Project Title:
Small Initiatives by Local Innovative NGOs (SMILING)

Funding Agency:
European Commission

Project period:
7 years (January 2007-December 2013)

Project Location:
Fifteen (15) disaster prone districts situated in the riverine areas of Brahmaputra, Padma and Jumuna river basin and coastal wet zone of Bangladesh

Project Summary:

The project targets to reach the most disadvantaged through locally based 204 small NGOs, who will develop and implement local innovative initiatives in the strategic areas of Local Governance, Health and hygiene and Disaster Risk reduction and Climate Change with a special focus on 15 disaster prone districts from the Brahmaputra, Padma and Jumuna river basin and coastal wet zone through 5 clusters.

The project also seeks to provide capacity building to enable community-based NGOs to sustain their activities in the areas of education, water supply, sanitation, disaster management, environmental protection, governance, and especially on livelihood and food security.

For customizing the capacity building support to the small NGOs the project offers special consideration on Gender issues, as the women are the most disadvantaged group in the society. Objective Capacity for providing quality & quantity services by small local NGOs targeting the most disadvantaged poor, especially women & children and female headed households improved Major Activities The Major activities include: • Organizational development • Planning, monitoring and reporting system development • Accounts and financial management system development • Human and gender development training • Technical training • Regular Follow up • Regular call for proposal for sub-projects • Advise NGOs on preparation on project proposals • Capacity building of UP association and NGO’s on partnership building, local level Planning, information and resource sharing • Enabling UPs and NGOs to jointly develop area development plan and collectively try out for resource generation • Recruitment and/or placement of staff • Establish project management systems (Financial and reporting) • Prepare sub-project guidelines • Regular monitoring of sub-project • Organize audit for sub-projects and the project • Staff development