Deadline: 27-Mar-2024
The L’Initiative is launching a second Call for Expressions of Interest aimed at civil society organizations (CSOs) from Gabon, Congo, the Central African Republic and Chad.
With its SOFIA system, L’Initiative supports the rise of civil society organizations in the response to pandemics. This system aims to strengthen their capacities through financial support and tailor-made technical assistance.
The “Structuring of civil society organizations: financing, impact and support (SOFIA)” system is the new fund dedicated to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from L’Initiative. It is dedicated to organizations which cannot claim to respond to their calls for projects, due to their relatively modest size.
Integrated into the “Accelerator” modality, this program strengthens the capacities and skills of local CSOs by subsidizing all or part of their operations and offering tailor-made technical support. The format, frequency and methods of support are specific to the needs of each organization, defined following a technical and organizational diagnosis of the structure.
SOFIA aims to provide the means to CSOs so that they can access greater and more diversified funding, improve the management of their activities and strengthen their advocacy capacities. In this way, they will be able to take their full place in the national debate and make the voices of the communities they serve heard, particularly in terms of taking into account gender and human rights in public health policies.
Objectives of the System
- The objective of the Initiative via the SOFIA system is to support local CSOs in order to encourage their active participation in the fight against pandemics (HIV, tuberculosis and malaria), in strengthening health systems (including community) and in the fight against gender inequalities and for human rights.
- The specific objectives sought are as follows:
- Allow supported CSOs to access greater funding from national, regional or international partners
- Support CSOs to carry out relevant activities and/or projects to fight the three diseases and strengthen health systems by integrating a gender approach
- Strengthen CSOs in their advocacy capacity and aim to obtain substantial progress in their field of activity in public health, including gender and human rights.
They support structures eligible for the SOFIA system in two ways:
- Financial support through a grant
- €50,000 to €75,000
- Possible allocated subsidy, particularly directed towards operating needs or human resources.
- Over 15 months
- Duration, renewable a maximum of 3 times (i.e. 4×15 months at most).
- €50,000 to €75,000
- Personalized support throughout the implementation of the grant
- Diagnostic
- Organizational and operational which aims to specify the capacity building plan and the details of the organizations’ planned expenditure.
- Technical assistance
- To translate the tailor-made skills and capacity building plan by providing residential expertise, one-off or temporary support, training, etc.
- Diagnostic
Eligibility Criteria
- The SOFIA system is aimed at medium-sized organizations active in the fight against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis; and/or strengthening health systems; and/or access to health for key populations, including in terms of sexual and reproductive rights and health (SRHR).
- In 2023, the system focused on deployment in 5 countries: Benin, Djibouti, Guinea, Chad and Togo. For this second 2024 cycle, the system is open to applications from CSOs from 4 eligible countries: Gabon, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Chad.
- In addition to this geographical dimension, organizations must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the system
- status: be a CSO, independent of government and non-profit;
- registration: be a legal entity having its board of directors/management committee and registered office in an eligible country;
- duration of legal existence: the organization must have at least 2 years of legal existence;
- human resources: the organization must consist of at least three people (employees and/or volunteers);
- financial: the organization must have an annual budget of between €30,000 and €310,000 (total 2022 expenses as indicated in the organization’s 2022 overall financial report).
For more information, visit L’Initiative.