CFAs: Promoting Gender Equality and Youth Empowerment in Pakistan

Deadline: 9-Apr-25

The European Commission (EC) is accepting applications for its program to promote Gender Equality and Youth Empowerment.

Objective

• The global objective of this call is to strengthen Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as actors of good governance and development in their own right. The call aims to contribute to an inclusive, participatory, empowered, and independent civil society in Pakistan; and an inclusive and open dialogue with and between CSOs.
• The specific objective of this call for proposals is to address key challenges faced by women and youth in Pakistan through CSOs-led projects9 and the strengthening of women’s and youth organisations.

Lots

• The priorities of the call for proposals are divided in two lots.
  • Lot 1 – Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls
    • This lot aims at supporting projects aiming to:
    • Implement transformative interventions on at least one of the following goals:
    • Eliminating all forms of violence and discriminations against women;
    • Strengthening women’s economic empowerment;
    • Improving women’s access to civil and social rights;
    • Improving access to sexual and reproductive health care services and rights;
    • Strengthen the capacities of women’s organisations (including grass-root organisations), their ability to work in coalitions/networks and the impact of their interventions.
  • Lot 2 – Youth Empowerment and Leadership
    • This lot aims at supporting projects aiming to:
      • Implement transformative interventions on at least one of the following goals:
      • Enhancing youth entrepreneurship and/or employment;
      • Empowering youth in driving climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience building;
      • Capacitating and empowering youth for leadership roles within their communities and in national democratic and policy-making processes.
      • Strengthen the capacities of youth organisations (including grass-root organisations), their ability to work in coalitions/networks, and the impact of their projects.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 5 914 000
• Indicative allocation of funds by lot:
  • Lot 1 – EUR 2 957 000
  • Lot 2 – EUR 2 957 000
• Size of grants
  • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
    • minimum amount: EUR 500 000
    • maximum amount: EUR 1 000 000

Duration

• The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 30 months nor exceed 48 months.

Methodological elements

• All actions must reflect on the following methodological approaches.
  • Human Rights-based approach (HRBA) 
    • The European Consensus on Development commits the EU and its Member States to implementing a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to development, encompassing all human rights as well as EU’s commitment to promote and protect human rights and democracy. Actions must therefore incorporate the five working principles of the HRBA: applying all human rights for all; meaningful and inclusive participation and access to decision-making; non-discrimination and equality; accountability and rule of law for all; transparency and access to information supported by disaggregated data.
  • Partnerships and Coalitions 
    • Partnerships and coalitions among CSOs maximise involvement of CSOs in transformative development process at national and sub-national levels. Through strengthening and supporting CSO partnerships, the present call aims to enhance the cumulative impact of coalitions as opposed to isolated efforts especially in a country as diverse and challenging as Pakistan.
  • Support to small organisations and marginalised communities
    • The call is primarily aimed at supporting projects by and for Pakistani women and youth. Efforts should be made by the applicants to reach out to marginalised communities and grass-root organisations. For this purpose, proposed actions are strongly encouraged to foresee financial support to third parties.
  • Cross-cutting issues
    • The European Union considers the rights of minorities, persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples to be cross-cutting issues. Any impact on these groups should be identified and explained and, where possible, measures should be designed to include these groups. The use of sex and age disaggregated data is mandatory. Any impact on the environment (positive or negative) should also be highlighted and, where necessary, mitigated. Attention to cross-cutting issues will be assessed.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be a non-governmental organisation (Civil Society Organisation) and
    • be effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in Pakistan. Due to the legal status of international organisations, the obligation of effective establishment in the referred countries does not apply to international organisations, where the latter are eligible, and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the coapplicant(s) not acting as an intermediary and
    • Local Non-Governmental Organisations established in Pakistan will need to comply with the Government’s regulations, ensuring adherence to necessary laws and requirements for operations in Pakistan,
    • International Non-Governmental Organisations (established in any other eligible country than Pakistan) must have a valid Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan.

For more information, visit EC.