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 this national call for proposal 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 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:

a)    Promotion of public integrity, accountability and transparency that might include corruption risk assessments and development of mitigation plans in specific sectors;

b)    Strengthening of society’s capacity to perform watchdog and advocacy functions; and

c)    Improving the public’s awareness of citizens’ role in and opportunities to hold their elected representatives and public officials to account.

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 lower than 8 months nor exceed 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 November 2020.

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.

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;
  • discloses 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;
  • creative use of innovative technologies including IT tools will be considered as an advantage;
  • willingness to engage/cooperate with regional/ local CSOs will be an advantage;
  • engaging young men and women, empowering women leadership, inclusion of vulnerable populations, if possible, will be an advantage.

How to apply

The applicants are required to fill out the proposal and budget forms in English language (Annex 1 Full project proposal template and Annex 2 Budget template). The full proposal with the budget shall be submitted at e-mail: grants@ukraine-aci.com with the subject: Response to 2020 EUACI Call for CSO Proposals.

Deadline for proposals submission is October 16, 2020 18:00 Kyiv time. The proposals either received after the deadline or incomplete, without detailed budget won’t be considered.

Questions

Questions in English for the call for proposal should be submitted at grants@ukraine-aci.com no later than September 25, 2020 18:00 Kyiv time, indicating clearly the title of this call for proposals. The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative has a right not to provide clarifications to questions received after the deadline. Replies will be posted on the EUACI website by September 30, 2020 18:00 Kyiv time.  To ensure transparency and fairness of the application process, the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative cannot give a 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

Answers to applicants' questions regarding full proposal with the budget submission