25 November 2004
ORPHEUS CIVIL SOCIETY PROJECT
NETWORK MEETING
Ukrainian Citizen Action Service (UCAN), 47 Volodymyrska St., office 9, 4th floor, 01034 Kiev, Ukraine, tel. +380.44.4944597, 2295002
6-7 November 2004
Chair: Nino Saakashvili, Horizonti, the Foundation for the Third Sector
Rapporteur: Joanna Wieteska, European Foundation Centre (EFC)
Participants:
Lukasz Domagala, Regional Centre for Support to Non-Governmental Initiatives (RCWIP), Walbrzych
Vasylyna Dybaylo, GURT Resource Centre for NGO Development, Kiev
Pawel Jordan, Support Office for the Movement of Social Initiatives (BORIS), Warsaw
Eric Kemp, EFC
Katarina Kostalova, Slovak Academic Information Agency - Service Centre for the Third Sector (SAIA N.O.), Bratislava
Anna Koziel, Polish NGO Office in Brussels and Forum for Non-Governmental Initiatives (FIP), Warsaw
Bohdan Maslych, GURT Resource Centre for NGO Development, Kiev
Agnieszka Orzechowska, Centre for Promotion and Development of Civil Initiatives (OPUS), Lodz
Rasma Pipike, Centre for Non-Governmental Organisations, Riga
Monika Plona, SPLOT, The Network of Information and Support for Non-Governmental Organisations, Warsaw
Aniko Porkolab, Nonprofit Information and Training Centre (NIOK), Budapest
Nino Saakashvili, Horizonti- The Foundation for the Third Sector, Tbilisi
Ionut Sibian, Civil Society Development Foundation, Bucharest
Yuriy Trofimenko, Centre for Humane Technologies (AHALAR), Chernigov
Evgeniya Verba, Volga-Vlatka NGOs Support Centre – Sluzhenye, Nizhny Novgorod
Joanna Wieteska, EFC
Apologies:
Goyko Bezovan, Centre for Development of Non-Profit Organisations (CERANEO), Zagreb
Renata Kozlicka-Glinska, KLON/JAWOR Association, Warsaw
Mihai Lisetchi, Agency for Information and Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (AID-ONG), Timisoara
Kristina Mand, Network of Estonian Non-Profit Organisations (NENO), Tallinn
Stevo Muk, Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organisations (CRNVO), Podgorica
Natasa Sukic, Centre for Information Services, Co-operation and the Development of NGOs (CNVOS), Ljubljana
Iouri Zagoumennov, Support Centre for Associations and Foundations (SCAF), Minsk
1. Opening Remarks
Hosted by GURT Resource Centre for NGO Development, the Orpheus Civil Society Project (CSP) Network Meeting was held on 6-7 November 2004 in Kiev. The meeting was chaired by Nino, CSP Advisory Board Chair, who welcomed the participants and briefed them on the current activities and development of the Network.
2. Recruitment of Orpheus Civil Society Network (CSN) Coordinator
The event started with a joint meeting of Orpheus CSP Advisory Board and Search Committee accompanied by Network Members to discuss the recruitment process of Orpheus CSN Coordinator to run the Network from 1 January 2005. The participants discussed brief reports of Search Committee Members on the telephone interviews held with three shortlisted candidates. If a candidate is ready to start later than from 1 January 2005, the EFC may be expected to provide coordinator support to the Network in the meantime.
2.1 Final Selection Steps
Search Committee and Advisory Board Members jointly selected one candidate that best suits the job requirements and the needs of the Network. The participants agreed to ask Orpheus CSP Centre based in the city where the candidate resides to help with further steps of the recruitment process. This includes:
- Checking the candidate’s references
- Meeting the candidate and conducting an interview with him or her on the spot
- Sharing results of the process with Network Members by 23 November 2004
Should the final stage of the recruitment process prove that the candidate does not appear to suit the position, the recruitment process may be reopened.
2.2 Coordinator’s Future Base
As for the future base of Orpheus CSN Coordinator, Eric offered to host this person in the EFC office in Warsaw for the first three months of his work. This will allow for a smooth transition of the project. The CSN Coordinator may alternatively be located in the city of its present residence The condition is that both parties, i.e. the Coordinator and Orpheus CSN Member located in that city, i.e. NIOK , express their mutual agreement.
2.3 Coordinator’s Evaluation Procedure
Finally, it was agreed that the work of the Coordinator would be evaluated by the Governing Board of the Orpheus CSN, the detailed review procedure to be developed. Detailed terms and conditions of employment will be included in the contract of employment, a draft of which to be prepared by Pawel.
ACTION:
- NIOK to check the candidate’s references, conduct a face-to-face interview with him or her and share their views with the Network by 26 November 2004.
- NIOK to explore the possibility of hosting the future Orpheus CSN Coordinator in its premises by 3 December 2004.
