PACT

The PACT project promotes European values and the Charter of Fundamental Rights in Bulgaria, building on the ProEUValues initiative. It strengthens Bulgarian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) through capacity-building and financial support. The project offers two funding streams: the “Code Success Fund” for grassroots CSOs and the “Partnership Fund” for experienced organizations engaged in strategic actions. A key focus is fostering collaboration between national and local CSOs to leverage diverse expertise and resources. This unified network helps bridge geographical and societal divides. Ultimately, PACT aims to strengthen democracy, human rights, and EU values across Bulgaria.

ECAS leads the project’s capacity-building work, which is closely linked to the financial support pillar. The funding application process is used to identify CSOs’ needs and provide them with relevant training on EU rights and values as well as matchmaking opportunities.

The capacity-building pillar consists of three phases, each designed to support CSOs at different stages of development of their projects. The first phase focuses on pre-application capacity-building, helping prospective applicants understand proposal requirements while also deepening their knowledge of EU values. In the second phase – co-creation and expertise building – the selected CSOs received tailored support on the specific topics covered by their projects and are matched with EU-level networks in their thematic areas. This phase includes various trainings, workshops, and networking events within the ECAS European Academy, using interactive methods like simulations, role-play and case-study examination, along with a networking workshop in Brussels. The third phase – multiplying impact and looking ahead – ensures the long-term sustainability of the project by maintaining and expanding networks, structures, and the expertise gained. Through these phases, the initiative fosters stronger, well-connected CSOs that promote EU values and democratic principles throughout Bulgaria and the CEE region.

The project is led by the Open Society Institute – Sofia (OSIS) in collaboration with the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) and the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF). These partnerships ensure the project is backed by strong expertise and a proven track record in advancing civil society and democratic values.

January 2024- December 2028

First Phase: Pre-Application Capacity-Building (2025):

• Deliver workshops on EU Rights and Values, Strategic Communication, and Promoting Intersectionality and DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) in six regions in Bulgaria as part of the Project’s “Information days”, to prepare potential candidates for the application process.
• Deliver three webinars, expanding on the Information Days and supporting applicants with more in-depth aspects of EU Rights and Values, Strategic Communication, and Intersectionality and DEIA.

Second phase: Co-Creation and Expertise Building (2026 – 2027):

• Deliver a series of six hybrid capacity-building workshops as part of the ECAS European Academy, covering topics such as digital transformation, JUST transition, gender mainstreaming and DEIA, innovation in campaigning and advocacy, and innovative methods for citizen engagement and co-creation.
• Deliver a tailored networking workshop for the project grantees as part of the annual ECAS Summer Academy in 2026 to foster synergies between CSOs working on the same topics – e.g. tackling disinformation and defending EU rights.
• Deliver a co-creation seminar as part of the ECAS Summer Academy in 2027 to bring together CSOs , the private sector, academia, and policymakers for a multi-stakeholder crowdsourcing exercise to exchange views and jointly prepare recommendations for legislative and policy changes.

Third Phase: Multiplying Impact and Looking Ahead (2028):

• Organise and facilitate ‘Pay-it-Forward’ workshops, providing support to selected grantee organizations in preparing and delivering capacity-building sessions on their specific topics to other grassroots CSOs not involved in the project.
• Organise a forward-looking networking workshop in Brussels, where ECAS will bring representatives from funded CSO partnerships to Brussels and connect them with EU-level networks working on similar thematic areas.
• Develop and promote an online repository on each thematic area based on the projects’ results, that document best practices, tools, and case studies and share expert-level knowledge with civil society in other Member States, to build an EU-wide community of practice.