CFPs: Grants for Anti-corruption Public Awareness Initiatives

Deadline: 31-Oct-21

The Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) is pleased to announce its grant program the Best Anti-Corruption Public Awareness Initiatives to support short-term CSO efforts in raising awareness about the implementation of United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and its thematic areas, as well as about other anti-corruption thematic areas, while strengthening partnerships with local public institutions and the private sector to form CSO-public-private partnership.

This is executed in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), under auspices of the Regional Programme Southeast Europe Together Against Corruption (SEE-TAC).

Applicants may form a co-partnership/consortium with other CSOs registered in the same target jurisdiction in order to successfully implement the project.

Mobilisation and engagement of the public around anti-corruption topics, especially those related to the UNCAC, will be fostered through the implementation of initiatives that would require establishment of partnerships between the civil society, public institutions and the private sector.

Priority Areas

• Proposals may focus on one or more of the following priority areas:
  • Raise awareness about the implementation of UNCAC;
  • Promote and demystify corruption-prevention mechanisms;
  • Educate the public about the whistleblower protection;
  • Raise awareness on impact of corruption on gender equality;
  • Corruption and its environmental impact.
• Project proposals with transformative effect, demonstrating a high level of innovation and sustainability will be given a priority.

Funding Information

• The total available financial resources (in the form of grants) under this call amount to 66.500,00 EUR. The maximum amount of financial support per applicant is 9,500 EUR, and the minimum 7,000 EUR. The applicant and/or partner(s) is expected to co-finance at least 20% of the requested amount of financial support and 20% of total actual costs of action.
• The applicant must provide a total project budget and a financing plan which fully accounts for all financial means as well as the share of financial means contributed by applicant’s own funds or other donors.
• The applicant has to contribute at least with 20 percent of funds to the total project budget.
• Duration of projects shall range from 8 to 12 months
• To be counted, a cost-share contribution must meet following criteria:
  • Is necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of project objectives, (e.g. salaries, travel, project material, project related services);
  • Must be verifiable in applicants’ records

Eligible Projects

In order to be eligible for a grant, the project proposal shall:

• Have clearly defined goals and clear project idea;
• Be based on an analysis of problems, needs and potentials;
• Be implemented in the applicant’s jurisdiction and clearly defined impact on target beneficiaries;
• Be in relevance with priority sectors;
• Have a clearly defined budget, fully corresponding to the project proposal;
• Advocate innovative approaches to awareness raising activities;
• Provide a satisfactory type and degree of outreach capacity.

Eligible Costs

• Eligible costs (including applicant co-financing) are actual costs incurred by the applicant which meet all the following criteria:
  • They are indicated in the estimated overall project budget;
  • They are necessary for the implementation of the project;
  • They are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the applicant and determined according to the accounting standards;
  • They comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;
  • They are reasonable, justified and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency;
  • They occurred and were paid in the period after the grant award signature and before the submission of final report.
• Costs are to be listed in detail in the project budget by the applicant and may include, but are not limited to the following types of expenditure:
  • Expenses for public awareness raising directly connected with the project (social media ads, designer, events, visibility material, etc);
  • Other project activity costs;
  • Material costs (project material, office supplies);
  • Training/meetings expenses (catering, accommodation);
  • Travel expenses- travel costs for staff and other persons taking part in the action, provided they do not exceed those normally borne by the applicant according to its rules and regulations;

Eligible activities

Types of activities whose implementation, with the involvement and support of public institutions and the private sector entities, may be supported by the SEE-TAC project (provided all other requirements are met) include but are not limited to the following:

• Public awareness campaigns (online, in-person, hybrid, performance);
• Advocacy campaigns;
• Trainings, Camps, Workshops;
• Capacity building activities;
• Youth-focused campaigns (featuring generation-appropriate channels and methods, such as social media challenges);
• Education and/or advocacy material production and dissemination (e.g. video and digital materials). Note: Production and dissemination of print materials is discouraged and will be accepted only if essential for execution of other activities.

Beneficiaries and Target Audiences

Direct beneficiaries addressed by the initiatives are:

• the general public  (with possible focus on individual target groups – e.g. youth);
• the media;
• the public sector;
• the private sector and
• the civil sector.

Eligibility Criteria

• This Call for Proposals (Call) is open to civil society organizations (CSOs) and CSO networks based and operating in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
• The activity shall be planned and implemented in collaboration with one or more public institutions in the jurisdiction and representative(s) of private sector, forming CSO-publicprivate partnership. The activity will target the general public as the primary target audience, and the media, as well as entities from civil, private, and public sectors, where applicable.
• The applying CSOs are expected to establish partnerships with one or more public authorities and one or more private sector entities, for the purpose of implementation of the proposed initiative. The partners should be joined around the selected anti-corruption topic, which is in the core of the awareness raising-initiative.
• While the CSOs are the main applicants, they require partners from the public and the private sectors, who will jointly implement the proposed initiative. For instance, in the context of UNCAC implementation, a CSO can work with- the public and private sector to raise awareness on the provisions stipulated in the Convention and the obligations that its signatory parties have to uphold.

Formal eligibility criteria:

• The applicant (and partner(s)) shall be registered as a non-profit legal entity under valid Law in target jurisdiction;
• The applicant (and partner(s)) shall not be in bankrupt, dissolving or have any unfulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes;
• The lead applicant shall have minimum five years of experience (from the date of call for proposals closure) in good governance, anti-corruption efforts, advocacy, working with the public and private sector, and their potential to make useful contributions to boosting the culture of transparency and combating corruption in the SEE societies;
• The applicant (and partner(s)) shall have at least one employee;
• The applicant (and partner(s)) shall have the necessary skills to conduct proposed activities.

Note: One organization/applicant may submit more than one different application if the project theme/area is different for each application. Each application shall be submitted individually. The planned duration of an action shall not be shorter than eight (8) months, and shall not exceed twelve (12) months from the date of award contract signature.

For more information, visit https://rai-see.org/what-we-do/see-tac/grants/