The UN Democracy Fund

Open or will open again Active citizenship Adult Education/Learning Age Age discrimination Children (0-12) Democracy and freedom Education and learning Gender equality and sexual orientation Human rights and equality Human rights and justice Information Technology International issues Miscellaneous People with disabilities Policy, advocacy and campaigning Racial equality Refugees and asylum seekers Social partnership Voluntary and community infrastructure World issues Young people (13-25) Africa Antrim & Newtownabbey Ards & North Down Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Asia and Middle East Australia Belfast City Causeway Coast and Glens Derry City and Strabane England Europe and Russia Fermanagh and Omagh Great Britain International Lisburn and Castlereagh Mid and East Antrim Mid Ulster Newry, Mourne and Down North America Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Scotland South and Central America Wales Large (over £60,000)

Track grant Notes

Overview

The large majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations. In this way, UNDEF plays a distinct role in complementing the UN's other work -- the work with Governments -- to strengthen democratic governance around the world.

Since 2006, UNDEF has supported more than 920 projects in over 130 countries at a total amount of over US $250 million. Proposals are subject to a highly rigorous selection process, with fewer than two per cent of proposals chosen for funding.

Projects fall under one or more of seven areas:

Civic engagement for climate action
Rule of law and human rights
Media and freedom of information
Women Leadership
Youth engagement
Strengthening civil society interaction with Government
Electoral processes

Eligibility Criteria

Local and Global/Regional Projects

UNDEF will invite proposals for projects that either take place in one country only (local) or occur in several specified states of a region or sub-region (regional) or intend to operate at the global level (global). UNDEF will reserve at least 80% of its programmable resources in each funding round for projects taking place in one country and will allocate no more than 20% to global/regional projects.

Duration of Projects and Amounts Awarded

In principle, UNDEF grants will be allocated for projects with default duration of two years. However, it is acceptable to UNDEF if a successful applicant completes a project in less than two years. Grants will not necessarily match the full amounts applied for. Applicants must request an amount within a range of 100,000 USD and 200,000 USD for any given proposal. Once the implementation period has elapsed, beneficiaries will be required to return unspent funds to UNDEF.

Eligible Beneficiaries

UNDEF funds projects implemented by non-UN organizations, not individuals, profit-making or government entities. Eligible applicants must be duly constituted nationally or internationally and have legal status

At the project proposal stage, you will be required to indicate the type of organization applying for funding:

(1) Civil Society Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations engaged in promoting democracy. These are anticipated to receive the bulk of the funding.

(2) Independent and Constitutional Bodies, including Election Commissions, Ombudsman Institutions, National Human Rights Institutions and other independent governance bodies, for project proposals facilitating the inclusion of the voice of civil society.

(3) Global and Regional inter-government bodies, organizations and associations other than the United Nations, for project proposals which strengthen the voice of civil society.

UNDEF’s priority is Civil Society Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations and the large majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations; both in the transition and consolidation phases of democratization. The organization must be legally constituted.

Priority Countries and Regional Balance

Strong preference will be given to applicants from countries and regions where the challenges of democracy are more critical, such as countries emerging from conflict, new and restored democracies, the Least Developed Countries (as per the official classification of the UNOHRLLS), Low Income Countries (“Low Income Economies” as per the World Bank’s official classification based on Gross National Income per capita) and Middle Income Countries (“Lower and Upper Middle-income Economies”, idem). UNDEF aspires to a satisfactory regional balance in the awarding of grants and will consider each individual proposal on its own merits.

Proposal Criteria

Proposals are subject to a highly rigorous and competitive selection process, with fewer than two per cent chosen for funding. Projects fall under one or more of eight main areas:

Women empowerment
Rule of law and human rights
Youth engagement
Strengthening civil society interaction with Government
Media and freedom of information
Electoral processes (focusing on elections scheduled for 2024 at the earliest)

For answers to FAQ's visit here

For more details on Project Proposals see guidelines here