CFPs for International Non-Governmental Organizations to support Development Cooperation

Deadline: 26-Mar-21

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) has announced a Call for Proposals for International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs) to support Development Cooperation.

The goal of Finland’s development policy is to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and achieve sustainable development. Finland takes a long-term perspective on development cooperation, focusing on the following four priorities:

• Strengthening the status and rights of women and girls, with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Sustainable economies and decent work, with an emphasis on innovations and the role of women in the economy and female entrepreneurship.
• Education, peaceful and democratic societies, with an emphasis on equitable quality education, improved tax systems and support for democracy and the rule of law.
• Climate change and natural resources, with an emphasis on strengthening adaptation alongside mitigation of climate change, food security and water, meteorology and disaster risk reduction, forests, energy and safeguarding biodiversity.

Focus Areas

• Promotion of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights globally, regionally, and locally, especially among women and girls in vulnerable positions (e.g. persons with disabilities, persons belonging to minorities) and situations (humanitarian and fragile contexts).
• Promotion of tax justice, transparency and sustainable social contracts in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Ending impunity for human rights violations, increasing accountability and strengthening victims’ access to justice.
• Supporting human rights defenders and fostering an enabling environment for promoting the work of human rights defenders.
• Strengthening the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in order to address discriminatory practices related to their realization.
• Business and Human Rights.
• Promotion of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights to reduce maternal mortality in Afghanistan.

Eligibility Criteria

• Grants to INGOs may be either core funding or funding for projects channeled to activities in developing countries.
  • Core funding can be granted only to INGOs that meet the eligibility criteria for ODA, set by OECD/DAC.
  • In case an organization does not satisfy the ODA eligibility criteria, funding for projects that are ODA eligible may be applied.
• In order to be eligible for supporting the INGO and its proposal have to meet the following Minimum Requirements.
• The INGO has to have:
  • at least three different nationalities represented in its governing structures;
  • operations in more than two countries;
  • been registered and/or legally competent for at least two years;
  • funding from at least one other source.
• The project/programme proposal must:
  • contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
  • be aligned with the goals and priorities of Finnish development policy.
  • apply the Foreign Ministry’s cross-cutting objectives in development policy. These are gender equality, non-discrimination (with particular attention to the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities), climate resilience and low emission development.
  • be at least human rights-sensitive as defined in the guidance note of human rights-based approach in Finland’s development cooperation.
  • adhere to results-based management or an equivalent system.
  • include an indication of the thematic area under which funding is applied for.

How to Apply

The application form and its attachments must be sent to the Ministry by e-mail. The Ministry will not consider any other attachments than the ones listed below. The application form and its attachments must be written in English. Applications and attachments in any other language will not be considered.

Attachments to the application form:

• Programme/project document (Outline of a Project Document)
  • Maximum length 15 pages. Pages exceeding 15 will not be considered.
  • Please note that for core funding, the Outline of a Project Document can be used as indicative.
• Detailed multi-year budget for the applied funding.
• Indicative work plan for the project/programme.
• Theory of Change and Results Chain or Results Framework using results-based management or equivalent system for the applied funding.
• Risk matrix or equivalent system analyzing risks and mitigation strategies.
• Documentation related to the Organisation:
  • Official rules of the INGO (including organizational governance and management structures, organizational finance and financial management, procurement, and audit procedures, organizational monitoring and evaluation procedures).
  • The anti-corruption policy of the INGO.
  • Ethical code of conduct of the INGO.
  • Copy of the registration document of the INGO.
  • Latest annual report and financial statement of the INGO.
  • The INGO’s strategy and budget for the current year.
  • The INGO’s latest audit report from the financial statement.
  • The account on INGO’s governing structure’s composition (including nationalities of members).

For more information, visit https://um.fi/support-for-international-non-governmental-organizations-ingos-