By Higgs
The British Embassy in Athens supports the Greek Civil Society. More specifically, 2 e-guides were designed for the digital tools that can be used by NPOs, for the project “EMPOWERING THE GREEK NOT-FOR-PROFIT ECOSYSTEM DURING COVID- 19”, implemented by HIGGS in cooperation with the british organization INTRAC and IntermediaKT.
Please fill in the following contact form in order to get access to the guide.
By Higgs
On April 22, 2021, the conference entitled “Civil Society in Greece: Positions and Developments” – 1st annual meeting was held online, co-organized by the Charitable Foundation Ath. K. Laskaridis and HIGGS.
Through 8 panels & 6 Networking Sessions, with the participation of 29 speakers and 14 coordinators, the actions and collaborations that take place in the third sector in Greece and in Europe were highlighted and good practices of collaborations between institutions from all sectors –Private (Corporations), Public, Academic, Embassies, Civil Society -were presented.
The participation of the people clearly showed how great the need for such meetings is: more than 540 initial applications, more than 420 participants in the panels and over 140 participants in the Networking Sessions.
Aiming to make this conference an institution and to be held every year with national and international participation, we proceed to the planning of the next meeting for 2022 utilizing the results of the first meeting, responding to the need of the Civil Society sector in Greece for a lasting and open dialogue in cooperation with all sectors.
Please find the agenda here: CS CONF_Agenda_20.04.21
Watch the video of the conference here
By Higgs
For HIGGS, as for many other organizations, the previous period was a period of restructuring the way we operate. At the same time, it brought a process -to be gradually completed-of data review, review of needs and mode of analysis of specific elements of the Greek NPO ecosystem. Experiencing a relatively calm phase during July-August 2020, we aim at utilizing the lessons learned from the first phase of the current crisis to better prepare for the future. How are we placing ourselves in the field? Which are the tools to preserve from the previous period? What are we changing, if at all, in our fundraising mix/processes? And, lastly, how are we supporting a more active Civil Society in Greece?
In this sense, the results of this research can give us a first glimpse of how the ecosystem survived the crisis, a valuable intel on how to organize ourselves in the long-term.
Please fill in your details in the following form in order to download the research.
By Higgs
01 March 2021 – As part of our effort to support Civil Society in Greece in various ways, we organized the online event entitled “Charitable Foundations and Civil Society” and on the occasion of the completion of the research we have conducted for the funding channel “Public Benefit Institutions”.
At the event, we were honored with the participation of the representatives from the following Charitable Foundations and we discussed their support to the NPO ecosystem in Greece:
More than 200 participants had the opportunity to learn about the contribution of the Foundations in Greece and the Greek Civil Society, their cooperation and its positive characteristics as well as the support of the Greek NPO Ecosystem beyond funding.
By Higgs
The project intends to empower the operation of non-profits within Civil Society by enhancing their effectiveness, transparency and governance through application of social impact measurement methods. In Europe, the creation of a large number of non-profits which are involved in the provision of a wide range of social activities is noticed. This trend is not accompanied by systematic practices/tools of transparency, accountability and evaluation. As a result, people tend not to truly trust non-profits, consequently, they cannot prove or measure systematically in a really objective way their social impact. A common methodology and approach should be agreed upon which all nonprofits could apply.
SIM4CSOs promotes the development of a comprehensive training material delivered through an interactive online platform that enhances the knowledge required for the design and the implementation of a social impact measurement system. This material includes a manual and a training activity specially designed for staff working in the Third Sector aiming in identifying the gaps in their knowledge, providing them with the skills required and enabling them to measure their social impact.
In addition, the project brings together different sets of stakeholders (foundations, academic institutions and researchers, state officials, representatives of CSR departments, social entrepreneurs etc) through a co-creation process that enhances interactions and potential partnerships between relevant parties. By enhancing the processes of measuring the impact of CSOs activities SIM4CSOs strengthens existing and future cooperation arrangements as their work can be better assessed and connected with the outcomes envisaged by Third Sector other stakeholders.
This project aims at creating a Comprehensive Manual of measuring social impact that will enhance CSOs position and will assist them not only to become truly effective and efficient but enable them to prove it as well. In addition, this manual will be used by the people who work in the CSOs in order to enable them to elevate their work in terms of measuring their activities’ impact.
There is a skills gap created by a series of facts:
-it reflects the weakness of civil society in Europe
-although there are acknowledged methodologies for measuring social impact, the staff from the CSOs cannot afford to be trained in these sophisticated and high-costed training
-there hasn’t been any systematic and organized attempt from the CSOs to do so.
