An independent evaluation of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014–2021, highlights the program’s significant role in supporting democratic values and strengthening civil society. While the Fund spans six thematic priorities, the evaluation focused on two: Strengthened Democratic Culture and Civic Awareness and Enhanced Capacity and Sustainability of the Civil Society Sector, including CSOs. With a budget of €16 million, the program has achieved visible impact in these areas.
Key Findings:
- Relevance of Funding:
- Under Strengthened Democratic Culture and Civic Awareness, 66.7% of beneficiaries reported that their projects fully aligned with their organizational goals, and 33.3% noted partial alignment.
- For Enhanced Capacity and Sustainability of the Civil Society Sector, including CSOs, 65.4% of organizations found the priority highly relevant to their needs, while 30.8% saw partial relevance.
- Effectiveness of Results:
- Nearly 88% of organizations implementing projects under Strengthened Democratic Culture and Civic Awareness rated the quality of their initiatives as very high, making progress in transparency, civic education, and citizen participation.
- For Enhanced Capacity and Sustainability of the Civil Society Sector, including CSOs, 92% of projects successfully improved organizational capacity, while over 80% enhanced partnerships with public and private stakeholders.
- Future Sustainability:
- Most organizations shared that project results and stakeholder engagement would continue beyond the funding period, showcasing long-term impact.
Within the framework of the evaluation, the following positive results of the implementation of the program were identified, which affect both its management and the results achieved:
- The design and rules of the program (“calls for proposals” and “grant conditions”) meet the needs and expectations of the applicant organizations, contributing to the achievement of the intended results.
- The Fund offers a suitable, established and operational grant funding scheme that contains familiar elements, rules and conditions for potential beneficiaries. The combination of well-structured application and reporting rules, regular competition sessions that do not change radically, but complement the priority goals over the years, provide an opportunity for financial support in the “purest” form (on a competitive basis) both to large, time-established organizations, and to smaller or newer ones with longer-term or shorter-term planned projects.
- The role of the Fund in the implementation period is highly valued as it enables the non-governmental sector to continue or expand its activities in times of crisis through “safe” funding. In the conditions of political and economic instability, military operations and societal transformations, the Fund enables the civil sector to continue its activities. At a time when regular sources of funding are being withdrawn or redirected, through receipts from private donors or donations, the EEA grant remains one of the leading financial mechanisms to support civil society organizations.
- There are positive assessments of the cooperation and communication with the Fund operator
- Accessing the necessary information about the Fund’s financial instruments, as well as understanding and fulfilling the eligibility requirements, were easy and did not create difficulties for the applied organizations. According to the organizations interviewed , special efforts were made to ensure that all the necessary information was available at the right time. The fact that the design of the thematic priorities is presented in a clear and accessible way is positively perceived.
- are highly satisfied with the information, guidance and considerations provided by program representatives regarding the application, selection and implementation processes. If there are aspects that have caused some difficulties for some of the participants, they are the administrative work, accountability and reporting (affecting one third of the beneficiaries), the provision of the necessary documents accompanying the implementation (28%) and the payment schedule (9%) .
- The majority of organizations that implemented projects under TP1 and TP6 were of the opinion that the proposed emergency aid schemes fully or largely met the needs of civil society at the time of their launch.
- The Small Initiatives Scheme provides a resource for introducing innovative methods and techniques to improve civil sector capacity on emerging topics such as tackling disinformation, promoting donation and fundraising in the context of war and migration processes.
- The participants in the study are adamant that the projects that received funding from the Active Citizens Fund contribute to solving important problems for the country.
The Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria provides a flexible approach and strategic support, enabling civil society organizations to adapt and address pressing societal challenges. With its focus on innovation and responsiveness to sector needs, the Fund has established itself as a reliable partner for the development of civil society in Bulgaria.
Тhe executive summary of the report can be downloaded here
Full text of the report is available here.
