IRF launches “Prevention and Contribution to Conflict Resolution in Public Relations” Competition – Ukraine

Deadline: 10 March 2020

International Renaissance Foundation is one of the largest Ukrainian charitable foundations, which since 1990 has been building an open society in Ukraine where everyone feels worthy, where citizens are involved in the creation of the state, and the government is transparent and responsible.

The purpose of the competition is to prevent and facilitate conflict at the grassroots level that may emerge / arise from the implementation of local, health, and educational reform, driven by various factors (including ethnic), through the active participation of local people in the implementation of using the forms of local democracy provided for by the Ukrainian legislation and mediating conflicts.

Priorities

The project proposal may include the following activities (the list is not exhaustive):

• identifying problems with the implementation of reforms in selected communities that have already caused or can cause conflicts;
• prevention and mediation of conflicts in selected communities and implementation of measures to minimize the risks of such similar conflicts in the future;
• ensuring active participation of the local population in the implementation of reforms using the forms of local democracy envisaged by the legislation of Ukraine (bodies of self-organization of the population, general meetings of members of territorial communities at the place of residence, local initiatives, public hearings, etc.);
• development, public discussion and lobbying of draft local regulations that will improve / create conditions for the development and implementation of forms of local democracy (statutes of territorial communities, regulations on certain forms of local democracy, changes thereto, targeted programs for promoting civil society, etc.) , in particular, to represent and protect the interests of peripheral localities of the ATG;
• provision of legal assistance, advisory, information, methodological, organizational and other services to interested members of territorial communities, initiative groups, institutes of civil society in the process of realization of the forms of local democracy envisaged by them by the legislation of Ukraine, incl. in cooperation with local self-government bodies and their officials, law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities, etc. This activity should be concentrated mainly in the peripheral settlements of the ATG;
• assistance in establishing bodies and / or supporting the activities of the BIDs, as well as facilitating the development of local initiatives in the peripheral settlements of the JTS;
• informing the public about the progress of the project implementation, its results and dissemination of best practices (success stories) among local communities through mass media, the Internet, new media.

Funding and Result Information

• The total budget of the competition is UAH 1 850 000.
• The optimal grant size is 300,000-370,000 UAH.
• Announcement of results – until April 15, 2020.

Notes:

• The project implementation period is 10 months.
• The project activity can be implemented both on the territory of the ATG and in the communities that have not undergone the merger process.
• The competition is expected to support up to 6 project proposals that will be implemented in different regions of Ukraine (no more than one project from one region).
• The activities for each project must be implemented in at least the territories of the two communities selected by the bidder.
• Contestants must provide co-financing for the project activity (in the form of their own contribution or contribution from other sources) of at least 20% of the amount requested from the IRF.

Eligibility Criteria

• Non-governmental organizations, public unions, self-organization bodies (OSNs) and charitable foundations with at least three years of practical experience in the field of local democracy development and / or community conflict mediation are invited to participate in the contest.
• Participants of the competition can be registered in any region of Ukraine.

Preference will be given to projects that:

• project proposals that cover as many of the competition priorities as possible;
• submitted by the contestants having at least three years’ previous experience of implementing local democracy development projects and / or community conflict mediation;
• envisaged activities to promote the prevention and / or facilitation of conflicts in which the ethnic factor is actively used in the territory of Transcarpathian and Odessa regions;
• aims at pursuing activities that, in addition to conflict resolution (in the presence of elected communities), include a set of measures to prevent future conflicts;
• envisage active use of local democracy forms, in particular in the territories of peripheral settlements of the UGF, if the project is to be implemented in such communities;
• provide for the use of interactive techniques in the conduct of various public events for the project (if the project proposal is planned to hold them);
• contain a clear plan to attract additional funding from other sources.

Evaluation Criteria

• compliance of the submitted project proposal with the purpose and priority directions of the competition;
• the clarity of the purpose of the project proposal, the relevance of the objectives and activities of the project to its purpose;
• orientation of project activities to promote reforms at national and local levels;
• projected impact of the project on the achievement of positive change, involvement of the authorities and civil society institutions in achieving these changes;
• the focus on overcoming confrontation between the parties to the conflict;
• comprehensive approach to problem solving;
• previous experience of the tenderer in carrying out the activities envisaged by the project proposal;
• the realistic implementation of the project, the existence of a clear plan for its implementation, the effectiveness of the proposed mechanisms for the implementation of project ideas, the certainty of the expected results;
• taking into account the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination when formulating a project proposal;
• sound budget, co-financing of the project;
• provides for network (coalition) cooperation, including between different regions of the country;
• wide publicity of the project implementation and its results;
• the viability of the project after its completion, in particular by institutionalizing the results achieved;
• availability of content and financial reports published in the competition for the previous calendar year.

How to Apply

Applicants can download the application form via given website.

The results of the competition will be emailed to all participants.

For more information, visit https://www.irf.ua/contest/konkurs-zapobigannya-ta-spryyannya-vyrishennyu-konfliktiv-u-gromadah-shho-vynykayut-v-proczesi-provedennya-reform/