Call for proposals under Small Projects Fund 2023 to 2024 in Ukraine
Project work under the Small Projects Fund should be carried out between 1 April 2023 and 15 March 2024 in Ukraine.
The British Embassy Kyiv invites proposals for project work under the Small Projects Fund (SPF) for the period from 1 April 2023 to 15 March 2024.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 5pm (Kyiv time) on 15 March 2023.
The British Embassy Kyiv uses its Small Projects Fund (SPF) to complement work funded by the large-scale programmes in Ukraine via funding small-scale quick-win projects or activities aimed at leveraging bigger funding, at providing unique UK expertise in areas of top priority for the Ukrainian government or at obtaining insights into new areas of activity for future interventions.
The programme will aim to support civil society, expert community and think tanks, as well as local self-government in their activities on:
(1) supporting Ukraine’s reform agenda and Ukraine’s plan for recovery, working in close cooperation with the key domestic and international stakeholders, therefore ensuring that civil society views are taken into consideration and reflected in the plan. In particular, promoting Ukraine’s reform agenda in advance of Ukraine Recovery Conference in London in June 2023 via short small-scale projects aiming to deliver expert analysis, policy papers and other analytical and vision documents, including on the operationalisation of the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus
(2) supporting Crimean Platform as a consultative and coordination format in order to increase international response to the ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea and as an important tool for resisting Russian aggression, keeping the Crimea issue high on the world agenda and ensuring cooperation between state institutions, civil society and international partners
(3) [complementing wider strategic communication work by other programmes]: supporting work aimed to resist Russian propaganda bias in artificial intelligence (AI). As Russia floods the information space with lies and its own narratives, AI applications are already demonstrating bias towards Russian positions and justification for war. As AI applications are relied on more and more for analytics, reporting and drafting, this bias threatens to amplify and entrench Russian views and perspectives, assessing the scale of this problem and make some recommendations for targeted interventions
(4) Finally, we will also consider small-scale projects on social cohesion and integration of IDPs, which can serve as pilots. Successful projects will inform larger-scale work, policy and programming decisions, provide a framework for understanding developments in Ukraine for the wider international community
Notes
Successful projects should have sustainable outcomes and should clearly identify the change that will be brought about. They may also build on projects by other organisations, complementing their efforts. All bids should make clear how they complement existing activities supported by other donors and international partners, and how work in the regions complements national level activity.
The minimum indicative funding for projects is £20,000 and maximum £50,000. This may be in addition to co-funding and self-funding contributions; indeed this will be considered a merit. Our funding is for the UK financial year 2023-24 only (projects must be implemented and all payments made by 15 March 2024). Where appropriate, bidders are encouraged to describe how their project could be further scaled-up if additional funding became available.
Administrative costs (office rent, project management and bookkeeper rates, utilities, communications, stationery, bank charges etc) must not exceed 8% of the total project budget.
We are unable to fund academic courses or research, English language courses, the purchase of IT or other equipment.
The British Embassy Kyiv will carry out due diligence of potential grantees, including seeking references, as part of the selection process.
Bidding is competitive and only selected projects will receive funding. The Embassy reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant(s) of the grounds of such acceptance or rejection. Due to the volume of bids expected we will not be able to provide feedback on unsuccessful bids.
Bidding process
Bidders should fill in the standard and include a breakdown of project costs in the . We will not consider proposals submitted in other formats.
Budgets must be Activity Based Budgets (ABB), all costs should be indicative, in GBP (not Ukrainian Hryvna).
Successful bids must demonstrate Gender Equality Minimum Score 1 (according to the OECD DAC definition and minimum recommended criteria for gender equality policy marker), have a gender equality objective explicit in the project documentation and an explanation of a positive impact of the project on advancing gender equality. If the project is designed with the principal intention of advancing gender equality, it must have outcomes on gender equality and outputs that contribute to these outcomes.
All projects or activities must align with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and assess climate and environmental impact and risks, taking steps to ensure that no environmental harm is done and, where relevant, support adaptation.
Successful implementers should be able to receive project funding in GBP (UK pound sterling) and open a GBP bank account for the project.
Proposals should be sent to the British Embassy Kyiv at Kyiv.Projects@fcdo.gov.uk by 5pm (Kyiv time) on 15 March 2023. Please indicate the name of the bidder in the subject line. We aim to evaluate proposals by the end of March. Approved projects will commence in April 2023.
Evaluation criteria
Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:
- fit to programme objectives – the extent to which the proposal addresses the issues
- quality of project – how well defined and relevant the outcome is and how outputs will deliver this change; ability to leverage bigger funding would be an advantage
- value for money – the value of the expected project outcomes, the level of funding requested and institutional contribution
- previous experience – evidence of the project team’s understanding the issue and of its regional activities, ability to manage and deliver a successful project, through work done to date in the area or in related fields
- gender-sensitive approach and alignment with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change - as indicated above; the proposals will be assessed by a mixed gender panel