Procurement Notices

ReLOaD2 - Regional Public Call for CSOs for Submission of Project Proposals

Extension of the submission deadline until 21 September 2023!

The Regional Programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 2 (ReLOaD2) is a continuation of the EU-UNDP partnership and previously supported initiative – ReLOaD1 implemented in the four-year period of 2017 - 2020. ReLOaD2 continues to strengthen participatory democracies and the EU integration process in the Western Balkans (WB) by empowering civil society and youth to actively take part in decision-making and by stimulating an enabling legal and financial environment for civil society. The programme is implemented in the following Western Balkans (WB) IPA beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo[*], Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Working across the region, ReLOaD2 enhances the capacities of local governments and civil society organisations (CSOs) to engage in productive partnerships and contribute to improved service delivery and realization of local priorities in line with development strategies. ReLOaD2 works with 62 partner local authorities and is focused on the institutionalization of interactions between local governments and CSOs. It incites partner local governments to use public funding for CSOs in a transparent and development-oriented manner, recognizing local needs and embracing a project-based approach. Also, the Action promotes youth engagement and supports the implementation of youth initiatives and helps the improvement of youth economic perspectives. The duration of the Action is 48 months (2021 – 2024) with a total budget of EUR 12.63 million (USD 15.06 million). More details about the ReLOaD2 programme you can find on this link.

The goal of the Regional Public Call for CSOs is to further support youth[2] (young women and men) and their needs respecting identified regional similarities and challenges. General thematic areas that are the focus of the Regional Public Call for CSOs are: youth volunteering services, intra- and inter-community engagement, regional youth cooperation and exchange and youth mobility. Project proposals should be related to community actions and volunteering, building capacities of young women and men, awareness raising, experience exchange, informal education, and trainings. The cross-cutting elements relevant to this Regional Public Call include social cohesion, gender equality, environmental protection and human rights.

This is an opportunity to invite CSOs from all participating IPA beneficiaries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to submit project proposals.

Priority areas for this the Regional Public Call are:

1. Youth cooperation and mobility through cultural, sports and recreational activities and events,
2. Youth cooperation and community engagement,
3. Youth engagement and volunteering actions related to environmental protection and green agenda,
4. Youth skills development and youth economic empowerment.

Each project proposal should have respect for diversity and gender equality principles incorporated into project design. The funds will be allocated to those CSOs whose projects contribute to at least one or more priorities, observing cross-cutting elements while meeting the criteria and other conditions of the Regional Public Call. The total amount available for the Regional public call is 240,000.00 EUR.  UNDP reserve the right not to award all available funds in case the submitted CSO project proposals do not meet the specified criteria.

The amount of funds for the approved projects will be from EUR 30,000.00 to EUR 60,000.00.

Interested CSOs are allowed to participate on this call with two project applications (one as the Lead applicant and one as the partner organization).

The duration of each project should last from eight (8) to twelve (12) months. The selected projects will be implemented in the period from October 2023 to October 2024.

ELIGIBILITY:

The Regional Public Call for CSOs is open to all CSOs formally registered as non-profitable entities in accordance with the regulatory frameworks in six WB IPA beneficiaries[3] (where the CSO (applicant) and partners are registered). Branches/offices of international organizations, associations or foundations, and other international non-profit entities – not established[4] in one of the IPA beneficiaries, are not eligible to the Regional Public Call.

DOCUMENTS:

All information and electronic version of the entire package of application documents can be found and downloaded at the following address: (https://www.undp.org/bosnia-herzegovina/procurement).

Documents for the Regional Public Call for CSOS can be obtained from 25 July 2023.

INFORMATION SESSIONS (Open days for more information)

Informative sessions (open days) will be organized in an online format via Zoom platform as two-hour long sessions. Informative sessions will be repeated three times during the Regional Public Call for CSOs-in accordance with the following schedule:

1. Session 1, 1 August 2023, starting at 12:00 hours (registration link)
2. Session 2, 18 August 2023, starting at 12:00 hours (registration link)
3. Session 3, 31 August 2023, starting at 12:00 hours (registration link)

In addition, all questions related to Regional Public Call, for submission of Project Proposals, can be submitted by e-mail to BARegionalPublicCall@undp.onmicrosoft.com, with email subject: Question - ReLOaD2 Regional Public Call for CSOs. Queries can be submitted by 12 September 2023, and the answers will be provided in writing within three (3) working days from the date of receiving. For transparency purposes, all answers will be published on the website (https://www.undp.org/bosnia-herzegovina/procurement) in the format of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

Completed applications with all requested documentation must be submitted in electronic copy via email to BARegionalPublicCall@undp.onmicrosoft.com, with the message subject: ReLOaD2 - Regional Public Call for CSOs.

Deadlines for Applications:

The deadline for submitting applications is 21 September 2023 at 16:00 hours. Applications received after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. The message body must contain the name of the Regional Public Call for project proposals, the full name and address of the applicant, the full name of the project. The UNDP ReLOaD2 team will keep records of all received CSO project proposals and will issue pertinent reply messages confirming receipts.

More details and instructions can be found within the Guidelines for Applicants, attached to this Regional Public Call.

[*] For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to position on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. For UNDP all references to Kosovo shall be understood in the context of the UN Resolution 1244/1999.

[2] Definition of youth respects legislation and official definition in each IPA beneficiary.

[3] Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

[4] For the purposes of this public call, the term established means the following: “To be determined on the basis of the organisation’s statutes, which should demonstrate that it has been established by an instrument governed by the national law of the concerned IPA Beneficiary and that its head office is located in an eligible IPA Beneficiary. In this respect, any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country/territory cannot be considered an eligible local organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ has been concluded".