved
projects should establish clear
responsibility of individuals or
organizations who implement monitoring
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Lack of expertise in carrying out this work
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There is no methodology by which the
assessment of the success of projects
should be done

DESIRED STATE
Provide greater coverage of the audit of
organizations through acts that are
regulating this issue
DESIRED STATE
Through acts that are regulating this issue
is is needed to introduce a greater degree
of responsibility for the nonimplementation of assessment of the
success of projects
.Assessment of the success has to be done
by persons that have the skills and
capacities to do the job. It’s clear that the
neighbors or those who have made the
decision on the allocation of funds should
not participate in this process.
Establish the methodology for assessing
the success of projects through the Act
which regulates the process of financing
the projects of NGOs from public funds.
Group III: The process of evaluating projects in the sub law
Moderator-Ana Novaković
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PROBLEMS
Composition of the Commission is
burdened by conflict of interest and that is
main issue

DESIRED STATE
Composition of Commission should be free
of conflicts of interest (professional
references decisive factor, a public contest
to choose evaluators of the projects). It
should be taken into consideration a
proposal that evaluation commission for
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations

In the first phase of projects evaluation
(administrative check) it is not possible to
supplement the documentation. Does the
lack of a technical document should
eliminate a good project?


Insufficient capacities of the Commission
to evaluate the proposals (technical
review)
The criteria for evaluation of proposals are
not disclosed in detail before the decision
making process and known in advance
CSO.
Evaluators have a different
understanding of the criteria.
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Short term for a quality evaluation of
projects

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In many cases, there is no explanation of
the reasons for the rejection of projects



This project is funded
by the European Union.
the projects proposals have to include a
representative of the related ministry
(whose mission is to contribute to the
assessment of the relevance of the
project-connections of project proposal
with the public policy).
Any
subsequent
amendment
documentation should be specified
through the by-law. For less important
documents have to allow the possibility of
amendments within 48 hours or 72
hours. There is a possibility to create a
unique database modeled similar to
PADOR where evaluation commission can
find all the important records of the NGO.
In that case when CSO submitting a project
proposal would be no need for the
submission of technical (additional)
documentation. Such databases need to
be defined by law or by-law.
Provide the necessary conditions for the
proper functioning of the Commission
All the details on how to perform
evaluation should be published with the
call for proposals. Because of the large
difference in evaluators approach should
be created a guide that will be used in the
evaluation of projects. Guide should be
defined through by-law. Evaluation table
should to include the following criteria:
relevance, capacity of the organization
(financial,
professional,
technical),
sustainability, target group, alignment of
goals and activities. Needed to encourage
partnership between less developed and
more advanced CSO as well as CSO
partnerships with the public sector.
In the acts that regulate the deadlines for
a decision on approved projects extend
the deadline for a decision
The website of the authority that issued a
tender should include explanations for all
the rejected projects (evaluation grids
should be published on web station). This
obligation should be defined through by-
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
law.
Results of Group Work – Day II
Group I: Legal solutions in financing NGO projects at the local level and decision on the criteria, methods
and procedures for allocation of funds for NGOs
1.
The Law
The main topic of discussion was whether it is good solution to allocate 1% of the local governments’
budget. Also the question was whether we are speaking of total or current budget.
Although there was general conclusion that it would be more convenient to speak about total budget, the
general opinion was also that it would be more realistic to ask for 1% of the current budget. There was also
suggestion that this should be prescribed by the Law on NGO.
2.
Priorities
There is a proposition coming from Union of Municipalities and it should be considered, but it should be
adapted to the specific features of cities, in publishing public calls. Council for Cooperation with NGO on
local level can be the body that can serve to conduct debate on the priorities. We agreed that, if there
ought to be some priorities in the financing, it must be a result of discussions between representatives of
local governments and NGO sector.
Also, there was common opinion that good projects shouldn’t be rejected just because they are not
belonging to the area which is high on the priority list for that year. This could be possible if there would be
another category titled ‘’other’’ for which certain percentage of funds would be allocated.