- The Secretariat to prepare an evaluation procedure including an evaluation form for the Coordinator’s position by 3 December 2004.
- Pawel to prepare a draft contract of employment by 3 December 2004.
3. Electing Orpheus CSN Bodies
The election of Orpheus CSN bodies was preceded by a discussion over election procedure. It was agreed that at least 40% of the Governing Board is reelected every year. A nominee has to fulfill the following criteria:
- come from a member organisation of Orpheus CSN
- be authorized by its organisation to act as its representative
Lukasz confirmed that there were 18 qualified nominees from the Orpheus CSN Members. The election process was supervised by a Voting Committee consisting of the participants not entitled to be nominees at the moment of voting: Katarina, Rasma and Ionut.
3.1 Electing Orpheus CSN Governing Board
The function of the Orpheus CSN Governing Board is to officially represent the Orpheus CSN and supervise its activities. The Board was elected by secret ballot. Each of the participants entitled to vote could choose 2 candidates from the group of 18 nominees. The votes were counted by the Voting Committee and as a result the following persons were selected to sit on the Orpheus CSN Governing Board:
- Lukasz Domagala, Regional Centre for Support of Non-Governmental Initiatives (RCWIP), Walbrzych
- Vasylyna Dybaylo, GURT Resource Centre for NGO Development, Kiev
- Balzs Gerencser, Nonprofit Information and Training Centre (NIOK), Budapest
- Anna Koziel, Polish NGO Office in Brussels and Forum for Non-Governmental Initiatives (FIP), Warsaw
- Kristina Mand, Network of Estonian Non-Profit Organisations (NENO), Tallinn
- Stevo Muk, Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organisations (CRNVO), Podgorica
- Nino Saakashvili, Horizonti- The Foundation for the Third Sector, Tbilisi
It was agreed that the members of the Governing Board would select three of their number to serve as Chair and two Vice-chairs.
3.2 Electing Orpheus CSN Revisory Commission
The function of the Orpheus CSN Revisory Commission is to execute internal supervision over the Network’s activities. The following persons were elected to serve on the Orpheus CSN Revisory Commission:
- Pawel Jordan, Support Office for the Movement of Social Initiatives (BORIS), Warsaw
- Mihai Lisetchi, Agency for Information and Development of Non-Governmental Organisations (AID-ONG), Timisoara
- Evgeniya Verba, Volga-Vlatka NGOs Support Centre – Sluzhenye, Nizhny Novgorod
Should Mihai not accept the nomination, the following person has been chosen as a member of the Commission:
- Agnieszka Orzechowska, Centre for Promotion and Development of Civil Initiatives (OPUS), Lodz
ACTION:
- Lukasz to contact Balazs and Mihai to check if they agree to sit on the Governing Board and Revisory Commission respectively.
- Lukasz to coordinate the process of selecting the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the
Governing Board by 10 December 2004.
4. Standards of the Orpheus CSN
The participants discussed the membership requirements, the issue of membership fees and key initiatives of the Network.
4.1 Membership Requirements
The participants reviewed and accepted a document with membership standards of Orpheus CSN prepared by Membership Committee members: Kristina, Nino and Lukasz.
It was decided that the Governing Board of the Orpheus CSN shall develop clear criteria for Supporting Members. Generally, their role is perceived in terms of providing a wide range of services, financial included, to the Orpheus CSN.
4.2 Membership Fee
As stated in the Statute of Orpheus CSN, Network Members are obliged to pay membership fees. Two possible suggestions as for the amount of the fee were presented and discussed: (1) proportional fee rate, 0.25 % of member’s budget but not less than 200 euro per year; (2) fixed fee rate, 200 euro per year. Having considered all pros and cons of the two solutions, the participants decided on the fixed annual fee amounting at least to 200 euro.
It was agreed that the fee is to be paid to the Orpheus CSN account by the end of the first quarter of a year. In the case of a new organisation joining the Network, the fee is payable one month after the organisation is approved as a member of Orpheus CSN. The fee shall not vary depending on the time of the year when an organisation joined the Network. The Secretariat will draft a suitable invoice form.
ACTION:
- The Secretariat to draft a suitable invoice form by 10 December 2004
5. Local Government Relations with NGOs
Joanna briefed the participants on the development of the initiative and the process of collecting data based on a template prepared by Stevo. The participants went through a draft of a brief report based on questionnaires sent in by:
- Non-Governmental Organisation Information and Support Centre (NISC), Vilnius
- Volga-Vyatka NGOs Support Centre – Sluzhenye, Nizhny Novgorod
- Centre for Development of Non-Profit Organisations (CERANEO), Zagreb
- Agency for Information and Development of Non-governmental Organisations (AID-ONG), Timisoara
5.1 Outcomes of the Report
The discussion on the brief report revealed a general need to collect more data and produce a comprehensive study of relations between local governments and NGOs. It was stressed that in majority of countries this would be a unique study in this field.
