1. Background

The present call for proposals is organized by UNDP project “Civil Society and Youth Support” funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a nation-scale 4-year initiative which runs from 1st January 2023 until 31st December 2026. The Civil Society and Youth Support Project (CSYP) builds on many years of joint programming by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DMFA) and UNDP supporting civil society and youth empowerment. 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“. The project has a three-dimensional approach. Firstly, it intends to strengthen civil society organizations: focusing first and foremost at the subnational level) to enable active civil society participation in strengthening Ukraine’s resilience, sustainable recovery and development processes, link established CSOs with youth groups especially newly emerged initiatives after February 2022 to ensure cross-fertilization in skills. Secondly, the project will work at the central level to create a more enabling policy environment for CSOs and support the national "youth machinery". CSYP will support CSOs to monitor the implementation of national-level policies to determine progress made and areas needing additional efforts. Thirdly and finally, CSYP is designed to support Ukrainian youth in to actively participate in Ukraine’s recovery by honing their skills for good citizenship and leadership. The project will support youth-driven projects and expose young women and men to how local governments operate to implement locally relevant l initiatives.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country has faced profound economic, social, and political challenges. Among the dramatic consequences, the war has triggered the displacement of millions, leading to a severe shortage of personnel, particularly in public institutions. This crisis has been exacerbated by deteriorating working conditions, restrictions on public servants' mobility, inflation, and the public sector's negative perception as an employment option. Consequently, attracting new employees to fill vacant positions has become a pressing issue.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine in partnership with the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) developed and prepare to pilot a programme “Organization and support of the youth internships at local self-government bodies for young people”. The main goal is not only to establish the program but also to assist in its institutionalization within Ukraine's public sector to ensure sustainability. Prior to the internships, representatives of selected local governments will participate in a training program approved by the High School of Public Governance. This program aims to equip public servants with the skills and knowledge to recruit and motivate young people to explore careers in public office through the development and support of an internship program. The program consists of an online course published in Diia. Osvita and on-site training where representatives of local governments can deepen their knowledge and share experiences. 

Based on a recent group discussions conducted by UNDP on youth expectations from internships, young participants from diverse regions expressed a desire for clear responsibilities, practical tasks, mentorship, and flexible, offline internship formats. They emphasized the need for effective communication channels, mentorship, and constructive feedback during internships, noting the importance of positive peer experiences in influencing their choices. Thus, the internship programme will focus on strengthening the institutional capacity of local governments to engage young people and popularize public service, encouraging more young people to choose careers in public service.

Experienced civil society organizations can play a crucial role in supporting local governments to implement meaningful internship programmes by bridging the generational gap, enhancing internal communications, and promoting inclusive working conditions that appeal to youth. Together with the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, UNDP developed a comprehensive methodology for organizing internships in local self-government and state authorities. This methodology proposes a comprehensive approach to planning and organizing internships, including developing the programme based on the institution's needs and goals, describing the roles that arise during the internship process, organizing the process holistically, addressing key challenges and ways to overcome them, and analyzing the programme's success.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION: 

The successful proposal will involve collaboration with at least 10 local governments throughout Ukraine, specifically in areas where youth-related initiatives are not currently supported by other international technical assistance projects. Local governments and communities will be selected by NAUCS, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine UNDP and UNDP on a competitive basis. Each local government will organize internships for 5 young people from their respective communities, resulting in a total of 50 young people in the programme. The internships are planned to take place between August and October, each lasting 1 to 1.5 months. Successful proposals should focus on, but not be limited to, the following areas:

1. Supporting Local Governments: Utilize the methodology developed by UNDP and NAUСS to assist local governments in preparing and executing all stages of youth internship programmes – preparation, execution and evaluation. This includes internship design, support with recruitment and interviews, support with preparation of internship plan, internship execution, collection of feedback from local-self-governments and young people about the program. In addition, providing mentoring support to the local government teams that will be responsible for internships.
2. Communication support of the program: develop and execute communication plan (in line with communication messages of NAUCS, MYS and UNDP) to promote the program among young people and other stakeholders. This includes announcements to recruit young people, communication updates of the program for social media, and capturing and presenting achievements and lessons learned. 
3. Support the exchange of experience between local governments: create possibilities for local governments who took part in the programme to share their successes and lessons learned with one another. 

Proposals should be designed to address three objectives and should clearly articulate how the proposed project will enhance the capacity of local governments to engage meaningfully with young people. Successful proposals will be innovative, evidence-based, and grounded in a clear understanding of the needs and aspirations of young people and local communities.

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. The applying organization should have proven experience in working with youth in different regions of Ukraine; 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 of Ukraine operating on the areas under control of the Government of Ukraine. The applying CSO or consortia must prove its capacity to operate in the proposed area of the intervention which will be assessed by the Grant Selection Committee.

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).

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.

5. FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION:

It is envisioned that the budget within project proposal should be no more than USD 30,000. 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.).

The grant tranches are paid by UNDP in advance, except for the last tranche. The last tranche, with a minimum amount of at least 10% of the total grant budget amount, should be covered by the CSOs' own funds. After successfully processing the final financial report, UNDP will compensate the eligible expenses incurred under the third tranche.

6. PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:

Project proposals are submitted in Ukrainian and sent by e-mail to the addresses:  grants.ua@undp.org and viktoriia.demidova@undp.org specifying in the subject line, the title of the competition “Support to internship program in local municipalities". The deadline for submission is July 28, 2024.

Contact persons:

Viktoria Demidova, Civil Society Project Specialist “Civil society and youth support” project, UNDP: viktoriia.demidova@undp.org

7. SELECTION PROCESS

7.1. Assessment procedures

UNDP specialists will review the submitted project proposals against the criteria for the assessment of proposals. At this stage, the Programme can request additional information from the applicants at its own discretion.

To ensure full transparency and equity of the process, UNDP forms a Grant Selection Committee (GSC) that will appraise the proposals that have made it through the first stage. 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 additional independent expert opinion during the selection process. In addition, the Partner Capacity Assessment Tool (PCAT) and/or Partner Self-Assessment Form will be utilized to assess the capacity of the applicants, their potential to implement the grants proposed, included screening on anti-money laundering issues and PSEA capacity. Pre-selected 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.

7.2. Criteria for the assessment of proposals 

The proposals shall be assessed by the GSC in accordance to 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;
• 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