3.
Commission for project evaluation
Even though the Union of Municipalities suggested formula 3+2+2, we believe that every municipality
should decide on its own principle. Because not the same rules can apply to Podgorica and Savnik, for
example. Maybe commission consisted of 3 members its suitable for Savnik, having in mind its size and the
budget, and 7-members commission might be suitable for Podgorica.
Commission members should be payed for their engagement in the Commission.
Commission members must be experienced in writing and implementing of projects, as to be adequate to
participate in the Commission work. That also applies for members which are representatives of NGOs.
We did not discuss much on the process of choosing members which would represent NGO sector, but
there is common opinion that there should be process of application and then evaluation based on
previously defined criteria.
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SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
There is common attitude that NGOs whose representatives are in the Commission shouldn't candidate
their projects. Some local governments can also, if they have competent staff, appoint those people as
commission members, and not to use the form suggested by Union of Municipalities.
The public call needs to be concrete and detailed as necessary so that there is no space for different
interpretations. We didn't discuss much on the length of the term for commission members. Example from
Niksic is that the term is 2 years and the first year has been 20122. But there were no public calls for that
period, so there is a question whether their term is finished or not.
If a commission has an NGO member, whose organization can't propose projects for that reason, then the
term should be even shorter- one year. Commission has serious line of work including: defining rules for
the public call, evaluating submitted proposals, explaining reasons for which some projects are rejected,
preparation and adaptation of supported projects, preparing contracts, monitoring of project
implementation , consultations with project implementers...
4.
Public call for project proposals
Precision, accuracy, unambiguous, clarity must be characteristic of the competition.
The principle: There are no preferences. The same rules should be applied for all participants.
The public call must be published 30 days after the adoption of the budget of the municipality.
(If the budget is not adopted by the December 31st, than maybe public call can be published in accordance
with the Decision on temporary financing, as not to wait for the Decision on adoption of the budget. )
If after all, there is need for some questions, then the question and the answer should be published online,
so that everyone would be in the same position.
We also spoke about the possibility of having two public calls during one year if all funds are not allocated
in the first one.
Very simple tool that is being used in Niksic is mailing list that serves as a source of all relevant information.
5.
Decision on projects that are to be funded
Accurately determine the criteria for project evaluation.
Those who did not get the support for their project should get written explanation with scoring list. We do
not have the proposed solution the question of possibilities to appeal on the decision.
It is possible that Commission, during the procedure, asks for additional information, but only regarding
technical matters. The content of project proposals cannot be modified. Time frame given for the technical
interventions should be short (24 or 48 hours).
These rules must be very clear in advance. First there will be eliminatory check and that there is creation of
scoring list for all projects that passed eliminatory check. It must be decided what is the minimum amount
the project can be supported with (we were talking about 50% of the project budget, but there were
opinions that it should be 1000%). The scoring list in combination with the amounts planned to support
certain projects will give the overall number of projects to be funded. We were also considering the
practice of European Commission to negotiate with the project implementer on the proposed budget
before signing the contract. Contracts need to contain clear rules about rights and obligations of the project
implementer, starting and ending dates as well as reporting deadlines.
6.
Monitoring
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Commission members should monitor the project during the project implementation. Beneficiary of the
financial support need to have the possibility to consult with commission members, during the project
implementation in order to solve all dilemmas. All applicants must be familiar with the methodology of
monitoring. Maybe good solution for choosing who will monitor which project would be to use draw.
Written report should follow each monitoring visit. Good practice is that monitoring report is also sent to
the beneficiary in case it has some comments.
7.
Auditing
Auditing should be done on all projects. We agreed that there should be certain percentage of funds
intended for external audit.
There is attitude that it can be done by employees in the Secretariat of finances.
After the auditing has been conducted, it is possible to adopt a decision on restitution of part or total funds,
or even prohibiting some organizations to candidate projects in the future. Also, there should be document
stating on all the organizations that have done according to the rules in order to serve as proof or ‘’previous
positive experience with the applicant’’
8.
