1. BACKGROUND

The United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine (UNDP), with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, launched the “Democratization and Human Rights 2023-2026 Project”, under which the sub-project “Human Rights for Ukraine, Phase II” (HR4U II) is being implemented until 2026.

The sub-project is a Danish-funded initiative that intends to further foster inclusive and sustainable human development in Ukraine, focusing on human rights and access to justice for all, and with a strong focus on new challenges to empower duty bearers for the effective implementation of the principles of a human rights-based approach in all spheres of social life. The initiative is also a response to the new challenges raised by the full-scale war in Ukraine, and the need to restore and sustain the human rights agenda and ensure resilience and a just recovery.

Project objectives:

• to reach out to men and women across Ukraine, including in remote communities, to empower them to exercise their rights, and support the regional network of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) and the network of civic monitors across Ukraine, strengthening the capacities of the institution and making it more accessible;
• to enhance the Ombudsperson’s and civil society organisations’ (CSOs) capacities to promote better, more effective, easily accessible services for right holders;
• to promote human rights and the recovery agenda at the national and international level.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION: 

The grants issued under this Call for Proposals (CfP) aim to support civil society organisations (CSOs) and the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) to conduct outreach, communication, monitoring, data collection, training, and awareness-raising activities related to human rights, with a particular focus on war-related challenges, while also promoting Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) advocacy and fostering cooperation and networking among CSOs, the NHRI, and other project partners.

In this context, the CfP will support initiatives by CSOs that contribute to:

1. Strengthening the capacity of the Office of the Ombudsperson to conduct human rights monitoring at national and local levels across areas within its mandate, including through targeted CSO support; 
2. Integrating the Human Rights-Based Approach into state policies and practices through cooperation with the Office of the Ombudsperson and the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service; 
3. Disseminating and promoting the findings of the Human Rights Study through targeted outreach, communication, training, and awareness-raising activities, particularly in the context of war-related human rights challenges.

Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate strong institutional partnerships and capacities aligned with the proposed activities, including cooperation with the Office of the Ombudsperson where relevant. For monitoring-related initiatives, this includes the availability of a letter of support from the NHRI and the existence of an established or well-developed network of monitors. For communication and awareness-raising initiatives, priority will be given to proposals that foresee participation in nationwide campaigns, engagement in human rights research, and the organisation of presentations and dissemination activities related to comprehensive human rights studies.

The proposals shall include/respond to the following considerations:

• The proposed projects should cover all of Ukraine or selected regions that are under governmental control;
• The process should be generally in line with the Human Rights Based Approach (principles of “accountability”, “participation and inclusion”, “equality and non-discrimination”) and be mindful and inclusive of gender equality and equity;
• The project should apply principles of gender mainstreaming which includes gender-sensitive communication, gender-disaggregated data collection and reporting, equal access for women and men to decision-making, participation, and utilization of services;
• The proposed initiative is encouraged to be aligned with identified needs and project objectives and, where possible, supported by the relevant beneficiary of the project. Provision of support letters as part of the grant application is considered an asset.

All proposed events and activities must be completed by 20 November 2026. 

The maximum funding available from UNDP is USD 120,000 per grant.

Organisations may submit more than one application.

The application deadline is 15 May 2026.

3. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The grant proposals coming in for the Project’s consideration will be measured, first and foremost, against the admission criteria. To be considered for funding, the proposal must be submitted by an organisation that:

• has a status of a non-governmental public or charitable organisation or an association of CSOs officially registered in Ukraine;
• has a track record of active operation of at least five years;
• has a proven track record of cooperation with the international donor community, proper project implementation and reporting.

The CfP will not accept proposals from for-profit entities, political parties, state authorities, local governments, faith-based organisations, or religious communities, as well as from private individuals and entrepreneurs.

The parameters that will determine whether an NGO is eligible to be considered for funding by UNDP will be based on the Capacity Assessment Checklist CACHE (Annex 5). 

4. BUDGET AND ALLOWED EXPENSES:

Eligible costs must:

• be necessary for carrying out the project activities;
• have been incurred by the applicant during the implementation period;
• comply with the principles of sound financial management, in particular, value for money and cost-effectiveness;
• be adequately recorded, identifiable and verifiable, and be backed by original supporting documents.

