The Open Government Partnership supports government and civil society in member countries, including in the Eastern Partnership region, to strengthen co-creation and implementation of nationally or locally-led open government reforms that increase government transparency, improve accountability, strengthen citizen engagement and government responsiveness.
With this call, OGP seeks to advance the successful implementation of open governance reforms in Moldova and Ukraine in the framework of their respective 2023-2025 OGP action plans. The call is announced as part of OGP’s Eastern Partnership Programme, funded by the European Union.
- This call is open to legally registered civil society organisations, or consortia between registered civil society organisations and governmental bodies and agencies, as well as implementing partners from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, including from the OGP Local members, that are currently working on the implementation of one or more reform commitments in the 2023-2025 Ukraine and Moldova OGP action plans.
- Applicants should be willing to work closely with the OGP Support Unit, the country’s OGP Multi-Stakeholder Group and the official Point of Contact. Applicants will also ideally engage with the EU delegation in the country for relevant activities.
- Applicants should be willing to document and share in conventional and social media their approaches, methodologies and outputs, and participate in OGP-organised peer exchange and learning events.
- An award in the amount of maximum EUR 22,500. Project budgets should not exceed EUR 25,000, including a minimum of 10% co-financing. Project implementation timelines should not exceed the duration of maximum twelve (12) months and should be completed by the final completion of the Action Plan in question, and no later than March 30, 2026. Note that funds will be disbursed through a cost-reimbursable scheme, based on narrative and financial reports. Selected recipients will be asked to provide a roadmap of activities and a detailed budget at the contracting stage, and a final narrative and financial report.
- Access to enhanced technical support from the OGP Support Unit and relevant partners.
Please note, the award funds can be used for:
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- activities, including local travel, event, accommodation and subsistence costs, etc.;
- cost of staff assigned to the action;
- goods and contractual services for specialised tasks (translations, production of documents, external consultants time, accountancy, etc.);
- admin costs directly assigned to the action (supplies, rental of meeting rooms, etc.);
- general admin costs (overhead costs) up to 7% of the total eligible direct costs for the action (maintenance, utility bills, office furniture, etc.);
- purchase, rental or leasing costs for equipment and supplies (provided that ownership is transferred at the end of the action when required [1]).
These funds cannot be used for:
- costs that are not associated with the purpose of the contract;
- costs incurred outside the project implementation period (except for costs related to final reports and audit certificates);
- costs already covered by another donor;
- personal expenses, such as clothing and toiletries;
- flight upgrades to first class;
- alcohol;
- currency exchange losses;
- debts and debt service charges (interest);
- provisions for losses or potential future liabilities;
- purchases of land or buildings, except where necessary for the direct implementation of the action;
- credits to third parties, unless otherwise specified in the special conditions;
- salary costs of the personnel of national administrations, unless otherwise specified in the special conditions, and only to the extent that they relate to the cost of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the action were not undertaken;
- in-kind contributions (except for volunteers’ work);
- performance-based bonuses included in costs of staff;
- deductible VAT.
[1] The equipment, vehicles and supplies paid for by the budget for the project shall be transferred to the final beneficiaries of the project, at the latest when submitting the final report. If there are no final beneficiaries to whom the equipment, vehicles and supplies can be transferred, the beneficiary may transfer these items to local authorities, beneficiary(ies), affiliated entiy(ies), another action funded by the European Union or, exceptionally, retain ownership of these items. In such cases, the coordinator shall submit a justified written request for authorisation to OGP, with an inventory listing the items concerned and a proposal concerning their use, in due time and at the latest with the submission of the final report.
Suggested activities will be assessed based on the following selection criteria:
- An ambitious commitment: The proposed activities must relate to an open government commitment in the latest OGP Action Plan of Ukraine, Moldova, or Local members, that would represent (i) a major step forward in the relevant policy area and could potentially transform ‘business as usual’ in that area and (ii) faces clear economic, technical and/or financial challenges in implementation. As an indication of promising commitments, please see the latest action plan reviews by OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) for Ukraine and Moldova for the national action plans. It is not obligatory, that the commitment is coded as promising in the IRM report for the funding request.
- Favourable authorising environment: There should be a sufficient and clear political commitment from country or municipal leadership and implementing government agencies.
- Demonstrated need for supplemental funding:
- The suggested activities do not overlap with existing activities, and are not supported by or earmarked for other available funding resources.
- The suggested activities can further complement or leverage existing measures, and available resources from the state or municipal budget and/or from other donors.
- There is a commitment of co-funding or support from the government, if applicable, and the total budget of implementation exceeds the project funding.
- A clear alignment with the OGP values and principles (as expressed in the Open Government Declaration and in the Articles of Governance) and the OGP strategy 2023-2028.
- Inclusion: The proposed activities demonstrate how it will promote inclusion and enhance participation by minorities and marginalised groups, women’s organisations and organisations representing vulnerable communities or local/grassroots actors including youth, refugees or internally displaced persons, or persons living with disabilities.
- Value for money: Please note that due to the limited availability of funds, projects will be selected on the money for value basis with a maximum project budget of EUR 25,000 (including a minimum of 10% co-financing contribution). The average amount of funding is expected to be EUR 15,000.
Completed applications should be emailed to eap@opengovpartnership.org. Please add ‘EOI – Ukraine/Moldova AP Implementation’ to the subject of your email. Applications will be reviewed and decisions will be communicated on a rolling basis.
1. Contact details
- Name of the organisation
- Contact person
- Email address
- Telephone number
2. Activity description [500 words]
OGP will provide technical and financial assistance to activities in support of the 2023-205 Moldova and Ukraine OGP action plans that are: (a) potentially high impact or transformative; and (b) are facing economic, technical and financial challenges related to implementation.
- Which commitment(s) in the national or local action plans are you requesting support for?
- How does this particular commitment(s) support the development plan of the national or local government?
- What progress (if any) has been made so far in the implementation of the commitment(s)? What economic, technical and financial challenges in implementation are the commitment(s) facing that could be addressed with OGP support?
- Please detail the proposed activities and explain how they will aid in advancing the commitment or resolving the implementation challenges. Please expand on the project deliverables, the role of the applicant(s), as well as the national or local government, and how exactly the activities will contribute to the successful implementation of the commitment(s).
- What are the expected impacts and outcomes if the commitment(s) is/are successfully implemented?
- How would the OGP support help you go further beyond business as usual?
3. Inclusion [100 words]
OGP is committed to promoting enhancing participation and inclusion of marginalised groups, women’s organizations and organizations representing vulnerable communities local/grassroots actors.
- How will the proposed activities related to the selected commitment foster greater participation, inclusion and gender equality?
4. Rationale for OGP support [100 words]
OGP will provide supplemental funding, or co-financing, to activities related to commitments included in the active OGP action plans. As such, it is not the sole source of funding for any particular commitment(s) or for the action plan.
- Describe what resources are available through the state/municipality budget and support from other development partners to enhance the implementation of the commitment(s) thus far. Please also detail any planned measures for implementation (with any possible deviations from the implementation plans included in the action plan) and how this project aids or complements those measures. Why are additional resources necessary?
5. Documents to attach to your application form
- The project’s proposed budget filled out using this template.
- A letter signed by a high-level official of the agency implementing the reform stating their commitment to carry out the project activities.
- A letter from the OGP Coordinator/Point of Contact stating their commitment to support the project implementation.