The Financial Mechanism Office (FMO), the secretariat of the EEA and Norway Grants, is seeking a Fund Operator to develop and implement the Active Citizens Fund in Hungary, an EEA Grants programme for civil society.

The overall objective of the programme is: ‘Civil society and active citizenship strengthened and vulnerable groups empowered’.

The Active Citizens Fund shall seek to develop the long-term sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector, with the aim of strengthening its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship, and human rights. The Fund Operator will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Active Citizens Fund in Hungary.

The Programme shall be based on the common values of respect of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and the respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

The Programme shall adhere to the following principles of implementation:

• Principles of good governance; the Programme shall be participatory and inclusive, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient. There shall be zero-tolerance towards corruption
• It shall be consistent with sustainable development, long-term economic growth, social cohesion and environmental protection
• It shall follow a results and risk management approach, in line with the Civil Society Results Manual

Areas of Support

The Areas of Support are the thematic areas that are eligible for support under the Programme. The Fund Operator may select from among the following Areas of Support in order to achieve the Programme objective:

• Democracy, active citizenship, good governance and transparency
• Human rights and equal treatment through combating any discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity
• Social justice and inclusion of vulnerable groups
• Gender equality and gender-based violence
• Environment and climate change

Funding Information

In Hungary, the allocation to the Active Citizens Fund is €10,890,000.

Eligibiliy Criteria

In order to be eligible for the Fund Operatorrole, all organisations submitting a bid (Lead and Co-Bidders) must:

• Be legal entities in the EEA and
• Be non-governmental, independent of local, regional and central government, political parties and religious institutions and
• Form a consortium and
• Have stable and sufficient sources of finance to maintain their activity throughout the Programme and
• Have experience working with the civil society sector in the beneficiary country

In addition:

• The lead bidder must:
  • Be non-profit making with a non-commercial purpose
• At least one organisation in the consortium bidder must:
  • Have sufficient re-granting experience
  • Have sufficient experience in strengthening civil society capacity and sustainability

For more information, visit FMO.