UNDP Low-Value Grants (LVG) costs may only be used to cover the following costs:

• staff salaries and expert fees;
• communication and information services;
• purchase of consultative services and contracts provided that these are essential to project goals and objectives;
• renting, catering, and other services envisaged by the project activities;
• printing and copying;
• audio, video production costs: 
• placement and promotion in a media:
• utility services;
• consumables and supplies;
• travel costs (provided that travel complies with internal UNDP regulations).

The following costs are ineligible:

• costs of project proposal preparation;
• academic research;
• debts;
• currency exchange losses.

Not more than 10% of the grant funds may be spent for purchasing equipment, provided a clear justification is offered as to its need to achieve project goals. 

The grant tranches are paid by UNDP in advance, except for the last tranche. The last tranche, with a minimum amount of at least 10% of the total grant budget amount, should be covered by the CSOs' own funds. After successfully processing the final financial report, UNDP will compensate the eligible expenses incurred under the third tranche.

The maximum funding available from UNDP is USD 120,000 per grant.

5. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Applications (project proposals) must be prepared in English or Ukrainian using templates that will be part of the CfP.

The application package shall consist of:

1. The filled-out Application form (done on a computer as a Microsoft Word file and a XL file);
2. Copy of the Charter of the applicant organisation (PDF);
3. Copy of State registration certificate (PDF);
4. Banking details (PDF);
5. Resumes of proposed specialists for project implementation (Microsoft Word or PDF)
6. Capacity Assessment Checklist CACHE (Annex 5), PDF
7. Other relevant supporting documentation, including supporting letters from appropriate beneficiaries, reference letters, report samples, or others (Microsoft Word or PDF).

The document package shall be archived as *.zip or *.rar and not password-protected; it shall not be larger than 35 Mb in total. The package shall be sent to the designated e-mail with the letter title containing the name of the competition as stated in the CFP. Applications sent through means other than the one described above will not be considered.

Project proposals are submitted in Ukrainian and sent by e-mail to: grants.ua@undp.org and olena.kryvko@undp.org, specifying in the subject line the title of the competition “Partners4Human Rights”. 

Contact person: Olena Kryvko  olena.kryvko@undp.org

The deadline for submitting grant proposals is 15 May 2026

6. SELECTION PROCESS

6.1. Assessment procedures

To ensure full transparency and fairness, UNDP establishes a Grant Selection Committee (GSC) to evaluate proposals that pass the initial screening. The GSC is a temporary, authorized body tasked with reviewing, assessing, and recommending proposals for funding. As part of the selection process, the GSC may also request input from independent experts to support its decision-making.

The LVG proposal assessment process will follow this sequence:

• The Project team screens LVG project proposals against the eligibility criteria and CfP relevance;
• The Grant Selection Committee convenes and reviews all eligible LVG full project proposals based on evaluation criteria and recommends those that have gained the highest number of points for concluding the agreements. In addition, the Partner Capacity Assessment Tool (PCAT) will be utilized to assess the capacity of the applicants and their potential to implement the grants proposed, including screening on anti-money laundering issues and PSEA capacity. Pre-selected applicants will also be obliged to provide the project team with certificates confirming PSEA Training completion (UNDP will provide the link) for all applicants’ staff);
• Based on the capacity assessment results of the short-listed CSOs, the Project team submits the Grant Selection Committee minutes (list of CSOs recommended for funding) for approval;
• UNDP concludes grant agreements with the CSOs.

6.2. Criteria for the assessment of proposals 

The proposals shall be assessed by the GSC in accordance with the following criteria:

7. REPORTING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION

7.1. Monitoring and evaluation, frameworks for project implementation

The Grantee is responsible for monitoring project implementation and evaluating its results. UNDP will monitor the project through Grantee reports, online consultations, site visits, meetings with project personnel and stakeholders, and participation in project events.

7.2. Reporting

The Grantee shall submit the following reports according to UNDP format:

• Brief reports on demand occasionally requested by UNDP HR4U II in cases when information on Programme implementation is required in between reporting periods;
• A Completion report, including a summary of activities and results as well as financial report for total duration of an agreement (templates will be provided by UNDP).

Annexes: 

Annexes 1, 5, 7

Annexes 2, 3, 4, 6