Deadline: 16-Sep-22
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is pleased to launch the Girls’ Education Skills Partnership – Challenge Fund to boost girls’ access to education and address the skills deficit in adolescent girls in developing countries.
Funding Information
The Challenge Fund will award grants, each between £750,000 to £1.5 million (GBP) via a competitive grant call process.
What the fund will achieve?
- Projects should aim to tackle skills and employment barriers to empower female learners. The principal target group for your project should be adolescent girls and young women aged 13 to 25.
- It is a requirement of GESP that projects are implemented through partnerships, which are defined as a formal collaboration among a group of public and/or private organisations. Partnerships may include, but are not restricted to, education and skills Institutions, private sector companies (as employers, investors or suppliers), NGOs, youth-led organisations and public sector agencies involved in education and skills.
Eligible Activities
- The activity proposed has been used successfully by members of the partnership in other situations. This is to enable project implementation with the minimum possible delay
- Evidence of prior implementation of the proposed methodology. The lead partner has experience of managing the finances of projects of a similar size. This is to provide assurance that project funds will be managed effectively
- The activities proposed must be focused on the themes and countries specified in the call
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply for funding for these projects, applicants must meet all the general eligibility requirements set out below and the following:
- Applicants must provide evidence that there is a demand for their proposed intervention and that the applicant possesses the practical experience and networks to reach the target beneficiaries. However, this experience may be provided by any member organization of the partnership, not necessarily by the lead partner.
- The lead organization in the partnership must have previous or current experience delivering skills interventions directly to young people, with a preference for skills interventions specific to adolescent girls and young women.
- Organizations must show how they work with and engage youth in solutions
Requirements
No application will be considered for funding without passing ALL of the eligibility requirements listed below.
Partners
- A lead partner must be legally registered for a minimum of two years and has the right to undertake activity proposed in the partnership. This is intended to show that the lead partner is well established and suitable to manage the partnership.
- Certified audited accounts for the last two years must be available on request.
- Proof that the organization is a legal entity in its country of operation must be available on request.
- Partnership must include at least two organisations, at least one of which is legally entitled to operate in each country where activity will take place. This is to ensure that if the proposal is selected, it will be possible to implement it.
- Written evidence of legal status of each organization in the country of operation must be available on request.
- Confirmation that the lead and other partners are not involved in or propose activities that:
- encourage or lead to civil unrest
- are linked to any terrorist organization
- have any direct links to a political party
- discriminate against any groups on the basis of gender, disability, race, colour, ethnicity, religion or social standing
- Any breach of the above contravenes FCDO and UNICEF funding rules. Signature of the application form by all partners will be deemed to mean that this criterion is met. Any evidence to the contrary will lead to immediate disqualification.
- At least two of the partners, including the lead partner, have worked successfully together in the last five years. This is to demonstrate that a viable partnership exists in order to deliver the proposal.
- Evidence within application of an established working relationship between the lead and other partners.
For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/international-development-funding/girls-education-skills-partnership-gesp-challenge-fund-request-for-proposals#how-to-applyn
