Deadline: 08-Mar-2024
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has opened a call for applications for development cooperation project grants available for Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs).
Project support for Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) is an important form of civil society’s development cooperation and part of the implementation of Finland’s development policy. CSOs engaged in development cooperation projects enhance the diversity and impact of Finland’s development cooperation in developing countries around the world through their own fields of expertise and practices. According to the Guidelines for Civil Society in Development Policy (2017), the strengthening of civil societies is both a development policy objective and a means of promoting Finland’s other development policy objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda). Project support also promotes Finland’s foreign policy objectives, such as those relating to democracy and human rights.
Key Objectives of Project Support
- A strong civil society lays a foundation for sustainable development, the promotion of democracy and the realisation of human rights. Project support is used to support diversity and democracy in civil societies. Through supported projects, Finnish CSOs and their partners strengthen the capacity of civil society actors in developing countries and support the civic space and an enabling environment for civil societies.
- Finnish CSOs, including small and medium-sized organisations, use project support to carry out projects in cooperation with local partners. The projects must promote especially the realisation of people’s fundamental economic, political and social rights.1 In addition, project support aims to promote cooperation between different actors, enabling also the utilisation of Finnish expertise. Additionally, project support can be used for various nexus activities, where development cooperation, peace work, and/or humanitarian assistance are seamlessly and often simultaneously implemented.
Funding Information
- A maximum appropriation of EUR 25 million for 2025–2028 is planned for the application round.
Eligible Projects
- Projects eligible for support:
- Strengthen civil society and its actors and exercise a positive impact on the civic space;
- Promote poverty eradication, reduction of inequality and other objectives of Finland’s development policy;
- Promote gender equality either as a principal objective or as a partial objective or by means of mainstreaming;
- Promote the rights of minorities and other groups in vulnerable position, including persons with disabilities, in accordance with the prohibited grounds for discrimination covered in the UN human rights treaties, paying particular attention to multiple discrimination;
- Emphasise strong local ownership and support the objectives of the local partners as well as their opportunities and ability to act as an effective part of the development of their societies.
Eligibility Criteria
- A discretionary government grant can be awarded to an association or foundation registered in Finland which has been registered for at least two years by the opening date of the call for applications.
- The application contains all the mandatory appendices. The mandatory appendices will be specified in the call for applications.
- The project promotes at least one of the priorities of Finland’s development policy as specified in the Government Programme. These priorities are improving the position and rights of women and girls; education; sustainable economy; democratic societies; and climate change. The outcome charts and indicators of Finland’s development policy are available on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
- The application presents the required share of own contribution in accordance with the standard terms and conditions for the use of discretionary government grants. e) The project is carried out in a developing country/developing countries listed among ODA recipients by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC).
- The project strengthens the local civil society in accordance with the Guidelines for Civil Society in Development Policy (2017).
- The project is at minimum human rights sensitive as defined in the Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation: Guidance note (2015).
- The application indicates a readiness to fulfil the ‘do no harm’ principle, stated as the minimum level of the Foreign Ministry’s cross-cutting objectives. These cross-cutting objectives are gender equality; non-discrimination; climate-resilient and low-emission development; and environmental protection, with an emphasis on safeguarding biodiversity.
For more information, visit Ministry for Foreign Affairs.