Since 2015 Leviz Albania has aimed to in- cite “movement” and bring about social change by providing a platform, a network and support that enables citizens to act and resolve issues of interest to different local communities.

LevizAlbania is a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, implemented by a Consortium of three Al- banian organizations, Open Society Foun- dation for Albania, Partners Albania, and Co-Plan.

LevizAlbania is committed to improve local democracy in our country by empowering actors in the civic space to be drivers of change that exert the necessary pressure to ensure local governments act in the ben- efit of citizens. Ensuring that local govern- ments actually work for the public good requires informed, organized, active and peaceful citizen engagement.

Through LevizAlbania, civil society actors have the opportunity to come up and ap- ply concrete ideas to resolve different is- sues of interest to their communities. At the heart of these initiatives is the aim to incite reactions from local government in response to a strengthened demand for better local governance.

The grant scheme is operationalized through periodic calls for applications. Since 2015 LevizAlbania has launched 7 calls for applications and received a total of 2,100 applications from a diverse group of civic actors country-wide, out of which 226 projects have been supported. Unlike other projects in support of local democ- racy and civic participation, Leviz Albania supports individuals and informal groups. 720 individuals and informal groups have applied with concrete ideas for improve- ment of their communities. This interest shows that readiness for active citizenship is present in communities all over Albania.

Projects are awarded through a transparent and competitive process which is well-rec- ognized. The practice of public Idea Compe- titions was an innovation aimed not only at transparency but also for interaction among applicants. Throughout 7 calls for applica- tions, 627 applicants have presented an idea to the Grants Board over 21 Idea Competitions organized in 15 different locations. The out- reach of LevizAlbania has extended to practi- cally every municipality and aims to reach out deeper.

Going beyond the periodic calls for applica- tion, LevizAlbania also innovated with other instruments supporting the same objectives. Through Rapid Response, civic actors have the opportunity to respond to emergent is- sues in which a quick reaction is required. Since 2015 LevizAlbania has supported 18 Rapid Response initiatives.

‘Strategic Grants’ is a new instrument, sup- porting major strategic projects aiming to influence the national agenda. These include support for consolidated organizations or coalitions to address systemic challenges. LevizAlbania has supported 2 ‘Strategic Grants.

In addition, the Value-Added Support Services, involving a direct commitment from the Con- sortium, are designed to improve an enabling environment for civic engagement in areas re- lated to local governance:

• Municipal Finances and Citizen Perceptions
• Law Clinics
• Youth Movement: a new page for local com- munities
• Networking, and exchange opportunities
• Porta Vendore

Over the last year, Leviz Albania achieved to inspire and empower 49 actors in the civic space to drive social change. We would like to share with you a brief summary of their stories, motivators, and achievements.

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LevizAlbania – Results of Call No.6 and Rapid Response Instrument

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