Deadline: 14-Nov-23
The Government of Canada has announced a call for concept notes to support efforts of organizations registered in Canada and Indigenous organizations in Canada to enhance inclusive governance, promote and protect human rights, and advance gender equality in support of sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region.
Applicants will carry out projects in the field of international development, aligned with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Objectives
- The Call aims to support the efforts of organizations registered in Canada and Indigenous organizations in Canada to:
- strengthen civil society in the Indo-Pacific region
- enhance inclusive governance
- promote and protect human rights
- advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in support of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
- Enhancing inclusive governance, promoting and protecting human rights, and advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment are by nature cross-cutting, hence the initiative, in addressing these objectives, and if relevant, proposing new or innovative solutions, can intersect and/or focus on various or specific sectors, in response to local, political and institutional contexts. Local needs would be identified by applicants in collaboration with local partners.
Funding Information
- The total amount of funding available under the Strengthening Civil Society and Democratic Spaces in the Indo-Pacific 2024-2028 Call is up to $30 million over 4 years.
- Total value of your proposed project is between $2M to $7M.
Duration
- Your proposed project will last four years, from 2024-25 to 2027-28.
Expected Ultimate Outcome
- Improved equality and enjoyment of human rights for the poorest, most marginalized and most vulnerable people, particularly women, children, and youth in countries where GAC engages.
Expected Intermediate Outcomes
- Increased inclusive and gender-sensitive promotion and protection of human rights by individuals, state and non-state actors. This includes the work of human rights defenders, journalists, media actors, as well as support to institutions and groups to advance the human rights of vulnerable and marginalized groups such as (but not limited to) women and girls, migrants/refugees, 2SLGBTQI+ people, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, unemployed youth, and others.
- Increased equitable access to fair, inclusive, and gender-responsive formal and/or informal justice institutions and services. This includes work across traditional, informal and customary legal systems, in justice and law enforcement, as well as alternative dispute resolution and transitional justice processes.
- Increased equitable participation by individuals and civil society in public leadership, decision-making, and democratic processes, with a particular focus on women, vulnerable and marginalized groups, and rights-based organizations. This includes building community leadership and decision-making, and supporting democratic institutions, civic education and political participation at all levels.
- Increased accountability and transparency in the delivery of inclusive and gender-responsive public services, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized groups. This includes support to public sector reform, policy and administrative management, as well as public financial management, domestic resource mobilization, anti-corruption, and statistical capacity building.
- Applicants will need to identify project-specific expected ultimate outcome and intermediate outcomes, which should align horizontally with the Call’s expected intermediate and ultimate outcomes.
Geographic Alignment
- Your proposed project takes place in two or more Official Development Assistance-eligible countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility screening requirements are the following:
- Your organization is legally incorporated in Canada with a Canada Revenue Agency business number. Your organization must have an office, employees, and/or board of directors in Canada.
- If your organization is an Indigenous organization in Canada, your organization must provide supporting documentation regarding its history, governance structure, and/or ownership.
- You must provide separate financial statements for your organization’s two most recent fiscal years. Audited statements are preferred. If this is not possible, statements must be signed by a member of the board of directors or delegate, or by the owners. As financial statements usually provide comparative information from the previous year, these statements will be used to do a 3-year trend analysis.
- This Call is open to experienced organizations registered in Canada and Indigenous organizations in Canada, who can demonstrate their organizational capacity and provide relevant evidence-based example(s).
- Organizations that do not fully meet the eligibility and/or experience requirements may want to partner with other applicants as non-signatory partners; these non-signatory partners should also be mentioned in the section “Signatories and partners” of the Concept Note form.
- As a signatory, you may submit only one project concept note. You may also participate as a non-signatory partner on other applicants’ concept notes/proposals.
- If your organization submits more than one application under this Call, either on your own or as a co-signatory to a funding agreement, they will only consider the application with the earliest submission time stamp.
- Your application package documents are presented in either English or French.
For more information, visit Government of Canada.