The main aim of the project was improving the quality of cooperation between non-governmental organisations and Zabrze City Council by implementing a cooperation model, the participatory development of an e-tool for consultation, as well as an e-tool designed to build partnerships, complete applications, assess them and produce reports, and provide training on how to use them.
The project envisaged a series of advisory meetings, training sessions, ‘citizens’ cafés’ in each of Zabrze’s districts, as well as the production of materials explaining the benefits of taking part in public consultations and a handbook setting out the rules for organising competitions for non-governmental organisations.
In order to draw up the guidelines and implement the Cooperation Model, a team for cooperation with organisations, comprising 20 people, was set up:
- 10 local government representatives,
- 10 NGO representatives.
Over the course of the 15-day workshop, the team developed guidelines and principles for procedures in line with the Cooperation Model, including in the following areas: public consultation with NGOs, standardisation and the commissioning of public tasks taking into account indicators and their monitoring, and compliance Annual Cooperation Programme with the Cooperation Model, the application of social clauses; cooperation with local government units regarding the use of assets, including promotionaland promotional tools, the establishment of working groups, public-civil society partnerships – including an NGO support centre – and the establishment of project partnerships relating to local initiatives.
The following tools were developed as part of the project:
- leaflets: explaining the benefits of taking part in the consultations and setting out how to take part; providing information about a local initiative,
- an e-tool linked to the MAL platform, used for consultation,
- an e-tool for building partnerships, completing applications, assessing them, reporting on them, and automatically publishing information on the City Council’s Public Information Bulletin (BIP) website regarding activities carried out by NGOs (in accordance with the procedure for providing information by local government units as set out in the Ministerial Regulation) and for assessing the quality of cooperation
- A handbook on the rules for organising competitions for NGOs, application procedures, monitoring and reporting, eligible costs, rules for signing contracts, etc. (PDF and print version) for NGOs and local government units.
The „Cooperation – It Pays Off!” project, which is being carried out in partnership with the City of Zabrze, has received funding from the European Union under the European Social Fund.