Civitates finalised new grant-making rounds on our three sub-funds in 2024. To ensure we directed grants as carefully and effectively as possible, and to bring other perspectives into play, external experts were involved in the selection process.
Petr Lebeda from Glopolis (a former Civitates grantee) was involved, as an alum, in the evaluation and selection process for our new Civic Power grantees. Willem Lenders from Limelight Foundation was a member of the Selection Committee for the Tech & Democracy sub-fund.
Here they reflect on the lessons the process held.
“I really enjoyed being part of the selection process from the onset. It was quite a lot of reading, reviewing the many applications, but it gave me new and deeper insights into the realities in the countries covered: Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and France. Most of the applicants face common problems with shrinking civic space, but the different solutions they proposed to tackle them included an amazing range of creative approaches: some were more traditional, some were really quite inventive. I learned a lot and felt inspired by how organisations are trying to defend democracy and civic space in their countries.
“It was a novel process for all of us, including the Civitates staff who were finding their way around this selection process. I think we acted well as a team, complementing each other’s perspectives. Along the way, we reflected on what worked and what didn’t, and how to approach it more effectively and comprehensively, which I really valued. We worked out a really good process with good outcomes, not just the shortlisting, but also the interviews with the shortlisted candidates, and the due diligence process which came on top of the application evaluation.
I appreciated Civitates’ openness, and that they managed the process with professionalism and commitment.
“The final step, the meeting with the Civitates foundation partners, who have ultimate decision making power, was really well prepared. There was a good shortlisting with commentary on each of the applicants. It was interesting to witness the dynamics among the foundation experts, and the slightly different criteria that they used looking at the applicants, but which was complementary to the job that we and the Secretariat did in preparing the shortlist.”
…it has been a real learning experience to participate, and the team’s willingness to bring in people with expertise in specific countries is a unique asset.
“I enjoyed the way the process was set up to involve country experts. I appreciated having those national insights while looking at the European portfolio as a whole. As an individual funder, it’s time-consuming to gain knowledge about every organisation in an in-depth way without inviting them [to meet], which we try to avoid because we don’t want to lead people on, so to speak, if we’re only able to fund one organisation.
“This process was a great way to learn about a broad scale of organisations and projects, as well as country-wide analyses. More specifically, I appreciated Civitates’ expertise and leadership during the process: being directive at times and explaining Civitates’ priorities as per the agreed five-year strategy.
“With collaborative initiatives, it’s very easy to get lost in the ideas or thoughts of all the different funders and their opinions. The Civitates team did a great job at holding the line and keeping the selection process focused. I was really happy with the leadership that Civitates now takes and has taken in this process in particular. Their willingness to stand their ground, while navigating a board or governance structure with people who aren’t involved in the daily work. The team is very informed on the governance side of things, as well as content and have the capacity to take the lead.
“A weakness of this process has been the attendance of participating funders, as some of them weren’t able to commit sufficient time. As a result, the knowledge gap from not attending all sessions risked slowing down the process. Nevertheless it has been a real learning experience to participate, and the team’s willingness to bring in people with expertise in specific countries is a unique asset.”
This article is part of Civitates Annual Report 2024, available here. To discover more stories like this one, stay in touch by signing up for our newsletter using the link below or follow us on LinkedIn.
