Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces Challenge Fund

Deadline: 12-Jul-21

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic is pleased to announce Challenge fund to facilitate transfer of Czech know-how and innovative solutions that would address development challenges identified by UNDP Country Offices in the project countries and contribute to the achievement of SDGs.

Challenge fund is a component of the Czech-UNDP Partnership for Sustainable Development Goals (hereafter CUP), a project financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and implemented by UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub in period 2018–2021 to address development challenges in three partner countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Georgia, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Zambia.

The CFCS is looking for innovative solutions that generate improvement and value, especially by introducing, new methods, ideas, or products.

The CFCS views innovation in its broadest sense. The proposed solutions need to be sustainable and have a potential for scale up. The eligible applicants include Czech private sector, NGOs, universities, state institutions or research centers. T

he applicants are required to engage local partners to assure viability in local conditions, and to promote sustainability and scalability of the solution.

Funding Information

The Czech-UNDP Partnership for SDGs will provide up to US$40,000 per project through the CFCS.

Outcomes

The supported outcome is a new approach, product, idea or service. The supported outcome is also a feasibility study providing an innovative and replicable solution to the identified development challenge. The study will include evidence that the proposed solution is feasible, and implementation plan specifying concrete actions and partnerships necessary for the implementation of the solution. It will list all associated activities, stakeholder engagement, implementation costs and possibilities for scale-up.
The Awardee is to consult the solution with local partners, stakeholders and/or final beneficiaries in order to make sure that the solution is adapted to and viable in local conditions. This engagement with local partners needs to be documented.
The Awardee is also expected to identify potential financial partners from public/private sector, international financial institutions, donors etc. that could finance the implementation of the solution and scaling up.
The purpose of the CFCS is also to generate and share knowledge. General information about the solution will be shared on the Czech-UNDP Partnership website and across UNDP.
The Czech-UNDP Partnership for SDGs specialists will promote visibility to the solutions by disseminating materials and information about the solution within UNDP. Especially across UNDP country offices to explore whether the solution could be viable to tackle development challenges in other countries in the region.

Eligibility Criteria

Entities wishing to apply to the CFCS need to meet the following eligibility criteria:

The lead applicant must be an Entity registered in the Czech Republic. Potential participants include Czech private sector, NGOs, universities, state institutions or research centers.
The project must be implemented in one of the partner countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Georgia, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Zambia.
All applicants must demonstrate their capacity to implement their proposed Project, and will need to demonstrate adequate financial, material, human and other non-financial resources to implement the proposed Project within the set timeframe.
The applicant may partner with other Entity/Entities eligible for CFCS support. The applicant is responsible for the project and must warrant that the permission of the other members has been obtained.
The funding request is for a specific, new and innovative project that addresses the set development challenge. The CFCS views innovation in its broadest sense including: i) a new approach, product, idea or service that has not been tested anywhere; ii) is new to the beneficiary country; iii) has not been applied to the sector in question in the beneficiary country; or iv) service or business model being introduced to a target group where it has not been tried before.
The proposed project must have a potential for financial, social and environmental sustainability and scale up.
All projects must be inclusive in nature and benefit the target beneficiaries and contribute to the achievement of SDGs, rather than solely benefitting the participating Entity.
The applicant must apply for an Award ranging between US$20,000 USD and US$40,000.
The applicants provide co-funding of at least 20% of the total cost of the project. Co-funding can be in-kind. Co-funding above the minimum threshold is preferred and will be taken into account during evaluation.
The projects must demonstrate that the activities funded by the CFCS will be additional to the Entity’s existing activities and that the projects would not go ahead without CFCS funding. The CFCS could also consider projects that if they would have gone ahead, it would be at a much-reduced pace or scale in the absence of the CFCS support.