Deadline: 1-Oct-20
The International Visegrad Fund is inviting applications for its 2020 Visegrad+ Grants Program to support projects which contribute to the democratization and transformation processes in selected countries and regions, especially non-EU member states in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership countries.
Objectives
To apply for Visegrad+ Grants, your project must address one of the objectives of the grant program from one of seven focus areas eligible for funding.
- Culture and Common Identity
- Increased awareness of cultural diversity and cross-border intercultural dialogue
- Increased awareness of common heritage, including history and contemporary art
- Increased promotion of common identity and heritage inside and outside of the V4 region
- A larger volume of common cultural productions reaching out to new audiences
- Education and Capacity Building
- Improved hard /soft skills for better access to the labor market, lifelong learning, and internship programs
- Strengthened cooperation among educational institutions
- Increase in the volume of common formal, informal, and non-formal educational tools and teacher training opportunities
- Increased sharing of best practices in the dialog among decision-making bodies, municipalities, schools, and families
- Innovation, R&D, Entrepreneurship
- Increase in B2B networks with an emphasis on the development of SMEs and start-ups
- Improved ecosystem for business and social business development at the regional level
- Development of regional networks/clusters of SMEs, academia, and research institutions with a long-lasting impact
- Increased science popularization on the regional level with emphasis on youth
- Increased promotion of joint V4 R&D projects outside of the V4 region
- (EaP) Launching or strengthening political, economic, and social cooperation between cross-border regions in the spirit of micro-regional cooperation and enhancing connectivity. Improving living standards of cross-border regions, also exploiting possibilities provided by new technologies (digitalization)
- Democratic Values and the Media
- Increased participation of citizens in the democratic system
- Increased awareness of transparency as a norm in society, professionalization of transparency of justice, fight against corruption
- Providing a safer environment and capacity-building for whistleblowers, fact-checkers, investigative journalists, and other watchdogs
- The increased volume of media coverage in V4/Western Balkans/EaP region about regionally-relevant topics increased access to information
- Improved media and information literacy for increased resilience towards biased reporting, disinformation, and propaganda
- (EaP) Empowering the most vulnerable (e.g. women, children, youth, refugees, and/or IDPs) in conflict and post-conflict situations including through their participation in peacebuilding processes
- (WB) Regional cooperation and reconciliation in the WB region
- Public Policy and Institutional Partnership
- Increased awareness and active involvement of civil society in policy-making processes with emphasis on youth
- Increased capacity building of civil servants
- Creating new approaches to existing regional public challenges
- Creating common advocacy strategies addressing regional issues
- (EaP) Rule of law and good governance; building the necessary central and local administration system with the involvement of the civil society
- (WB) Migration, border control, fight against corruption and organized crime
- Regional Development, Environment, and Tourism
- Increased number of town/municipality twinning initiatives
- Increased awareness, education, and improve regional strategies on environmental protection, climate change, and sustainable development
- Diversification of tourism by increasing the range and quality of regional products and services
- (EaP) Competitive economies and economic modernization as the basis for stable and sustainable development, social welfare, and integration to international markets. The role of education, research, and innovation in realizing these goals.
- (WB) Environment and sustainable development
- Social Development
- Promotion of tolerant and inclusive mindset in society, protection of minorities
- Deepened inter-generational understanding and dialogue
- Improved regional strategy and policy for demographic and other social and economic challenges
- Increased awareness and practice of a healthy and active lifestyle and reduction of substance abuse
- (EaP) Strengthening the resilience of conflict-affected communities through the support of health, education, livelihood, and job-training.
- (EaP) objectives apply only to projects to be implemented in Eastern Partnership countries.
- (WB) objectives apply only to projects to be implemented in Western Balkans countries.
Conditions
- Projects must develop meaningful cooperation and ensure active involvement of at least 3 V4 countries and 1 entity from the EaP region or the Western Balkans countries at a minimum regardless of the applicant
- The maximum duration of project implementation is 18 months
- Grants cover up to 100% of project budget with a maximum 15% of the requested sum for overheads
Eligibility Criteria
- The consortium of organizations of which 3 or more are based in different Visegrad countries
- All types of non-governmental, civil society organizations (CSOs); municipalities and local governments; schools, higher education institutions; research and scientific bodies, and public institutions are eligible as a lead partner (applicant) and partners in the consortia
- Market actors, e.g. companies – especially innovation and startup related actors – with a legal entity are also eligible, but only if their Visegrad project is of nonprofit character.
For more information, visit https://www.visegradfund.org/apply/grants/visegrad-plus-grants/