For achieving its mission IEM uses a wide variety of methods, means and various professional skills and approaches for stimulating changes in the thinking and in the behaviour of the local communities or for supporting directly their development:

¨       fund raising:

      Raising funds from central and local authorities, from businesses and industries, and from other donors, for reaching the goals, as stated in IEM’s Mission, and for implementing the activities, as listed below;

¨       project management:

      Implementation of projects in environmental, health and social management, which focus on modernising these areas and bringing them into compliance with European and international norms and practices in ways that are consistent with the Bulgarian, Balkan, and Post-communist social environment, resource base, political context and level of development. In this area, IEM is co-operating with similar organisations in Bulgaria and abroad;

¨       programme design and implementation:

      Design and implementation of multi-year programmatic interventions, which seek to intervene in fundamental ways to introduce and strengthen sustainability and accountability into the modernisation of environmental health and social services; often through the placing of staff, consultants or coaches into long-term support positions in municipal governments or regional authorities, and always with a focus on transparency, accountability, and information and knowledge management and exchange;

¨       consulting, training, advising, coaching, and monitoring:

      Working with the responsible officials and professionals in the field of environment, environmental health and social activities and building their capacities in the process of achieving locally articulated goals and pursuing local priorities. Providing primary modes of interacting with target groups, beneficiaries, and clients. Where necessary, conducting scientific research and developing solutions of practical problems in the sphere of environmental conservation, environmental health and social care. Developing, financing and organizing practical, academic and educational programs, projects and forums, independently, or jointly with other institutions and entities;

¨       rendering social and professional assistance:

      Rendering social assistance to citizens, living in social distress, marginalised groups of people, and ethnic minorities, who need support for their daily survival. Helping these groups of people to improve the quality of their life, change their social status and, if possible, establish their own businesses, preferably in the field of providing environmental services;

¨       environmental, health and social advocacy:
Mechanisms for influencing environmental, health and social public policy include developing advocacy campaigns, organizing coalitions to move policy in a particular direction, demonstrating support for certain policies, and the common tactic of relying on personal contacts. Influencing the development of the national environmental and health legal framework by developing politically astute strategies for advocacy, writing of position papers and publishing promotional materials to successfully intervene in the legislative drafting process. Informal working groups are formed on an ad hoc basis, as issues arise. Providing support to local associations to improve their negotiation, lobbying and advocacy skills so that they could engage in environmental and health policy dialogue with the authorities.