The Shipyard wants to be one of the initiators and leaders of wider reflection on the essence and methods of civic participation in Poland, as well as a lively centre of discussions on the importance, nature and conditions favourable to development of social innovations.
Mission and Purpose
Shipyard Foundation's mission is to create and support effective solutions to social challenges, to involve citizens in deciding on public matters and to help organizations and local governments to plan and implement social activities.
We develop and disseminate good practices, create tools to simplify facilitation of social activities, conduct social research, we also train and develop educational materials.
Most of the projects and initiatives taken upon by the Shipyard Foundation concentrate in three areas:
- civic participation & public engagement,
- social innovations,
- research & consulting.
Origins and Development
Shipyard Foundation was established in 2009 by the Foundation for Social and Economic Initiatives, the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the Klon/Jawor Association.
For over 10 years, we have been creating and supporting effective solutions to social challenges, involving citizens in deciding on public matters and helping organizations and local governments to plan and implement social activities.
We develop and disseminate good practices, create tools to simplify facilitation of social activities, conduct social research, we also train and develop educational materials.
The effects of our activities are used by e.g.: seniors, students and teachers, citizens, activists and local government officials from all over Poland.
Organizational Structure, Membership, and Funding
Shipyard Foundation is managed by 5 board members elected for a three-year term by the Council. The board members oversee the entirety of the organisation’s operation. The Council is composed of 8 people serving on a voluntary basis. Shipyard’s staff consists of 35 people and its work is supported by volunteers (about 25 people every year).
Major Projects and Events
Participation Practitioners’ Fora (2014-)
Since 2014 we have been organizing annual networking events, which gather over 200 people (civic participation practitioners) from different Polish and foreign cities. They are open to all who have knowledge and experience in the implementation of various participatory processes (or who want to gain and develop them).
By organizing Fora we want to enable participation practitioners to get to know other people dealing with this subject and create a space for the exchange of thoughts and experiences.
More: https://partycypacjaobywatelska.pl/forum/
Public hearings on the National Resilience and Recovery Plan (2021)
At the beginning of 2021, in reaction to the way the Polish government conducted consultations on the so-called National Resilience and Recovery Plan, together with 1000 other organizations, we called for their extension and inclusion of civil society in the work on this document. Then, together with our key partner (National Federation of Polish NGOs), we persuaded the ministry responsible for the consultations to organize the largest series of public hearings in the history of Poland. There were a total of 11 public hearings on the National Resilience and Recovery Plan with over 460 speakers (from civil society, local governments, trade unions, companies etc.), watched by a total of over 20,000 people. The European Civic Forum awarded us the Civic Pride Award for initiating and organizing the hearings.
Climate Assembly in Warsaw (2020)
Together with two other NGOs from Warsaw (Field of Dialogue Foundation and Civis Polonus Foundation), we organized a citizens' assembly on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources (RES). Due to COVID, we conducted the whole process on-line.
90 randomly selected residents of Warsaw took part in the assembly. We invited them to 8 on-line meetings, 5 of them were obligatory. Others took place on weekdays evenings and were aimed at additional experts’ speeches, Q&A sessions and technical issues. They learned about the energy efficiency and RES usage and decided on what measures should be taken at the city level to increase them.
Civic councils on education (2019)
In 2019, when the outbreak of the greatest strike of teachers and education workers in the history of Poland happened, we launched a nationwide campaign of local civic councils, during which people could talk about the reasons for the strike and together reflect on what changes they expect in the Polish education system. From April to June 2019, 150 grass-root civic councils took place all over Poland. Approximately 4000 people (teachers, parents, students) took part in them.
Citizens' Assembly in Lublin (2018)
School Participatory Budgeting in Warsaw (2018)
Publications
Warsaw Climate Assembly report
School Participatory Budgeting Guidelines
Civic councils on education report
Direction: Citizens' Assembly. Tips for those interested
Participatory Budgeting standards in Poland
