1. BACKGROUND 

The present Call for Proposals (CfP) is administered by UNDP projects «Civil Society and Youth Support», which is part of the UNDP Democratic Governance Programme. Through this Programme UNDP assists the government, civil society, and people of Ukraine in advancing democratic policies and practices needed to accelerate progress on sustainable human development. This includes advocating for human rights and gender equality, supporting anti-corruption efforts, ensuring that all Ukrainian citizens can protect their rights, strengthening parliament, and empowering civil society and youth activists. 

The project “Civil Society and Youth Support” (2023-2026), funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by UNDP Ukraine, builds upon the achievements of the previous Civil Society for Enhanced Democracy and Human Rights in Ukraine Project (2017-2022). It is a nation-scale 4-year initiative which runs from 15th January 2023 until 31st December 2026. CSYP contributes to the following long-term result: “Ukraine's civil society and youth are impactful players in strengthening the country's resilience and recovery, democracy and human rights agenda, including issues of respect to diversity and women's rights and social cohesion“. 

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, the war continues to severely impact people's lives, damage critical civilian infrastructure and livelihoods, and drive high humanitarian needs.  It has created a large-scale humanitarian crisis with millions of displaced people, of whom women are the majority.  The war increased gendered challenges, including worsening inequalities and discrimination, compounding vulnerabilities and exacerbated gender-based violence, in particular against women and girls, due to power imbalances in society. Gender-based violence, including domestic violence and conflict-related sexual violence, is one of the major threats to the security of women, and women’s rights. During 2023, registered cases of domestic violence increased by 25%.  In 2023, the National Police of Ukraine received more than 291,000 reports of domestic violence compared to 244,000 reports in 20221. The population of Ukraine currently faces widespread gaps in the availability and accessibility of life-saving essential services for GBV survivors. 

Through this CfP, UNDP would like to engage civil society organizations in response to human rights violations, with a specific focus on providing support to survivors of gender-based violence. 

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION:  

The aim of the competition is to support the activities of CSOs in safeguarding human rights and protecting survivors of gender-based violence in Ukraine through enhancing access to safe, confidential, timely, and human rights support at local level.  

The proposed activities within this competition should focus on gender-based and domestic violence issues and should include, but are not limited to: 

• Proposing effective ways of coordination of civil society and volunteer initiatives in order to address domestic and gender-based violence during the war at the local level. 
• Conducting awareness raising or advocacy campaign on how to prevent and respond to gender-based human rights violations, including on addressing domestic violence and supporting vulnerable groups. 
• Providing legal support and facilitating the access of domestic and gender-based violence survivors to specialized services, including psychological and mental health support. 
• Ensuring the protection and restoration of violated human rights with a particular focus on survivors of gender-based violence.  
• Providing human rights protection services for survivors of gender-based violence, creating – when possible – partnerships between local self-government and civil society. 
• Supporting the local communities in establishing multidisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive support to the survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. 

3. PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPETITION:  

Non-profit organizations, in particular charitable organizations, public associations (including civil society organizations and unions) that are officially registered in Ukraine for no less than two years and has proven experience in implementation of projects in the human rights and/or GBV area. The contest does not provide grants to profit organizations, political parties, state authorities, local governments, religious communities and private (physical) individuals and entrepreneurs. 

3.1. Eligible organizations 

The parameters that will determine whether an NGO is eligible to be considered for funding by UNDP will be based on the Capacity Assessment Checklist CACHE (Annex 5).  

3.2. Geographic location: 

UNDP will accept applications from all regions under the control of the government of Ukraine. 

4. BUDGET AND ALLOWED EXPENSES: 

Eligible costs must: 

• be necessary for caring out project activities; 
• comply with the principles of sound financial management, in particular value for and cost-effectiveness; 
• be properly recorded, identifiable and verifiable, and backed by original supporting documents. 

UNDP grant may only be used to cover the following costs: 

• Staff salaries and expert fees; 
• Purchase of consultative services provided that these are essential for project goals and objectives; 
• Consumables and supplies, including minor personal protective equipment; 
• Printing and copying; 
• Utility services; 
• Renting, catering and other services envisaged by the project activities; 
• Travel costs (provided that travel complies with internal UNDP regulations and national quarantine and other restrictions). 

The following costs are ineligible: 

• Costs of project proposal preparation; 
• Debts reconciliation; 
• International travel; 
• Reimbursement of expenses related to exchange rate fluctuations; 
• Creation and registration of the organization; 
• Direct fiscal support to state authorities; 
• Political activity; 
• Religious propaganda; 
• Activities leading to direct or indirect discrimination of any social strata; 
• Projects aimed at gaining profit from activities; 
• Construction or repair work; 
• Purchase of vehicles and / or luxury goods and related services; 
• Purchase of goods for distribution in the form of humanitarian aid, gifts.

5. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: 

Project proposals should be submitted in Ukrainian and sent by e-mail to the address: grants.ua@undp.org  specifying in the subject line, the title of the competition “Enhancing the capacity of grass-roots Ukrainian’s CSOs to provide human rights assistance to survivors of gender-based violence in the context of the war”. 

All applications must arrive to UNDP no later than 23:59 on April 26, 2024. All projects submitted after the initial deadline will be reviewed on a monthly basis.  

Contact persons: 

Maksym Mazypchuk, Project CSO Development & Outreach Associate, UNDP: maksym.mazypchuk@undp.org 

6. FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION: 

The maximum budget of the project proposal should not exceed 7000 USD. The maximum timeframe for the project implementation is 6 months. 

The contribution from the implementing organization or from other sources will be considered and will be regarded as an advantage for the applicant. This contribution could be made both financially and in non-financial form (for example, remuneration of the personnel of the organization, provision of its office or equipment for project tasks, etc.). 

7. SELECTION PROCESS 

7.1. Assessment procedures 

UNDP specialists will review the submitted project proposals against the criteria for the assessment of proposals. The Programme can request additional information from the applicants at its own discretion. In addition, the Partner Capacity Assessment Tool (PCAT) will be utilized to assess the capacity of the applicants, their potential to implement the grants proposed, including in terms of PSEA regulations. 

Successful applicants will also be obliged to provide the project team with certificates confirming PSEA Training completion (the link will be provided by UNDP) for all applicants’ staff. 

To ensure full transparency and equity of the process, UNDP forms a Grant Selection Committee (GSC) that will appraise the proposals that have met the contest requirements. GSC is a temporary authorized body that is responsible for considering, selecting and recommending proposals for funding. The Grant Selection Committee may decide to request an additional independent expert opinions during the selection process. 

7.2. Criteria for the assessment of proposals  

The proposals shall be assessed by the GSC in accordance with the following criteria: 

8. REPORTING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

8.1. Monitoring and evaluation, frameworks for project implementation 

The Grantee is responsible for monitoring project implementation and evaluating its results. UNDP will monitor the project through Grantee reports, online consultations, site visits, meetings with project personnel and stakeholders, and participation in project events. 

8.2. Reporting 

The Grantee shall submit the following reports according to UNDP format: 

• Brief reports on demand occasionally requested by UNDP CSYP in cases when information on Programme implementation is required in between reporting periods; 
• Interim report, progress of stated activities and outcomes for the first half of the project implementation 
• A Completion report, including a summary of activities and results as well as financial report for total duration of an agreement. 

ANNEXES

Annex 1. Project proposal

Annex 2. Grant template