Call for Proposals: Reclaiming Power (WPS) in Palestine

Deadline: 23-Jun-2026

UN Women Palestine Office, with funding from the Government of Norway, is seeking proposals for projects that strengthen Palestinian women’s leadership, participation, and influence in humanitarian response, peacebuilding, governance, and decision-making processes. The two-year initiative, funded under the “Reclaiming Power” programme, offers grants ranging from USD 100,000 to USD 160,000 to support women-led peacebuilding networks, mediation capacity-building, policy engagement, and innovative platforms that amplify women’s voices.

Program Overview

UN Women Palestine Office has launched a call for proposals under the three-year programme, “Reclaiming Power: Advancing Gender Justice and Women’s Leadership for Sustainable Peace and Recovery in Palestine.” The initiative aims to strengthen the leadership, protection, participation, and influence of Palestinian women and girls across humanitarian, development, recovery, peacebuilding, and governance processes.

The programme recognizes the critical role that women-led organizations, women’s rights organizations, and grassroots women leaders play in responding to crises, strengthening social cohesion, promoting peace, and supporting community recovery. Despite facing significant challenges related to conflict, displacement, economic instability, and protection risks, Palestinian women continue to contribute to humanitarian action, dialogue, mediation, and recovery efforts.

Through this funding opportunity, UN Women seeks to expand women’s meaningful participation in decision-making structures and peacebuilding processes while strengthening local ownership, sustainability, and gender-responsive governance mechanisms.

Focus Areas

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following priority areas:

• Increasing women’s leadership in humanitarian response and recovery processes.
• Strengthening women’s participation in political and decision-making spaces.
• Enhancing women’s engagement in peacebuilding and conflict resolution initiatives.
• Supporting women’s participation in local committees and governance structures.
• Establishing and strengthening dialogue platforms and coordination mechanisms.
• Building mediation and negotiation skills among women leaders.
• Supporting networks of young women peacebuilders and mediators.
• Promoting women’s representation in national dialogue processes.
• Creating innovative approaches that amplify women’s voices.
• Strengthening gender equality advocacy and women’s rights movements.
• Supporting policy dialogue and public engagement initiatives.
• Enhancing collaboration among women-led organizations and peacebuilding actors.

The programme promotes inclusive, participatory, and locally driven approaches that advance gender equality and sustainable peace.

Funding Information

Key funding details include:

• Minimum grant amount: USD 100,000.
• Maximum grant amount: USD 160,000.
• Project duration: Two years.
• Expected project start: Third quarter of 2026.
• Expected project completion: Third quarter of 2028.
• Funding source:
  • Government of Norway.
  • UN Women Palestine Office.
• Program framework:
  • Reclaiming Power: Advancing Gender Justice and Women’s Leadership for Sustainable Peace and Recovery in Palestine.

Funding is intended to support activities that strengthen women’s participation, leadership, mediation capacity, peacebuilding engagement, and influence in decision-making processes.

Program Objectives

The initiative seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Increase women’s meaningful participation in humanitarian and peacebuilding processes.
• Strengthen women’s leadership in governance and decision-making structures.
• Improve women’s influence on policy dialogue and recovery processes.
• Enhance mediation and negotiation capacities among women leaders.
• Strengthen women-led networks and coalitions.
• Promote inclusive and gender-responsive peacebuilding.
• Support youth leadership and women’s civic engagement.
• Create sustainable platforms for women’s participation.
• Amplify women’s voices in public discourse and national conversations.
• Advance gender justice and women’s rights in Palestine.

These objectives contribute to broader efforts to strengthen social cohesion, peacebuilding, recovery, and inclusive governance.

Priority Activities

Successful applicants will be expected to implement activities such as:

National Network of Young Women Peacebuilders and Mediators

• Establish and strengthen a national network of young women peacebuilders.
• Build on UN Women Palestine’s existing database of trained women leaders.
• Facilitate networking, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
• Support peer learning and leadership development.

Mediation and Negotiation Capacity Building

• Deliver training programmes on mediation and negotiation.
• Strengthen conflict resolution skills among women leaders.
• Develop local mediation capacities within targeted communities.
• Engage trained young women leaders as facilitators and co-trainers.

Participation in Governance and Recovery Processes

• Support women’s engagement in local committees.
• Strengthen participation in national dialogue platforms.
• Facilitate involvement in early recovery and reconstruction initiatives.
• Promote women’s leadership in community decision-making structures.

Innovative Engagement and Advocacy Platforms

Organizations are encouraged to develop innovative approaches such as:

• Digital engagement platforms.
• Storytelling and narrative change initiatives.
• Innovation hubs.
• Public awareness campaigns.
• National forums and dialogue events.
• Online participation mechanisms.
• Community engagement platforms.
• Policy advocacy initiatives.

These activities should contribute to increasing visibility, influence, and participation of women in public and policy spaces.

Expected Results

The programme seeks to generate measurable outcomes that strengthen women’s leadership and participation.