5.2 Further Development of the Initiative
As a result of a general interest to develop further this initiative, a decision was taken that the Secretariat would once again disseminate the template to all Orpheus CSP Centres and Information Points and ask them to fill it in best to their knowledge and experience. Once there is representative data (8-10 replies from both EU countries and EU neighbouring countries), Stevo has offered to produce the final report on this initiative.
ACTION:
- The Secretariat to resend Stevo’s template to the Network by 26 November 2004.
- Orpheus CSP Centres and Information Points as well as Orpheus CSN Members to send in completed questionnaires by 23 December 2004
- Stevo to draft the final report by 31 January 2005
6. Federalisation of National NGOs
Lukasz summarized to-date Network’s activities in this field. This includes a workshop on Building NGO Federations in Central and Eastern Europe organized by the Orpheus CSP as a part of the III Polish National Forum of Non-Governmental Initiatives in Warsaw on 20 September 2004. This opened a discussion on the role of NGO federation on a national level. Ionut stressed that the process of federalization increase the lobbying capacity of NGOs. Bohdan added that it allows to build common grounds without centralizing the work of NGOs. Finally, Nino pointed out that the initiative of federalization of national NGOs should be perceived in terms of mutually launching topic-wise advocacy campaigns. It was concluded that Nino would act as a leader of this initiative and assisted by Lukasz, be responsible for a preparation of a template with key issues concerning the process of building national federations of NGOs. As the participants agreed that it would be good to have an event that would allow for an exchange of experience from this field Aniko proposed that NIOK could host such a meeting in May/June 2005, the exact date to be determined.
ACTION:
- Nino with the assistance of Lukasz to prepare a template on building national federations of NGOs by 23 December 2004.
- Aniko to explore the possibility of NIOK hosting an event related to the issue of federalisation of national NGOs in May/June 2005.
7. Orpheus CSN Website
Joanna briefed the participants on the development of the Orpheus CSN website, which now contains updated profiles of Orpheus CSN Centres. Lukasz briefly presented the idea of communication groups to act in future as a communication tools for Orpheus CSN members. The participants exchanged their views on the Orpheus CSN website and shared their experience in this respect showing their organisations’ websites. It was concluded that the Orpheus CSN website should serve as the main and most effective means of external communication of the Network.
8. Acknowledgements
Due to the fact that the present meeting closed the ten-year period of Orpheus CSP, several people took the opportunity to express their gratitude and acknowledgements:
- Nino on behalf of the CSP Advisory Board expressed her gratitude towards Bohdan and GURT for hosting the meeting in Kiev.
- Katarina and Bohdan thanked all the participants for their long and active cooperation and officially bid farewell to the Network.
- The Board expressed their appreciation to the EFC Secretariat for its assistance the 10-year management of the project.
- Special thanks were directed to the stepping-down CSP Advisory Board Members. i.e: Katarina, Renata and Bohdan, who had actively been supporting and running the Network for years.
- The EFC Secretariat expressed acknowledgements to the Orpheus CSP Advisory Board for their commitment and effective work, wishing the new Governing Board of the Orpheus CSN a successful term of office.
9. Action Points – Summary
WHO / WHAT / DEADLINE1. / NIOK / Check the candidate’s references, conduct a face-to-face interview with him or her and share their views with the Network (see 2.1) / 26 November 2004.
2. / NIOK / Explore the possibility of hosting the future Orpheus CSN Coordinator in its premises (see 2.2) / 3 December 2004
3. / The Secretariat / Prepare an evaluation procedure including an evaluation form for the Coordinator’s position (see 2.3) / 3 December 2004
4. / Pawel / Prepare a draft contract of employment for the Orpheus CSN Coordinator (see 2.3) / 3 December 2004
5. / Lukasz / Contact Balazs and Mihai to check if they agree to sit on the Governing Board and Revisory Commission respectively (see 3.2)
Coordinate the process of selecting the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the Governing Board (see 3.2) / 10 December 2004.
6. / The Secretariat / Daft a suitable invoice form for membership payments (see 4.2) / 10 December 2004
7. / The Secretariat / Resend Stevo’s template to the Network (see 5.2) / 26 November 2004
8. / Orpheus CSP Centres and Information Points and Orpehus CSN Members / Send in completed questionnaires (see 5.2) / 23 December 2004
9. / Stevo / Draft the final report on Local Government Relations with NGOs (see 5.2) / 31 January 2005
10. / Nino and Lukasz / Prepare a template on building national federations of NGOs (see 6) / 23 December 2004.
11. / Aniko / Explore the possibility of NIOK hosting an event related to the issue of federalisation of national NGOs in May/June 2005 (see 6) / 31 January 2005
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