Deadline: 01-Dec-2024
The Council of Europe’s Democratic Institutions and Civil Society Division has launched a grant for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to foster democratic culture and strengthen the engagement of citizens in decision making in their countries, and to enhance the mutual engagement between the Council of Europe and civil society organisations.
The project aims to further enhance mutual engagement of CSOs and the Council of Europe through a series of information and capacity building activities for national and regional NGOs to facilitate their involvement in different areas of the work of the Council of Europe. Additionally, the project aims at raising awareness and building capacity of civil servants, CSOs and citizens through a competence building program on participatory and deliberative processes at national level in Council of Europe member States.
This call for proposals aims to co-fund projects designed to strengthen the interaction, dialogue and exchanges between the Council of Europe and European civil society.
General Objective
- The grant will fund three projects designed to mobilise actors interested in countering the democratic backsliding and fostering a democratic culture across Europe and strengthening the interaction, dialogue and exchanges between the Council of Europe and European civil society.
- The grant will fund three projects covering different regions of Europe, namely Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Central Europe.
Funding Information
- The indicative available budget under this call for proposals is 120.000 € (one hundred and twenty thousand Euros). The Council of Europe intends to award 3 grants of a maximum amount of 40.000 € (forty thousand Euros) each. One organisation can only submit one proposal.
Duration
- The implementation period of the projects should start on 1 March 2025 and shall not extend beyond 30 October 2025.
Eligible Projects
Preference will be given to:
- Projects proposed by an INGO, umbrella organisation, consortia of NGOs with strong expertise and experience in advocacy, policymaking and representation of interests in the areas of democracy, human rights and/or the rule of law;
- Projects proposed by an INGO, umbrella organisation, consortia of NGOs with expertise of the Council of Europe standards or with experience of cooperating with the Council of Europe;
- Projects targeting also organisations promoting the rights of women, youth, and persons in vulnerable position;
- Projects involving events in different European regions.
Criteria
- Project proposals must meet two main criteria:
- raise awareness about the work and standards of the Council of Europe to make member states more resilient to pressures undermining democratic values, promote democratic governance and enhance civil participation in political decision-making, including the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy, and how these can be used by civil society actors to advance their causes
- raise awareness about existing co-operation and interaction between the Council of Europe and civil society and help to identify new opportunities in this regard.
Ineligibility Criteria
- The following types of action will not be considered:
- Projects/actions providing financial support to third parties (re-granting schemes);
- Projects/actions concerning only or mainly individual scholarships for studies or training courses;
- Projects/actions supporting political parties.
For more information, visit Council of Europe.