Assessment of performance
This is part that is being neglected very often.
Our group considered that commission members should deal with the successfulness of the project that is
whether project fulfilled its aims. This process needs to have clear methodology and it can not leave space
for double interpretations.
This is also important in future assessment of the organizations' capacities.
There were certain comments that this approach can also serve to eliminate negative examples in the first
few years, and after that it can be done based on the principle of random sample, not on all projects.
Group II: Legal solutions in financing NGO projects at the local level and decision on the criteria, methods
and procedures for allocation of funds for NGOs
Legal basis: Law on Local Self-Government, Article 116, paragraph 2, item 5
Financing of NGO projects of interest to the local population, under the conditions and procedures
prescribed by the general act of the municipality;
Situation in practice:
NGO representatives are generally unsatisfied with the way of financing NGOs on local level.
Allocations to NGOs: Percentage and priorities:
The percentage allocated to NGOs is not defined in the municipal budget, but is reduces or increased from
year to year depending on the municipality.
Allocations to NGOs are not constant, and the public competitions for project financing are not published
regularly.
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Models in defining the priorities in local governments are different, while in some municipalities, NGOs are
not consulted when defining priorities.
Status of NGOs is not equalized in some municipalities, that is- in some municipalities there are no clear
criteria why some organizations are considered to be organizations of special public interest, and it often
happens that those organizations automatically get the highest percentage of all the funds intended for
NGOs. Sometimes, assets under discretionary powers are greater than funds that are allocated by
competition.
Commissions’ work: Evaluation
Commissions do not respect The Decision and criteria during the process of evaluation. Commission
members do not know or respect methodology.
Criteria for election of commissions’ members from NGOs and local governments are not the same (there
are prescribed criteria for NGO representatives, while there are no criteria for representatives of local
governments)
Commissions lack administrative capacities.
Deadlines for project evaluations are generally short, especially in those municipalities where there is
bigger number of applicants, which puts a shadow of a doubt of quality of evaluation process.
Public calls and fund allocation
Local governments are late with the payment of funds to CSOs whose projects were approved
In some municipalities, CSOs can not appeal on the Decision or are not familiar with the ways and
possibilities of complaints and appeals.
There are no prescribed, standard application forms in some municipalities, but the application forms from
other competition are being used. Therefore, NGOs are "forced" to find and compile the application form.
In some municipalities, not all intended funds are actually being allocated and in those situations, other
public call is not being announced, but the funds are being diverted for other purposes.
In addition, in some municipalities, there are examples of poor and non-transparent practices, which are
reflected in the fact that resources are allocated beside competition, by the unknown criteria and
procedures.
Project monitoring
Monitoring of project implementation is being conducted only in the capital city- Podgorica, since 2003 and
on the basis of free will by the members of Commission. (Therefore, there is no obligation that all
Commission members monitor the process of project implementation)
Project revisions are not being realized.
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Suggestions for situation improvement:
It is necessary to determine 1% of total budget of self government for the NGO projects.
It is necessary to continuously announce public call for project proposals, and strictly comply with The
Decision.
In the third quarter of the year to prioritize the areas that will be financed in the next year, and it is
necessary to expand the composition of the group that determines priorities (consult and involve NGOs in
those municipalities which are not included)
Contracts need to define the terms of disbursement of approved projects, and that deadline must be
before the end of the budget year and the schedule of payments of the funds must follow the course of the
project, or expenditure of funds.
It is necessary to prescribe the opportunity to appeal the Decision and to introduce organizations with the
possibilities and ways of appeal.
It is necessary to strengthen the professional and administrative capacities of the commissions (through
seminars, trainings, instruction ...) following the practices and measures of the Action Plan for the
negotiation chapter 23 in the area of civil society.
It is necessary to equalize the criteria for selection of members of the Commission from NGOs and from
local government.
Commissions should prescribe uniform application forms.
The criteria in the evaluation of projects, and score sheets should be an integral part of the public
announcement.
