EC Call for Proposals to strengthen the Capacities of CSOs and CBOs in Zimbabwe

Deadline: 21-May-24

The European Commission is pleased to announce its call for proposals aimed at strengthening the capacity of CSOs/CBOs in Zimbabwe with a view to ultimately foster a stronger, more resilient ecosystem with greater capacities.

This call will contract only one single action whereby the successful applicant(s), with proven recent local experience, expertise and legitimacy in the domain, will be expected to take charge of a complex program of technical and financial support to a wide variety of local CSOs/CBOs in various areas such as advocacy, leadership, management, governance and other capacities.

The action will encompass two main components incorporated into one whole: (1) long-term capacity development support in the prioritised areas; and (2) flexible financial support to enable civil society organisations and community-based organisations to fulfil their mandate and to serve their communities.

Objectives and Priorities

• The global objective (Impact) of this call for proposals is: to strengthen local civil society organisations’ ability to engage as actors of good governance and development in Zimbabwe.
• The specific objective (Outcome) of this call for proposals is: to strengthen the capacities of CSOs and CBOs at the local and national levels for improved internal governance and active participation in governance, social and economic processes.
• The priorities (Outputs) to be delivered by this action, contributing to the specific objective, are:
  • Strengthening the capacities of civil society organisations and community-based organisations in Zimbabwe through capacity development and technical support.
    • This capacity development/building/strengthening  can take place on individual, organisational as well as on environmental levels. The capacity development can address aspects of internal governance, delivering impact and/or networking and advocacy. It should principally be directed towards improving functions and structures relating to organisational governance, management and leadership . Additional possible priorities are: the enabling environment/civic space, emerging issues, cross-cutting issues, digitalization , advocacy, dialogue and participation.
  • Strengthening the capacities of civil society organisations and community-based organisations in Zimbabwe through the provision of small grants.
    • This Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) mechanism should principally serve to provide flexible and responsive organisational development grants for CSOs/CBOs in Zimbabwe. It shall make such EU funding available to a broad base of civil society actors. The flexible financial support should in all aspects be closely developed and coordinated with the capacity building and technical support.
• In addition, a coordination and steering function should also be proposed, including the EU Delegation, and other stakeholders, as appropriate. The purpose will be to incorporate the two above priorities into a single coherent programme and to ensure regular coordination with the EU Delegation, as well as balanced programming/operational approaches. To this aim, the applicant(s) shall propose to establish a robust technical and financial monitoring system for the action and regular progress reporting to the steering committee. Equally, an operative project implementation approach including knowledge management and coordination of the entire program needs to be proposed.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,000,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
• Size of grants
  • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
    • Minimum amount: EUR 1,800,000
    • Maximum amount: EUR 2,000,000
  • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:
    • Minimum percentage: 50 % of the total eligible costs of the action
    • Maximum percentage: 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action
• The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the contracting authority) must be financed from sources other than the general budget of the Union.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead Applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be a non-governmental organisation (civil society organisation)  or an association thereof and
    • be established in  Zimbabwe or a Member State of the European Union or any other eligible countries as stipulated in the NDICI-GE and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
  • If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator).

For more information, visit European Commission.