ECF’s Leadership Programme supports up to ten small and medium cycling organisations per year in order to help them grow into professional national advocates. While the Leadership Programme of 2015 is in full swing, let’s take a look at the biggest achievements of some previous Leadership Programme participants: Finnish Cyclists' Federation, Bulgarian Cycling Association, Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation, FIAB and Cyclist.ie.  The Leadership Programme is funded through donations of the Cycling Industry Club, the industry network of ECF, which sees an incredible return on investment through the work of a few small but determined advocates around Europe.

Finnish Cyclists’ Federation (FCF)

The local cycling associations wanted to improve national level cycling advocacy by uniting the local organizations under one roof. The funding from the Leadership Programme helped to establish the Finnish Cyclists' Federation, built an effective strategy and communications plan for it and to create the base for its funding. Today the new federation has two employees and represents over 2,000 cyclists across the country.  What they said: “The Leadership Programme united cyclists and made the Federation happen. It gave us boost and the possibility to hire our first employee who has been able to improve the finances of the Federation. All of this wouldn't have happened without the Leadership Programme or it would have taken years. Now we have a strong organization with a very promising future.”

Bulgarian Cycling Association (BCA)

Before entering the LP, BCA was a small organization ran by volunteers and it lacked financial support. BCA wanted to grow as an organization by attracting new members from two main target groups: the everyday cyclists and the professional audience. What they said:  “The biggest help form the LP was its concept – the cycling industry supporting cycling NGOs. We made it clear to the Bulgarian cycling industry that all our activities will result in increasing the cycling market and therefore they should support us as well. We do our best to be visible especially to the decision makers and the professional audience. “

Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation (Nadace Partnerství)

Before joining the LP, Nadace Partnerství focused on cycle tourism and greenways.  The organization wanted to be more involved in cycling advocacy than before. With the support  and best practices of the Leadership Programme, Nadace Partnerství brought together a number of Czech cycling organizations under one umbrella federation. Read more. What they said: “With the Leadership Programme we are more and more involved in cycling. National campaigns such as Bike2Work have expanded to 25 cities already, our Traffic Calming and Safe Routes to Schools initiative attracts more cities and schools and the 2-3 large cycle events are gaining momentum. However, creating a nationwide organization goes far beyond these successes and is asking for collaborative efforts of several organizations.”

FIAB - Federazione Italiana Amici della Bicicletta

(Federation of Friends of the Bicycle in Italy)

FIAB wanted a new imagine that would respond to younger people’s demands on sustainable mobility. With the help of LP funding FIAB hired a communicator who helped build a creative campaign to improve the perception of FIAB among Italian cyclists and to spread awareness among Italian politicians about the urgency of their commitment for a change in the mobility patterns. “Any communication campaign needs appropriate resources. Without financial help we can hardly find resource for this kind of work. Communication is a key element for membership growth. “

Cyclist.ie – Ireland’s National Cycling Lobby Group

Cyclist.ie now has far better coordination of activities at a local level, and its member groups have succeeded in getting appointed to the most important local decision-making transport committees. Cyclist.ie’s national level lobbying has stepped up a gear as the organization engages with politicians and senior officials in health, transport and tourism. In short, Cyclist.ie is now shaping policy and practice at local and national levels. What they said: “The ECF LP enabled Cyclist.ie to employ a part-time National Cycling Coordinator (NCC) through a strategic partnership with An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland. In essence, having a NCC has improved coordination and cohesion within the network. This is making a difference on the ground. Furthermore, the knowledge of all of these processes feeds into more effective national level lobbying. In short, we are more clued-in when meeting these figures through the work of the NCC.”

ConBici – Coordinatora En Defensa De La Bici

ConBici wanted to improve its lobbying and advocacy work. With the financial support of the LP they carried out a successful campaign about the benefits of cycling among the Spanish politicians. What they said: “We are still at the beginning of the Leadership Programme, but we think not only the financial support has been important in ensuring that our organisation has professional staff but also the advice and know-how from the ECF staff members has been important”.