“Humanity and Mutual Assistance” Competition: Humanitarian Initiative Against the Pandemic in Ukraine

Deadline: 2 November 2020

The International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) has announced the ongoing Humanity and Mutual Assistance Competition.

The purpose of the competition is to support public initiatives aimed at strengthening solidarity, self-reliance and mutual assistance in Ukrainian society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives and Thematic Priorities of the Competition Categories

Category 1: “Assistance to health care facilities and health professionals”

Objective: to provide support to health facilities and health professionals directly involved in countering the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic.

Thematic priorities:

Providing psychological support by medical staff (doctors, paramedics) to prevent and reduce the symptoms of burnout, as well as general psychological support in connection with excessive workload and features of work in quarantine and isolation;
Implementation of various measures to support and assist health care facilities (HEIs) and health workers: assistance in ensuring timely and safe transportation of health workers to and from workplaces, providing support in the form of food and beverages, basic sanitary kits / facilities to improve the conditions of stay in the CHP during work in quarantine and isolation;
Support for training activities (online and offline) for doctors and paramedics regarding the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19, including work on new equipment or using new technologies and treatment protocols, exchange of experiences;
Projects aimed at the development of self-organization of doctors and paramedics, interaction, mutual support, protection of rights and interests;
Procurement of personal protective equipment, antiseptic solutions, consumables and simple medical equipment that are directly necessary for the provision of emergency, emergency care to patients with COVID-19 in the hospital;
“Maker” projects that involve the manufacture and targeted free distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), adapters and other consumables that can be used to equip / re-equip existing medical equipment.
Ensuring the involvement of volunteer assistance for CHCs and health workers, organized collection and official transfer of funds and other assistance for the benefit of CHCs and health workers.

Category 2: “Self-indulgence of vulnerable groups”

Objective: To support and develop self-reliance and resilience of members of vulnerable groups and vulnerable communities in the context of the spread of COVID-19 in Ukraine and to counteract its projected socio-economic consequences.

Thematic priorities:

Mobilization and mobilization of representatives of vulnerable groups and communities for the development of self- and mutual assistance, involvement in activities aimed at counteracting the spread of COVID-19;
Establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors for the formation and implementation of assistance programs for vulnerable groups and communities in the context of the spread of COVID-19, the participation of representatives of vulnerable groups and communities in decision-making;
Develop the knowledge, skills and abilities of representatives of vulnerable groups and communities and support the implementation of their micro-initiatives to build resilience and minimize the negative socio-economic consequences of COVID-19;
Preventing and counteracting social stigma of vulnerable groups and communities in the context of the spread of COVID-19.

Category 3: “Respect for human rights and accessible justice” 

Purpose: to ensure public control over the observance of the principles of proportionality, legality, minimum necessity and temporality of restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms in the conditions of struggle and overcoming the consequences of the epidemic.

Thematic priorities:

Monitoring and evaluation of the application of police coercive measures in the conditions of quarantine restrictions; assisting law enforcement agencies in developing and implementing appropriate policies and algorithms for effective performance of functions with due respect for human rights;
Protection of the right to privacy in the context of counteracting the spread of COVID-19: legal assessment of the methods and scope of personal data collection in the context of the epidemic, their protection, effectiveness of protection mechanisms and compliance with the temporary nature of measures with necessary destruction / depersonalization; providing legal assistance in individual cases; development of algorithms of collective actions and recommendations for interested institutions working with personal data;
Development and implementation of technological solutions that simplify access to legal information, legal advice, mechanisms for the protection of human rights and the conditions of restrictions caused by the epidemic;
Analysis of budget expenditures of justice and law enforcement institutions for quarantine activities and overcoming its consequences. Promoting the priority of human protection expenditures and special needs for the proper functioning of institutions

Category 4: “Information and education”

Objective: to promote the dissemination of reliable, scientifically sound information related to the fight against COVID-19. IRF welcomes projects that aim to provide quality information to clearly defined target audiences and promote critical thinking.

