The Senate passed a law on the development of volunteering
On June 23, 2022, the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan has approved amendments and additions to the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan on volunteer activities, charity, non-governmental organizations in the second reading.
In accordance with the amendments and additions to the law "On Charity", the provision of state property to charitable organizations on preferential terms, the assignment of honorary titles to benefactors in their field, the introduction of norms on corporate charity and the concept of "electronic charity", the definition of an authorized body in the field of charity, the regulation of the actions of a charity volunteer to raise funds, development, approval and the implementation of a charity program are foreseen.
Within the framework of the law "On Volunteer Activity", standards of taking into account volunteer activity when entering civil service, advantages for admission to higher educational institutions, provision of state awards to volunteers (the «Shapagat» medal), provision of state property to volunteer organizations on preferential terms, norms for corporate volunteering, functions of the authorized body on maintaining the course of volunteer activities, specifying the types of volunteer activities, not posing a threat to health and moral development for volunteers under the age of 18 have been introduced.
With the support of non-governmental organizations, a new system aimed at simplifying grant financing procedures was considered: short-term (from 3 months to 1 year, funds from 500 to 3 thousand MCI), medium-term (term from 1 to 2 years, funds from 3 thousand to 10 thousand MCI) and long-term (term from 2 years to 3 years, with financing more than 10 thousand. MCI) projects and strategic partnership as a new mechanism for interaction with NGOs was introduced.
The requirements for the amount of grant funding, terms of implementation, conditions of participation in the competition for NGOs and reporting are defined.
In addition, a new format for the formation of grants by pools in topical areas focused on the needs of the population has been introduced, and the competence of central state bodies to provide grants through the operator is also presented.
In general, in accordance with the new changes, a mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of grants with the involvement of civil society is provided, which, in turn, will allow to assess the level of satisfaction with the quality of NGO services, the effectiveness of budget funds and have grounds for the subsequent formation of grants.
Regarding the strategic partnership: based on the national priorities of the state, the directions of the strategic partnership of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan will be determined. The authorized body (MISD), based on the proposals of the central executive bodies, forms the directions of strategic partnership and sends them to the Government for decision-making.
The mechanism of strategic partnership is implemented only at the level of central executive bodies. Each ministry independently determines its strategic partners and evaluates their performance in accordance with the rules for the formation of a state order for the implementation of a strategic partnership approved at the government level.