SPEK is an expert partner in a project aimed at improving cooperation between Lithuanian NGOs and authorities in crisis situations.

In Lithuania, the role of NGOs in society is not as established as it is in Finland. With recent world political developments, Lithuania has started to develop its preparedness for both natural and man-made disasters. An important means in this process is to develop cooperation between NGOs and authorities.

One of the biggest goals is to build trust between different parties. In Finland, the NGO field network has been built over a long history, and we have strong trust between NGOs and authorities. In Lithuania, trust needs to be built at a faster pace.

The Lithuanian project team made a visit to Finland

The NGOs Equipped for Civic Resilience project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, was launched in 2024. It seeks ways to develop cooperation with authorities and apply them in joint exercises at the local level in Lithuania.

Six municipalities from Lithuania are participating in the project, with Sweden’s County Administrative Board of Skåne and Finland’s SPEK as expert partners. In January 2025, the Lithuanian project team conducted a study visit to both countries.

Best practices in volunteer-authority collaboration

During the two-day study visit to Finland, there was a lot of discussion and joint reflection on which practical operating models could be adopted to Lithuania from Finland. It was necessary to consider that Lithuania, as a small country and a former Soviet republic, has its own special characteristics.

We introduced our Lithuanian guests to Finland’s strong Vapepa (Voluntary Rescue Service) network, whose volunteers have a lot of expertise for crisis situations as well as experience working with the authorities. Additionally, we presented the role and significance of volunteer fire departments in Finland.

On the second day, the focus was on the training of rescue volunteers and joint exercises with the authorities. We held a workshop in small groups, where we planned how to organize a joint exercise for NGOs and authorities at both the local and national levels in Lithuania. The chosen scenario for the exercise was evacuation of citizens in a crisis situation.

From learning to implementation – next steps in Lithuania

The Lithuanian guests were very impressed by the spirit of cooperation and expertise between the Finnish actors. They felt that they had received a lot of valuable information and insights into supporting their development work

NGOs need clear roles in crisis situations, and there needs to be a well-defined operating model for cooperation with authorities.

In the coming months, the Lithuanians will organize roundtable discussions with local authorities and NGOs and strive to find suitable roles for NGO actors. Joint exercises in the form of a tabletop exercise will also be organized in the country. The final conference of the project will be held in Vilnius in October 2025.

According to the Lithuanian project coordinator, Gaja Šavelė, the study visit to Finland was highly successful and provided valuable lessons.

“On behalf of the Lithuanian NGO team, I would like to sincerely thank you for the incredibly well-organized study visit. Both thematically and content-wise, it was highly valuable, and we gained a lot of insights while also having the opportunity to share the Lithuanian experience. We’ve already started discussing ideas on how to proceed with what we’ve learned in the nearest future.

You have a truly wonderful team, bringing together such diverse perspectives and knowledge—it was a pleasure to engage with everyone.”

— Gaja Šavelė, Nacionalinės NVO koalicijos direktorė (Director of the NGO Coalition)