Cross-border Micro-grants and Civil Society Capacity Building

In line with the GPKT Project’s general goals of cross-border co-operation, conflict prevention and community development, the Project undertakes several activities which, beyond the specific support extended to the four GPKT Working Groups, are aimed at supporting civil society in the micro-region in general.

In the last project cycle, the GPKT Project offered cross-border partnership grants to local NGOs to assist ‘learning by doing’. Through two rounds, twelve projects were funded in total, and a final evaluation and training seminar held in August 2006: the experience gained from the first cycle informed plans for this, the second cycle of the Project.

The first of the second cycle’s initiatives to support GPKT civil society overall was the compilation of a GPKT NGO & Donor Directory – a publication designed to facilitate contact-making for cross-border and multi-ethnic partnership work, and also fund-raising by local NGOs [CS CB report 1].

Alongside information collection for the Directory, a research process was undertaken to assess the current situation and key issues pertaining to relations among NGOs and donors active in the region: this work was published in June 2007 - Challenges and Priorities for Practitioners in Conflict Prevention: A Case Study of the GPKT Micro-Region.

The preliminary findings of this research were discussed, and the Directory launched, at the GPKT NGO Fair held on 16 December in Kumanovo, a networking event for civil society attracting over 250 participants from all sides of the GPKT borders [CS CB report 2].

The GPKT Project launched its third round of cross-border micro-grants in February 2007, with seven projects receiving grants. A final evaluation meeting, to which all participating NGOs and their partners were invited, was held in July 2008 and a final evaluation reports was published in September 2008.