Call for Proposals: Challenging Inequalities Programme

Deadline: 13-Mar-24

If you are a grassroot Community Based Organisation within the countries of Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, or Palestine and has a passion and a willingness to pioneer solutions to address inequalities within local communities, actively engage with community members to meet their needs, incorporate community input into the planning process, and champion the cause of social inclusion, then this announcement is tailored specifically for you.

Anna Lindh Foundation is pleased to introduce the Challenging Inequalities Programme, funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.  At its core, this programme is driven by a particular overarching objective: the work towards social inclusion across the 8 Southern Mediterranean countries.

Priority Areas

• Youth
• Gender equality
• Green transition, environment and water
• Employment and creation of opportunities

Programme Focus

• In the framework of this programme inequalities are understood as follows:
  • Social Inclusion: discrimination and bias, which persist in various forms and affect vulnerable groups like migrants and persons with disabilities, and others. These discriminatory practices can manifest in hiring processes, education, housing, and access to healthcare, creating barriers to equal participation in society. Additionally, stereotypes and prejudices can reinforce exclusionary behaviours, hindering efforts to foster a more inclusive environment.
  • Education inequalities: the disparities in access to quality education especially between rural and urban areas, access to education for refugee children, girls’ education, digital illiteracy, access to information and learning opportunities.
  • Access to services: unequal distribution of resources, access to quality services for minorities and marginalized groups, financial barriers, access to legal representation, unequal access to internet and technology.
  • Climate justice: representation, inclusion and protection of the rights of those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, climate induced migration and displacement, lack of awareness and understanding, impact on women who bear disproportionate burden with less access to resources, information and decision-making power.
  • Economic inequalities (job creation): The income disparities, challenges faced by marginalized communities including refugees, migrants and rural areas and unemployment, in addition to the prevalence of informal labour in terms of job security and fair wages, child labour and equal opportunities to women and persons with disabilities, access to entrepreneurship.
  • Gender inequalities: gender-based discrimination and inequalities in areas such as employment, political representation and access to resources, gender-based violence, limited decision-making power and cultural norms that hinder gender equality and women legal rights.

What will your community-based organisation gain?

• A technical assistance comprehensive programme, composed of online and in-person training workshops tailored and customized to cater to the specific needs and unique characteristics of each participating organisation within the programme. Through this tailored approach, organisation s will maximize their potential, foster growth, and achieve their goals with precision, all while benefiting from a rich and collaborative learning experience that adapts seamlessly to their individual requirements.
• A network with a number of CBOs from eight different countries, establishing strong ties and sharing a profound dedication to addressing inequalities and promoting the ideals of social inclusion and cohesion.
• Access financial support up to 10.000 euro for Community-Based Actions, there is no obligation for co-financing or in-kind contributions; their support is wholeheartedly provided.
• Community-Based Actions that generate the most impactful transformations and spark the most significant change will be prominently showcased on various platforms associated with the Anna Lindh Foundation, gaining international recognition.

Programme Phasing

• The programme will be implemented over 4 phases:
  • Identification: This phase will identify grass root Community based Organisations (CBOs) from the 8 countries to benefit from the intervention and capacity building around the concepts of social inclusion and fight against inequalities.
    • Community based Organisation s (CBOs) are invited to submit local project proposals, known as Community-Based Actions, adhering to the criteria outlined below.
    • Out of the submissions received, the best proposals will be chosen to participate in an informative online session that will dive into the key aspects of project development. Following this session, these selected organisation s will have the opportunity to refine and enhance their proposed projects.
    • Upon an initial evaluation of these advanced proposals, a group of 32 CBOs will be shortlisted to attend a comprehensive online training programme, which will be distributed over time to reach two full days of dedication. This training will cover crucial topics, including development goals, networking, knowledge exchange, and the aspects of the proposed projects.
    • Following this training, CBOs will be tasked with submitting their updated and final Community-based Actions proposals. A careful final screening process will then determine which local projects will advance to the next phase, securing funding for implementation.
  • Empowerment and action planning: During this dynamic phase, their selected CBOs will:
    • Boost their capacity: Experience an enriched training programme that explore deeper into development goals, strategies for social inclusion, and the fight against discrimination and intolerance. They prioritize active involvement of both youth and women, ensuring their substantial participation.
    • Exchange knowledge in Spain: Receive an enriching face-to-face four-day training opportunity in Spain and engage in in-depth discussions about the components of the winning proposals, with a keen focus on practical execution and methods for measuring impact and networking with peer organisation s in the other countries.
  • This phase is all about empowerment, knowledge, and taking tangible steps toward making a difference in your community. Get ready to unlock your organisation ‘s full potential!
  • Community Based Actions Implementation: This phase aims at empowering the selected CBOs through guidance, technical assistance, and networking to implement the actions at the local level and share experiences at the regional level.
    • Financial support: Receive substantial support for the continued implementation of the proposed Community-Based Actions. The Financial Support programme offers the potential to secure funding of up to €10,000 to help bring your vision to life.
    • The CBOs will benefit from ongoing technical assistance during the implementation phase of the community-based actions.
      • The technical assistance is a strategic and tailored support system aimed at enhancing the grass root organisation ‘s capabilities, effectiveness, and impact in pursuing its mission and serving its community. It encompasses a wide range of services and expertise provided by experienced professionals in areas such as programme development, capacity building, governance, and resource mobilization. This assistance begins with a thorough needs assessment to identify the grass root CBO’s specific challenges and gaps, enabling the development of a customized plan to address these issues effectively.
      • One of the primary objectives of the technical assistance is capacity building, which includes ongoing training and skill development for CBOs staff and volunteers. This empowers the organisation to manage its programmes efficiently, engage in effective implementation, and maintain strong technical performance.
    • The CBOs will attend an online mid-term guidance seminar with a purpose of making a proactive analysis of the Community –based Actions to jointly overcome potential difficulties and sharing lessons learnt and promote networking
  • Drawing Conclusions and harnessing knowledge: This phase capitalises on the knowledge generated throughout the different phases of the programme and the Community based Actions and gathers the methodologies applied, the good practices identified, lessons learned and conclusions.
  • Here’s a closer look at what this phase entails:
    • Face-to-Face Seminar in Spain: To facilitate sharing of experiences and insights, representatives from the 32 CBOs will come together for a stimulating two-day projects’ conclusion seminar in Spain. This gathering aims to discuss the challenges encountered and the innovative solutions that were devised. Moreover, it provides a platform for conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the overall impact of the intervention and the experiences of other organisation’s in the same field.
    • Developing a practical guide that effectively captures the knowledge and impact of the Community based Actions implementation and processes. The guide will be developed through systematically gathering insights, data, and experiences from the implementing CBOs, assessing the process’s outcomes, and distilling this information into a user-friendly format, to serve as a valuable reference tool, enabling related stakeholders understand the key findings, actionable recommendations, learn from successes and challenges, and make informed decisions moving forward.

Eligibility Criteria

• Organisations registered as legal entities and working at the following countries: Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine
• Organisations that have good track record of community engagement, advocacy and social cohesion and dialogue
• Organisations able to develop a proposal for a community-based action to be implemented at the local level and contribute to social development in the given priority areas.

For more information, visit Anna Lindh Foundation.