OPD-led Small Grants for Disability Inclusion in Mongolia

Deadline: 31-Aug-2026

The OPD-led Small Grants for Disability Inclusion in Mongolia, launched by the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, supports Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Mongolia to implement community-led projects that advance disability equality, inclusion, participation, and accessibility. Grants of up to US$4,000 can support practical initiatives addressing discrimination, inclusive public participation, arts and culture, sport, climate action, and disaster risk reduction.

About the OPD-led Small Grants Programme

The programme is designed to strengthen the role of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in creating more inclusive communities and public services in Mongolia.

The funding prioritizes projects that are led and governed by persons with disabilities and respond directly to locally identified needs.

Projects should generate practical results as well as lessons that can be shared to improve disability-inclusive policies, services, and community practices.

Key Objectives

The grant programme aims to:

• Promote disability equality and inclusion.
• Strengthen meaningful participation of persons with disabilities.
• Address discrimination and exclusion.
• Increase the involvement of persons with disabilities in public decision-making.
• Improve accessibility of community activities and services.
• Support inclusive arts, culture, media, and sport.
• Promote disability-inclusive climate action.
• Strengthen disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction.
• Generate evidence and lessons for more inclusive communities.

Priority Areas

Applicants can develop projects around several priority areas.

Public Decision-Making

Projects may increase the participation of persons with disabilities in:

• Local decision-making.
• Community planning.
• Public consultations.
• Policy discussions.
• Civic engagement.

Arts, Culture and Media

Projects can use arts, culture, and media to:

• Promote disability equality.
• Challenge stereotypes.
• Increase visibility of persons with disabilities.
• Encourage inclusive cultural participation.
• Improve disability representation in media.

Combating Discrimination

Projects may address:

• Discriminatory practices.
• Social exclusion.
• Negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities.
• Barriers to accessing community services.
• Practices that prevent meaningful participation.

Inclusive Sport

Funding can support inclusive sports activities that promote:

• Leadership.
• Participation.
• Community integration.
• Confidence and skills development.
• Equal opportunities in sport.

Climate Action and Disaster Risk Reduction

Projects can promote disability-inclusive approaches to:

• Climate change adaptation.
• Disaster preparedness.
• Emergency planning.
• Community resilience.
• Accessible disaster risk reduction.

Funding Available

The maximum grant available is:

• US$4,000 per selected project

Funding should be directly connected to the proposed activities and demonstrate good value for money.

Who Is Eligible?

The lead applicant must be an Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) that:

• Is established and operating in Mongolia.
• Is led by persons with disabilities.
• Is directed and governed by persons with disabilities.
• Has the capacity to implement the proposed project.

The OPD must be the lead applicant and grant recipient.

Who Can Participate as a Partner?

Other organisations may participate as project partners but cannot be the lead applicant or receive the grant directly.

Potential partners include:

• Civil society organisations.
• Service providers.
• Schools.
• Cultural institutions.
• Local authorities.
• Other relevant community organisations.

Partnerships should provide clear additional value to the project.

Key Eligibility Requirements

Proposals should:

• Address a clearly identified local need.
• Align with relevant national or subnational priorities.
• Demonstrate meaningful participation of persons with disabilities.
• Include accessibility and reasonable accommodation.
• Apply a gender-responsive approach.
• Include safeguarding measures.
• Document project results and lessons.
• Consider environmental responsibility.
• Demonstrate value for money.

What Can the Grant Pay For?

Eligible expenditure can include costs directly related to proposed project activities, such as:

• Accessible venue costs.
• Interpretation services.
• Captioning.
• Sign-language services.
• Accessible information formats.
• Personal assistance.
• Local transportation.
• Participant-related costs.
• Facilitator costs.
• Technical expertise.
• Project materials.
• Communications.
• Documentation.
• Small-scale accessibility improvements.
• Essential equipment.
• Justified administrative costs.

All costs should be necessary, reasonable, and directly connected to the project.

How to Apply

Applicants should prepare their proposal around a clearly identified disability inclusion challenge and demonstrate how the project will create practical community-level change.

Step 1: Identify the Local Need

Clearly explain:

• What disability-related problem exists?
• Who is affected?
• Why does the problem require action?
• What evidence demonstrates the need?

Step 2: Define the Project Solution

Describe the proposed activities and explain how they will address the identified problem.

The project should have realistic and measurable outcomes.

Step 3: Ensure OPD Leadership

The OPD should demonstrate meaningful leadership throughout:

• Project design.
• Decision-making.
• Implementation.
• Monitoring.
• Evaluation.
• Documentation of lessons.

Step 4: Develop an Accessible Project Design

Applicants should explain how persons with different disabilities will be able to participate.

