Call for Proposals: Supporting Civil Society in Ukraine

Deadline: 19-Jun-24

Norad is looking for applicants with a proven track record of capacity building of civil society organisations through networking, trainings and small-scale grant schemes.

“Supporting Civil Society in Ukraine” is a component of the civilian support under Norway’s Nansen Support Programme, with the goal of enhancing Ukrainian civil society organisation’s ability to set and achieve development objectives that contribute to early recovery efforts and democratic governance reforms.

Civil society is understood as an arena separate from the family, the public sector and the private sector, where individuals join forces on a voluntary basis in order to promote their own or other people’s interests and rights. The term “civil society organisations (CSOs)” is in this call for proposals understood as Ukrainian non-governmental organisations, networks, community-based organisations, independent media organisations, religious organisations, trade unions, women’s organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities, political parties, sports and cultural organisations, and other non-profit organisations.

The Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine was established after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is based on a broad political agreement in the Norwegian Parliament to provide Ukraine with a five-year military and civilian support programme of 75 billion NOK. The programme’s main objective is a Ukraine that can decide its own future. In the longer term the programme will contribute to a well-functioning, democratic and safe Ukraine as well as support the country’s ambitions for Euro-Atlantic integration. Strong democratic institutions, rule of law and civil society are preconditions for this development trajectory.

Objectives

• To support Ukrainian civil society to effectively contribute to inclusive and sustainable recovery and democratic governance reforms in Ukraine.
• Projects funded under this call for proposals must contribute to specific objective 1 below, as well as either specific objective 2 and/or 3, or both. Below, a menu of main expected results has been outlined under each of the three specific objectives.  Applicants can choose freely from the menu of main expected results and may also define their own expected results.
• Applicants must have a theory of change that clearly explains how the project will contribute to the specific objectives.
• Specific objectives and menu of main expected results:
  • To enhance the organisational capacity of Ukrainian civil society organisations (CSOs).
  • Menu of main expected results:
    • The capacity of CSOs in project management, leadership, and human resource management is enhanced (including systems for psycho-social wellbeing).
    • The capacity of CSOs in financial management, fundraising and diversifying funding sources to build long-term financial resilience/sustainability is enhanced.
    • The capacity of CSOs in research, communication, learning, and reporting is improved.
    • New and existing coalitions and networks of CSOs to collaborate across regions, sectors and result-areas are established and strengthened (including knowledge-sharing, mutual learning; adoption, use and documentation of knowledge and best practices across civil society).
  • To enhance the capacity of Ukrainian CSOs to contribute to inclusive and sustainable recovery across all governance levels.
  • Menu of main expected results:
    • The capacity of CSOs to apply gender-responsive planning, budgeting, and monitoring tools in recovery efforts, as well as the inclusion of women in decision-making, is strengthened.
    • The capacity of CSOs to deliver non-discriminatory social services that respond to citizens’ needs is improved (including mental health).
    • The capacity of CSOs to use transparency tools for monitoring and advocacy on public spending on reconstruction, including support to local and regional independent media organisations and investigative journalism is strengthened.
    • The capacity of CSOs to contribute to an inclusive labour market is strengthened, including development of relevant workforce competencies, social dialogue, and worker-led monitoring.
    • The capacity of CSOs to support reconciliation, social cohesion and social justice efforts in communities is strengthened.
    • The Capacity of CSOs to increase civic engagement in environmental protection/climate action is strengthened.
  • To enhance the capacity of Ukrainian CSOs to engage in advocacy and policy formulation for and oversight of democratic governance reforms.
  • Menu of main expected results:
    • The capacity of CSOs to conduct research and analysis to inform advocacy and policymaking is strengthened.
    • The capacity of CSOs to contribute to long-term and systematic anti-corruption efforts is strengthened.
    • The viability and independence of local and regional media organisations, including protection of women in media and investigative journalists, is strengthened.
    • The capacity of CSOs to provide civic education and training is strengthened.
  • Provision of basic services, such as mental health services, shall only be supported as part of wider actions such as awareness-raising, advocacy, empowerment, and reform initiatives.

Performance Criteria

• The two following indicators must be incorporated in the applicant’s result framework and be used to measure results under specific objective 1:
  • the number and type of CSOs that have been reached through the scheme.
  • the number of the CSOs that have been reached that have strengthened their capacity and ability to perform their role in civil society.
• In addition, the following performance indicator may be included where relevant for specific objective 2 and/or 3:
  • the number and type of beneficiaries of the small-scale grants (i.e. persons with disabilities, women, veterans and their families, LGBTIQ+ community, children and youth, elderly, internally displaced persons, other minorities)

Target Group(s)

• For this call for proposals the target group is Ukrainian CSOs, as well as the population groups they represent and end-beneficiaries of planned activities.

Who can Apply?

• Potential grant recipients are: Civil society/non-governmental organisations (international, Ukrainian, Norwegian, or other foreign).
• Applicants may be a single organisation or a consortium of maximum three organisations. In case of consortium applications, one organisation must be lead and contractual partner.
• If the applicant is part of an international organisation or alliance only one entity/chapter/branch may be part of an application.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants:
  • All single applicants, and all members in a consortium, must be able to document that they:
    • are an independent legal entity which has been registered for at least three years (founded 2021 or earlier) and have an independent board. Accurate and complete information about the nature of the organisation must be provided.
    • have a good understanding of the issues they seek to address and have clear and achievable objectives for the project.
    • have ethical guidelines, as a minimum including principles for Sexual Exploitation and Harassment (SEAH).
    • have a system for monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL).
    • have safeguards in place against corruption. All applicants must confirm they have written anti-corruption, financial and procurement policies, and procedures.
    • have made safety and security assessments for their employees and partners in Ukraine, and initiated necessary measures, for example training, policies, insurance, and equipment.
    • have solid systems and routines for risk assessment and mitigation, internal control, and a whistleblowing system.
• All single applicants, and at least one member of a consortium, must be able to document that they:
  • have sufficient systems for and experience with provision of small-scale grants, preferably from Ukraine.
  • have sufficient systems for and experience in strengthening civil society capacity and sustainability, preferably from Ukraine.
  • have physical presence in Ukraine.
  • have established partnerships with CSOs in Ukraine. Existing and planned partners must be documented in the application.
  • have extensive knowledge and experience from the context, including relevant language skills.
  • have experience with international donor funding requirements.
• For consortium applications:
  • One organisation must be lead and main responsible for the application.
  • The lead applicant must have experience with international donor funding requirements.
  • The consortium should ideally be based on existing partnerships. Experience/history from previous partnerships between the partners in the consortium is relevant and should be documented in the application.
  • The consortium should have a clear division of labour and each partner should represent a clear added value to the consortium and application.

For more information, visit Norad.