Call for Proposals to boost local governance, transparency and accountability in South Africa and Malawi

Deadline: 26-Jul-24

The Embassy of France in South Africa and Malawi is inviting proposals for the implementation of an innovative project that seeks to promote governance, transparency and accountability.

This call for proposals is part of the French Embassy’s broader project ‘Innov4good’; it specifically addresses local governance, transparency and accountability issues and is intended solely for non-profit organisations. There will be a separate call for proposals for social enterprises and socio-economic innovation.

Objective and Priorities

• The overall aim of the project is to enhance the use of innovation to foster governance, transparency and accountability at local government level.
• Projects proposed must:
  • focus on an area of intervention in which better governance, transparency, accountability are needed;
    • In their proposal, applicants shall motivate the choice of area of intervention, taking into account other ongoing or planned interventions under the Open Government Partnership
  • use an innovative approach;
    • Applicants shall explain how the proposed innovative approach is well-suited to local governance, transparency and accountability matters.
  • foster buy-in/collaboration from municipal level (possibly even provincial and/or national levels where possible/appropriate);
    • Applicants shall describe their experience in respect of stakeholder inclusion and ability to interact fruitfully with government.
  • have the ability and willingness to share expertise and best practices with various stakeholders within the Open Government Partnership as well as publicly (e.g. roundtables)
    • Applicants shall be available to engage with various stakeholders during activities and events during the course of the project.
• The following cross-cutting dimensions must be included in various aspects of the project, namely in the design, implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation thereof:
  • Gender Equality: Projects demonstrating a gender-sensitive approach will be reviewed favourably.
  • Meaningful Participation: Projects with inclusionary approaches to ensure the participation a variety of stakeholders will be reviewed favourably.

Sector/Theme

• Governance, Accountability, Transparency

Funding Information

• The total maximum amount of project funding is EUR 33,000.
• Duration: 18 months (2024 – 2025)

Eligible Activities

• Eligible activities include (non-exhaustive):
• Awareness-raising, development of digital tools/software, meetings, workshops, seminars, research, study tours, report writing, development of educational or communication material.

Ineligible Activities

• Activities concerned only or mainly with sponsorships for individuals’ participation in workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses;
• Activities concerned only or mainly with scholarships for individuals’ studies or training courses;
• Activities concerned only or mainly with procurement of equipment;
• Activities concerned only with one-off conferences. Conferences can only be funded if they form part of a wider range of activities in the project (preparatory activities for a conference and the publication of the proceedings of the conference do not, in themselves, constitute such “wider activities”);
• Activities which discriminate against individuals or groups of people on the grounds of their gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or lack thereof, or their ethnic origin;
• Activities including proselytism;
• Activities supporting political parties;
• Activities inciting and/or resorting to violence.

Location

• South Africa and/or Malawi

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants shall meet the following criteria:
  • be a legal entity registered in South Africa or in Malawi (depending on the location of the project);
  • be a non-profit organisation (e.g. non-governmental organisation, community-based organisation, citizens’ movement, development agency, trade union etc.).
  • have proven experience in and operational capacity to carry out the planned activities;
  • be directly responsible for the planning and implementation of activities, and not be acting solely as an intermediary.
  • Proposals by a consortium of two or more applicants are eligible for consideration.

For more information, visit Embassy of France in South Africa and Malawi.