Call for project proposals in 2017 under the FCO’s Global Britain Fund in Ukraine

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The British Embassy Kyiv invites proposals for project work to support democratic development, economic development and energy reform in Ukraine for the period between April 2017 and March 2018. Successful projects will be funded by the FCO’s Global Britain Fund. The deadline for submitting proposals is 18.00 (Kyiv time) on 6 March 2017. 

Programme

The programme is looking to support projects with a budget of up to £20,000 in the following areas:

Democratic development

Assisting Ukraine with key democratic reforms in line with its national reform strategy and its international obligations, including under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

Examples of areas of work that projects might support include:

• rollout of the decentralisation process, including effective, transparent and open local budget management, wide engagement of local communities and developing expertise in local self-government, regeneration and urban development
• supporting public administration reform, e.g. through competence-based recruiting fora modernised, politically neutral Ukrainian civil service
• reinforcing Ukraine’s capacity for hold free and fair elections according to international standards
• supporting public broadcasting reform and enabling a professional, objective service to the public
• strengthening the institutional development of the Ukrainian parliament strengthened as an institution

Economic development

Assisting Ukraine in its efforts to reform the economy and deliver prosperity to citizens. The outcomes of potential projects could include:

• greater deregulation and application of OECD guidelines as key components of improved investment climate and better business environment for foreign and domestic investors
• improved management of State Owned Enterprises, including wider application of OECD SOE governance guidelines
• strengthening the parliamentary oversight of economic and financial issues

Energy reform

The outcomes of potential projects could include:

• greater energy security for Ukraine as a result of decreasing dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, coal and nuclear fuel; greater diversity of supply; improved energy efficiency; increased oil and gas domestic production; and increasing use of renewable energy
• further reform of Ukraine’s energy sector in line with EU Third Energy Package requirements resulting in: a reduction of corruption; more competition within the market; an updated system of monetized subsidies providing more incentives to save energy and reducing the strain on Ukraine’s government finances
• sharing best UK experience in anti-bribery policy and practice (in working with chambers of commerce and business associations) and promoting opportunities for Ukrainian business provided by DCFTA

In this call for proposals, we will prioritise bids that come from or work through civil society organisations but bids working with government bodies may also be approved where there is a strong case. We welcome proposals for work in all regions of Ukraine. 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.

The maximum funding for any project is £20,000. 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 2017-18 only (projects must be implemented and all payments made by 31 March 2018).

Administrative costs (office rent, project management and book-keeper 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.

Bidding process

Bidders should fill in the standard Project Proposal Form and include a breakdown of project costs in the Budget Form.

We will not consider proposals submitted in other formats. Budgets must be Activity Based Budgets. Successful bids must demonstrate strong strategic relevance to the areas of programme focus and have a clear focus on delivering change and sustainability.

Proposals should be sent to the British Embassy Kyiv at Kyiv.Projects@fco.gov.uk by 18.00 (Kyiv time) on 6 March 2017. Please note that emails from ukr.net accounts can be filtered by the system and not delivered to the above email. In the subject line, please indicate the area you are bidding for the name of the bidder. We will evaluate proposals by end of March. Approved projects will commence from 1 April.

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
• value for money
• the value of the expected project outcomes, the level of funding requested and institutional contribution
• previous experience of the project team – 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
• bids that contribute to the Embassy’s public diplomacy efforts are especially welcome

Notes:

The British Embassy Kyiv reserves the right to 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.