UN announces Grants for Countering and Alleviating the Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ukraine

Deadline: 17 April 2020

The United Nations has announced a grant for countering and alleviating the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in target communities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

The purpose of this call for proposals is to provide information on the grants competition for countering and alleviating the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) for non-governmental organizations operating in the target communities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which is conducted by the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, and to explain the procedure for submitting project proposals.

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme is implemented by four UN agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The programme is supported by twelve international partners: the European Union, the European Investment Bank, and the governments of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan.

Funding for the grants competition will be provided with the support of the European Union (EU), the governments of Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The financial management of the grants competition is entrusted to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Programme activities are grouped according to the following key components, which reflect the priority needs of the region:

Component I: Economic Recovery and Restoration of Critical Infrastructure
Component II: Local Governance and Decentralisation Reform
Component III: Community Security and Social Cohesion

Funding and Duration Information

The project proposals to be received will be funded in the amount of UAH 54,000 to 162,000, however, project proposals on any declared budget will be accepted for consideration and they will be considered by the Selection Committee.
It is expected that the duration of proposed projects should not exceed three months.

Task Description and Expected Competition Results

This call for proposals aims to unite efforts to counter the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the areas of “Community Security” and “Social Cohesion” and aims to support community-based initiatives to assist the most vulnerable categories (such as older people, people with disabilities, large and needy families, young persons from the vulnerable to COVID-19 infection target groups) in helping prevent expansion, overcome and mitigate the impact of the pandemic and provide psychosocial care and support.
The projects to be submitted for this competition must contribute to preventing expansion of the pandemic and mitigating its impact through awareness-raising, coordination, data collection on needs and challenges, development of online services and platforms, self-organization of people into volunteer self-help groups, spread of information and development of consultation online services for the prevention and counteraction to the domestic violence and/or gender based violence, mobilization of young persons for the improvement of their well-being, as well as public engagement with the police and State Emergency Service to ensure law enforcement and security during quarantine.
Community resilience activities of the suggested projects might also include, identification of the needs, volunteer mobilization and engagement for food/ medicine deliveries for the older people and other vulnerable to the coronavirus infection groups, close partnership or cooperation with the Social Services is an advantage. Such projects should not include budgets for the purchase of food/medicine itself, though some budget can be requested to cover transportation and other logistics costs.
All activities planned according to the project must be carried out in strict compliance with the quarantine rules then in force, being aware of full liability for violation thereof.
Projects must meet the following mandatory requirements:
- to respond to coronavirus (COVID-19) infection promptly, to help communities recover from the effects of the pandemic, and to help organize quarantine activities within the powers of authority of the central and local governments;
- to have a clearly defined target audience to be addressed by the project activities;
- to have clear objectives that can be achieved using the resources provided and within a given time frame;
- to have clear results related to mitigating unintended side effects of quarantine measures

Eligibility Criteria

Non-governmental or charitable organizations submitting project proposals for this competition must meet the following requirements:
- be officially registered with the status of a legal entity in the territory of Ukraine and implement its activities in the territory of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts;
- have the status of a non-profit or charitable organization (non-profit codes 0032, 0034, 0036, 0038, 0039 or 0048);
- have the appropriate expertise and professional staff to implement the project (project manager, finance professional/accountant and other specialists as required by the project).
Territories for holding of the competition:
- The projects to be implemented through this call for proposals must be implemented in the target communities, namely:
  - 18 target communities in Donetsk Oblast: Dobropillia (Bilytske, Bilozerske), Druzhkivka, Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Sloviansk, Siversk ATC, Soledar ATC, Novhorodske, Svitlodarsk, Manhush raion, the prospective Volnovakha ATC, Vuhledar ATC, the prospective Sartana ATC, Velyka Novosilka raion, Krasnohorivka/Mariinka, Avdiivka, Olhynka, Ocheretyne.
  - 19 target communities in Luhansk Oblast: Lozno-Oleksandrivka ATC, Troitske ATC, Nyzhnia Duvanka ATC, Bilovodsk ATC, Popasna, Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Kreminna, Krasnorichenske, Milove, Stanytsia Luhanska, Novoaidar, Zolote, Shchastia, Triokhizbenka, Hirske, Shyrokyi, Krasna Talivka.
  - 9 target communities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast: Berdiansk, Communities of Berdiansk raion, Melitopol, communities of Melitopol raion (Nove ATC, Semenivka ATC), Pryazovske ATC, Prymorsk ATC, Kyrylivka ATC, Yakymivka ATC.
NGOs/CSOs with proposals targeting the specific needs of women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Ex-combatants organizations whose activities are aimed at the veteran community (ex-combatants and their families) are encouraged to participate in the competition.
Applications sent by individuals, commercial organizations, government agencies and organizations, local authorities, trade unions, political parties, religious organizations will not be considered.
Organizations that have an ongoing grant agreement with the Community Security and Social Cohesion component of the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme cannot be selected through this competition until the end of said grant agreement, since one organization can only implement one grant agreement during one period.