Call for the 4th Civil Auction2011. augusztus 16.
The National Development Agency, as the tender organizer, intends to provide Hungarian companies and firms with the opportunity to adopt and develop good practices and experience of implemented NGO projects funded under the New Széchenyi Plan and previous EU development schemes. The aim of the sustainability event is to promote cooperation between the for-profit and non-profit sectors in the form of an auction. The auction is organized on 16 November 2011, the International Day for Tolerance. This year’s Civil Auction expects NGOs applying with environmental sustainability projects, in addition to applications concerning equal opportunities.
At the ‘Civil Auction’ focusing on sustainability, NGOs offer for auction their services which may provide professional assistance to companies and enterprises to develop their productive diversity and attitude to Corporate Social Responsibility. Company leaders and representatives may bid for the offered products and services according to the rules of the auctions. The winning NGOs are given the opportunity to present their activities connected to their EU funded project and promote the values they represent.
In the past few years, NGOs could apply for tenders only with programmes aimed at encouraging equality of treatment, but from this year on, projects concerning the topic of environmental sustainability are also given the opportunity to compete. ‘We have thoroughly assessed company demands recently and we found that the fields concerning environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and health protection receive particular focus at companies, in addition to the traditional fields of equal opportunities, so we decided to extend the scope of services which can be offered for acution,’ said Gyöngyvér Kiss, one of the organizers of the Civil Auction. ‘Furthermore, the social sustainability category has been also extended, concentrating especially on the fields receiving special attention in the present activities and operation of companies, such as the employment of the people with reduced capabilities and employees over 50,’ added the organizer.
The aim of the unusual auction, on one hand, is to guide the civil sector in making its programmes and projects interesting and „marketable” for organizations in the for-profit sector as well. On the other hand, the objective of the programme is to ensure that the knowledge gained and accumulated through EU funded programmes and the huge amount of work invested do not vanish, but all these good practices and experiences are be built in the companies’ own operation. ‘We consider all the programmes that reduce the gap between the two sectors and help their cooperation very important as releasing the self-motivated energies may give a major impetus to economy. It is the role and also the responsibility of the state to give opportunity for this and support the establishment of such cooperation,’ said Zoltán Petykó, president of the NDA. ‘The growth of enterprises should not only mean financial growth, but it also has to help bridging the gap between Hungary and the European leaders in the field of social responsibility and the development of domestic company culture. The foundations of the current economic structure are obviously instable, so sooner or later the model built merely on profit maximization will be replaced by a new, coherent, value-based economic paradigm which promotes thinking and acting responsibly. We are all responsible for supporting it and the Civil Auction of sustainability is a contribution to this,’ added Zoltán Petykó.
The Civil Auction is a promising business opportunity for both parties presenting the possibilities of the market in each other’s fields. Bidders, unlike the practice, do not offer a single support for the NGOs, but a business that is beneficial for both parties is established when the hammer knocks. Based on the experience of recent years, those services are preferred that represent practical and useful real added value for the companies.
NGOs may acquire the right to participate in the Civil Auction by a tender open until 30 September 2011. Tenders submitted are assessed by an independent professional committee, similarly to past years, and altogether 15 products of 15 organizations are put up for auction. The initial bid price of the services may not be less than net HUF 50,000 or more than net HUF 450,000. The call for tender is available on www.civillicit.hu.
Eligible project ideas:
• Courses and trainings
• Voluntary programmes
• Actions and practices in the workplace that encourage inclusive and/or conscious attitude
• Services concerning Corporate Social Responsibility actions
• Counselling
• Any other services that may be relevant to the social and environmental sustainability concepts of company leaders and employees.
The fields of intervention of the projects
• Gender mainstreaming in the labour-market and reducing employment segregation
• Reconciliation of family and workplace responsibilities
• Employment and equal opportunities for the disabled
• Integration and equal opportunities for the Roma and disadvantaged people
• Sustaining the employment of employees over 50
• Integration of career-starters
• Assistance for other discriminated social groups
• General programmes aiming at the change of attitude concerning environmental sustainability
• Encouraging the employment of challenged people
• Protection of health and employment security
• Energy efficiency programmes
• Programmes supporting clean environment and connected to waste management
• Sustainable consumption incentive programmes
• Other social and/or environment sustainability programmes
For further information visit: www.civillicit.hu