This may include:

• Sign-language interpretation.
• Captioning.
• Accessible documents.
• Personal assistance.
• Accessible venues.
• Accessible transportation arrangements.

Step 5: Develop the Workplan and Budget

Prepare:

• Detailed workplan.
• Project timeline.
• Itemised budget.
• Team responsibilities.
• Partner responsibilities.
• Expected outputs and outcomes.

Step 6: Prepare Required Documents

Applications should include:

• Organisational profile.
• Proof of legal status.
• Team details.
• Partner information, where applicable.
• Technical proposal.
• Workplan.
• Itemised budget.

How Proposals Will Be Assessed

UNESCO will first review applications for eligibility and completeness.

Eligible proposals will then be assessed against the programme’s selection criteria.

Important considerations include:

• Relevance to disability inclusion.
• Clearly defined local need.
• Meaningful participation of persons with disabilities.
• Accessibility.
• Gender responsiveness.
• Safeguarding.
• Expected results and impact.
• Documentation and learning.
• Environmental responsibility.
• Value for money.
• Organisational and implementation capacity.

What Happens After Selection?

Selected OPDs will have reporting and implementation responsibilities.

They may be required to provide:

• An inception package.
• Evidence of project implementation.
• Outputs in accessible formats.
• Progress updates.
• Documentation showing participation.
• Results and lessons learned.
• Accessible showcase materials where agreed.
• Final narrative report.
• Final financial report using UNESCO templates.

UNESCO may request additional clarification or revisions during the assessment and negotiation process.

Final selection is subject to:

• Due diligence.
• Availability of funds.
• Successful agreement finalisation.

Why This Opportunity Matters

This funding opportunity places persons with disabilities at the centre of project leadership and decision-making.

It can help OPDs:

• Strengthen disability rights advocacy.
• Increase community participation.
• Challenge discrimination.
• Improve accessibility.
• Develop inclusive public services.
• Promote disability representation in arts and media.
• Expand inclusive sports opportunities.
• Strengthen climate and disaster resilience.
• Generate evidence that can inform future policies and programmes.

The programme is particularly valuable because it supports community-led solutions rather than approaches designed solely by external organisations.

Tips for Preparing a Strong Application

Applicants should:

• Clearly define the local disability inclusion problem.
• Explain why the proposed solution is appropriate for the community.
• Demonstrate strong OPD leadership.
• Make accessibility costs visible in the budget.
• Explain how persons with disabilities will participate throughout the project.
• Include realistic activities and measurable results.
• Clearly define partner responsibilities.
• Demonstrate value for money.
• Explain how lessons learned will be documented and shared.
• Ensure all required documents are complete.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should avoid:

• Allowing a non-OPD organisation to serve as the lead applicant.
• Designing activities without meaningful participation of persons with disabilities.
• Treating accessibility as an optional component.
• Providing an unclear or poorly justified budget.
• Failing to identify a specific local need.
• Including activities unrelated to the project’s disability inclusion objectives.
• Ignoring gender responsiveness or safeguarding.
• Failing to explain expected results.
• Submitting incomplete organisational or legal documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the OPD-led Small Grants Programme?

It is a UNESCO-supported grant programme for Organizations of Persons with Disabilities in Mongolia to implement community-led projects promoting disability equality, inclusion, accessibility, and meaningful participation.

How much funding is available?

The maximum grant amount is US$4,000.

Who can apply as the lead applicant?

The lead applicant must be an Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) established and operating in Mongolia and led, directed, and governed by persons with disabilities.

Can NGOs or schools apply directly?

No. Civil society organisations, schools, service providers, cultural institutions, and local authorities can participate as partners, but they cannot be the lead applicant or grant recipient.

What types of projects can be supported?

Priority areas include public decision-making, arts and culture, media, combating discrimination, inclusive sport, climate action, and disaster risk reduction.

Can accessibility costs be included?

Yes. Eligible costs can include interpretation, captioning, sign-language services, accessible formats, personal assistance, accessible venues, local travel, and small-scale accessibility improvements when directly related to project activities.

What reporting is required from selected OPDs?

Selected organisations may need to provide an inception package, implementation evidence, accessible outputs, progress updates, participation and results documentation, and final narrative and financial reports using UNESCO templates.

Conclusion

The OPD-led Small Grants for Disability Inclusion in Mongolia provides up to US$4,000 for Organizations of Persons with Disabilities to lead practical, community-based initiatives that promote disability equality and inclusion. Strong applications should demonstrate OPD leadership, a clearly defined local need, meaningful participation, accessibility, gender responsiveness, safeguarding, measurable results, and responsible use of funding.

For more information, visit UNESCO.