The EUACI is a collaborative initiative funded by the European Union and the Government of Denmark, with the aim of supporting Ukraine in its efforts to reduce corruption at both national and local levels. The new phase, launched in January 2024, focuses on key strategic objectives: reducing corruption in Ukraine, advancing anticorruption reforms, and implementing reconstruction efforts in war-affected areas with a strong emphasis on transparency, accountability, and integrity.
The EUACI operates across four intervention areas:
- Support to independent state institutions fighting and preventing corruption
- Transparency and accountability of the reconstruction process
- Support for cities in war-affected areas to enhance integrity in the reconstruction process
- Civil society and media engagement in preventing and fighting corruption
National Call for Supporting Anticorruption Advocacy and Analytics Regarding EU Accession is announced under intervention area 4.
Background on the grant competition
Following the granting to Ukraine of EU candidate status in June 2022, and successful completion of seven steps outlined by the European Commission, in December 2023, the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. On 25 June 2024, the EU held its first intergovernmental conference with Ukraine, formally opening the membership negotiations. Bilateral meetings on chapters of the EU acquis have been taking place to present Ukraine’s level of alignment with the EU acquis.
As of today, Ukraine is in an active negotiation process regarding accession to the EU in accordance with 35 Chapters of EU acquis – Chapters of the acquis – European Commission most of which are currently undergoing a screening.
Chapter 23 includes a part dedicated to anti-corruption policy. Also, the Negotiating Framework for Ukraine highlights anti-corruption mainstreaming throughout all the relevant chapters of acquis: a chapter will not be provisionally closed before sufficient anti-corruption policies in that specific chapter are being implemented. At this stage, Ukraine and the European Commission conduct bilateral meetings to assess the level of Ukraine’s compliance with the EU acquis, standards and policies. Based on the outcome of these meetings, the screening reports would be prepared, identifying priorities of key reforms.
To support Ukraine and the Ukrainian civil society’s engagement in the framework of EU negotiations and anti-corruption, the EUACI launches this grant competition to support research into the anti-corruption policies relevant for selected negotiating chapters, along with advocacy and communication activities. Please note that the focus of the announced call is mainly on the following Chapters of EU Acquis: Chapter 15: Energy; Chapter 16: Taxation; Chapter 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments; Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights; Chapter 24: Justise, freedom and security; Chapter 26: Education and Culture.
Please note! Activities related to other Chapters may be also included in the project proposals.
Please note that “anti-corruption policies” or “anti-corruption activities” are considered broadly: they are not limited to explicit anti-corruption mechanisms and tools, but could also include sectoral measures which significantly contribute to mitigation of corruption risks and elimination of corruption practices.
The goal of this competition is to support research on anti-corruption policies relevant for selected negotiating chapters, along with advocacy and communication activities.
Additionally, this grant call aims to involve the anticorruption activities not only anticorruption NGOs but also think tanks, advocacy organizations, and NGOs working in the EU integration and/or working in the sectors relevant for negotiating chapters, etc.; encourage the broader civil society sector to actively engage in preventing and combating corruption. Please not that that applications from CSOs consortiums are encouraged.
The main tasks for supporting NGOs through a grant competition:
- Support NGOs and think tanks in their advocacy and communication activities related to EU integration efforts, focusing on anti-corruption measures.
- Monitor and assess Ukraine’s progress in implementing anti-corruption measures under relevant negotiating chapters.
- Track the implementation of relevant anti-corruption policies and advocacy efforts for such policies within selected chapters of the EU Acquis.
- Research of corruption and anti-corruption measures in the areas covered by the selected negotiating chapters (e.g., to identify corruption risks and practices, to propose relevant sectoral measures to address such risks, etc.).
Proposed activities may include:
Advocacy and communication
Support NGOs and think tanks in their advocacy and communication activities related to EU integration efforts, focused on anticorruption activities.
Monitoring and Assessment
Review Ukraine’s progress in formulation and implementation of anti-corruption policies and measures under the relevant selected negotiating chapters.
Research and Analysis
Research and analysis of corruption and anti-corruption measures in the areas covered by the selected negotiating chapters (e.g., to identify corruption risks and practices, to propose relevant sectoral measures to address such risks, to assess the results or the impact of anti-corruption measures, etc.).
Monitoring of implementation of anti-corruption policies during the negotiation process
Advocacy, monitoring and assessment of implementation of anti-corruption policy measures provided in the Rule of Law Roadmap, recommendations from the Enlargement Package, other documents of the EU institutions.
Budget
300 000 EUR. It is expected to support 3-4 grants. The optimum size of the grant is up to 80,000 EUR. The maximum size of the grant is 100,000 EUR.
Grant budget structure
- Salary and fees for the staff (executive director, deputy executive director, accountant, communication manager, project manager, etc.) and external experts.
- Program activities (conducting events, translation services, communication, printing etc.).
- Administrative services (office rent, bank fees, project audit).
Selection process
Applicant eligibility criteria
To be eligible for a grant, the applicant must:
- be a legal entity officially registered according to Ukrainian legislation
- be a nonprofit civil society organization with codes 0032, 0034, 0036, 0038, 0039.
- have proven organizational capacity to manage and implement grants.
The full proposal with the budget will be evaluated against the following criteria:
- compliance with formal selection criteria.
- relevance to the goal and objectives of the call for proposals.
- the level of the thematic expertise of the organization and experience in the anticorruption sphere.
- the level of the sustainability of the organization.
- well-structured and clear project proposal with measurable outcomes and outputs of the proposed project.
- the budget is reasonable and clearly outlines costs; the budget items are explained adequately in the narrative.
The evaluation and selection of grant proposals will be conducted by the Selection Committee in accordance with the specified criteria. The committee comprises external experts and members of the EUACI management team.
Timelines
The project must be submitted no later than February 7, 2025 23:59 Kyiv time.
The information about the competition result will be published no later than March 17, 2025.
The grant agreements are expected to be signed no later than mid-April 2025.
The applicant may start the project between April and October 2025.
The project duration is up to 15 months and must conclude by October 2026.
How to apply
The applicants are required to complete the proposal and budget forms in English language (ANNEX 3. Project Proposal and ANNEX 2. Project Budget forms). The proposal with the budget shall be submitted by e-mail to: [email protected] with the subject: National Call for Supporting Anticorruption Advocacy and Analytics Regarding EU Accession.
Note to Applicants
If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt for your application within 3 working days, please contact EUACI at [email protected].
Deadline for proposal with the budget submission is February, 7, 2024 23:59 Kyiv time. The proposal either received after the deadline or incomplete, without detailed budget will not be considered.
Grant call presentation. The presentation of the grant call in online and offline format is planned on January, 20 at 1 pm. The online broadcasting will be available at EUACI YouTube chanel and EUACI Facebook page The registration link on the event https://forms.gle/vyvxLVA4y8USbHMP6
Questions in English or Ukrainian for National Call for Supporting Anticorruption Advocacy and Analytics Regarding EU Accession should be submitted to: [email protected] no later than February, 5, 2025 17:00 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. 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.
