The Commonwealth
Foundation is seeking applications
for its Special Grants Call in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose
of the special grants call is to enable the Foundation to deliver support to
Commonwealth civil society organisations in response to COVID-19 quickly,
efficiently and in a way that both reflects and advances the foundation’s
broader mission.
To that end, the focus will be on supporting national initiatives
that aim to engage constructively with government in strengthening relevant institutions,
policies and practices as communities and countries seek to recover and
rebuild.
The Foundation’s Grants Programme supports
innovative project ideas and approaches that seek to strengthen the ability of
civic voices to engage with governments to improve governance and development
outcomes through their active participation.
Focus Areas
Applications should relate to one or more
aspects of the COVID-19 situation and response. Possible focus areas might
include:
- Research into, and monitoring
of, government and civil society responses to the pandemic that aim to
identify gaps, weaknesses and good practices that could be used to inform
current practice and future policy: including the impact of laws and
policies in general, or in relation to specific groups such as women;
workers in the informal economy; migrants and refugees or specific issues
such as, for example, gender-based violence and access to treatment
- Support to civil society
organisations, networks and coalitions to enable more effective engagement
with government on development and implementation of policies and plans to
address the pandemic in the longer term, or respond to new health
emergencies
- Promotion of civil society
engagement with national government, private sector, and academic
institutions to innovate and develop quality products for vulnerable
groups that reduce risks associated with pandemics
- Facilitating multi-stakeholder
discussions or bodies (e.g. taskforce) to review and suggest reforms to
policies and programs that can better protect: vulnerable populations;
informal workers; and frontline staff during and after the pandemic
- Awareness raising and other
forms of community engagement aimed at improving social and other
protections, especially for vulnerable groups in collaboration with
national government
- Convening and/or participating
in discussions with national government aimed at improving transparency
and strengthening institutions, policies, and practices.
Funding Information
Grants of £10,000 – £30,000 will be awarded for
maximum 12-month duration.
Eligibility Criteria
- The call is open to eligible
civil society organisations from all Commonwealth Member States.
- Proposals should address such
priorities through the lens of participatory governance.
Post Date - 02-Sep-2020