Impact Assessment Report under the project “Scaling up a sustainable model communities living in non-regulated areas to improve their living conditions – SCALE IT UP”

The Impact Assessment Report has been drafted under the project “Scaling up a sustainable model communities living in non-regulated areas to improve their living conditions – SCALE IT UP”. The project focuses on the need for improving the knowledge and competencies with respect to housing issues and ensuring equal access to public services among municipal staff and contributes to their active involvement in the process of overcoming the existing stereotypes related to the Roma communities and building mutual trust. The project also empowers the local communities and encourages their direct involvement in decision-making processes. “SCALE IT UP” is a project of the Trust for Social Achievement Foundation implemented in cooperation with the Agency for Marketing and Social Research “Alpha Research”, the Community Investment Fund Foundation – Peshtera, Peshtera Municipality and Dupnitsa Municipality. The project has been funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Program 2014-2020.

Some of the overall findings of the impact assessment of the project are:

  • Increased self-confidence of municipal authorities to zone informal Roma settlements. Increased optimism to initiate zoning is based on enhanced knowledge obtained by the delivered trainings, with 95% of participants declaring that they have gained more knowledge on the specificities of the zoning process.
  • Increased sensitivity and positive understanding of the negative effects of discrimination against Roma among municipal experts.
  • Between 85% and 90% of the participants in the Embracing Diversity trainings reported increased understanding of the negative effects of stereotypes and discrimination, their roles and responsibilities in an institutional setting and the presence of institutional mechanisms that maintain discrimination and oppression against Roma.
  • Nearly half of the civil servants (44%) shared that the capacity building activities have provided certain concepts on how to change the institution they are working at, in order to adequately address Roma communities’ challenges.
  • Empowerment evaluation training had a positive impact among participants with almost all participants agreeing that as result of the trainings they have a better understanding and knowledge how to prioritise community issues and apply it in the context of their own communities.
  • Increased knowledge and understanding of the empowerment process among Roma communities and readiness to participate in decision-making processes locally.

See the report here:

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