Association Burkinabè de Fundraising

Applications now open for the 16th round of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) to support projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

The vast majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organisations - both in the transition and consolidation phases of democratisation. In this way, the UNDEF plays a new and unique role in complementing other more traditional UN work - working with governments - to strengthen democratic governance around the world.

Thematic areas

For this cycle, the UNDEF is seeking project proposals covering one or more of its eight thematic areas:

• Empowering women
• Community activism
• Rule of law and human rights
• Youth engagement
• Strengthening civil society's interaction with government
• Media and freedom of information
• Knowledge tools
• Electoral processes

Information on financing

• Grant allocations will be a minimum of USD 100,000 and will not exceed USD 300,000 for any given project. Applicants should request an amount within this range. The majority of projects do not obtain more than 250,000 $.
• UNDEF grants will be allocated to projects with a default duration of two years.

Priority countries and regional balance

Strong preference will be given to candidates from countries and regions where the challenges of democracy are more critical, such as post-conflict countries, new and restored democracies, least developed countries (according to the official UNOHRLLS classification), low-income countries ("Low Income Economies" according to the official World Bank classification based on gross national income per capita) and middle-income countries ("Lower and Upper Middle Income Economies", idem).

Eligibility criteria grants of up to USD 300,000 

• Eligible beneficiaries
  • The UNDEF finances projects implemented by non-UN organisations, not by individuals, profit-making entities or governments. Eligible applicants must be duly constituted at national or international level and have legal status.
  • At the project proposal stage, you must indicate the type of organisation requesting funding:
    • Civil society organisations and non government committed to promoting democracy
    • Independent and Constitutional Bodies,
    • Global and regional intergovernmental bodies, organisations and associations other than the United Nations
  • The UNDEF's priority is civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations. The organisation must be legally constituted. UN accreditation is not a prerequisite for applying for UNDEF funding. UNDEF encourages local CSOs to submit high-quality project proposals.
• Local and global/regional projects
  • The UNDEF will invite proposals projects that take place in a single country (local) or occur in several specified states in a region or sub-region (regional) or intend to operate globally (global). UNDEF will reserve at least 80 % of its programmable resources in each funding cycle for projects taking place in one country and will allocate no more than 20 % to global/regional projects.

Evaluation criteria grants of up to USD 300,000 

During the evaluation process, project proposals will be assessed on the basis of the following ten evaluation criteria:

• The project promotes the objectives of the UNDEF
• The project builds on the comparative advantage of the United Nations
• The project will have a major impact
• The project will encourage the inclusion of marginalised and vulnerable groups
• The project will strengthen gender equality
• The project has strong prospects for successful implementation
• The applicant organisation has solid experience
• The project is technically sound in its 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, please visit UNDEF .