United Nations Democracy Fund - 14th Round of Funding

About

The Fourteenth Round of UNDEF Funding began when the call for project proposals was launched on 22nd November 2019. The deadline to submit project proposals will be 22nd December 2019. Organizations wishing to submit a project proposal to receive UNDEF funding should visit the UNDEF website where they will be prompted to complete an online application form.

Proposed projects will be assessed by the UNDEF Office and its external consultants, in consultation with the Fund’s Programme Consultative Group (PCG) and the United Nations Resident Coordinator System, reviewed and short-listed by UNDEF’s Advisory Board. The Advisory Board will submit a recommendation of awards to the Secretary-General, who holds the ultimate authority for the funding decision. Prior to the Secretary-General’s decision, Permanent Missions of countries where projects are planned will be advised of the recommendations of the Advisory Board. Decisions on the selection of new projects to be funded will be considered “approvals in principle”. By the end of June 2020, all successful short-listed applicants will be notified at the electronic address indicated in their project proposal, unless otherwise advised on the UNDEF website. 

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. Grant allocations will be of a minimum of US$100,000 and not exceed US$300,000 for any given project. Applicants must request an amount within this range. The majority of projects are granted no more than $250,000. 

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). 

Eligibility

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