Deadline: 23/06/24
The Political and Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon, announces an open competition for experienced Cameroon-based Civil Society Organizations that are working in the areas of Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights to submit applications under the FY 2023 Africa Regional Democracy Fund program, that will advance human rights systems, policies, and protection; and elections and political processes.
Program Objectives
- The overall goal is to enhance inclusive democratic participation of vulnerable groups in the 2025 elections and strengthening mechanisms for the respect of human rights in Cameroon.
- Proposals should address one of the below objectives:
- Objective 1: Promote electoral transparency and increase the participation of youth, women, and vulnerable groups (internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous groups, the LGBTQI+ community) in democratic processes leading up to the 2025 elections.
- Objective 2: Strengthen the rule of law, promote social justice, and protect the rights of children, detainees, vulnerable women, indigenous and minority groups including LGBTQI+ persons.
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $600,000
- Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $24,000 to a maximum of $100,000 for Elections and maximum of $50,000 for Human Rights.
- Length of performance period: 12 months
- Number of awards anticipated: Eight to 14 awards (dependent on amounts)
- Anticipated program start date: September 2024
Expected Results
- Specific results could include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Increased voter participation.
- Increase in number of voter cards distributed to individual voters.
- Fewer incidents of human rights violations during the electoral process.
- Fair and peaceful electoral process before, during, and after the 2025 elections.
- Increase in availability of reliable information on pre-electoral, electoral, and post-electoral activities.
- Events surrounding the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections are documented and reported by observers.
- Increase of civic education resources available through social media.
- LGBTQI+ community members in rural areas are able to advocate for and monitor respect for their human rights.
- Increased civil documentation for vulnerable populations.
Possible Activities
- To achieve the goals and expected results, project activities could include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Educational campaigns in rural communities on the importance of voter registration, and voter card collection.
- Training of leaders of youth, women, indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ groups to lead civic education among their peers and to foster their participation in the electoral process as voters or political candidates.
- Training and deployment of youth and journalists on elections observation and reporting.
- Facilitating access to public information during the pre-electoral, electoral, and post-electoral periods.
- Capacity strengthening of actors in the judicial/child protection chain and law enforcement officials in the application of international and regional legal instruments on child protection.
- Development of processes to facilitate the issuance of civil documents for vulnerable populations.
Performance Indicators
- The following indicators, as relevant to the project’s specific objectives, are required. Applicants are welcome to propose other indicators relevant to the primary objectives and expected results of the project. These should be reflected in the Performance Monitoring Plan as described below.
- Number of groups trained in conflict mediation/resolution skills or consensus-building techniques with USG assistance.
- Number of individuals receiving voter education through USG-assisted programs.
- Number of individuals receiving civic education through USG-assisted programs.
- Number of USG-assisted political parties implementing initiatives to increase the number of candidates and/or members who are women, youth and from marginalized groups.
- Number of USG-supported activities designed to promote or strengthen the civic participation of women.
- Number of human rights organizations trained and supported.
Participants and Audiences
- The intended target audiences should be CSOs active in human rights, democracy, and governance issues; administrative authorities; local leaders; local populations, including vulnerable populations as described above; and survivors of human rights violations.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Africa Regional Democracy Fund program is limited to Cameroonian local registered Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with at least two years of experience working in the areas of Democracy, Governance and Human Rights.
- Organizations and entities with a prior history of poor performance of U.S. government grants are ineligible for this funding.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.