In line with the ET2020/European Agenda for Adult Learning priorities and the Council Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways, the created platform will be used to improve the learning experience of adult learners by providing high-quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of CSOs. A combination of different education and training pathways from around Europe will help adult learners adapt in a fast-changing world through acquiring and development of key competencies that will also foster employability, socio-education, personal development, participation in civic and social life. The project will take into account different sectors of CSOs activities as well as different local, regional and national environments while formulating the relevant methodology, thus generate a robust tool for measuring impact, not just but primarily, for the Third Sector as it evolves across Europe as a main engine of well-being.
The project is expected to have a positive impact on:
1. organisations’ staff, that will improve their:
– knowledge and skills in familiarizing and applying in their everyday working life the concept of measuring the impact of their activities/work
– skills in using digital tools;
– skills in planning, designing, and evaluating their work;
– motivation and skills to engage in international collaboration work with other CSOs staff in the field;
2. partners’ staff, that will improve their:
– awareness of planning, designing, and implementing in a methodology of measuring social impact;
– networking and cooperation with other partners’ staff.
3. Partners’ beneficiaries organizations, that will improve their:
– awareness as to the methodological aspects of measuring their social impact;
– understanding the benefits of applying the created tools for measuring their impact;
– cooperation prospects with peer organisations from different countries and sectors.
The project’s outputs and results will be disseminated in all levels by all partners according to the designed plan.
Coordinator: HIGGS
Partners:
By Higgs
More and more Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and alongside social enterprises, with different goals, motivations, structure and geographical coverage are aiming at filling state gaps and addressing various, at times pressing and imminent, societal challenges. The financial and the refugee crisis have urged CSOs to develop innovative ways in order to survive and to seek alternative sources of funding (e.g. Foundations, Companies, etc.) while they have forced them to improve their services in order to meet the increasing needs (provide humanitarian aid, psycho-social and legal support, etc.) of the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
Therefore, non-profits had to adapt to the new challenges, improve their operations and at the same time turn their focus on issues such as their funding and sustainability. Recognizing these needs, some new actors have emerged and aimed at assisting CSOs to overcome their difficulties. These actors can be non-profit organizations, Foundations, Universities and other entities which offer services (such as capacity building, consulting, educational programs, surveys, premises etc.) to CSOs in order to help them strengthen their skills and increase their impact. These practices could have a positive impact on other non-profits from other countries by addressing common gaps. However, other non-profits do not have access to this knowledge and these practices, as there is no framework that would stimulate contacts and interactions between organizations involved in education and training of civil society. In effect, such actors work much in isolation with other relevant initiatives across Europe, leading to limited, if any, ideas and experience sharing. Without a doubt, sharing and implementing best practices have many benefits for relevant organizations. Among these benefits are better quality and increased quantity of services, improved use of resources as well as cost and time-saving. The urgency and importance of such development is reinforced by the fact that these types of initiatives can operate as impact multipliers when their operations are enhanced: through their operations more and more CSOs can be reached and supported thus creating significant added value by any exposure to best practices, not confined in the initial beneficiaries per se.
This project aims at bringing together seven (7) organizations from 6 different program countries (Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria, Estonia, Serbia) and 1 partner country (Israel) who support civil society and are experts in a particular field (e.g. fundraising, networking, advocacy, volunteer management, social entrepreneurship, etc.) in order to identify best practices and share their experience. Furthermore, an open learning environment for all stakeholders will be created where each partner will share best practices and strategies. By having access to this environment, organizations will be able to interact and understand how other actors have dealt with similar situations and challenges and will be able to make better and informed decisions more promptly. Therefore, they will be able to improve their efficiency and implement outstanding practices. Finally, all partners, as well as their beneficiaries (civil society organizations), will have the chance to elevate their work, advance their performance and enhance their social impact.
The target group of the project will be non-profit organizations and entities operating in EU countries that empower civil society through capacity building, educational programs, and other services.
The project will last 22 months and will be implemented via the following set of actions:
– Mapping of best practices
– 3 Transnational Project Meetings
– 3 Learning/Teaching/Training Activities on the following thematic areas: Social Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment, Nonprofit Fundraising Sources, Proposal writing, Project
management, Building financial sustainability, Creating a Business Plan, Networking, Developing an advocacy strategy.