It is necessary to create the legal conditions for the re-announcement of the competition, if all funds are
not allocated by a previous call for proposals in the current year.
It is necessary that all documentation which i an integral part of the competition: application form or a
summary of the project, as well as the decision and the clarification to publish on the website of the local
government or some other public media.
It is necessary to prescribe longer time limits within which the Commission is to decide on project
applications, depending on the size of the municipality, the number of NGOs and the amount of funds
available, while the time limit may not be less than 30 days.
Conduct regular monitoring and evaluation of the performance of all approved / supported NGO projects,
and audits the project which is supported with more than € 10,000.
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
It is necessary to define the legal status of the organizations "of special public importance", and
differentiate them from other NGOs, so that they wouldn’t be funded from the same budget, because
NGOs without above mentioned status are in an unequal position from the start.
Members of the working group were representatives of: Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Minority Fund,
Ministry of Culture, local commissions for the allocation of funds to NGOs (Pljevlja, Kotor, Podgorica),
Association of Fine Artist of Montenegro, Active Zone, Association of Blinds Montenegro, Association
Plegije, Woman’s Action, Association of handicapped ‘’Heart’’…
Group III: Legal solutions in financing NGO projects at the local level and decision on the criteria,
methods and procedures for allocation of funds for NGOs
Problem
Rejection of the request of NGOs on the
introduction of funds for financing projects of 1%
of the total budget of municipalities
Solution
Setting a minimum of 0.6%
(Negotiating with Parliament Committees and
representatives of the Association of
Municipalities)
Vacancies irregular and in different time period
Vacancies to be published annually in clearly
specified period of time
The lack of clear criteria for selection of NGO
Clear procedures for selecting candidates to be
representatives for membership in the Commission defined;
for the allocation of funds.
Model of municipalities association to be revised
Different models and practices at the municipality
and offered as uniformed one to all municipalities;
level (voting, president selects…)
Call process to be more transparent (use existing
channels of communication systems)
Vague principle of choosing an organization of
Establish rules and procedures-the criteria on
special interest to the community
which the organization are selected.
Define what percentage of funds are available to
be allocated to these organizations and how
(through public call, without public call, etc.)
A small number of projects financed by the
Introduce a rule that projects cannot be greater
municipality, the financing of the entire budget
than 20% of the total funds-nor less than 80%
Revision of the budget by the Commission, which
Introduce a rule on budgets to be reviewed in
often seriously jeopardizes the planned objectives
consultation with the organization to which
and results of the project
resources are allocated
Organizations uninformed about the reasons for
An explanation with Evaluation grids should be
the rejection of projects, methods and Evaluation
sent to all rejected organisations, or at least all of it
grids
should be provided at the request of the
organization
Guidelines relating to the supporting
Provide one document-check list with all necessary
documentation, often confusing and varied (one
supporting documentation
guideline in the project application, the other in
the public invitation, etc..)
Statements that the applicant has not claimed
A statement that the applicant has not received
funds from other donors - (more national level)
funding for a project or part of a project (insert: at
the time of application)
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Too many supporting documents that burden in
particular small organizations which need local
resources the most
To simplify the procedure and the form itself, like
for example a part specifying the cost of the
budget for the current fiscal year etc.
Introduce a form-tabulation of information sought,
or provide additional clarification
Information on "internal" decisions of the
committee members that are not defined by rule
book
Internal decisions of the committee members
should be documented in the form of records and
made available to the targeted public (NGOs that
have applied)
Introduce the practice of additional consultations
with NGOs and the involvement of experts in that
field in the consultation process
Bearing in mind the number of approved projects
by municipalities, a model of Municipality of Tivat
should be adopted, where committee members
also do a monitoring, until a "better" solutions is
found
In accordance with the project form, a single
uniform form for narrative and financial reporting
should be created, as an integral part of the
contract. For ease of use, the form should be
available on the web-sites of Municipalities
Identify the person(s) who will be in charge for
monitoring of the reports. Make a list of
organizations that have not submitted their
reports, and eliminate them from the next public
call.
