Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme – Ireland

Deadline: 18-Apr-24

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is accepting applications for the Human Rights and Equality Grant Scheme.

Strands

The grants scheme will support projects in three thematic areas:
- Strand A: Advancing Greater Economic Equality
  - The Commission considers that economic inequality affects all marginalised groups and prevents the realisation of many fundamental rights. Reducing economic inequality is crucial for social cohesion, social inclusion and improving the quality of life for those experiencing or at risk of poverty. Therefore, the Commission has as a strategic priority to seek greater economic equality in income, employment, housing/accommodation, and for carers. It has set out a number of strategic objectives in it Strategy Statement to achieve this goal.
  - With the 2024-25 Grants Scheme, the Commission will support civil society organisations to carry out projects that can contribute to the achievement of one or more of these objectives:
    - Income
      - Improved protection of people experiencing or at risk of poverty or vulnerability so that they are able to live with dignity and in economic security, whether working or in receipt of welfare or a pension, including in the areas of the living wage, adequacy of social welfare, collective bargaining, monitoring progress in the reduction of poverty, and wealth and income differentials.
    - Decent Work
      - Improved equality of access, retention and progression in decent work, in particular for groups facing high or systemic labour market discrimination and barriers.
    - Housing/Accommodation
      - Improved equality of access to accessible, appropriate and adequate housing and accommodation, in particular for groups facing high or systemic barriers.
    - Care
      - Greater recognition of the economic and social value of care as a form of work, including family and community caring, ensuring that family carers do not suffer financial loss due to their family care work.
- Strand B: Promoting Awareness of Rights and Access to Justice
  - The Commission has as a priority, to increase awareness of rights under equality and human rights law and advance access to justice. The current gaps in access to justice could be reduced by increasing awareness and understanding of rights, and the skills and know-how to claim and vindicate them before the courts and tribunals such as the Workplace Relations Commission.
  - The Commission recognises that civil society, including rights-holder and community groups, and trade unions who work directly with people facing the greatest barriers to accessing their equality and human rights and who are more likely to experience discrimination and breaches of their human rights, are best placed to empower rights holders to understand, claim and vindicate their rights as well as advocate for change.
  - This strand will support projects that:
    - contribute to the better understanding of equality rights by those who face the greatest barriers to claim and vindicate their rights and those who can have a multiplier effect. This includes providing education or training on the Employment Equality Acts, the Equal Status Acts and the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty;
    - contribute to the better understanding of human rights by those who face the greatest barriers to claim and vindicate their rights and those who can have a multiplier effect. This includes providing education or training on Ireland’s human rights obligations and on the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty;
- Strand C: Promoting Climate Justice, Environmental Justice and a Just Transition
  - The Commission recognises that climate change poses an immediate threat to the protection and enjoyment of human rights and equality both in Ireland and abroad. A range of climate actions are required to mitigate climate change. For these actions to achieve climate justice, they must take into account social inequalities. This means safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable people and sharing the burdens of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly.
  - The Commission recognises that structurally vulnerable groups, including communities who experience disadvantage or marginalisation, are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, pollution, energy poverty, lack of green spaces and other environmental harms.
  - In addressing climate change through climate actions, the Commission recognises the importance of a Just Transition, which leaves no one behind. It is vital that investment in climate action advances human rights and equality in Ireland including active measures to guard against unintended consequences and to provide targeted support for structurally vulnerable groups.
  - Climate and environmental justice seeks to protect the most vulnerable people in society from the impacts of climate change and other environmental harms and to ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.
  - A Just Transition is vision-led and a unified set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to address climate change in a way that is just and equitable. The Commission considers that realising a Just Transition requires complementarity across national and local Government policy and strategy, having due regard to the human rights and equality of structurally vulnerable groups.
  - This strand will support projects that:
    - contribute to the better understanding by structurally vulnerable groups in Ireland of their rights in relation to the effects of climate change and other environmental harms from a human rights and equality perspective;
    - develop leadership capacity of civil society and rights-holders in Ireland to be part of decision-making processes on climate change and environmental issues in their communities and advocate for climate justice, environmental justice and a just transition from a human rights and equality perspective.

Funding Information

Civil society organisations working to protect or promote equality and human rights can make one application for either a small or general grant, not both:
- Small grants of up to €6,000
- General grants of up to €20,000
Funding of €350,000 is available.

Approaches and Outcomes

The Grants Scheme will support approaches under Strand A, B and C that aim to achieve one or more of the following outcomes. It is not necessary for a project to achieve more than one of these outcomes.
- Increased awareness and understanding
  - Supports participatory projects that directly involve communities/rights-holders, which create increased awareness and understanding of equality and human rights including the rights set out in the Equality legislation, human rights law and the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty.
- Build multiplier and advocacy capacity
  - Supports participatory projects to build the leadership capacity and expertise of communities and rights-holders, to understand their rights (in the equality legislation and under human rights law). Enables them to act as multipliers for other rights holders and advocate for change.
- Foster changes in attitudes and behaviours
  - Supports participatory projects that develop transformative human rights and equality-based education and training resources for formal, non-formal education and community and continuous professional development settings. The education and training should aim to foster changes in understanding, attitudes and behaviour and directly involve communities/rights-holders in shaping the content and delivery.
- Increased evidence to advocate for human rights and equality-based legislation, policies, strategies, practices and service delivery
  - Supports qualitative and participatory research, legal, policy analysis and monitoring on human rights and/or equality issues related to Strand A, B and C that informs legislation, policy, strategies and practice at local and national level, including the effective implementation of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty by public bodies.
  - The project should directly involve communities and rights-holders in the research process including, for example, as peer researchers, to empower them and to gain the perspective of those directly affected.
- Improved collaboration between rights-holders/communities and public bodies (duty bearers)
  - Supports projects that empower rights-holders/communities to engage with public bodies to shape legislation, policy, practice and services related to Strand A, B or C.

Types of Activity Supported

The grants scheme supports a wide range of activity where communities and rights-holders play a leading role, and that are developed from a human rights and equality perspective. This is not a definitive list but the types of activities that could be supported include:
- Capacity Building, Training and Education
  - Carrying out participatory capacity building, training and other activities that support the development of leadership and advocacy skills and/or helps build alliances; and
  - Transformative education/training activities fostering change of attitudes and behaviours;
  - Producing education and training resources in print, digital, accessible or other formats.
- Research, Legal or Policy Analysis
  - Undertaking qualitative and participatory research – working with and upskilling peer researchers is encouraged;
  - Producing legal, policy or strategy analysis or responses;
  - Analysing and documenting models of good practice; and
  - Carrying out monitoring, or developing monitoring mechanisms.
- Awareness-raising and Sharing Learning Activities
  - Organising conferences, seminars and roundtables;
  - Developing, publishing and disseminating digital or printed materials;
  - Organising awareness campaigns and developing digital tools; and
  - Generating creative and/or participatory spaces for dialogue and sharing learning.

Eligibility Criteria

The 2024-25 Grants Scheme is open to applications from civil society organisations registered in the Republic of Ireland (it is possible to have a partner in Northern Ireland) that aim to promote human rights and/or equality. This includes national or local community and voluntary organisations, networks, non-governmental organisations, rights-holder groups, area-based community groups, communities of interest groups, and trade unions.
Civil society organisations applying must be non-profit and registered as a Company with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), and/or be a registered charity.
Applications involving a collaborative partnership between two or more organisations, including public bodies, are welcome. However, only a civil society organisation can act as the lead applicant and not a public body

For more information, visit Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.