The III call for thematic projects in Citizens for Democracy programme starts on September 1. The deadline for the project outlines is October 15, 2014.
The Stefan Batory Foundation in partnership with the Polish Children and Youth Foundation announces the second open call for thematic projects proposals under the Citizens for Democracy Programme for non-governmental organisations, financed by the EEA Grants.
The aim of the Programme is to strengthen civil society development and enhance the contribution of non-governmental organisations to social justice, democracy and sustainable development. Grants offered in the Programme are designed to: foster citizenship, promote democratic values, including human rights; develop advocacy and watchdog role; promote strengthened capacity of NGOs and an enabling environment for the sector; empower vulnerable groups.
The Programme puts a special emphasis on horizontal concerns such as: hate speech, extremism and hate crime, racism and xenophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, tolerance and multicultural understanding, Roma, sexual harassment, violence against women and trafficking.
Eligible applicants
Grants are available to Polish non-governmental organisations, particularly foundations and associations, which: are legal entities registered in the relevant National Court Register; have a non‐commercial purpose; are independent of local, regional and central government, public entities, commercial entities and political parties; are not religious institutions; pursue public interest and abide by the principles of democratic values and human rights.
Organisations may apply for grants individually or as leaders of partnerships with other entities or informal groups from: Poland, the Donor States (Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway), 14 EEA/Norway grants Beneficiary States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia Spain), countries outside the European Economic Area which border on Poland (Belarus, Ukraine, Russia) or with intergovernmental organisations.
Areas of support
Grants will be available for projects within five thematic areas:
- Civic participation – engagement of citizens in public life, increasing participation in public policy and decision making on issues that are relevant at a local and national level;
- Public scrutiny – improvement of good governance, transparency and citizens trust in public institutions;
- Combating discrimination – promotion and protection of human rights, fighting homophobia, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and all types of discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender;
- Counteracting exclusion – extending the scope and forms of support provided to the vulnerable groups at risk of social exclusion and engagement of these groups in the decision making processes;
- Children and youth – education of children and young people on human rights and civic participation, fighting against discrimination, exclusion and marginalisation of children and youth.
Organisations applying for grants may use part of the grant for capacity building.
Amount available in the 3rd call for proposals: EUR 9 138 750.
Grant amounts: PLN 50,000 – 250,000 [ca. EUR 12,500 – 62,500] for organisations which implement projects individually; PLN 50,000 to 350,000 [ca. EUR 12,500 – 87,500] for organisations implementing projects in partnership with other Polish or foreign entities.
Co-financing requirement: minimum 10% of total project costs, including a financial contribution of minimum 50 per cent and an in-kind contribution as voluntary work of maximum 50 per cent of matching funds.
Smaller and less experienced organisations which submit projects of a budget of up to PLN 70,000 [ca. EUR 17,500] and their average spending of the last two years did not exceed PLN 70,000 [ca. EUR 17,500] may receive from the Batory Foundation up to PLN 3 500 [ca EUR 875] required as financial matching contribution.
Project implementation period: in line with the nature of project providing the costs are incurred no later than April 30, 2016.
Application’s timeframe: In the second call for proposals project outlines (in Polish language only) should be filed through the Electronic Application System, accessible from the Programme’ website www.ngofund.org.pl beginning with September 1, 2014, 12.00 (noon) CET. The deadline for submission of projects’ outlines is October 15, 2014, 12.00 (noon) CET.
Decision on selecting project outlines to the second stage of appraisal will be made before December 2, 2014. Detailed project applications will be filed through the Electronic Application System, accessible from the Programme’s website www.ngofund.org.pl from December 2, 12.00 (noon) CET till December 30, 12.00 (noon) CET. Final decision on projects’ selection will be made by February 2, 2015.
Application form and guidelines are available on the Programme’s website: ngofund.org.pl
Project selection procedure
Thematic projects will be assessed in a two-step procedure: first organisations submit project outlines. The organisations whose projects are selected to the second stage will submit detailed project applications. Project outlines and detailed project applications are assessed by independent experts. A recommendation on the list of applications recommended for the grant award is made by the Selection Committee. Based on the recommendations of Selection Committee, a final decision on a list of applications qualified for the grant award is made by the Programme Committee.
Additional information
Detailed information on application procedures, description of selection process (selection criteria and scoring chart, appeal procedure from formal assessment), types of eligible activities and expenditure, payments system as well as application forms are available on the Programme website ngofund.org.pl together with a user guide for applicants and grantees which details step by step requirements related to developing and filing the applications, implementing the projects and reporting on the grants expenditure.
Contact
The Programme Team is available to respond to the questions regarding the thematic scope of the Programme, the application and selection process. All questions sent by email at [email protected] will be answered in two working days. Information will be provided also by phone.
