Call for Proposals

Published: Feb 2, 2021 Reading time: 6 minutes
Call for Proposals
© Foto: People in Need

People in Need (PIN), with the financial support of the European Union, implement a regional “EU COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership 2020-2022” program. This program supports civil society organisations (CSOs) to respond to the immediate and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Partnership countries. PIN leads a consortium, together with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and AFEW International, which enhances the capacities of CSOs to effectively respond to short- and medium-term needs and influence longer-term policy reforms that support vulnerable groups and those disproportionately affected by the pandemic.


The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted social and economic systems across the world and magnify existing vulnerabilities and inequalities. The prompt implementation of mitigation measures has been highly effective in reducing the public health impacts of the crisis in Armenia. However, many households have experienced a loss of income, the closure of childcare or services for elderly people, disruption to education, or challenges in accessing social services when they are needed the most.

The COVID-19 pandemic is far more than a health crisis; it has created unprecedented global socio-economic challenges. While the long-term impact remains uncertain, it is clear that it will exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. COVID-19 has impacted the health status of people nationwide. However, it has had a much stronger negative impact on the psychological and emotional health of people. There are several contributing factors to the worsened overall health of people, including emotional, psychological, and mental health. The first is access to necessary health, psychological and social support services. Another contributing factor to the overall health status of people was lost jobs and incomes as a result of the lockdown and decline in economic activities.

Education was another area that significantly got affected by COVID-19 and had its negative impact on children specifically. The recent study conducted by UNICEF “Averting a lost COVID Generation” highlights that children indeed face a trifecta of threats: direct consequences of the disease itself, interruption in essential services, and increasing poverty and inequality. A year of interrupted schooling with little learning or getting a virus without suffering severe symptoms may not seem all that serious against the backdrop of this global pandemic. But these experiences reverberate into the future of every child who goes through them. And there are more hidden impacts – loss of future employment potential, rising violence, increased poverty, mental health issues, and COVID-related long-term morbidity for children who are malnourished or already vulnerable.

PIN recognises the crucial role local CSOs play in service delivery, community mobilisation, awareness raising, policy engagement and advocacy for the protection of human rights and civic freedoms, both now and in the post-pandemic environment. Therefore, in this phase of the project, PIN will launch a call for proposals and disburse grants to CSOs that both address COVID-related health and socio-economic needs of vulnerable groups, and enable them to continue supporting their usual constituents.

Objective of the Call

The aim of the People in Need COVID-19 Solidarity Grants Programme is to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and contribute to the longer-term socio-economic resilience of vulnerable groups in Armenia. Throughout the programme, PIN will work with CSOs that support vulnerable households, including elderly people, minorities, youth, and women and migrants/work migrants․

Target groups

Proposed projects should demonstrate an understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable communities, including remote rural ones. In addition, in this round of grants PIN will prioritise proposals that will focus on sustainable and long-term interventions intersecting needs of the following vulnerable groups, including displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh:

  • Persons with disabilities
  • Minorities
  • Youth
  • Elderly people
  • Women
  • Migrants/ labour migrants

Successful proposals will suggest sustainable and long-term mechanisms, that will fall within one of the following proposed LOTS:

1. Economic Recovery -This might include support to restart the micro and small business / income-generating activities, delivering skills necessary for adapting to new labour market conditions, equipment to meet authorities’ COVID prevention measures.

2. Social and Psychological Services – This might include the provision of home-based social services where there are identified gaps for target groups, as well as support to the centres that provide psychological support to the vulnerable groups.

3. Education – This can include support to distance education and initiatives to ensure vulnerable children do not fall behind due to school closures, lack of home-schooling opportunities, as well as psychological support to educators and parents.

Each proposal will be viewed within each LOT per the criteria described below. PIN Armenia preserves the right not to fund any proposal under the proposed LOTs in case the quality of the proposals is not satisfactory. Tentatively it is planned to fund 1-2 proposal per each LOT described above.

Target regions

In this round, proposed projects should target underserved, vulnerable communities in all regions of Armenia.

Eligibility

This call for proposals is open to non-profit-making civil society organisations with the status of a legal entity, established in Armenia. Applications on behalf of consortiums are eligible.

Applications should provide evidence of the following:

  • Registration status as a non-profit organisation registered under Armenian legislation
  • At least 3 years of experience of serving the beneficiary groups included in the project proposal
  • Ideally show that they are already responding to the COVID-19 crisis in Armenia.

Applications submitted by public administration institutions, state institutions, state agencies, local authorities, regional authorities, political parties or organisations affiliated with political parties are not eligible for this call. However, PIN Armenia highly encourages close collaboration with local and regional authorities, as well as other relevant stakeholders in target communities.

Note: Eligible applicants could be also service providers or (semi) governmental institutions providing essential support services (medical, social, legal, socio-economic) if they apply jointly with a registered CSO.

Grant amount and duration:

PIN will provide grants, each up to a maximum of 20 000 000 AMD. Each proposed grant project should not exceed 12 months.

Ineligible costs:

The budget must be in line with the activities described in the application form. The following activities are not eligible under this call:

  • Infrastructural projects (constructing roads, bridges, school rehabilitation, etc)
  • Purchase of land or property
  • Political or religious activities
  • Environmentally harmful projects
  • Activities focusing on needs assessment
  • Retrospective activities (grant activities that have been completed or have commenced prior to signing the grant agreement)
  • Further sub-granting to third parties

Application Process

  • Applicants must submit all of the following:
  • Annex 1 – Application Form
  • Annex 2 – Budget
  • Copies of charter and registration document
  • CVs of the project team

Applications can be submitted in English or Armenian. All submitted applications must be signed by the head of the applicant organisation, scanned and sent electronically.

The application package should be submitted to: grantsarmenia@peopleinneed.cz

The deadline for submission of full applications is February 20, 2021. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.

Additional information

Potential applicants are invited to join online information and Q&A session via the Zoom platform on February 9th at 3:00 PM.

Details of the call: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84500877903

You may also submit your proposal-related questions until February 12h, 2021 via email: grantsarmenia@peopleinneed.cz Questions will be responded to within 3 working days.

Proposal selection process and criteria

Proposals will be evaluated in a two-stage process. Submitted proposals that score 70 points or above according to the selection criteria below, will be evaluated by a Grant Selection Committee (GSC) comprised of internal and external stakeholders. Organisations which reach the second stage will be invited to present their project idea to the GSC.


The final decision will be announced no later than March 5th, 2021

Any concerns or feedback related to the proposal selection process can be submitted to the PIN Armenia office at 33 Sayat-Nova Avenue, #83, Yerevan, Armenia or via e-mail: crm.armenia@peopleinneed.cz

Download Annex 1 – Application Form

Download Annex 2 – Budget Template 


Autor: People in Need

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