Expected results include:

• Increased participation of women in humanitarian and peacebuilding processes.
• Stronger women-led networks and coalitions.
• Enhanced mediation and negotiation skills among women leaders.
• Greater representation of women in local and national decision-making structures.
• Improved opportunities for young women peacebuilders and mediators.
• Increased public visibility of women’s perspectives and priorities.
• Stronger engagement of women in recovery and reconstruction efforts.
• Expanded access to inclusive dialogue platforms.
• Improved collaboration among women’s organizations and stakeholders.
• Greater influence of women on policy discussions and public discourse.

These outcomes are intended to contribute to long-term peacebuilding, recovery, and gender equality efforts in Palestine.

Who is Eligible?

Eligible organizations should demonstrate experience and expertise in areas such as:

• Women, Peace and Security (WPS) programming.
• Peacebuilding initiatives.
• Conflict resolution and mediation.
• Women’s leadership development.
• Capacity-building and training.
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Civic participation and governance.
• Network and coalition development.
• Digital engagement and advocacy initiatives.
• Community mobilization and public participation.

Applicants should also demonstrate:

• An established presence in target communities.
• Strong relationships with local stakeholders.
• Capacity to manage and implement grant-funded projects.
• Experience working with women-led and community-based organizations.
• Commitment to local ownership and sustainability.
• Ability to deliver measurable results.

Organizations with proven experience in women’s rights and peacebuilding programming will be particularly well positioned.

How to Apply

• Review the programme objectives and eligibility requirements.
• Assess organizational experience and alignment with Women, Peace and Security priorities.
• Design a project that addresses one or more of the programme focus areas.
• Develop a detailed implementation plan and results framework.
• Include strategies for sustainability and local ownership.
• Prepare a realistic budget within the USD 100,000–160,000 range.
• Demonstrate expertise in women’s leadership, peacebuilding, mediation, or governance.
• Outline monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches.
• Submit a complete proposal according to UN Women’s requirements.

Strong proposals will demonstrate innovation, sustainability, community engagement, and measurable impact.

Why This Program Matters

Palestinian women continue to face significant barriers to participation in political, humanitarian, peacebuilding, and decision-making processes. Ongoing conflict, displacement, economic challenges, and protection concerns have further intensified these obstacles.

At the same time, women and women-led organizations remain essential actors in humanitarian response, community resilience, peacebuilding, and recovery efforts. Their leadership contributes to stronger social cohesion, more inclusive governance, and sustainable peace outcomes.

This programme helps address existing gaps by investing in women’s leadership, strengthening mediation and negotiation skills, expanding participation opportunities, and creating platforms that ensure women’s voices are heard and valued in public and policy discussions.

The initiative also aligns with global Women, Peace and Security commitments, gender equality frameworks, and inclusive peacebuilding principles.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Submitting proposals that do not clearly address Women, Peace and Security objectives.
• Failing to demonstrate experience in peacebuilding or women’s leadership programming.
• Weak sustainability and local ownership plans.
• Insufficient stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Lack of measurable indicators and outcomes.
• Limited attention to youth engagement and leadership development.
• Budgets that fall outside the approved funding range.
• Overly broad activities without clear implementation plans.
• Inadequate monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the purpose of this funding opportunity?

The programme aims to strengthen Palestinian women’s leadership, participation, and influence in humanitarian, governance, decision-making, recovery, and peacebuilding processes.

Who is funding the programme?

The initiative is funded by the Government of Norway and implemented by UN Women Palestine Office through the Reclaiming Power programme.

How much funding is available?

Projects must have a proposed budget between USD 100,000 and USD 160,000.

How long can projects run?

Selected projects will be implemented over a two-year period, beginning in the third quarter of 2026 and ending in the third quarter of 2028.

What types of activities are encouraged?

Eligible activities include mediation training, peacebuilding initiatives, women’s leadership development, network strengthening, policy engagement, governance participation, digital engagement platforms, advocacy campaigns, and dialogue initiatives.

What is the role of young women peacebuilders in the programme?

The programme supports the creation and strengthening of a national network of young women peacebuilders and mediators, while also engaging qualified young women as trainers and facilitators in capacity-building activities.

Why is women’s participation in peacebuilding important?

Research consistently shows that inclusive peacebuilding processes that involve women contribute to more sustainable peace agreements, stronger social cohesion, improved governance, and more effective recovery efforts.

Conclusion

The UN Women Palestine call for proposals provides a significant opportunity for organizations working in women’s leadership, peacebuilding, mediation, and gender equality to strengthen women’s participation across humanitarian, governance, and peacebuilding processes. Through grants ranging from USD 100,000 to USD 160,000, the programme supports innovative, locally driven initiatives that build women’s leadership, strengthen networks, expand participation opportunities, and amplify women’s voices in public and policy spaces. By investing in women-led peacebuilding and decision-making, the initiative contributes to more inclusive recovery, stronger communities, and sustainable peace in Palestine.

For more information, visit UN Women.