Below you can find examples of Polish watchdogs with the description of their mission. In some of them you can see the specific watchdog projects they were conducting.
The Stefan Batory Foundation is an independent private Polish foundation established in 1988 by American financier and philanthropist George Soros and a group of Polish democratic leaders of 80’s. The mission of the Foundation is to support the development of an open, democratic society in Poland and other Central and East European countries.
- Civic monitoring of the law making process
-Carrying out observation of enactment of chosen bills, of vital importance with regard to the threat of corruption
-Watchdog activities- promotion of mechanisms of civic surveillance over functioning of public institutions and institutions of public trust aimed at improvement of standards and transparency of their activities
- Anti-Corruption Program campaigns for greater transparency in public life and takes initiatives to increase public sensitivity to various forms and aspects of corruption.
- Open Europe - promotes the idea and advocates for Polish and EU visa policy liberalization towards citizens of Eastern Europe.
The Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) is a nationwide public-benefit non-governmental organization with non-profit status working for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. We were established in 2001.
- Monitoring of Discirmination of LGBT persons in Poland– monitoring of state Policy countering discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
FER works in environmental education, advocating sustainable development and practical nature conservation. Activities of the Foundation focus in the Lower Silesia (dolnośląskie) region.
- Civic monitoring of breaching legal provision in the terms od destroing birds population according to Appendix I, II, IV of EEC Directive 92/43/EEC
- Monitoring how parliamentarians fulfil their election promises on tackling corruption and improving the standards of public life.
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights - organisation established in 1989 by the members of the Helsinki Committee in Poland. Mission is - the development of the human liberties and rights culture, both domestically and abroad. Since 2007 they have Consultative Status with the United Nation's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
- Obtaining information on the alleged interrogation and tortures of people suspected of terrorism by American special services on Polish territory
- Monitoring the level of media freedom and the cases of its violation in all voivodeships; aspiring for specific changes in the legal regulations relevant for media freedom by strategic litigation; initiating, conducting and substantial support of public debate on various aspects of freedom of speech
- Gathering information about the candidates and presenting it via constantly updated website; following the elections by participating in the candidates' public hearing. (Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, The Stefan Batory Foundation, Polish Section of the International Commission of Jurists)
- Monitoring the process of legislation and law enforcement in the area of justice in terms of guaranteeing the protection of citizens' rights and freedoms and ensuring the implementation of the constitutional right to the court; interventions designed to change the defective regulations and bad law enforcement practices.
Feminoteka Foundation works to eliminate sex-based discrimination in literature, culture, art and public life.
- Tackling sex-based discrimination by creating a team monitoring the government and public administration actions of implementation the programs relating to equal opportunities for men and women.
- Gendermeria – analysis of public media programs and decisions of the National Broadcasting Council in respect to the obligations arising from the implementation of the principles of gender equality.
The Foundation Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is one of the leading Polish think
tanks and an independent centre for analysis and research, established in 1995.
Through its studies, expert’s opinions and recommendations focusing on key issues of
public life, the Institute discharges its mission to serve citizens, the state and the public at large.
- Monitoring the law on Non-Governmental Organizations and institutionalizing civic dialogue.
- Examining the risks of corruption associated with the current system of subsidizing the political parties from the state budget, the mechanisms for issuing and accounting for subsidies by the parties in particular.
Workshop for All Beings is an association of people united in order to act for the benefit of wildlife, to propagate the patterns of responsible living and education for maintaining high-quality natural and cultural environment.
- Civic control over Białowieża Forest management.
- Increasing the role of NGOs in the implementation of tasks falling within the competences of the institutions responsible for preserving the most valuable European lowland forest - Białowieża
- Monitoring of the road investments as the key threat to biodiversity protection in Poland.
Childbirth with Dignity Foundation is a non-governmental public benefit organization acting on behalf of pregnant women and mothers of young children. Its mission is to strengthen and support women in expressing their needs openly and demanding respecting their rights.
- Advocacy and monitoring of the selected aspects of perinatal care and respect for women's rights in Poland.
The aim of the Association for Legal Intervention (SIP) is acting in favour of people discriminated and endangered with marginalization by providing them with necessary assistance, including legal and social assistance, and activities aimed at introducing systemic changes in the law and social policy.
- Undertaking a study on observing the employment rights of foreigners, preparation of the study report.
- Friendly Office For All - investigating the activities of the Division for Foreigners of Mazowiecki Voivodeship Office in terms of the office administrative proceedings for foreigners.
- Monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the CPT (European Committee for the Prevention of Torture) by the Polish authorities.
