Please Tell Us Who You Are

Research RCH

Address

Rr.Eqrem Qabej, Prishtinë 1000, Kosova 

Legal status

Our organisation is officially registered

(attach a copy of registration of include information as to type of registration etc. Please submit a
copy of last external audit if available.)

Date of official registration:

31.03.2016

The name of the Director of the organisation:

Dritero Lokaj

The general email to the organisation:

research.rch@gmail.com

Is this your first application for support at EED?

YES

Who is the contact person submitting this request?

Dritero Lokaj

Please Tell Us Who Knows You

Please provide us with the names and contact information of at least three reputable persons who we
could contact for a recommendation in support of your activities. You may provide information on
additional persons should you wish to.

3 REFERENCA

Title of the initiative:

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Integrating young people and marginalized groups of society and grow professionally through trainings,
research etc.

Approximate duration of the initiative (from-to):

01-07-2022 to 30-06-2024

How did you hear about EED?

Recommendation from a pre-democracy activist or organisation

Summary of your proposal

This section should give a clear and concise description of the proposal and its activities (Maximum
1500 characters)
- Why is the initiative needed? (Brief overview of context/current challenges)
- What is the objective of the project and expected results? (Expected outcomes)
- How will the project address these challenges? (Brief snapshot of activities – what will be produced
or delivered?)
- Who is expected to benefit? (Targeted population)

Kosovo remains an inequitable state for all its citizens, characterised with structural discrimination
against certain groups and some other communities as well as an extreme centralism, thus undermining
equal development and fuelling inequality in all areas of public life.
Structural discrimination is confirmed by the Ombudsman’s 2021 annual report: Albanians and other
non-majority communities are significantly under-represented in key institutions such as the Presidency,
the General Secretariat of the Government, Ministries of Finance, Public Administration, Transport and
Defence, the judiciary and in independent agencies.
We have substantially engaged with the above issues both in policy and advocacy, aiming to advance
solutions for the sustainable and non-discriminatory development of the state, economy and society. In
this consolidation phase, our core activities will focus on:
1. Addressing importance of education
2. Advocating for equitable representation of communities
3. Policy research on decentralisation
Our direct beneficiaries are citizens. Our action will allow them to realise their constitutional rights. We
will develop evidence-based asks and recommendations addressed to relevant state authorities.

1. What is the objective of the initiative? * (Maximum 1500 characters)

What you are trying to change? Be specific as to your concrete and practical and measurable
objective(s) and to your locality/target audience.

Our main objective is to consolidate the organization as a key player in promoting equitable
development between communities and regions, based on European values of democracy,
inclusiveness, the rule of law and subsidiarity.
We aim to:
1. support the enforcement of the new law on citizenship, by supporting stateless people to realise their
constitutional right and challenge arbitrary approaches from the National Security Agency, breaching its

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legal obligation to give opinions on individual applications within a maximum 6 months period, and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs rejecting numerous new applications without explanations.
2. support the adoption by Parliament of a new law on equitable representation, obliging institutions to
implement their constitutional duty for equitable representation of communities in public bodies at all
levels and in other areas of public life, both in quantity (quotas) and quality (management positions).
3. support the development of a decentralisation model that works for people in a country that remains
one of the most centralised in Europe.
We will continue cementing a broad alliance of social forces that influences public decision- and policy-
making to ensure that the political agenda is owned by and benefits citizens.

2. What are you proposing to do? * (Maximum 4500 characters)

Please answer all the following questions:
- What are the main activities?
- Who are the beneficiaries and how it will benefit them?
- What is the region, country or community targeted?
- How does this proposal respond to the needs of the targeted region, country or community?
- How will gender issues be considered in your initiative?

1. Advocating for equitable representation of communities

The Constitution provides for equitable representation of communities in public bodies at all levels and
in other areas of public life, in line with their respective shares in the overall population. However, in
practice, non-majority communities continue facing significant discrimination across state institutions,
and the Ombudsman has even noted a backslide in the last couple of years due to fake declarations of
ethnic belonging and manipulations with the software regulating ethnic representation in public
administration.
Given the importance of equitable representation for social peace and the non-discriminatory
development of the state, we will advocate for the adoption of a law on equitable representation. Such
a law should have as its main goal the achievement of full equality between communities and between
citizens, as well as the elimination of all structural discrimination in public institutions at all levels and in
all other areas of public life.

2. Policy research on decentralisation and local self-government

We will continue developing annual reports on the functionality of municipalities, looking at spending
categories, capital investments, subventions by sector, own revenues and grants from the government.

