- Enhancing Online and Offline Forms of Citizen Participation in Public Deliberation and Democratic Processes
- Supporting civil society organisations` resilience in shrinking spaces
- Human rights and anti-corruption watchdogs
The project activities must take place in one or more of the targeted countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Cross-border activities with other EU member states may be considered as well.
Deadline – July 15, 2023.
An information session for applicants will be held on June 8, 2023, at 12:00 noon. You may register for the event here.
More information about the Call for proposal, including mandatory forms for application are available here: https://www.gmfus.org/proteus-0
Enhancing Online and Offline Forms of Citizen Participation in Public Deliberation and Democratic Processes
Public trust in government is dropping across Central Europe, while citizens disengage and lose interest in democratic processes. Insufficient transparency, lack of open governance, and too little accountability of public officials result in low levels of civic engagement.
In contrast, civil society and the enabling infrastructures it creates are crucial to counter the negative trends of low public participation and political apathy, to foster civic engagement, and to ensure the equal enjoyment of fundamental rights and EU values in society as a whole.
For this reason, The Transatlantic Foundation (TF), in cooperation with the Engaging Central Europe (ECE) program of The German Marshall Fund of the United States, is launching a dedicated Call for Proposals. This funding opportunity aims to support civil society organizations (CSOs) with the objective to enhance online and offline citizen participation in public deliberation and decision-making processes in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Under this call, TF will support short-to-medium-term projects with a duration of 6 to 24 months, with a budget ranging from EUR 10,000 to 25,000 for single-country projects and from EUR 10,000 to 40,000 for cross-border projects.
Types of Eligible Activities:
- organization of inclusive online and offline participatory processes, frameworks, event series and other participatory formats
- organization of inclusive online and offline issue-driven or community-based dialogue formats or other deliberative platforms
- organization of civic platforms and civic dialogues, awareness raising, outreach, communication and public information campaigns through social media
- building coalitions and partnerships among CSOs, coordination and strategic cooperation between CSOs and other stakeholders, including public or private sector entities
- other online/offline forms of supporting civic engagement at the local, regional, or national level in public deliberation, political decision-making, and implementation or monitoring of policy processes
Supporting civil society organisations` resilience in shrinking spaces
Civil society is a key advocate and main bulwark of democracy, fundamental rights, and European values but its capacity and reach has become severely limited by the shrinking of space for it in several EU member states in Central Europe. Instead of enjoying a supportive environment, civil society organizations (CSOs) in these countries are often publicly intimidated and challenged by insufficient resources and legal attacks.
For this reason, the Transatlantic Foundation (TF), in cooperation with the Engaging Central Europe (ECE) program of The German Marshall Fund of the United States, is launching a dedicated Call for Proposals with the objective to support the organizational development and adaptation of watchdog, transparency, and inclusion CSOs in EU member states heavily affected by the shrinking space phenomenon, such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
Under this call, TF will support short-to-medium-term projects with a duration of 6 to 24 months, with a budget ranging from EUR 10,000 to 25,000 for single-country projects and from EUR 10,000 to 40,000 for cross-border projects.
Types of Eligible Activities:
- organizational and operational development projects that aim at effective adaptation to the negative changes in the operational environment caused by the shrinking space phenomenon
- trainings increasing the IT security skills of CSO staff
- trainings increasing the psychological and emotional resilience of CSO staff to intimidation and other forms of psychological pressure
- awareness-raising campaigns and coalition building that may help adaptation of CSOs to an operational environment characterized by shrinking space
Strengthening the Presence of Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Watchdogs in Peripheral and Rural Areas
Increasing political polarization of societies and deepening urban-rural and regional cleavages have a profound impact on democratic politics. To foster equal rights and opportunities and good governance for citizens irrespective of where they live within a country, the Transatlantic Foundation, in cooperation with the Engaging Central Europe (ECE) program of The German Marshall Found of the United States, is launching a dedicated Call for Proposals. The objective of the call is to strengthen the presence of human rights and anti-corruption watchdog civil society organizations (CSOs) in peripheral and rural areas and to enhance advocacy for human rights and transparency in peripheries, along with stronger engagement of rural citizens in asserting their voices and rights, in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Under this call, TF will support short-to-medium-term projects with a duration of 6 to 24 months, with a budget ranging from EUR 10,000 to 25,000 for single-country projects and from EUR 10,000 to 40,000 for cross-border projects.
Types of Eligible Activities:
- awareness raising and outreach activities; communication and public information
- organization of civic platforms and civic dialogues
- building coalitions and partnerships among CSOs; coordination and strategic cooperation between CSOs and other stakeholders, including public or private sector entities
- watchdog and monitoring activities
- advocacy to influence local or regional policy and decision-making processes
- organizational and operational development projects that aim at extending the presence and activities of established watchdog CSOs to peripheral and rural areas

This Call for Proposal was published as part of the EU CERV program PROTEUS by the Transatlantic Foundation in partnership with CeRe and is co-funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Transatlantic Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.