The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law

Volume 3, Issue 4, March 2001

April 27, 2001

9:00 am – 9:45 am – Welcome to participants:
Leon Irish, President, ICNL

Mary Ann Riegelman, Civil Society/Media Division Chief, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, United States Agency for International Development – Washington

Opening addresses:

Her Excellency Zeljka Antunović, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia

Pamela Lane Baldwin, Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development – Croatia

9:45 am – 11:00 am – Compacts: an Option for Cooperation?

Introductory remarks: Alex Budden, Development Officer, British Embassy – Croatia.

Plenary: An introduction to compacts, also known as “programs of cooperation,” between governments, both local and national, and the NGO sector. A comparative discussion of the experiences of the United Kingdom,  Croatia, and Estonia focusing on the circumstances under which compacts are most beneficial.

Panel: Cvjetana Plavsa-Matić, Head of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Croatia; Daimar Liiv,  Project Coordinator, Center for Policy Studies (PRAXIS), Estonia

Moderator: Gjylieta Mushkolaj, Professor of Law, University of Prishtina, and Executive Director, Kosovar Institute for NGO Law, Kosovo

11:00 am – 11:30 am – Coffee Break

11:30 am – 1:00 pm – Working groups: Making Compacts Operational 

Facilitators: Katarina Adamkova, Marieta Dimitrova,
Primoz Sporar, Sanja Baric

A discussion of practical issues raised by compacts. Increasing the effectiveness of compacts through terms of agreement, appropriate representation of the NGO sector, and involvement of other partners. Facilitating new government policies and legislation regarding financial support to NGOs through use of compacts.

Wrap up for working groups

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Lunch

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Plenary: Reports from Working Groups on Compacts

Moderator: Muatar Khaidarova, ICNL Consultant in Tajikistan

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Plenary: Introduction to Public Financing of NGOs

An introduction to the forms of public financing for NGOs. Central and local budgets, and other sources of public financing for NGOs. International and regional models for public financing.

Panel: Don Wallace
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Chairman, International Law Institute, USA; Christiana Weidel, The World of NGOs, Austria

Moderator: Scott Overall, Attorney at Law, Sonenthal and Overall, P.C., USA

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Coffee Break

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Working Groups: Access of NGOs to Government Funding

Legislative and administrative means by which various financing mechanisms can be made available to NGOs or improved. Means of resolving questions regarding NGO eligibility for state financing.

7:30 pm – Dinner

April 28, 2001

9:00 am – 9:15 am – NGO/Local Government Partnerships: Success Story from Bulgaria

Presented by Marieta Dimitrova, Attorney at Law, AM & Partners, and ICNL Consultant, Bulgaria

9:15 am – 10:30 am – Plenary: Innovative Approaches to Public Financing for NGOs

A discussion of the benefits to central and local governments of funding NGOs. Potential problems for NGOs’ independence resulting from public financing. Innovative approaches for improving NGO access to public financing. Privatization of social services and its implications for NGOs.

Panel: Ing. Petr Pajas, First Consulting, p.b.c., Czech Republic; Janusz Szewczuk, City Councilor, City of                                                                                                             Szczecin, Poland; Ancuta Vamecu, Executive Director, Civil Society Development Foundation, Romania

Moderator: Radost Toftisova, Legal Advisor, ICNL

10:30 am – 11:00 am – Coffee Break

11:00 am – 12:30 am – Working Groups: From Eligibility to Implementation

A discussion of implementation issues raised by public financing. Ensuring fair and transparent application and selection processes for state support. Using flexible financial arrangements to enable NGOs to participate in state financed projects. Improving project implementation and building NGO capacity to comply with government oversight requirements.

12:30 pm – 1:00 pm – Wrap up sessions for the working groups

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Lunch

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm –    The Mechanism of Cooperation between NGOs and the Local Government in Gdynia: Success Story from Poland

Presented by Mihal Guc, Deputy Mayor of the City of Gdynia, Poland

2:15 pm – 3:15 pm – Plenary: Negotiating Agreements between Government                                                                                                             and NGOs

A practical discussion of common issues encountered in negotiating agreements, including terms of the agreement and measurement of results.

Panel: Lindsay Driscoll, Consultant, Sinclair Taylor and Martin, UK; Cvjetana Plavsa-Matić, Head of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Croatia

Moderator: Dragan Golubovic, Senior Legal Advisor, ICNL

3:15 pm – 3:45 pm – Coffee Break

3:45 pm – 5:15 pm – Plenary: Reports from the working groups 

Wrap up and closing

Moderators: Douglas Rutzen Vice-President, ICNL, and Natasha Gaber Researcher, Institute for Sociological, Political, and Juridical Resources, Republic of Macedonia

7:30 pm – Dinner