We Effect Europe Region - ROEU Regional Strategy 2023 to 2027

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We Effect Europe Region- ROEU
Regional Strategy 2023 to 2027
    1. Introduction
The ROEU regional strategy is build and based on the:
    •   Global Interim Strategy
    •   Europe Region Interim Strategy
    •   Conclusions and Recommendations from the We Effect Board of Directors on the
        Europe Region Geographical Overview
    •   Global Joint Theory of Change and
    •   Global Strategic Framework
We Effect Europe Region was established as a regional office in Skopje, North Macedonia as
of January 2017.
Currently, the Europe region consists of 5 countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo,
North Macedonia, and Moldova. The ongoing Empower Europe Programme’s portfolio is
composed by 11 Partners’ Organisations, which are implementing 12 projects and additionally,
3 regional projects are directly coordinated by We Effect Regional Office and implemented in
close collaboration with all Partners’ Organisations.
The ROEU staff is organized in a Regional Office (overall responsible for the Europe Region
and implementation of the Empower Europe Programme) and a Project Implementation
Office for the “Income Increase and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Vulnerable and
Marginalized Groups from Rural and Sub-Urban Areas 2021-2023 (IISEE)” Project in North
Macedonia. The IISEE Project is a practically introduction of the Market System Development
(MSD) Approach1.
In total 8,5 people (5 women, 3,5 men), are employed in We Effect Regional Office Europe and
3,5 people (2 women 1,5 men) on IISEE project for North Macedonia.
The strategic focus is on the Right to Food, which will be addressed through the four main
strategic areas:
    •   Strong and Vibrant Civil Society
    •   Business and production development (with focus on Food Security)
    •   Gender Equality and Human Rights
    •   Regional Cooperation and Advocacy
In terms of geographical presence, the Europe Region is phasing out Moldova and is focusing
its operations on the Western Balkan Countries. The decision on changes in geographical
presence is based on the recommendations given by the Board, during the process of
geographical overview of the Region, conducted in 2019. In line with the Board
recommendations, the main change in the organizational setup is the initiative to expand the
operations of We Effect ROEU in Albania with a strengthened presence through opening of a
liaison office in the country.

1The Market System Development (MSD) approach, known also as Making Market work for Poor (M4P) – seeks
to address the underlying causes of market dysfunction by indirectly facilitating the business environment.

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One of the aims of opening the Liaison Office in Albania is to diversify the funding portfolio of
ROEU, through establishment of connections with the existing donor community in Albania
and creation of synergies with the like-minded organisations in the country.
In addition, ROEU will follow the recommendations of the Board to develop a regional project.
Potential partner organisation is Balkan Rural Development Network (BRDN), as an umbrella
organisation that is uniting the National Rural Development Networks of the Western Balkan
Countries. Any future collaboration with any regional organisation active in rural development
is expected to strengthen the influence of CSOs from the Western Balkan countries on the
regional decision-making processes related to rural development.
In the strategic period for 2023 – 2027 the Europe Region is aiming to work through several
national projects and one regional project.
With the introduction of partnership with regional partner organisation the new Europe
Programme will aim to change regional structures and influence regional actors, and to
include both national and regional partner organisations. On a multi-country level, the new
Europe Programme will have main focus on the national processes/structures but will also
target influence on regional processes/structures.

