Our Track Record
PTF US’ track record in Europe
In the early 2000s and thus prior to establishment of PTF Europe, PTF US started providing funding – through small grants of up to US$20.000 – and technical assistance for projects in Eastern and Southeast Europe. The first projects were executed in Bulgaria, Poland, and the Baltic states. In the following years, PTF implemented projects in the Balkans, Russia, Moldova, and Romania and in Central Asia. Most projects had a duration of one to two years.
More than 45 skilled PTF advisers, based in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA assist in the implementation of projects all over the world, connecting local leaders in target countries with the resources and knowledge they need to catalyze successful citizen-led change. Overall, PTF US has been active in over 60 countries, working with around 177 partner CSOs to assist them in developing and implementing over 260 projects to promote transparency and accountability.
PTF Europe’s track record
In order to be able to tap into potential funding by the European Union (EU), it was decided in 2013 to establish a European “presence”. To this end, PTF Europe was set up in late 2013 as a Not-for-Profit Association under German Corporate Law (“Gemeinnütziger Verein”). On January 25th 2014, PTF Europe was registered in the Munich/Germany Court Registry and thus became a legal entity. In May 2014, PTF Europe was declared eligible as a German CSO responding to EU calls for proposal.
A number a PTF US advisers who had worked on above mentioned projects became members of PTF Europe. They are now contributing their experience to the work of PTF Europe. Since 2014, PTF Europe has been implementing several projects in the field of citizen participation and third-party monitoring – funded by the EU (as co-applicant) or by multi-lateral development banks, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Knowledge Sharing
We apply a “learning” approach. We adapt our approaches as we learn from challenges. As a relatively small organization with a large network of like-minded CSOs, we are agile and able to connect with relevant expertise as needs arise.
Throughout the project cycle we seek to draw lessons from our experiences and share the resulting knowledge widely to advance a culture of transparency around the world. Most of our completed projects have been independently evaluated.
We share the knowledge gained from PTF US’ more than 260 projects to enhance governance, counter corruption, and innovate to improve service delivery. We do this by holding events, publishing print material, and participating in coalitions.
Project Examples
UKRAINE: CONTRIBUTION TO BETTER STANDARDS IN THE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF RECONSTRUCTION AT LOCAL LEVEL
PTF Europe is implementing a project with CVU Odesa in 4 regions of Ukraine to build up the transparency and accountability standards of municipalities for reconstruction, and to pilot civil society monitoring of select reconstruction projects at the municipal level. The project, funded through the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development’s BENGO, will last from March 2024 to February 2025. It will work in 5 municipalities in the Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Chernyhiv regions of Ukraine.
PROMOTING & MONITORING INTEGRITY IN HUMANITARIAN AID TO UKRAINE – PHASE 2
This project was implemented between March and August 2023 in Odesa and Mykolaiv (Ukraine) by PTF Europe jointly with CVU Odesa (our Ukrainian partner) and the Balkan Investigative Journalism Network (BIRN). The project – our second in Ukraine – had two components: (1) to train humanitarian volunteer organisations in integrity and compliance standards and (2) to conduct a study on the feasibility of civil society monitoring of reconstruction at the municipal level.
PROMOTING & MONITORING INTEGRITY IN HUMANITARIAN AID TO UKRAINE
This 3 month pilot project initiated in the fall of 2022 worked to promote standards of integrity and transparency in humanitarian assistance in Odesa, Ukraine. It was implemented by PTF Europe jointly with the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) Odesa. The project aimed to map compliance and integrity risks, as well as humanitarian aid providers and their training needs. In the long-run, the project aims to bring together Odesa humanitarian providers under a collective compliance approach through capacity building, peer support, third-party monitoring for compliance, and integrity promotion. It is anticipated that the project will have replication potential for other parts of Ukraine.
INCREASING THE INTEGRITY OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN MOLDOVA
In September 2020, PTF US, in partnership with the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS Viitorul) in Moldova embarked on a project to enhance the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and journalists to engage in informed and responsible monitoring of public procurement. This project aims to support procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens—specifically civil society representatives and investigative journalists—to hold relevant institutions accountable. This project was extended in September 2022 through to June 2025.
BRIDGE-GAP: REDUCTION OF THE GENDER-SPECIFIC AND REGIONAL EDUCATION GAPS IN NORTHERN GHANA
The one-year (2020-2021) project is funded by the German Schmitz Stiftungen. It was the result of PTF Europe being recognized by the German Ministry of Development Cooperation (BMZ) as a Germany-based CSO eligible for BMZ funding support. Its project activities aim at reducing teacher absenteeism through an app-based monitoring system, improving the quality and quantity of student-teacher interactions, and revitalizing an active collaboration between school administration and village structures to help improve primary education. All project activities are accompanied by targeted COVID-19 prevention measures.
Promoting Equitable, Accountable Civic Engagement in Myanmar (PEACE)
Promoting Equitable, Accountable Civic Engagement in Myanmar (PEACE) was a four-year (2016-2020), EU-funded CSO capacity building program. The project was implemented by a consortium consisting of Helvetas (Switzerland), PTF, and the Local Resource Centre (LRC), one of Myanmar’s leading national CSOs. The project had three main activities: support for the formulation and implementation of an LRC institutional development plan; training to strengthen CSOs in LRC’s network of about 1,000 local CSOs, including grants to enable them to apply lessons from the training; and support for advocacy activities. The support for the local CSOs was emphasizing citizen engagement.
Improving Transparency and Effectiveness of public procurement in Ukraine
In 2016-2019, PTF Europe was training CSOs in Ukraine on how to monitor public procurement under the country’s new e-procurement system – “ProZorro.” PTF was working with the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) to develop training tools for CSOs and journalists identify irregularities and bring evidence-based reports of abuse to the attention of the responsible authorities using information generated by the system. The training included best practices for procurement monitoring internationally.
Guidance Notes on Stakeholder Engagement
In 2018-2019, PTF Europe was commissioned by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to prepare two Stakeholder Guidance Notes: (1) for project implementers on engaging stakeholders in EIB projects and (2) for EIB project staff on conducting due diligence on implementers’ stakeholder engagement. In addition, PTF Europe conducted four case studies on stakeholder engagement containing lessons learned and recommendations for further improvement of stakeholder engagement.
Partners in Empowerment
In 2014-2016, PTF Europe contributed to strengthening and interconnecting CSOs and CSO leaders in five EU Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine). Throughout the project, CSOs drew on peer and international expertise to hold governments to respective accountability. They are now even more effective watchdogs engaged in policymaking processes and in leveraging expertise to monitor public service delivery and government decisions.
