GCERF Funding for Civil Society Organizations in Mauritania

Deadline: 9-Jul-23

The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), in collaboration with the G5 Sahel, is pleased to announce a call for expressions of interest of civil society organizations in Mauritania to become the primary recipient of funding from the G5 Sahel through GCERF ‘s core financing mechanism.

The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and the G5 Sahel invite civil society organizations in Mauritania to apply for funding for prevention programs that implement preventive approaches to intolerance and violent extremism, create enabling environments for de-radicalization and support the preparation of coordinated communities to prevent intolerance and violent extremism and counter violent extremism Depending on the Mauritanian model.

The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) is an independent Swiss body established as the premier global effort to support local initiatives at the community level aimed at building resilience against violent extremist agendas. At the intersection of security and development, the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) is committed to working in partnership and consultation with governments, civil society, and the private sector in partner countries to support national strategies to counter local drivers of violent extremism. The Global Community Participation and Resilience Fund (GCERF) enhances community resilience by supporting grassroots initiatives at the community level to counter the drivers of violent extremism, encouraging social cohesion, societal harmony, and equal access to opportunities and purpose for existence.

Investment of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) in Mauritania

• The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) engages Mauritania as a partner country that faces significant violent extremist threats and also holds significant internal solutions and successes that bring benefits to the regional and global PVE community. The investment strategy of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) in Mauritania focuses on the border regions with Mali and a specific axis of extremism extending from Nouakchott to Brakna Province.
• The participation of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) will enhance Mauritania’s efforts to introduce and promote international best practices. Through its community-based approach to P/CVE and/or the CVE, the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) investment strategy in Mauritania will directly contribute to the implementation of Mauritania’s National Action Plans in partnership with local, national and regional partners. The participation of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) will also support the goals of the G5 Sahel, the Coalition for the Sahel, and the International Coalition for the Sahel. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Original Education, a state support mechanism was put in place to encourage joint creativity and joint supervision in programming activities. The strategy period runs from 2023 to 2026 and is the subject of a separate document attached to this call for expressions of interest.

Priority Programming Areas

• The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) will fund civil society organizations and local associations to implement programs that
  • promote preventive approaches to intolerance and violent extremism;
  • create enabling environments to combat extremism;
  • Support the preparation of coordinated local communities to prevent violent extremism, advocating the Mauritanian model
• Programs will be implemented in collaboration with territorial clusters, where appropriate, and aligned with existing regional and national P/CVE action plans and strategies. The priority interventions identified are as follows:
  • Promoting preventive approaches from extremism and violent extremism:
    • Supporting the mediation between and within communities of existing and emerging social, religious and political conflicts;
    • Supporting the social and economic inclusion of youth and vulnerable communities  ;
    • supporting equitable and gender-sensitive access to vocational training and initial financing;
    • Support the development of preventive practices against extremism in educational settings;
    • support dedicated media outreach against intolerance and violent extremism;
  • Creating conducive environments for de-extremism:
    • Support mechanisms to prevent and manage radicalization in prisons;
    • Help establish psychosocial support and productive opportunities for reintegration of people who abandon violent extremism;
    • Support the promotion of societal and religious dialogue in combating violent extremism and transnational crime ;
    • supporting systems improvement and digital literacy against online and on-air extremism;
  • Support the preparation of coordinated communities to counter violent extremism by advocating the Mauritanian model:
    • Support building organizational and institutional capacities of civil society organizations;
    • Support the production and dissemination of knowledge about successes.
  • Local organizations are encouraged to offer integrated programs that combine more than two priority areas of intervention during implementation in their partner communities in Haoud Oriental, Haoud El Gharbi, Assaba, Kidimaga, and the Nouakchott-Oued El Naga-Boutlemit-Alac corridor. Communities emphasized this aspect while assessing the country’s needs.

Focus Areas

• Mauritania’s investment strategy and assessment of the country’s needs , the investment will focus on: population groups:
  • Youth:
    • youth in rural areas,
    • youth from minorities,
    • street youth,
    • youth in formal and informal Islamic schools;
  • Women:
    • rural women ,
    • widows,
    • single mothers,
    • homeless women;
  • Local authorities:
    • the religious leaders,
    • the traditional chiefs ,
    • community council members,
    • opinion leaders;
  • Socio-professional groups:
    • pastoralists and
    • Farmers and others.

Funding Information

• The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) plans to sign grant agreements with civil society organizations by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023. It will use the seed funding mechanism to provide grants to federations in Mauritania. The minimum grant amount is $ 500,000. The fund plans to provide additional funding to selected consortia throughout the grant implementation period, depending on the availability of funds and the needs of the state .identified, and the ability of the associations to successfully implement the planned interventions.
• Grant Duration: The duration of the scholarship will not be less than 30 months and will not exceed 48 months.

Geographical locations:

• The eastern basin; western basin; for his temper; kidimaga and, The axis of Nouakchott – Oued El Naga – Bou T Limit – Alac.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Global Fund for Community Engagement and Resilience and the Group of Five Sahelian Countries invite civil society organizations in Mauritania to apply to become the primary recipient of the Fund’s funding.

Required Capabilities

• Experience and ability to support community-based initiatives that address local drivers of violent extremism.
• Building relationships and credibility with communities and population groups in the geographical areas specified in the invitation.
• Experience and ability to design and manage programs.
• Experience and ability in financial management, management and accounting of grant funding from international donors.
• Experience in managing sub-recipients, to assess and improve their capabilities.

For more information, visit GCERF.