Misunderstanding of the issues that the project
deals with-risk for the project not to be supported
Lack of monitoring the implementation of projects
and the expenditure of funds by local governments
Poor financial and narrative reports of NGOs
Reports on previous projects
Annex I: Agenda
I Day , 10 April 2014.:
10:00 – 10: 30
Registration of participants
10:30 - 11:10
Opening address
Goran Đurović-TACSO Montenegro office
Mr. Andre Lys, Head of Operation section, Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro
11:10 – 11:50
Panel discussion- Financing of NGOs projects from public funds in Montenegro
Introductions
Svetlana Rajković , Negotiator for Chapter 23 and 24
Danka Latković, Head of Government Office for Cooperation with CSOs of Montenegro
Aleksandar Damjanović, Chairman, Committee on Economics, Finance and Budget of
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Parliament of Montenegro
Ana Novaković, Executive Director of the Centre for Development of Non – Governme
Organizations
11:50 – 12:30
Discussion
Moderator: Stevo Muk, TACSO Montenegro office
12:30– 13:00
Break
13:00 - 13:45
Panel Discussion- Financing of NGOs projects from public funds in the EU countries
regions
Introductions
Goran Forbici, Executive Director, Centre for Information Service, Co-operation
Development of NGOs (CNVOS)
Igor Vidačak, Head of Government Office for Cooperation with CSOs of Croatia
Dr Dragan Golubovic, expert for Non-Profit Law
13:45 – 14:30
Discussion
Moderator: Goran Đurović, TACSO Montenegro office
14:30 – 15:30
Lunch
15:30– 18:00
Group work:
1. Group: Legal solutions in financing NGO projects (amendments to the Law on NG
moderator Dr. Dragan Golubović
2. Group: The procedure for allocation of funds for NGOs (sub law) - moderator-Goran Forbic
3. Group: The process of evaluating projects in the sub law
Moderator-Ana Novaković
The aim of the workshop: defining clear guidelines for improving the financing of NGOs pro
from public funds
19:30
Dinner
II day, 11 april 2014.
10:00 - 10:45
Presentation of results of working groups
10:45– 11:45
Discussion
Moderator: Goran Đurović, TACSO Montenegro office
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
This project is funded
by the European Union.
11:45 – 12:15
Break
12:15– 13:00
Panel discussion-financing of NGO projects from the funds of Local governments
Introductions
Darka Ognjanović, Municipality of Tivat
Nazif Velić, NGO New Horizon
13:00 - 14:00
Discussion
Moderator: Goran Đurović, TACSO Montenegro office
14:00 – 15:00
Lunch
15:00 – 17:30
Working in three working groups:
Topics of the workshop: Legal solutions in financing NGO projects at the local level and dec
on the criteria, methods and procedures for allocation of funds for NGOs
The aim of the workshop: defining clear guidelines for improving the project financing of N
from public funds at the local level (analysis of municipal decisions and report on
implementation of the allocation of resources, public call / competition for the allocatio
funds for NGOs priorities, assessment of projects, monitoring of projects)
19:30
Dinner
III day, 12 april 2014.:
10:00 - 10:45
Presentation of results of working groups
10:45– 12:00
Discussion
Moderator: Marina Vuković, Centre for Development of Non – Governmental Organisations
12:00 – 12:30
Break
12:30– 13:30
Conclusions
Moderator: Goran Đurović, TACSO Montenegro office
13:30 – 15:00
Lunch
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia
Conference”Public financing of Civil Society Organisations
in Montenegro”
Hotel“Iberostar“, Bečići,Budva, Crna Gora
10.-12. April 2014.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
15:00
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Departure of participants
TACSO Montenegro Office • Dalmatinska 78• 81 000 Podgorica • t: +382 20 219 121 • f: +382 20 219 122 • e-mail: info.me@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Ecorys International Netherlands • Intrac United Kingdom • Foundation Partners for Local Development Romania
• Euclid Network United Kingdom • SMART Croatia