Deadline: 18-Apr-21
The Embassy of the Netherlands is happy to announce the call for applications under the auspices of their MATRA program.
The Netherlands Fund for Regional Partnership MATRA (‘MAatschappelijke TRAnsformatie’ is Dutch for ‘societal transformation’) is a program aimed at supporting activities in the areas of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, in order to contribute to a sustainable and stable relationship between government and its citizens. The projects that they support through MATRA, in Serbia and Montenegro, are complementary to the EU policy.
Thematic scope: Corruption/ Undue influence/ Independence of institutions and media
In 2021, the Embassy seeks to support projects of the civil society that will primarily focus on combating corruption and undue influence, and enhance independence of institutions and media. In order to do so, the projects should contribute in the areas relevant under Cluster 1 (Fundamentals) of the EU accession process:
- Judiciary and fundamental rights
- Justice, freedom and security
- Financial control
- Public procurement
- Statistics
- economic criteria
- public administration reform
- functioning of democratic institutions
Funding Criteria
- Applications for project financing must be relevant to the overall aim of the program and should exclusively concern the MATRA themes mentioned above.
- Project financing is available for local civil society organizations.
- The minimum amount of MATRA contribution per project is € 150.000; the maximum is € 249.999.
- The project duration should be minimum 2 years and maximum 3 years.
- Not eligible for funding under the MATRA program:
- Humanitarian aid
- Commercial activities
- Projects with a predominantly academic focus, i.e. feasibility studies, research, etc.
- Projects that exclusively or largely include the delivery of goods or materials
- Infrastructural or construction projects
- Bursaries
- Training courses for civil servants or members of the diplomatic corps
Criteria
The project proposal needs to make clear:
- What the link is with recommendations of the EU progress report under Cluster 1.
- How the problem, objective and envisaged results are presented and linked to the overall aim of the MATRA program and the EU accession policy.
- The ‘societal transformation’ potential of the proposed project, i.e. what is the theory of change behind the project intervention and how the results are meant to contribute to democratic changes in the society.
- Communication strategy: the project needs to encompass a clear and effective communication strategy and campaign. Outreach to – and engagement with – the broader public in order to contribute to the ‘societal transformation’ is a precondition for financing (professional communication about the project can be financed under the project).
- Coherence between proposed activities and budget.
- Extent of the implementing organizations and partner’s own contribution (financial or in kind).
- Management capacity of the implementing organization.
- Risk assessment and mitigation plan.
For more information, visit https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/documents/publications/2021/03/15/matra-call-for-applications-2021