Dear colleagues,

Through the EEA and Norway Grants, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will strengthen their support to civil society in Central and Southern Europe in the period 2009-2014.

The EEA and Norway Grants’ support to NGOs is established to strengthen civil society development in the beneficiary states, and to contribute to social justice, democracy and sustainable development. A recent evaluation of the EEA and Norway Grants’ support to NGO funds in the period 2004-09 confirmed that the funds were a significant contribution to NGO sector development in these countries.

Online consultation

Through the EEA and Norway Grants 2009-2014, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will make available at least 100 million euro for new civil society programmes for 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Since non-governmental organisations will also be eligible applicants under other programme areas, the total support to NGOs is, however, expected to become considerably higher.

Based on the evaluation and lessons drawn from the NGO funds 2004-09, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein have prepared proposals for the support to the NGO sector in the period 2009-14. These will be subject to a six-week online consultation exercise, which will allow civil society in the beneficiary states, as well as the donor states, to have their say on the proposed management and scope of NGO support.

Civil society representatives are strongly encouraged to contribute their views and positions on the proposals for future support to the NGO sector at www.eeagrants.org/ngoconsultation. There is room for comments, reactions and more formal input on this webpage. The input will also contribute to the development of a guideline for NGO programmes under the EEA Grants 2009-14. The consultation is open from 10 September to 22 October 2010.

We look forward to contributions and count on your support in making this consultation widely known.