   2. Organisational priorities
We Effect is perceived in the region as a driver or of development processes by promoting
reforms and guaranteeing inclusive processes. We Effect is directly associated with Gender
Equality, Women economic empowerment, Human Rights Based Approach and Environment
and Climate Change and Resilience .
We Effect, as a Swedish organization, is recognized as a neutral development partner. It is one
of the few organizations providing long term institutional support to civil society organisations
active in rural development, supporting their own strategic priorities, which ensures local
ownership. This long-term approach is aiming at optimisation of the efficiency and the use of
the available internal resources of the Partners’ Organisations and transformation of the
power relations on organisational, community and national level.
In that sense, the regional priorities of ROEU in the following strategic period are:
   •   We Effect is a well-known and respected development partner in the region.
   •   We Effect is the strongest supporter to the EU integration processes among the
       development organisations active in rural development in the region.
   •   We Effect builds strategic alliances with like-minded organisations in the region.
   •   We Effect fully integrates HRBA and gender mainstreaming in all development work.
   •   At least half of development resources of We Effect reaches women.
   •   We Effect supports partner organisations in greening their development agenda.
   •   High quality monitoring systems in place.
To achieve these priorities there is a need to sharpen the focus on the aftermaths of the crisis
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which has rapidly changed the preconditions for our
development cooperation. We have to adapt to the changing context of our Partners’
Organisations and the communities in which they work.
We will continue to follow national and regional development in general and especially in the
EU integration process. We will simultaneously update and upgrade our internal capacities
related to Food Security, ECCR, Gender Equality and gender transformative approach and
anti-corruption., in order to stay relevant on our context.

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Special focus will be put on building internal capacities in Market System Development
approach, as an efficient respond to the consequences of the pandemic of Covid-19 on Food
Security and Right to Food.
Additional organisational development will be achieved through synergies and direct
collaboration with like-minded organisations present in the region that poses internal
expertise in areas of gender equality and community development and LEADER approach,
such as Kvinna till Kvinna and GIZ2

      3. Program Priorities
The Programme countries are post-communist and the poorest countries of Europe, all of
which were severely affected by the collapse of the socialistic economic system as well as by
the conflicts that followed. The countries face similar challenges to development on a macro-
level in terms of slow democratic processes including policy reform and harmonization,
underlying ethnic conflicts, lack of economic development, weak institutional capacity, and
wide-spread corruption. These obstacles continue to obstruct the reform efforts and hinders
the process of integration with the EU.
In addition, the challenges with participation of CSOs in political-decision making had not
been new in the Balkans, but they have been further aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis. The
pandemic has accelerated the recent shrinking of civic space.
The crisis hit the poor and the vulnerable and marginalized groups the hardest, significantly
affecting their livelihoods and their socio-economic empowerment.
According to the Multi Dimensional Poverty Analyses conducted in 2021 in the ROEU
programme countries, women and young people, Roma, disabled people and members of the
LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexual) community are among the most
vulnerable groups throughout these countries. In addition to hostility and physical assault,
they are also at a very high risk of poverty.
These groups, the marginalized women and men, youth, and minorities (especially the Roma)
living in rural and sub-urban areas will be directly targeted with the interventions within the
frames of the new Programme.
Within the frames of the Programme we will continue to build on our long-lasting partnerships
with key organisations that can further our common development agenda. We will work
together with our Partners’ Organisations, strengthening their capacity for advocacy work on
topics crucial to the right-holders.
In the new Programme period, ROEU will directly support and collaborate with different types
of local, national and regional member-based organisations, that have clear mandate to
represent the rights of their constituents in front of the duty-bearers.

Effective Equitable and just food systems
The partners organisations will be supported in their lobby and advocacy activities, including,
but not limited to:
      •   Strengthening legislation and policy frameworks for improved Food Security on
          national and local level;
      •   Mobilisation of the existing community-based groups (such as Local Action Groups,
          co-operatives, social enterprises; etc.) to develop and implement food security
          strategies and action plans that incorporate the main principles Human Rights Based
          Approach, Gender Equality and Environment Climate Change and Resilience;
      •   Introduction and support to Short Supply Chains;

2   Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

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   •   Support to food preservation activities and facilities (e.g., cooling storages, processing
       facilities);
   •   Introduction and support to strategies for modernising agriculture and rural
       development;
   •   Bringing collection centres closer to rural areas;

In order to address the root causes of poverty and inequality, We Effect will promote the
Market System Development (MSD) approach, as an approach to developing
market systems so that they function more effectively, sustainably, and beneficially for
poor people, building their capacities and offering them the opportunity to enhance their
lives.