Thematic priorities:

Dissemination of scientifically based, reliable information about the course of the pandemic, informing about its consequences, in particular, socio-economic, for different segments of society, in particular, vulnerable groups and communities
Counteracting misinformation that is spreading in the information space around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Category 5: “Overcoming the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic”

The aim is to help overcome the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine for social enterprises and vulnerable groups.

Thematic priorities:

Protection of workers from violations of labor rights, in particular (illegal dismissal, breach of contract, discrimination in the workplace, harassment of trade union activists, etc.). Activities may include the development of algorithms for collective action, the provision of legal advice, the use of individual and collective procedures for resolving labor disputes, judicial protection of violated rights.
Supporting social enterprises in adapting their business models to new economic realities, introduction of new tools for working with clients, search for new markets for goods and services through IT. Within this priority, projects coming from social enterprises aimed at protecting or meeting the needs of vulnerable groups (Roma communities; homeless; victims of domestic violence; people with disabilities; families working in the informal sector and / or low-income) are welcome. refugees and asylum seekers)
Strengthening the skills of citizens in financial literacy, household budget management and personal finance. Within this priority, priority will be given to scalable initiatives, the organization of national information campaigns, the potential to continue and expand, and the strengthening of the financial literacy of vulnerable groups.

Funding Information

Assistance to health care facilities and health professionals: The maximum grant amount within this lot will be UAH 200,000, the average grant amount will be UAH 125,000-150,000. The duration of the project cannot exceed 6 months.
Self-indulgence of vulnerable groups: The maximum grant amount within the lot will be UAH 200,000, the average grant amount will be UAH 120,000-150,000.
Respect for human rights and accessible justice: The maximum grant amount within the lot will be UAH 250,000, the average grant amount will be UAH 120,000-150,000. The duration of the project cannot exceed 6 months.
Information and education: The maximum grant amount within the lot will be UAH 250,000, the average grant amount will be UAH 120,000-150,000.
Overcoming the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic: The maximum grant amount within this category will be UAH 250,000, the average grant amount will be UAH 125,000-150,000. The duration of the project cannot exceed 6 months.

Contest Participants: Public organizations, charitable organizations, charitable foundations are registered in Ukraine. Informal volunteer initiatives, local governments and religious communities can participate in partnerships with public / charitable organizations / charitable foundations.

Criteria

Assistance to health care facilities and health professionals
- Compliance of the project content with the thematic priorities of the lot “Direct assistance to health care facilities and medical staff”;
- Availability of a memorandum of cooperation or letters from certain health care institutions, in favor of which the organization will carry out the project, manufacture products, raise funds, purchase equipment;
- Qualifications and experience (both individual and project teams), which are confirmed by successfully completed work, certificates (if any);
- Existence of existing and formation of new partnerships to continue / expand the activities envisaged by the project;
- Ability to communicate to inform target audiences about support, communication of generalized project results and experience;
- Validity and realism of the application budget.
Self-indulgence of vulnerable groups
- Correspondence of the content of the project proposal to the thematic priorities of the lot;
- Emphasis on a specific vulnerable group or community, demonstration of understanding of their current state and needs;
- Project potential for sustainability and scaling of results;
- Validity of the project proposal budget.
Respect for human rights and accessible justice
- Compliance of the project content with the thematic priorities of the lot
- Qualification and experience of the project team
- The ability of the project to scale, the existence of existing and the formation of new partnerships to continue / expand
- Ability to communicate to inform target audiences about support, communication of generalized project results and lessons learned
- Validity of the application budget
Information and education
- Correspondence of the project content to the thematic priorities of the contest “Humanity and mutual assistance”
- Experience in producing quality media content in the organization / executors of the project
- Clarity of definition of the target audience, realistic estimation of its size
- Ability to scale the information campaign, in particular, through existing partnerships and attracting new ones;
- Validity of the application budget.
Overcoming the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic
- Correspondence of the project content to the thematic priorities of the competition, in particular, substantiation of the connection of the problem with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine.
- A clear social goal and ways to achieve it through entrepreneurship or otherwise.
- The project’s ability to grow, the existence of existing and the formation of new partnerships (particularly at the community level) to continue / expand
- Realistic assessment of the target audience of the project, the ability to communicate to inform target audiences about the support, generalized results of the project and experience;
- Validity of the application budget.