Deadline: 12-Apr-24
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with funds from the European Union (EU) in Georgia, is announcing a grant competition for Civil Society Organizations (CSO) to promote participatory and people-centered municipal service delivery under the joint initiative “EU4ITD: Advancing Decentralized, Effective and Inclusive Governance in Georgia”.
The specific objective of the project is to advance effective, responsive and accountable national and sub-national governance through promoting decentralization, inclusive and evidence-based policymaking, citizen engagement and better service delivery at the local level.
Enhancing citizen participation is one of the key priorities of the EU4ITD Project as well as one of the principles embedded in Georgia’s Decentralization Strategy 2020-2025. The Strategy aims to ensure consistent development of local self-government in Georgia and establish a coherent and purposeful process of decentralization leading to an increased role and importance of the self-governments in resolving a significant part of public affairs, increasing citizen engagement and establishing transparency, accountability and integrity principles at the local level.
Objectives
- The overall objective of the UNDP Call for Proposals to Promote Participatory and People-Centred Municipal Service Delivery is to support eligible Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in partnership with local authorities (City Halls) to foster citizen engagement in local planning, service design, implementation and evaluation to improve the delivery of municipal services in the municipalities located in Kakheti, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and Guria regions.
- Initiatives that contribute to the fulfilment of the following specific objectives will be considered:
- Foster the creation of innovative, people-centric municipal services;
- Increase the quality, access and coverage of municipal services;
- Facilitate participatory processes in the planning and development of municipal services while applying innovative tools fostering idea generation and collaboration and identify the needs and priorities of local communities to bridge existing gaps;
- Oversee the quality of municipal services and introduce citizen feedback mechanisms;
- Facilitate awareness raising on municipal services, with the particular emphasis on e-services;
- Empower communities to mobilize, initiate and implement activities addressing their needs and challenges.
- Applicants are encouraged to focus on the needs and priorities of the vulnerable groups (e.g., ethnic minorities, elderly, women, youth, persons with disabilities (PwDs), etc.).
- Applicants are advised to consider contribution to the achievement of SDGs as well as goals and objectives of the Municipal Development Documents (where applicable). Proposals focusing only on the research and needs assessment will not be considered.
- Applicants are also advised to seek partnerships with local community groups/unregistered initiative groups to ensure wide participation of local communities in grant design and implementation.
Funding Information
- Individual grants requested under this Call for Proposals shall not be less than GEL 30,000 and shall not exceed GEL 50,000. Proposals with the grant staff salary exceeding 20% of the total budget will be disqualified without further consideration. Co-funding and in-house contributions are strongly encouraged.
- Expenditures such as infrastructure improvement, equipment, and similar costs, can only be financed if they are well-justified and directly related to the proposed grant project.
Ineligible Funding
- The following list indicates the types of expenditure that WILL NOT be covered:
- Proposals focusing only on the research and needs assessment
- Retrospective activities (activities that have been completed or have commenced prior to signing the grant agreement)
- Proposals that only benefit single individuals within the community (as opposed to proposals that benefit the community)
- Costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
- Any activity which is contrary to the objectives and intent of this Call for Proposals or the UNDP EU4ITD project.
Target Municipalities
- The grant shall be implemented in any (or all) of the following regions/municipalities:
- Telavi
- Kakheti
- Sagarejo
- Signagi
- Gurjaani
- Kvareli
- Akhmeta
- Dedoplistskaro
- Lagodekhi
- Imereti
- Kutaisi
- Bagdati
- Vani
- Zestaponi
- Terjola
- Samtredia
- Sachkhere
- Tkibuli
- Chiatura
- Tskaltubo
- Kharagauli
- Khon
- Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti
- Ambrolauri
- Oni
- Tsageri
- Lentekhi
- Guria
- Ozurgeti
- Chokhatauri
- Lanchkhuti
Eligibility Criteria
- Application for this grant competition can be submitted by CSO(s) in partnership with the local government(s).
- To be eligible for the grant competition, applicants shall meet the following criteria:
- Be a non-profit organization registered in Georgia in accordance with the legal requirements of Georgia and provide organization’s registration certificate and statute;
- Have operating experience in the target region/municipality;
- Have operating experience of minimum two years;
- Have experience of managing at least two similar projects during the last four years;
- Have formed partnership with the local government.
- Required Partnerships between CSOs and local government
- To apply for the grant competition, CSOs are required to submit applications in partnership with respective local government(s), where the grant activities will be implemented.
- A partnership letter signed by the City Hall shall be submitted together with the grant proposal. The letter shall clearly define a) the role of the municipality in the implementation of the grant project, b) co-funding of the initiative (not mandatory), c) commitment of the municipality to continue funding of the targeted services after the completion of the project (if relevant).
For more information, visit United Nations Development Programme.