Sustainable Livelihood
The main focus areas for ROEU related to building sustainable livelihood in rural and sub-
urban areas and communities will be the following:
   • Promotion of “agriculture as business”, improving access to financial services,
       strengthening the market linkages and value addition as well as value chain
       development.
   • Promotion and introduction of standards such as Global GAP, EU harmonization
       standards and an enabling environment for small-scale farmers through the Partner
       Organisations.
   • Lobby and advocacy activities for strengthening and expansion of the existing social
       protection systems, in order to include those who have not been previously covered
       and who are particularly vulnerable, informal workers, especially women in rural
       areas, youth and the elderly populations, minorities (e.g., Roma).
   • Effective inclusion of women and youth in development processes.
   • Promoting a green agenda in the rural development processes.

Resilience
In order to build resilience on organisational and community level, concentrated efforts will
be put on:
   •   Full integration of climate justice approach in the overall work of We Effect and
       Partners’ Organisations;
   •   Contributing to an enabling environment for CSOs to mitigate the trend of shrinking
       civic space and to become more resilient to the exposure of political influence;
   •   Adaptation and resilience of farmers as response to impact of climate change through
       inclusive bottom-up approach.
   •   Introduction of agro-ecological measures for improving food security and resilience
       at the same time.
   •   Strengthen our capacity, and that of Partners’ Organisations, to develop climate
       resilience, through support to rural organisations in climate smart agricultural
       practices, agribusiness and entrepreneurship.

Gender Equality
The region will continue to fully integrate the human rights-based approach into its
development work and to mainstream gender equality in all programme activities. Focus will
be maintained on women’s economic empowerment through access to economic opportunities
and control over resources, as well as women in leadership positions and participation in
decision making.

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Through the integration of the gender transformative approach, the Programme will work
actively with the partner organisations to create opportunities for them and individuals to
actively challenge gender norms and to promote positions for women to get directly involved
in the decision-making processes on household, community and national level. With this
approach, ROEU, in collaboration with the Partner’s Organisations, will directly address the
root causes of gender inequality including:
-   Unequal decision making within the household and communities;
-   Uneven access to and control over resources;
-   Imbalanced labour distribution;
-   Low levels of participation by women in education, trainings, and skill development;
-   Low levels of participation by women in the leadership of farmer organizations; and
-   Lack of gender-balanced leadership and involvement of youth;

Strengthened Civil Society
The priority will be on building of strong and vibrant civil society that contributes to
strengthened democracy, poverty alleviation and greater respect for human rights in line with
the EU alignment process. The aim is the civil society organisations active in rural
development to be able to act as a voice for and provide quality services to their members, and
to be promoters of Gender Equality in Rural Development.
We Effect will support Partners’ Organisations to broaden their membership and become
more inclusive of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in their service delivery and
representation through:
   - Geographical approach to priorities, based on the actual context in the programme
       countries that is changed as a consequence of the outbreak of the Coronavirus
   - Shifting to Core support for selected partners
   - Support Partner Organisations to assess the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic for
       their members and the most marginalised and vulnerable groups and adjust their
       interventions according to assessed needs.
   - Strengthen regional collaboration through regional networks and platforms.
       Strengthen national and regional mechanisms for lobby and advocacy such as Local
       Action Groups (LAGs), Rural Development Networks etc.
   - Direct partnership with Balkan Rural Development Network (BRDN), as an umbrella
       organisation that is uniting the National Rural Development Networks of the
       Western Balkan countries, is aiming at positioning the BRDN as a driving force for
       regional EU integration processes in the field of rural development, through
       introduction and implementation of LEADER3 approach as an innovative approach
       within EU rural development policy. Furthermore, LEADER is a vehicle for social
       inclusion and decentralization of public interventions based on a bottom-up
       approach to local rural economic development.

3  The acronym ‘LEADER' derives from the French words "Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de
l'Économique Rurale" which means, ‘Links between the rural economy and development actions'. The idea was to
enlist the energy and resources of people and bodies that could contribute to the rural development process by
forming partnerships at a sub-regional level between the public, private and civil sectors.