Grant to Build Capacity of Local NGOs & Monitor Access to Justice (Ukraine)

Deadline: 5-Jan-21

The announcement has been made with a purpose to provide information on the grant competition for non-governmental organizations operating in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which is conducted by the UN Peacebuilding and Reconstruction Program, and to explain the procedure for submitting project proposals.

The competition is held in the following target area: “Capacity building of local NGOs and monitoring of the provision of access to justice and security services at the local and regional levels”.

The UN Peacebuilding Program is implemented by four UN agencies: the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Framework for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (FAO).

This call for proposals involves the selection of one NGO and aims to increase the capacity of local NGOs and monitor the provision of access to justice and security services at the local and oblast levels. Project duration – up to 14 months. The approximate start of project implementation is February 2021.

Capacity building of local NGOs (including organizational development) and monitoring of access to justice and security services at the local and oblast levels will be carried out in the field of social rights of vulnerable groups, including (the following list is not exclusive):

Low-income people;
Retirees;
Persons with disabilities;
Orphans and children deprived of parental care;
Persons raising children independently (single women or men);
Large families;
Internally displaced persons (who have the appropriate status or persons who have actually moved without obtaining the appropriate status);
Refugees (persons who have the appropriate status, or persons who are actually refugees without obtaining the appropriate status);
Stateless persons;
Victims of domestic or gender-based violence;
Representatives of the LGBTI community.

Expected Results

An effective network of monitoring human rights organizations at the local and regional levels has been established and maintained in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts controlled by the government of Ukraine;
Local partner NGOs are known and recognizable in their activities;
The results and recommendations of the study on the human rights situation are the basis and work plan for further monitoring and advocacy activities of local partner NGOs;
Recommendations were received to expand the expertise of local partner NGOs, as well as the network as a whole (including the geographical expansion of the project in the eastern part and the Azov region of Ukraine).

Eligibility Criteria

Public or charitable organizations that will submit project proposals for this competition must meet the following mandatory requirements:
- To be officially registered with the status of a legal entity on the territory of Ukraine;
- To carry out its activities in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts controlled by the Government of Ukraine (examples of projects implemented in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts should be provided);
- Have the status of a non-profit or charitable organization (non-profit codes 0032, 0034, 0036, 0038, 0039 or 0048);
- Have experience of 5 years in accordance with the theme of the competition (in the field of rule of law and access to justice);
- Have confirmed experience in implementing at least two projects on the subject of the competition and reporting on them;
- Have appropriate specialists and project staff for its implementation (project manager, financial specialist/accountant and other specialists according to the needs of the project). If the involvement of specialists is envisaged only if the project proposal is supported, the descriptive application should contain the key requirements for each of the specialists provided by the project (profile education, work experience, etc.).
Personnel involved in the project must meet the following requirements:
- The project team should consist of at least: a project coordinator (responsible for the overall coordination of project implementation and submission of relevant reports to the UN Peacebuilding and Reconstruction Program), an accountant (responsible for accounting and financial reporting), and persons directly involved in project implementation;
- Higher legal (or other thematically related) education of the project manager, higher legal (or other thematically related) education of the project team members (this requirement applies to persons responsible for the direct implementation of the project);
- Experience in the public sector for at least three years (for the project manager);
- Experience in the field of law (or other thematically related fields – for the project manager):
  - For the project manager – not less than 5 years;
  - For members of the project team – not less than 3 years.
- The requirement for project staff – work experience in the organization applying for the grant, not less than 2 years;
- Knowledge of languages – fluency in Ukrainian;
- The accountant must have higher education (related to accounting), work experience in the field of accounting for at least two years;
- Readiness to implement all rules and regulations of cooperation proposed by the international donor;
- Staff employment:
  - project manager – no more than 0.5 rate;
  - accountant – no more than 0.2 rate;
  - persons directly responsible for the implementation of the project – no more than 1 rate.