Green Federation GAJA Association was established in 1993. It is an independent, apolitical non-governmental public benefit organization, acting in favour of environmental protection and development of civil society realizing its goals through peaceful actions.
- Monitoring of the catch control system for cod, salmon and other socially and environmentally important species in Baltic Sea. Strengthening the implementation of EU legislation and improving public awareness on the condition of the Baltic Sea.
- Monitoring and support of the implementation of the national "Programme for removing asbestos and products containing asbestos used on Polish territory"
Association “Center for Social Activity PRYZMAT” is a non-profit NGO. Its mission is to support citizens’ initiatives that fulfil ideas of a civil society. The aim is to raise a civic awareness and to create the world without division in “better” and “worse” people. The aim of the Association is also to support the development of civil society.
- Investigating the procedures for selecting lay judges and practices of their functioning in the Court of Appeals in Białystok
- Openness and competence – investigating the access to public information in all local government units in Podlaskie voivodeship
- Monitoring the implementation of the obligation to submit financial statement by the local government officials in Poland.
The Association of Leaders of Local Civic Group is an independent, non-profit, apolitical public benefit organization. It works in favour of spreading the idea of good governance
- Non-governmental Centre of Access to Public Information – gathering knowledge and experience related to the execution of the right to information, influencing the public authorities to operate openly, transparently and responsibly; consulting the draft legislation, counselling and website (www.informacjapubliczna.org.pl)
- Citizens' budget- supervising the citizens' participation in public life and spending public funds; checking on how the authorities respond to the rank-and-file initiatives of the residents and the implementation of the law on the village fund (www.funduszesoleckie.pl).
- Project Civic Watch: Citizens on guard of public interest is implemented in cooperation between the Stefan Batory Foundation and the Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups. It is aimed at enforcing public scrutiny of authorities by independent institutions as it is an indispensable element of efficient democracy (www.watchdog.org.pl)
La Strada Foundation Against Trafficking in Women - Poland - is a non-governmental women's organization that seeks to prevent and combat the traffic of women in Poland.
Foundation for the Support of Ecological Initiatives established in 1989 supports environmental entrepreneurship, conducts trainings, internships and educational activities.
- Complex activities for citizens and social organizations to start using the right to information about the environment and its protection more effectively.
- Strengthening of the intervention activities towards the environment protection
- Civic monitoring of municipal waste management
The 61 Association is an independent, apolitical, non-governmental organisation which aims to create shared information systems on people performing elective public offices. Since 2006 it has been constructing mamprawowiedziec.pl site to create a database with information on people performing elective public offices.
“Local Knowledge” Foundation is a non-governmental organization supporting local government and other actors of social life by providing expertise and comprehensive solutions in the field of social research and analysis.
- Developing a monitoring system of Polish Internet for the presence of hate and hostile language towards ethnic, sexual, religious and other minorities; and launching a website presenting the results of such monitoring and allowing to use them for interventions.
Phenomenon (of) the Normal City Foundation was established on March 13th 2009. Its core consists of people that have met via Internet and have been joined by the fondness to their home town. The aim is raising people’s awareness that they are crucial participants, not only the subject of government activity.
- Monitoring the actions of Łódź Roads and Transport Department's in the organization of public and pedestrian transport system in the city: collecting and analysing the information on the plans, decisions, budget and expenditure and intervening in case of violating the principles of sustainable development and the interests of non-motorized people.
Panoptykon Foundation’s mission is to protect human rights, in particular the right to privacy, in the clash with modern technology used for surveillance purposes. They want to analyse the risks associated with the operation of modern surveillance systems, monitor the actions of both public and private entities in this and intervene when human rights or democratic values are threatened.
Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law (PSAL) was established in 2007 and brings together a range of Polish law practitioners, policy experts, lawyers of Polish human rights NGOs and academics interested in promotion and improving anti-discrimination legislation.
- Equality monitoring of job advertisements – monitoring of the compliance with the principle of equal treatment in job advertisements. The lawyers of PTPA have studied the scale of discrimination of the candidates in job advertisements published in newspapers and largest Internet services
- Development of alternatives to incapacitation of legal solutions related to the forms of support for intellectually disabled people preceded by the analysis of existing Polish and international regulations in this regard, investigating the court records of incapacitation proceedings, interviews with intellectually disabled people, their parents and carers, social welfare and other institutions employees.
Free and Open Source Software Foundation based in Poznań has been registered in February 2007 to achieve several objectives which will help popularizing the idea of free and open source software in Poland.
- Proper and transparent software public auctions – preventing bad practices in constructing software public auctions announced by public administration (www.pppit.org.pl).
