1″” NATIONAL FOUNDATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY PRINCIPLES AND MEASURES OF ASSESSMENT National Foundation of Civil Society (NFCS) is a tool of funding that supports the establishment of a favourable environment for civil society and the increase of operational capacity of civil society organisations in Estonia. The Board and the Head of NFCS follow the principles of assessment in order to evaluate their activities and general influence, and act in the name of achieving better operation and stronger influence. The assessment activities are planned into the action plan and budget of NFCS and they are reflected in the reporting. I Strategic assessment – influence of NFCS activities – correctness and productivity of actions To be assessed: • Ability of NFCS to meet the changing requirements of the environment; • Logical link between the mission, goals and programmes of NFCS; • Influence of NFCS programmes; • Ability of NFCS to meet the needs of non-profit associations with regard to its operational capacity; • Public reputation of NFCS. Criteria for strategic assessment • The ability of NFCS to meet the changing requirements of the environment as well as the link between the mission, goals and programmes shall be assessed by the Board of NFCS qualitatively through analysis and discussion. • The influence of NFCS programmes and their accordance to the mission and goals shall be assessed by the Board of NFCS qualitatively through analysis and discussion as well as random monitoring of the funded organisations in 3-5 years after the support. • The ability of NFCS to meet the needs of non-profit associations with regard to its operational capacity shall be assessed: – By the result indicators of the activities of NFCS belonging also to the field of activities of the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept and the Development Plan for Civic Initiative Support; – Through the existence of thematic advocacy organisations; – Through the capacity of advocacy organisations to shape legislation and policies; – Through the analysis of the content of organised application rounds and the submitted applications for funding; – Through the dynamics of employment of the non-profit associations and foundations (payment of social tax); – Through the dynamics of the number of members in organisations; – Through the trust of people towards civil society organisations; – Through the increase of civic initiative by participating in non-institutional civic initiatives; – By random monitoring of the vitality and development of the funded organisations in 3-5 years after the support. • The public reputation of NFCS shall be assessed by:

2″”- How often the opinion of NFCS is asked for and taken into consideration; the extent of participation in civil society workshops, commissions, etc.; – Existence of partnership with significant civil society organisations and public institutions; – Dynamics of the number of submitted applications; – Presence of public criticism and the related reaction; – Awareness of different target groups about NFCS that is assessed by regular polls; – Trust of different target groups (general public, non-profit associations, politicians, etc.) towards NFCS that is assessed by public opinion polls and feedback questionnaires. Arrangement of strategic assessment The main assessor is the Board of NFCS. Assessment takes place once a year at the reporting meeting of the Board. The bases for assessment are annual report and financial statement of NFCS, auditor’s report, conclusions of conducted analyses and media monitoring as well as the analysis of the Head of NFCS regarding the activities of NFCS. II Tactical assessment – efficiency of NFCS activities – right way of operation To be assessed: • Administration and functioning of NFCS; • Purposeful use of financial resources; • Efficiency of NFCS programmes in terms of activity results and financial, temporal and labour costs; • Satisfaction of the organisations applying for funding with the activities of NFCS; • Accountability and readiness for reporting. Criteria for tactical assessment • Administration and functioning of NFCS: – Job descriptions of employees and other necessary internal documents are existing and applied; – Employees are satisfied; – Partners who are not fair, law-abiding and ethical are avoided; – Activities prevent conflicts of interest, corruption and bribery. • Access of target groups to the financial resources of NFCS: – Arrangement of informing; – Clearness and concreteness of application documents. • Efficiency of NFCS programmes in terms of activity results and financial, temporal and labour costs: – Percentage of operational costs out of the used resources; – Number of funded organisations, geographical location and achieved influence; – Number of supported innovative initiatives and their influence; – Arranged support activities and number of participants thereof; – Participation in external events and the number of presentations; – Correctness of budgets; – Accordance with the action plan and planned resources. • Satisfaction of the organisations applying for funding with the activities of NFCS: – Feedback of the organisations that have applied for funding.

3″”• Accountability of NFCS, readiness for reporting and purposeful use of resources: – Arrangement and implementation of auditing; – Transparency of NFCS and availability of relevant information; – Regular compiling of reports and submitting thereof to supervising institutions; – Publication of reports. Arrangement of tactical assessment Tactical assessment shall be arranged by the Board and the Head of NFCS proceeding from the following: – Existence of NFCS internal documentation, the analysis of which is arranged by auditing committee and auditor. – Clearness of NFCS programmes, application rounds and application forms as well as availability of information that is assessed through the feedback of applicants and target groups. – Arrangement and results of internal and external auditing of the economic and financial activities. – Easily accessible and user-friendly information at the NFCS website that is constantly analysed. – Satisfaction of applicants. Implementation of the values defined in the strategy, flexibility of NFCS and suitability of its programmes, accordance with the needs of civil society and civil society organisations, openness of NFCS and availability of information, easy application process, speed of services and credibility are analysed. – Feedback of the Board and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the activity report, budget and auditor’s report. III Assessment of programmes • Purposeful use of financial resources by applicants. • Influence of the projects of funded organisations. • Influence of the supported initiatives. • Implementation of the researches and analyses with regard to civil society that are initiated and supported by NFCS and the influence of support activities. Assessment shall be the following: Analytical final report shall be compiled about the application round on the basis of interim reports submitted by applicants, periodical reports, on-site observations and final reports, reports on the supported initiatives, implementation of the ordered researches, conclusions and analyses of the arranged support activities. IV Assessment of NFCS personnel • Analysis of the Board members of NFCS and their contribution. • Analysis of the personnel of NFCS and their quality of work. • Analysis of the experts of NFCS and their quality of work. Assessment shall be the following: Chairman of the Board as the executor of the founder’s rights shall be assessed by the Head and the Board of NFCS proceeding from the Statute of NFCS and other internal documents. Assessment of the personnel of NFCS shall be arranged by the Head of NFCS proceeding from the competence of personnel, job descriptions and quality of work.

4″”Assessment of the experts of NFCS shall be arranged by the Head and the Board of NFCS proceeding from their competence, quality of work, personality and feedback of the applicant organisations.