The results expected are the following:
• Mapping of good practices, successful strategies, and methods from 7 different countries
• Exchange good practices, tools and programs tested from the organizations participating in the project
• Enhance the skills of 21 people (working in the partnering organizations) who will participate in the
three Learning/Teaching/Training Activities
• Bring together and reinforce the collaboration among the 7 partner organizations operating in different countries
• Generate innovative ideas and create new tools that could be useful for the organizations
• More than 4.000 members of civil society organizations supported by the partners will improve their skills and services
• More than 9.500 newsletter subscribers will receive the final report of the project with good practices and methods
• More than 33.100 followers on Social Media will have access to the final report
Coordinator: HIGGS
Partners:
By Higgs
For 5-days (26 – 30/09/2020), HIGGS, as a partner in the European project “VIRAL for local communities” funded under the Erasmus+ Program, hosted the third project’s training activity with the title “The Laboratory of the toolbox experience” in parallel with the blended mobility of adult learners. The purpose of both training events was participants to test and evaluate the main project’s output, the Toolbox. The Toolbox is a great innovative source of knowledge, useful material and all the appropriate instructions on how to create a video in virtual reality.
Participants of both events were a great mixture of 2 adult learners and 2 adult educators per partner organization (NKey srl, University for Foreigners of Perugia, CEBS, ASPSES, HIGGS) which were observed by 2 adult educators. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed in Greece concerning trainings/events and for the protection of all participants, some attended both trainings virtually.
Lastly, a project management meeting with the five partners of the consortium took place as well in order to better coordinate our project’s next steps and actions.
Please find more information for the project in the following link: https://viral.nkey.it/en/
By Higgs
June 23rd 2020: In a celebration of Civil Society, 90 non-profit organizations from all over Greece met with 25 Charitable Foundations, Corporations and Embassies in a speed-dating for a good cause! The HIGGS Donors Speed-dating Event IV, an event for NPOs and contributors, occurred on Tuesday June 23rd, not in the neoclassical HIGGS building, but online.
Within 4 hours, in 25 online break-out rooms, more than 230 dates occurred. NPOs had the opportunity to present their work and actions and the contributors their strategy, talk about partnerships which will help society handle important needs of vulnerable groups, in 8 categories: Human Rights, Education, Welfare, Economic Development, Environment, Culture, Health & third Age.
The presence and participation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Founding Donor of HIGGS, and the Costas M. Lemos Foundation, the organisation’s Grant Donor, was a tremendous honor. Apart from them, there were several other participants: Attiki Odos, Cyclades Preservation Fund, Deppy Vasileiadis Foundation, Genesis Pharma, Laskaridis Foundation, the John S. Latsis Foundation, the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, the Bodossaki Foundation, the Vodafone Foundation, KPMG, METRO AEBE, Education & Culture | U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Greece, Nestle Hellas, the Norwegian Embassy in Athens, the Ellaktor Group, Hellenic Petroleum, Papastratos PMI, PwC Greece, Stoiximan, The Coca Cola Company, The Helidoni Foundation, The Hellenic Initiative, TIMA Charitable Foundation.
Sotiris Petropoulos, the Director of HIGGS, stated: “HIGGS, even in these difficult circumstances that we are faced with recently, is here to support Civil Society, especially now that it needs us more than ever, and to actualize its purpose as the catalyst of the creation of partnerships and activation of the inconspicuous forces of our society. The event could not have happened without the support of our Sponsors and all contributors and we would like to offer a hearty thank you to the Great Sponsor of the event, The Helidoni Foundation, as well as the Donors-Sponsors: the John S. Latsis Foundation, the Vodafone Foundation, the Norwegian Embassy in Athens, the Papastratos PMI and communications sponsors CSRReview and CSRNEWS.gr, for their contribution in the realization of the event. The huge response of both the contributors and the organizations gives us the courage to renew our date for next year, in a celebration of HIGGS’s five-year anniversary.
By Higgs
Find useful material with good practices that will help you improve your efficiency and the operations of your organization, as well as suggestions for tackling new challenges:
By Higgs
HIGGS is participating as a strategic partner in the project “DiGi Youth” funded under the Erasmus+ KA2 Program. “DiGi YOUTH” aims to promote quality youth work through open and innovative practices in the digital era. Youth workers and youth organizations’ staff who lack digital competences or skills will be fully benefited and further educated from the intellectual outputs and the useful material developed by this project, delivering high quality youth work and further engaging with disadvantaged youth through the use of digital tools.
Project’s Outputs
Project Consortium
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