Roma Education Fund announces Call for Innovative Proposals and Advocacy Grants 2020

Deadline: 29 February 2020

The Roma Education Fund (REF) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations to provide funding for:

Section 1: Innovative grant proposals between EUR 20,000-50,000 aligned with REF’s Strategic Framework (2021-2030)
Section 2: Advocacy grant proposals up to EUR 25,000 aligned with REF’s Strategic Framework (2021-2030).

Objective

REF’s mission is to contribute to closing the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma, including promoting quality, inclusive education and desegregated schools and classrooms. The objective of the call is to select partner organizations for the implementation of innovative pilot projects that would be in line with REF’s strategic framework and contribute to closing the gap. An innovative pilot project is considered one that has not been implemented in the geographic area before and one that encourages change in formal and/or informal education. It could also introduce new technologies, interactive teaching methods, improved resilience of Roma children, trends and practices that would result in enhanced educational outcomes in early childhood, primary or secondary education.

The proposal should include any or all of the following target groups: parents, teachers, students and/or educational institutions. It must incorporate tools to measure the educational achievements and indicators proposed.

Cross-Cutting Priorities

All pilot project proposals should include measurable and lasting improvements aligned with REF’s Strategic Framework and shall:

Advocate for changes in policy development in education and/or employment
Contribute regional knowledge exchange and communication in education and/or employment
Contribute to building an inclusive education system and its desegregation
Integrate gender mainstreaming perspective into the preparation and design of all components of the project
Set grounds for sustainability of the best practices and activities in the proposal
Provide for measurable outcomes to improving educational achievements

Grant Amounts

The minimum requested funding for the innovative pilot projects is EUR 20,000 and the maximum requested funding is EUR 50,000. REF reserves the right to change this amount (increase, decrease) depending on the outcomes of the Call for Proposals.

Timeframe for the Grant Implementation

June 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
The innovative pilot projects should be planned with a duration of maximum 7 months.

Geographical Coverage

This Call for Proposals calls upon non-governmental organizations and institutions registered and operating in the Western Balkans countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply for the grants, the following eligibility criteria apply:

Legally registered non-governmental organization or institution in the above-given country.
Operational capacity: systems and processes for ensuring sound management of funds. At a minimum, an organization needs to have basic accounting and reporting systems and to have been registered and working for at least 2 years.
Proven relevant experience and indicating ability to fulfill the objectives of the action.
Core values in line with REF’s values – tenacity, integrity, justice, accountability and inquisitiveness – including REF’s commitment to integration and gender mainstreaming.
Pilot project proposal should entail innovative activities in the country in question and should not overlap with already existing interventions funded by REF.
Pilot project proposals with school-related activities should be supported with partnership statement(s) between the school(s) and the implementing organization.

Selection Criteria

REF’s Project Management Committee will use the following criteria in the process of reviewing and selecting project proposals, and rank each one by scores 1-5:

Innovation and alignment with REF Strategy
- Creative approach in the project design and methodology aimed at building resilience of Roma students through curricular or extracurricular activities
- Innovative approach in working with beneficiaries and implementation of project activities
- Gender-mainstreaming integrated in the implementation of all project activities
- Alignment with REF’s strategic framework and priorities
Grass-roots involvement and participation
- Experience with Roma community and target groups: REF prioritizes organizations that are rooted in their community and operate with community input and investment
- Roma involvement in planning and management of project: REF prioritizes organizations in which Roma participation is encouraged and valued
- Geographical operation: project activities will be implemented in areas of the project countries which extend REF’s geographical coverage and add new beneficiaries
Future impact
- Potential for scaling-up, replication by local and national institutions; stakeholders’ engagement
- Potential to impact advocacy and policy actions aimed at influencing decisions and changing the discourse towards improved educational systems to benefit Roma
- REF encourages and prioritizes co-financing, voluntary work and in-kind contribution as part of the proposal. All costs should be stated clearly and separately for the whole project duration.
Monitoring
- Well-elaborated Project Implementation and Monitoring Plan to track and measure the progress and project indicators.