We answered the ten most frequently asked questions regarding the currently open competition within the Strong Green support program.

 1. Can civil society organizations that have not had income or implemented projects so far, for example, those organizations that have just been established, apply for the competition?

The Strong Green program is intended for small, local civil society organizations whose annual turnover from 2019 and 2020 does not exceed EUR 50,000. Newly established organizations that do not have previously generated revenues or implemented projects meet the formal requirements for applying. It is necessary to point out in the project idea proposal that the organization has adequate capacities for the preparation and implementation of the proposed project. Under the appropriate capacities, it is considered that the organization has human and administrative resources for timely and responsible project management and for participation in all activities of the Program.

2. How is local public policy monitored and is it a mandatory activity?

Monitoring local public policies should be an integral part of any successful project idea. The analysis of public policies will be performed according to the methodology developed within the Green Incubator project. Organizations selected to receive support through the Strong Green Program will undergo mandatory training during which they will receive clear guidelines and instructions for monitoring local public policies in the area for which they are applying under the Program. For example, if an organization applies for the field of waste management, that organization will perform an analysis of local public policies that regulate the field of waste management.

3. Is it possible to apply for funds that are less than 1,400,000 RSD (eg 800,000 RSD)?

The requested funds may not be less than RSD 1,400,000.00 or more than RSD 1,800,000.00. At this stage of the competition, organizations are expected to make only a rough estimate of the costs they will need to carry out the planned activities. The full project proposal, along with the preparation of the logical framework and project budget matrix, will be prepared by the selected organizations with the mentoring support provided by the BOS team during March 2022.

4. Can any legal entity apply for support under the Strong Green program?

Support within this competition is intended exclusively for civil society organizations registered as associations, foundations or endowments, in accordance with the applicable Law on Associations or the Law on Endowments and Foundations. If you are not registered as an association, you can apply for the Strong Green program for informal groups, which will open in mid-January 2022. For information about this competition, we invite you to follow the website of our partners, Young Researchers of Serbia.

5. Are partnerships mandatory?

Making partnerships with other organizations is not mandatory according to the propositions of this competition. However, if you estimate that you need help to implement planned activities from another organization (or more of them), then it is possible to submit a project idea proposal in partnership with one or more organizations (as needed). Please note that the criteria related to the project organization also apply to partner organizations and that all partner organizations should participate in the design and implementation of the proposed project, as well as in other activities within the Program. Proposals for project ideas submitted in partnership will be treated in the same way as proposals submitted independently.

6. Does the organization, whose contract for financing with EU funds expires on April 1, 2022, have the right to apply?

The beginning of the contractual obligation on the Strong Green program is March 1, 2022, and it is important that you do not be the beneficiary of other financial support from the EU from that moment. If your project and donor commitments are fully completed by then, then you could apply for support through the Strong Green program. However, if your commitment to the donor continues during March, then, unfortunately, you would not be able to apply for the Strong Green support program.

7. Why does the beginning of the contractual obligation differ from the beginning of the realization of project activities?

Organizations whose project idea proposals will be selected to participate in the Program will work on writing full project proposals in March and drafting complete project documentation with the help of assigned mentors. Therefore, the contractual obligation will refer to the period from March 1 to October 31, while the period from April 1 to October 31, 2022 should be planned as the beginning of the realization of project activities.

8. Can an organization that has received support in previous cycles through the Strong Green program apply again?

The fact that you used to be beneficiaries of the Strong Green program does not prevent you from applying again. Organizations are encouraged to apply for the same program area for which they have already received funding, but this is not a necessary condition. For example, if you used to deal with climate change, you are now allowed to apply for a project idea that deals with nature protection. It is only important that you compete with a new authentic project idea, ie that you do not use proposals for which you have already provided support.

9. Can a project associate be a CSO from abroad?

If you think this contributes to the implementation of your project, the project associate may be an organization from abroad. It is only important that all activities are implemented on the territory of Serbia and that the conditions related to the project associate are met (more details on page 12 of the Guidelines for Applicants).

10. Is the organization of the session planned?

For the purpose of a more detailed presentation of the competition, the Belgrade Open School will organize a pre-selection training on January 17, 2022. at 10 o'clock. On that occasion, instructions for successful writing of project idea proposals will be provided and all additional questions of interested individuals will be answered. If you want to follow the pre-selection training, it is necessary to apply HERE.

Apply through the online platform

For more information on the Strong Green Support Program, the Green Incubator project and all the conditions for participation in the Program, see the Guidelines for Applicants, which can be found HERE.

You can download the entire package of documents necessary for participation in the Program HERE.

The deadline for submitting project ideas is January 31, 2022. years until 3 p.m. Proposals for project ideas submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Registration is done exclusively through the online platform which you can access HERE.

If you have any doubts about the competition and the Strong Green program, you can contact the project team at zeleni.inkubator@bos.rs.

The program is being implemented within the Green Incubator project, which the Belgrade Open School is implementing with partners Young Researchers of Serbia and Environmental Engineers. The project seeks to contribute to the strengthening of civil society organizations dealing with environmental protection, to support the initiatives of local informal groups and to explore the potential and make recommendations for socio-economic development of local communities on the principles of green (circular) economy. You can read more about the project HERE.