Finally, by serving as a unifying platform for expert groups, academics, youth, former career diplomats
and politicians, we will engage in advocacy to influence the public discourse and advance policies that
promote sustainable and equitable development, people-focused decentralisation models and the rule
of law. Our policy proposals will be developed in collaboration with thematic experts and will focus on
involving community members who are directly affected.

3. What are the expected results of your initiative? (Maximum 1500 characters)

What are the expected changes that show that you have achieved the objectives of your initiative?
How are you going to know that you have achieved the objectives and results you want to achieve?

The consolidation of the Institute will be measured against its ability to deliver on the following results:

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1. The legal aid centre for stateless people will be set up to provide them with legal support to complete
their applications and follow up the process so as to avoid arbitrary decisions and unreasonable delays.
With EDD support, we will assist up to eligible 1000 citizens, focusing on those on social benefits, to
acquire proper training and education.
2. In partnership with the GYEK think tanks and academia, we will increase public pressure for the
tabling of a law on equitable representation in public bodies at all levels and in other areas of public life.
3. We will deliver new policy research on training and education focusing our research on marginalized
groups, such as Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians and Turks.

4. Are you aware of any similar activities already being pursued by you or other groups in your
region/country? (Maximum 1500 characters)
If so, in what way is your proposal innovative or complementary to the already existing activities?

Institutions specialised in public policy research and influencing are few in Kosovo. We are not aware of
any public policy initiative that focuses on the above priority areas, i.e. training and education.

At the regional level, we have discussed with GAP Institute on issues related appropriation and
expenditure of public budgets and local self-government and will foster collaboration with them to build
on the methodologies and tools they have developed.

5. Are there any risks in carrying out the activities within this initiative, and what will you do to
mitigate these risks? * (Maximum 1500 characters)
- What are the key risks that could have an impact on the outcome of your initiative?
- How will you mitigate these risks?

We are convinced of the value added of our initiatives and their responsiveness to the needs of the
community. Our main challenge is to secure the financial resources that would allow us to consolidate
the Institute and deliver on these important priorities, particularly regarding the creation of a legal aid
centre for citizenship applications for which it is difficult to find a donor.
While we do not foresee any significant risk when it comes to the development of an annual report on
fiscal decentralisation, there are risks with the other two priorities.
We will mitigate these risks by working with the media, academia, think tanks and politicians to increase
public pressure on the government and political parties to develop responses that are responsive to
citizens needs and rights.

6. Please describe your capacity and experience. * (Maximum 1800 characters)

Please answer all of the following questions:
- What is the size of your organisation/group? For example, number of NGO members, staff,
volunteers/participants in your network, annual budget?
- Do you have an office or place to meet?
- Have you already implemented other activities? (please give us a brief overview of up to three of
your most relevant activities and their results ).
- Please provide us with a short explanation of why you think you have the capacity to implement this
initiative.
- if you have received any donor funding before, please mention which donors, the amounts you
received and duration of the projects.

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The team brings together significant expertise, experience and networks, able to draw on a wide array
of specialised experts and organisations as well as to deliver on the above priorities. It is composed of
the executive director, Project Manager, Project Coordinator , a researcher and a research assistant.

We have published a number of policy reports all available on our website:

We have also organised trainings and professional involving activists, professors and also citizens:

We have established a good reputation among local authorities, civil society and academia. Engagement
with central authorities has proven more challenging due to political reasons. Our work has been largely
reported in local and national media. We have established a solid social media profile.

7. EED aims to fund initiatives that other donors may not be able to support. (Maximum 1800
characters)
Please answer all of the following questions to help us understand why funding this initiative was not
possible by other donors or other means.
- Have you approached any other donors regarding this specific initiative?
- If not, why not? If yes, please list the donors you have approached.
- Why have you applied to EED for funding for this particular initiative?
- Why would you have difficulty carrying out the activity without EED funding?

8. Total cost of the project (in Euro):

Please provide us with an overview of how you expect to use the EED contribution by filling in the EED
budget template. You can find the budget template for download here. Please note that taxes should
be included. EED does not cover overhead.

66,040.00 EUR

9. Emergency funding
In exceptional and duly justified situations, EED may process a limited number of requests on an
urgent basis. If you wish to request emergency funding, please provide brief answers on all of the
following questions:
- Why is your request urgent
- Did your situation change rapidly or unexpectedly?
- What will happen if you do not receive funding urgently
- Will you be forced to stop your activities?
- Are you facing a financial gap or any urgent expense that you could not predict?
- Were there any unexpected external circumstances that led to an emergency situation?
Emergency funding requested.

No

File attachments

Proposed budget *

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Copy of registration: