Within three calls for Lot III „Equal opportunities and social integration” 2453 applications were submitted and 130 of them received granting, which is 5,3 % of all applications. Total value of the grants amounts to 12 922 756 euro, whereas the average value of implemented projects was 99 406 euro. Among all applications the most projects fit into the Support and reinforcement of position of the underprivileged and discriminated focus area. Second most represented focus area was Vocational activation of socially excluded groups. This tendency was kept in all three calls. Explanation for this phenomenon can be found in the activity fields declared by Polish NGOs – 21% of the organisations declared “social services and social support”.
Geographical representation
In both 2nd and 3rd Lot, the most represented voivodeship in all calls was mazowieckie with almost one fourth of all applications: in Lot II it was 188 applications in total (24%) and in Lot III – 596 applications (24%). This was reflected in the fact that out of all granted projects, the highest number was implemented by Beneficiaries from mazowieckie voivodeship: in Lot III – 35 projects (which is 27% of all projects). After analysing data about non-governmental organisations in Poland (Gumkowska 2009) this situation is not surprising. According to the results of research the highest number of NGOs is situated in mazowieckie voivodeship. Considering the difference connected with the size and level of urbanisation of the regions one can see that the thickest network of organisations lies, again, in mazowieckie voivodeship. The position of the mazowieckie voivodeship in this hierarchy is mainly caused by position of Warsaw which is a natural centre of NGOs activity. High number of applications from mazowieckie voivodeship which received a grant was caused by high quality of the submitted applications.
In case of Lot III – the least applications came from podlaskie voivodeship (2.5%), lubuskie (2.4%), świętokrzyskie (2%), and opolskie (1%). The least financed applications came from lubuskie voivodeship (2,5%) and opolskie voivodeship, whereas granting was not provided to applications from podlaskie voivodeships. This situation is also shown in the above mentioned research (Gumkowska 2009) which shows that least NGOs are situated in opolskie, świętokrzyskie, and podlaskie. If one considers difference connected with the size and the urbanisation level of the regions, it appears that świętokrzyskie, opolskie, lubelskie and kujawsko-pomorskie voivodeships are the regions with the least number of organisations (counting per 10 thousand inhabitants).
Focus areas of implemented projects
In Lot III a great majority of Applicants who received a grant has selected the focus area of „Support and reinforcement of position of the underprivileged and discriminated” (66% of projects), and next „Vocational activisation of socially excluded groups” (14% of projects). The least interest was paid to „Combining cultural heritage protection with local communities development” (7% of the projects), and „Activities for improvement of social awareness” (5% of projects). Among the submitted applications, and those which received a grant, the biggest amount fits in the focus area of „ Support and reinforcement of position of the underprivileged and discriminated”. Second most represented focus area was „Vocational activisation of socially excluded groups”. This tendency kept in all three calls. Explenations for this phenomenon can be found in activity fields declared by the NGOs – 21% of organisations declared “social services and social support”.
Quality of applications
With each call for proposals the quality of submitted applications increased, which can be seen through a smaller amount of applications rejected for formal reasons. One could see a decrease in the number of applications which did not receive 101 (out of 200) and were not mentioned on the ranking list.
Applications with the highest amount of points came from mazowieckie mazowieckie voivodeship. Among the causes one can name the highest number of organisations, close proximity of Warsaw as a natural activity centre which gives greater opportunities for acting, access to high class experts and greater opportunities for acquiring finance, which in consequence transfers onto the quality of submitted applications and gives greater experience in project implementation and acquiring financing.
Partnerships
In case of Lot III the total number of partnerships among applications applying for financing was 1644, with 30% of foreign partnerships, and 7,5% partnerships fith Donor Countries. In case of implemented projects 193 partnerships were noted, including 22% with foreign partnership and 5% of partnerships with Donor Countries.