Support to Grassroot organizations in their activities mitigating COVID-19

The aim:

To support organisations to provide activities aimed at fighting COVID-19 and pandemic consequences through the mobilisation of volunteers, outreach and awareness raising, provision of services and materials, as well as strengthening Grassroot organizations to acquire the expertise and resources necessary to respond to the short to medium-term needs of vulnerable groups, provide continuity of services and adapt to the new COVID environment.

In this regard, PIN is publishing this call for proposals to identify Grassroot organizations to be granted to meet the immediate health, socio-economic, and protection needs of the following target groups:

• People with disabilities (PWD)
• Rural households, including elderly women and men
• Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Income-generating activities
• Youth.

The indicative activities supported through the service delivery grants will be based on the needs identified by the local Grassroot organizations and can include, but are not limited to:

• Social Services - provision of social, psycho-social or health care
• Economic Recovery - support the micro and small business / income-generating activities, delivering skills necessary for adapting to new labour market conditions
• Social Protection - addressing increased incidences of domestic violence / gender-based violence and child protection issues
• Education - support to distance education and initiatives to ensure vulnerable children do not fall behind due to school closures, lack of home-schooling opportunities.

About the project:

As part of the European Union (EU) COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for Eastern Partnership, PIN, NHC, and AFEW joint forces to propose a set of interventions in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute towards longer-term socio-economic resilience of vulnerable groups. To achieve this overall goal, the consortium recognises the critical role local CSOs, including Grassroot organizations play in service delivery, community mobilization, awareness raising, policy engagement and advocacy for the protection of human rights and civic freedoms during and in the post-pandemic environment. The action will support these key actors to achieve the overall goal via a set of interrelated activities that both aim to address the short to medium-term needs and longer-term institutional barriers to their development.

About the Implementer:

The project is implemented by a consortium built by three organizations with distinct experience and added-value, People In Need (PIN), Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC), and AFEW International (AFEW).

PIN, lead applicant of this project, is a Czech non-governmental organization that provides relief aid and development assistance while working to defend human rights and democratic freedom. It is one of the largest relief and development organizations in Europe and has administered projects in 37 countries over the past 20 years. People in Need has been working in Moldova since 2003, implementing projects in the field of economic development, civil society, and youth development, education, actively involved in the deinstitutionalization process and development of the Local social inclusion strategies.

NHC and AFEW are both specialized in activities to improve human rights protection for responsible persons in closed institutions and key populations at risk for public health concerns like HIV, TB, and viral hepatitis.

Eligibility criteria:

This Call for Proposals is targeting newly created organizations and initiatives that have a legal status. The organizations have to be registered in the Republic of Moldova, not longer than 2 years prior to the implementation of the project. The Grassroot organizations should have a clear vision for fighting COVID-19 and the consequences the pandemic brought to different target groups.

Eligible costs:

• Salaries/financial remuneration
• Nationwide field travel
• Procurement/rent of equipment (new and/or used)
• Administrative expenses including office rent, bills, telephone subscriptions etc.
• Translation services
• Promotional materials
• Bank fees.

Ineligible costs:

• Infrastructural projects (constructing roads, bridges, school rehabilitation, etc)
• Purchase of land or property
• Environmentally harmful projects
• Retrospective activities (grant activities that have been completed or have commenced prior to signing the grant agreement)
• International flights
• Re-granting.

Selection criteria:

The proposals will be evaluated against the criteria illustrated here below:

Grant details:

The amount of each grant will be up to 2,000 EUR. The total available budget for this call is up to 12,000 EUR. The implementation period is up to 6 months.

Roles and functions of the CSO:

• Identify the needs of the community/communities and elaborate/continue a set of interventions
• Participate in a mandatory training session covering several core topics before being sub-granted including:

• PIN Policies – Training and Signing of PIN’s Code of Conduct, PSEA and Child Protection Policies

• Sub-Grant Management – financial and administrative management of sub-grants, financial and narrative reporting procedures, EC regulations, etc

• Basics in Humanitarian Response and Service Provision Standards - basic humanitarian standards including Sphere, IASC and CHS and adherence to Do No Harm principles

• Take part actively in the implementation of the relevant project activities and collaborate to ensure the achievement of the overall goal of the project
• Cooperate closely with the implementer (PIN) and participate in the required meeting sessions
• Timely submit the interim and/or final report to the implementer.

Timeframe:

The selection process will consist of two steps: submission of written application and interviews with pre-selected candidates. The grantees will benefit from the mandatory trainings and guidance during the implementation of the project. The project proposals should be submitted by May 24, 2021 to concurs.moldova@peopleinneed.cz specifying Ref. in the subject line: “Support to grassroots organizations affected by COVID-19”. Applications can be submitted in Romanian, English or Russian.

Questions regarding this call for proposals can be submitted to the email mentioned above till May 17, 2021. An info session will be held on Wednesday, May 19, at 14:00. To have access to this session please send us an email before May 18 and we will provide a link on ZOOM where the session will take place.