Managing and developing the Platform as a Network Slovak NGDO Platform Managing and developing the Platform as a Network Slovak NGDO Platform Successes and difficulties of 2006 Trialog Central Training March 26th – 27th 2007, Tallin, Estonia

Platform's framework Platform officially registered with its Statutes and Structure 2003 – the effort to manage and develop functioning Structure of the Platform: –Members Assembly – 33 mems. (4 new) –Board – 5 members + Ex. Secretary –Secretariat – stuff: 2 full time + new 2 part-time –Working groups – new - active WG; new - active task forces

Board & Secretariat BOARD ensures the fulfillment of duties and sets objectives of NGDO Platform Decision-making body (GA for statutory issues) Representives of the Platform as network (national and EU/ CONCORD level) SECRETARIAT executive and institutional body Executive Secretary + stuff (3 new people) Financing: Project's support only (2 + 2 new projects)

Working groups & Task forces beggining officially stated WGs: –DE WG with DESS task force –Development projects WG (Africa and Balcan) –Volunteering WG –Humanitarian Aid –G-CAP task-force during new WGs were established at the autumn GA: –Legal Framework WG –WG Management ( secretariat management task force)

Temathic division of the fields within the Platform Development projects in dev. countries - members Humanitarian and post-humanitarian aid - members DE & RA in Slovakia – members and specifically Platform's secretariat Slovak and European policy – Platform's secretariat and board

Platform´s strategizing process 2006 the process of formation since the beginning of the Platform more projects, partners, CONCORD membership - necessity to define priorities and to combine them with members expectations January 2006 – strategic planning meetings - on internal level – summary and division of tasks within: the mission of the Platform - Statutes, tasks and goals adopted at last Member Assembly, project´s activities of the secretariat

Plan and its evaluation PLAN: transfer of competencies from the Board to the secretariat EVALUATION: Relation between the Board and the Secretariat - in the process of formation and is the subject for the new WG Management (plan 2007) PLAN: transfer certain initiatives from the secretariat to the constituency (through WGs) EVALUATION: hapenned only to a certain extent. Initiative of the members - still week

Main difficulty – the role of the secretariat unclear relations among all stakeholders – their priorities and responsibilities. Different perseption of the secretariat: –by members - as a service provider, caring for its own sustanaibility and management –by official Platform’s partners - as a common voice of the NGDO sector in Slovakia able to provide an expertize in certain issues –by the Board as an executive body implementing board decisions, and caring for the Platform´s outer image as a network

Secretariat reality 2006 People at the Secretariat are project managers (1 project/person) Original project´s activities partly meeting the expectations of members, Board and partners and never the secretariat management as such Secretariat itself is comprised of 2 full-time employees. For the key activities the secretariat/ board should find financial and human sources (f.e.: providing info-service, active CONCORD membership, rent, etc.) Good planning and management + multi-sources financing = secretariat priority No.1

Guestions posed to Autum Member Assembly 2006: What are priority activities of the Secretariat at its current capacity? How to asure/raise capacities for the activities, that can not be covered for the moment (or are hardly covered? - human resources How to assure the financialal sustainability of the Platform? - financial resources

Main areas of the Secretariat activities 1.Assure sustainable basic functioning of the Platform (institutional and statutory field). 2.Information service for members - and web service. 3.Involvement in the key processes on the MFA SR/ Governmental/ Parliamental level or indicated by them – lobby and advocacy, dialogue and partnership on national level. 4.Represent the member´s concern in CONCORD – EU level 5.Development Education and rising awareness. 6.Projects field – running projects with specific activities (organizing the conferences, media work, etc., project management and new projects planning) The priorities defined by the majority of members: No. 1+ No. 3 (while trying to keep pace in all other priorities defined).

Successes in 2006

„Big“ activities of the Platform in 2006 Cooperation among members, the Secretariat, the Board, and other partners functions: In 2006 the Platform organized: 3 seminars/ conferences –“The new EU - Africa Strategy and its implementation – Recommendations from a Central European Perspective” –Seminar for members on African projects –The conference “ODA legal and institutional framework – flexibility in ODA management)

2 GAs, meetings of WGs (DE, ODA LF, Africa, DESS, G-CAP) Continual communication with the MFA SR - new representation at MFA SR after elections 06 – several meetings were organized Lobbying for increase in both total and bilateral ODA funds, institutional support for the Platform, etc. (14 lobby letters in 2006) Cooperation with the MF SR established (OECD/DAC statistics reporting project) Cooperation with the ME SR (DE School Curricula project started – continuation in 2007

G-CAP campaign and WBD event on Oct. 17, Slovak NGOs represented in 3 CONCORD WGs (Policy, Enlargement, DEF) With 2 new EU projects (MDGs and DESS) - distribution of tasks at the Secretariat slowly started (2 new part-time employees) Financial analysis (base for fin. planning) and deep control of the Secretariat functioning was performed.

Management of the Platform - a priority issue also for members. Serious negotiations on the institutional support of the Platform started – Memorandum of Understanding presented to the MFA SR (in reality the support might develop into some other form).

Core needs identified for the Platform’s functioning Minimum (EUR) Maximum (EUR) Human sources (Exec. Secretary, office and finance. Assistant) Office supply (communic. & admin) Rent Concord fee Meetings/ Seminars Travel TOTAL (cca)

The main challenges facing the Platform during 2007 Process of the new ODA law formation – the Platform´s representative in the MFA WG - involved in the process from the beginning Slovak Dev. Agency – set up January 1, 06 – even before the Development Act was adopted!!! Increase in bilateral ODA funds – continual objective of our lobbying activities

Strategic planning and management - the process started in 2006 should continue in 2007 Institutional support for the Platform –BL for institutional support of umbrella organizations – probable Improved functionning od WGs DESS 2007 – June 26 – July 2, 07, Častá Papiernička, Slovakia

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