Deadline 30 November 2022

The 17th Round of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) was launched to support projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

Areas

The projects fall into one or more of the six areas:

• Youth participation
• Gender Equality
• Strengthening civil society's interaction with the government
• Rule of law and human rights
• Media and freedom of information
• Electoral processes

Financing information

• Applicants must request an amount between US$ 100,000 and US$ 250,000 for any proposal

Eligible Beneficiaries

• UNDEF funds projects implemented by non-UN organisations, non-individuals, profit-making entities or governments. Eligible applicants must be duly constituted nationally or internationally and have legal personality.
• In the project proposal phase, you must indicate the type of organisation requesting funding:
  • Civil Society Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations engaged in democracy promotion
  • Independent and Constitutional Bodies,
  • Global and regional intergovernmental bodies, organisations and associations other than the United Nations
  • UNDEF gives priority to Civil Society Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations. The organisation must be legally constituted. UN accreditation is not a prerequisite for applying for UNDEF funding.

Eligibility criteria

• UNDEF will invite proposals for projects that take place in only one country (local) or take place in several specific states within a region or sub-region (regional) or that intend to operate at a global level (global). The UNDEF will reserve at least 80% of its programmable resources in each funding round for projects carried out in one country and will not allocate more than 20% for global/regional projects.
• Priority Countries and Regional Balance
  • Strong preference will be given to candidates from countries and regions where the challenges of democracy are most critical, such as countries emerging from conflicts, new and restored democracies, least developed countries (as officially classified by UNOHRLLS), low-income countries ("Low Income Economies" as officially classified by the World Bank on the basis of Gross National Income per capita) and Middle Income Countries ("Lower and Upper Middle Income Economies", idem).

Evaluation Criteria

• During the evaluation process, project proposals will be assessed on the basis of the following ten evaluation criteria:
  • The project promotes UNDEF's objectives
  • The project is based on the United Nations' comparative advantage
  • The project will have a significant impact
  • The project will encourage the inclusion of marginalised and vulnerable groups
  • The project will improve gender equality
  • The project has strong prospects for successful implementation
  • The applicant organisation has a strong track record
  • The project is technically sound in design and presentation
  • The project represents good value for money
  • The project has strong prospects for sustainability beyond the duration of the project.

For more information, visit  https://www.un.org/democracyfund/content/proposal-guideline-technical-support