Association of Creative Initiatives „ę” have been conducting social projects all over Poland since 2002. Their method is education and elicitation of youth by art. During artistic activities [film, photographical, theatrical and journalist workshops] young people discover their willingness to act, they find their passions and learn the creative thinking.
- Zoom on Cultural Centres- drawing up a strategy of actions for cultural centres in three local communities in mazowieckie province: a cycle of consultations and workshops with participation of habitants, representatives of local authorities and cultural centres.
The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre is a non-governmental, a-political and non-profit organization. The founding idea which gave rise to the establishment of the Centre was the effective use of enthusiasm of young lawyers for the assistance to individuals threatened by social exclusion and protection of human rights through legal aid, monitoring, research, professional trainings and information campaigns. The Centre conducts regular monitoring the reception and detention centres as well as the borders with the aim of verifying the access of aliens to the territory of the Republic of Poland and asylum procedure.
-Program Application Monitoring and Access Support (AMAS) – monitoring within the frames of the Program of Monitoring of Application and Support of Access to Refugee Procedure executed in cooperation with The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
-Information campaign on refugees aimed at authorities, urban services and inhabitants of Bytom and monitoring activities in the centre for foreigners applying for refugee status.
The mission and the main goal of Foundation is a dissemination, development and implementation of an idea of civil society.
- monitoring of financing of election campaigns run by candidates for councillors of Krakow City Council: observation of the course of campaign, gathering materials and information , analysis of financial statements of electoral commissions, preparing and publishing a report.
-Monitoring authorities of Krakow with regard to connections between business and politics ( employment policy, public procurements, practice of using writing off and tax allowances)
Polish Student Support Fund is involved in broad range of activities, encompassing among other things economic and legal education, watchdog activities, shaping attitudes of students as recipients of educational offer aware of their rights and as socially sensitive consumers.
-Research into principles ruling awarding scholarships fundraised by state-owned Fund of Material Aid for Students carried out at 54 universities: analysis of statuory regulations, analysis of rules regulating activities of scholarship and appeal committees, gathering information appearing in mass media and on the internet, drafting amendment proposals.
Fundation Court Watch Poland supports positive changes in Polish justice system through civic monitoring of courts
- Civic monitoring of district courts- conducted in various district courts in Poland
Mission of Association for Anti-Discrimination Education is to develop and promote the anti-discrimination education.
-investigating the system of children and teenager’s and teacher’s education from the viewpoint of anti-discrimination, drawing up a methodology of cyclical monitoring and building up a coalition of non-governmental organizations “Education for Equality and Diversity”
-development and promotion of Internet portal Sejmometr.pl informing about activities of the Parliament and activity of its members during law-making procedure enabling interested parties to follow a legislative process.
Foundation Institute For Regional Development is Polish non-profit and non-governmental organisation with a status of the public benefit organisation. The Foundation’s fundamental mission is to ensure balanced social and economy development, the transfer of innovative solutions and support to business, ad-ministration and NGOs in introduction and use of modern technologies.
-Monitoring of the law enactment with relevance to problems of disabled persons (among other things the bill on equalizing opportunities of disabled persons, draft of the bill on adaptation of organization of elections to the needs of disabled persons
Open Republic – Association against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia was established in 1999 as an expression of the need to counteract xenophobic and anti-Semitic prejudice reappearing in the Polish public life. The basic goals of the Association include promotion of the attitude of openness and respect for persons and groups of a different ethnic, national, religious, cultural or social identification and counteracting any forms of racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and other attitudes harmful to human dignity.
- Monitoring of anti-Semitic and xenophobic events - registering the acts of hatred and discrimination against representatives of national, ethnic, religious, cultural, sexual and other minorities as well as against material expression of their culture (vandalism acts at the cemeteries). Gathering information on the way, in which the appropriate local government institutions and authorities react to such events. Monitoring actions of the police, local authorities, and prosecutor’s offices and the courts.
-Monitoring of hydrotechnical investment co-financed by European Union
The Society for Earth (TNZ) is an all-Poland organization acting to preserve, protect and recover the natural heritage and to protect human health and life from the consequences of pollution. The association acts for creating conditions for local democracy development and for strengthening peace and the society.
Association of Mutual Help Bona Fides is independent, non-profit, politically neutral non-governmental organization. Our activity aims at development of civic society and improvement of the quality of public life in Poland.
-Access to public information- activities regarding execution of law on access to public information in Śląskie voivodship: participation in court cases, legal counselling and specialized training preparing for running local points of information about law on access to public information
-Transparent Themis- research and analysis of the content of websites of courts, prosecutor’s offices and BIF’s (Bulletins of Public Information)
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