EEA and Norway grants for local development and increased inclusion of disadvantaged groups
The Romanian Social Development Fund (FRDS) is launching on Thursday, September 13, 2018, in an official framework the Programme “Local Development and Poverty Reduction, Enhanced Roma Inclusion”, which will finance measures aimed at increasing the use of social services to disadvantaged groups and social inclusion of children and young people in risk, to contribute to combating school dropout, to developing integrated measures for Roma inclusion and to combating discrimination, to develop the capacity of central and local government to apply the principles good governance, respectively, to support the implementation of ECHR recommendations on respect for human rights in Romania.
The Programme “Local Development and Poverty Reduction, Enhanced Roma Inclusion” (Local Development) is funded through the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021 and is implemented by the Romanian Social Development Fund in partnership with the Council of Europe and the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities has an overall budget of € 82,352,941 (including 15% co-financing by the Romanian Government).
In order to achieve the proposed objectives, in the period of 2018-2019 will be launched four calls for project proposals, namely:
1. Local development (10,090,640 euro), call for improvement of quality and access to social services (inclusive education, health, employment, etc.) of disadvantaged groups.
2. Children and young people at risk (8.581.978 euro), an appeal that promotes and supports inclusive education and equal opportunities, enhancing access to and use of educational services.
3. Inclusion of Roma (EUR 16,000,000), calling for the promotion of social inclusion, combating discrimination and racism, promoting intercultural exchanges and strengthening development capacity in communities with a high percentage of ethnic Roma.
4. Human rights (EUR 5,868,529), an appeal to national public entities to implement the recommendations issued by the ECHR after 2015 on the rights of persons with disabilities, the rights of national minorities, the rights of inmates, children’s rights and women’s rights in Romania.
Financing under the Programme shall also be provided by means of two small grants schemes, namely:
Priority Interventions for Roma Inclusion (€ 1,647,059), a call which shall provide emergency funding to improve the social and educational facilities for children and young people, increase of access to health services, improvement of living conditions, facilitate the issuance of identity papers, ensure social and legal support for victims of evictions, promotion of intercultural exchanges, etc.
Support for Local Development (€ 1,000,000), a call which shall provide the financing of local authorities in order to increase their capacity to apply for other financing, respectively for technical assistance services for the preparation of technical documentation and obtaining the necessary legal approvals for investments / measures aiming at local development in poor areas
To help strengthen bilateral relations between Romania and Donor States, the Programme supports cooperation, partnerships and exchange of experience between Romanian entities and entities from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway operating in the Programme areas.
Specific details about the Local Development Programme are available on www.frds.ro and on the Facebook page of the Programme.
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About FRDS
The Romanian Social Development Fund was established in 1998 as a public interest organization under the authority of the Romanian Government, through which projects are funded to improve living conditions for poor communities and disadvantaged groups in rural or urban areas. In its 18 years of activity, RSDF has funded more than 1,630 social development projects, totalling approx. 140 million euro. The funds managed by RSDF came mainly from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and from the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), to which were added the contribution of the Romanian Government and that of the direct beneficiaries. Starting with 2013, the RSDF became the Programme Operator for the RO10 Programme “Children and Young People at Risk and Local and Regional Initiatives to Reduce National Inequalities and Promote Social Inclusion” funded by EEA Grants 2009-2014, and since 2017, Programme Operator (OP) for the Programme “Local Development and Poverty Reduction, Enhanced Roma Inclusion”, funded through the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021.
About EEA and Norway Grants
The EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021 are grants from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reduce economic and social disparities and strengthen the cooperation of the three donor states with 15 EU countries. The total amount of funds allocated to the 15 European states in the period 2014-2021 is 2.8 billion. Through the EEA and Norway Grants, Romania benefits from € 502.5 million between 2014 and 2021 to finance projects in areas such as local development, poverty alleviation, Roma inclusion, public health, innovation, business environment, NGO sector, research and education, renewable energy, environment, heritage and cultural exchange, justice, correctional services, internal affairs, etc. For further details on the EEA and Norway Grants, please visit www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro.