Project Title: Increasing capacity of Hungarian NGDOs to engage in dialogue on European development issues

Implementing Organisation: HAND- Hungarian Association of NGOs for Development & Humanitarian Aid

Total Budget: 39 745 euros

Total Request from Fund: 29 245 euros

Context at the Beginning of the Project:

Reflecting on global issues related to development cooperation was a new activity for NGDOs in Hungary. Only recently had formal structures been put into place, such as policies, that formalised the approach to development cooperation. However, the capacity of all stakeholders was very limited coupled with which there was little opportunity for cooperation between domestic and international stakeholders. Secondly, public awareness on development cooperation was almost non-existent.

In the given circumstances one of the biggest challenges facing the Hungarian NGDO Platform was to provide an opportunity for the NGDOs to become more actively involved in development cooperation whether it be in familiar or unknown development issues and geographical regions. Moreover, the National NGDO Platform needed to participate in the formulation of the development policy at both national and European levels. At the same time, providing the public with relevant information and building a strong public opinion in favour of development cooperation was a precondition for an effective Hungarian development cooperation policy, especially with regard to the Hungarian contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Description of the Project and Expected Results:

HAND was the only NG(D)O platform that implemented three projects with PF funding. As the main objective for the first project it identified the need to build the capacity of the Hungarian NG(D)O platform and its members particularly in relation to EU development cooperation. There was a need for more joint actions, joint strategies and a common position. HAND would like to set up working groups on Aid Watch, the (EU) Near Neighbourhood policy, the Africa Strategy and Development Education and regularly publish an Aid Watch Newsletter.

Results after Implementation:

The second PF funded project was agreed to while the first one was still being implemented. The proposal focussed more strongly on developing advocacy and lobby know-how and capacity through workshops, study tours and development of an advocacy toolkit.

HAND also wanted to work more on monitoring ODA and ensuring that national development cooperation priorities would be translated at the EU level. In fact the proposal was a continuation of/addition to the first project intensifying the lobby and ODA monitoring activities. The mid-term project indicated that while the working groups were actively preparing a report and attending international meetings, managing two projects simultaneously posed a serious problem.

Many of the proposed workshops and study tours had to postponed to the second half of the project implementation period, while the advocacy toolkit had not been developed at the time of the midterm report. As the second and third grant overlapped, some of the activities were continued and reported on in the last report.