Deadline: 11-Dec-20
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands invites non-governmental organizations to submit project proposals for the Matra & Human Rights Fund. The Matra Fund supplements the European Commission’s efforts and aims to help countries strengthen democracy and the rule of law, thus enhance stability.
Human rights are the foundation of a democracy in which every person counts. The Netherlands strives to protect and promote human rights all over the world. The Human Rights Fund, therefore, supports organisations that work for human rights worldwide.
The Netherlands government attaches particular importance to these Funds since they aim to reinforce and promote shared European values – values that connect European countries, bridging their cultural diversity. A strong and pluralist democracy under the rule of law, stable democratic processes and good governance are part of these values and of the agenda for Europe.
Funding Information
EUR 100.000 per project is maximum support. Make sure the budget complies with the following minimum requirements. Use the enclosed budget template:
- Not more than 30% of our contribution goes to salaries. For staff involved in the project (regular and contracted) provide information on the hours/percentage of the time, that they are directly involved in the project activities and provide the hourly rate/wage for their involvement.
- Not more than 10% of our budget contribution can be allocated to Administrative Costs (rent, utilities, office material, communication, bank fees). Only Administrative Costs directly involved in the project are eligible for financial support (ex. the proportion of the rental costs for the office space that is will be used directly for the project activities).
- Not more than 10% of the budget can be used for study trips or tours. Please indicate in case of study tour why this is necessary and specify why the location/country of destination is chosen.
What Types of Projects are Eligible?
The Matra and HR fund support demand-driven initiatives. Project proposals have to be in line with policy priorities and the mission statement. To be eligible for support, projects must promote the process of transformation in the following areas:
- Strengthening the rule of law with a focus on fighting corruption;
- Enhancing the position of civil society organisations in judicial reforms;
- Increasing women’s representation in politics;
- Addressing issues of property ownership for women;
- Strengthening the position of the LGBTI community in areas outside of Pristina;
- Improving the implementation of the Law on Languages;
- Promoting investigative journalism;
Eligibility Criteria
- What are the minimum requirements?
- Applications are only taken into consideration when the Embassy provided formats are used (Appendix A for the proposal and Appendix B for the budget overview. Please note that Appendix B contains an example of a project budget. Remove the example data and adjust the table as needed to your project).
- Applications must be relevant to the specific Matra objectives as highlighted above.
- The project needs to reinvigorate the local ownership of the issue that forms the business case/reason for the project.
- The applicant should contribute to the project (financial or in-kind). This needs to be specified clearly in the activities and budget overview.
- The applicant must have a minimum yearly turnover of EUR 100.000 for at least three consecutive years.
- The project has a maximum duration of 24 months.
- When other donors are involved, you need to specify this in the application and budget forms. It needs to be clear which donor contribution goes to different activities.
- Beneficiary organisations need to provide a statement in which they underline their commitment to this project.
- Preference is given to proposals that are:
- Risk-aware, realistic and ‘Corona-proof’;
- Gender-sensitive;
- Inclusive and create equal access to project results for all groups in society. In this sense we encourage organisations to set up activities in areas where needs are higher, in some cases, this means activities outside the capital;
- Aim for sustainable improvements;
- Cost-sensitive, whenever possible seek in-kind contributions, use alliances with the business community, work with volunteers etc;
- That use innovative ways to tackle issues (involve the private sector, use a broad coalition that shares a common concern, make use of digital tools, have a clear media strategy).
- Not eligible are:
- Humanitarian aid;
- Commercial activities;
- Business registered organisations;
- Projects with a predominantly academic focus, i.e. feasibility studies, research etc.;
- Projects that exclusively or largely include the delivery of goods or materials;
- Infrastructural or construction projects;
- Scholarships or education programmes;
- Social programmes.
- Co-financing with other donors is possible provided, when:
- The applicant provides statements from the other donor(s) on their motivation to finance project activities.
- A clear, transparent description is given of the division of activities and how the different donors contribute to these activities.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2IJSYQg