National Call for CSO Proposals (Component 3)

The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI), funded by the European Union, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, consolidates efforts directed at assisting Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms. The EUACI programme objective is “reduction of corruption in Ukraine at national and local level through the empowerment of citizens, civil society, businesses and state institutions”. To contribute to this objective, the programme supports three specific objectives: 1) enhanced independence, effectiveness and resilience of anti-corruption institutions functioning within a sound strategic framework (Component 1); 2) reduced corruption at the local level in Integrity Cities and in other cities (Component 2); 3) increased culture of integrity issues in Ukraine through engagement of the business sector, the civil society and the media (Component 3).

The overall goal of the call for CSO proposals under Component 3 is to encourage and support Ukraine’s civil society, business community, and media in the efforts to promote a culture of integrity in the management of public affairs in Ukraine.

The specific objective of the call for CSO proposals under Component 3 is to support strategic and innovative project initiatives from Ukraine’s civil society, investigative media and business networks that are likely to deliver concrete and measurable results in one or more of the following fields:

1. Engaging citizens in promotion of accountability and transparency in public procurement and privatization;
2. Investigative media uncovering corruption and unveiling oligarchs’ influence;
3. Monitoring of political integrity and implementation of deoligarchization law;
4. Raising awareness about implementation of state anti-corruption programme;
5. Enhancing business integrity and ethics; and
6. Monitoring independence of anti-corruption institutions.

Applicant eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible for a grant the applicant must:

• be a legal entity and
• be a non-profit-making and
• be a civil society organization and
• be established in Ukraine.

Timeframe

The applicants can propose projects which may not be neither less than 8 months nor longer 15 months. Projects outside these parameters will be considered, but the reasoning for such a deviation must be justified by the applicant.

Implementation of the proposed projects should start no earlier than March 2022.

Budget

Projects must be between EURO 80,000 and EURO 150,000. Please note that grants are contingent upon the availability of funds.

Selection process

Priority will be given to projects that are nation-wide in scope and will deliver new and practical tools or ways of promoting a culture of integrity in the management of public affairs and engaging citizens.

The full proposal with the budget will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• relevance to the stated goal and objectives of the call for proposals;
• measurable outcomes and outputs of the proposed project;
• prospects of impact and sustainability;

• previous experience in the field of implementation anti-corruption projects, esp. areas 

  on which project proposal is focused; includes previous donors’ funding history;

• the budget is reasonable and clearly outlines costs, the budget items are explained 

  adequately in the narrative;

• the geographical reach of the project: beyond Kyiv and Kyiv oblast, whole country or 

  focusing on several regions;
• strategy for documenting and communicating results;

• application of innovative and creative approach including creative use of innovative 

  technologies will be considered as an advantage;

• willingness to engage/cooperate with regional/ local CSOs will be considered as an 

  advantage;

• engaging young men and women, empowering women leadership, inclusion of 

  vulnerable populations, if possible, will be considered as an advantage.

The steps and criteria involved in evaluating individual project proposals are described in document titled “Appendix A. Evaluation Procedures – 2021 National Call for CSO Proposals under Component 3.”

How to apply

The applicants are required to fill out the proposal and budget forms in English language (ANNEX 2. Project Proposal and ANNEX 3. Project Budget forms). The proposal with the budget shall be submitted at e-mail: [email protected] with the subject: Response to 2021 National Call for CSO proposals under Component 3.

Deadline for proposal with the budget submission is October 21, 2021 18:00 Kyiv time. The proposal either received after the deadline or incomplete, without detailed budget will not be considered.

Questions

Questions in English for the national call for CSO proposals under Component 3 should be submitted to: [email protected] no later than September 30, 2021 18:00 Kyiv time, indicating clearly the title of this call for proposals. The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative reserves the right to not provide clarifications to questions received after the deadline. Replies will be posted on the EUACI website by October 7, 2021 18:00 Kyiv time. To ensure transparency and fairness of the application process, the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative cannot express any prior opinion on the eligibility of applicants, proposed actions or specific activities. No individual replies will be given to questions. All questions and answers as well as other important notices to applicants during the evaluation process will be posted on the EUACI website https://euaci.eu/.