Call for Proposals: Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund Program 2024/2025

Deadline: 04-Nov-2024

The Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund (the Fund) is a partnership between the United Nations (UN) in Malaysia and Yayasan Matlamat Pembangunan Mampan Malaysia (Yayasan MySDG), supported by the Ministry of Finance.

The Fund prioritizes projects that target groups of people who are at risk of being left behind. It encourages partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders to ensure everyone benefits from sustainable development. By focusing on local efforts, the Fund aims to improve the lives of people in different areas and communities, contributing to the achievement of SDGs in Malaysia.

The goal is to support multi-partner innovative solutions to help marginalized and disadvantaged groups overcome challenges and promote their inclusion and empowerment.

Thematic Pillars and Priority Areas of the Fund

• People and Prosperity
  • Priority Areas:
    • Addressing the poverty, nutritional and health challenges of marginal and excluded groups (e.g., informal sector workers, the poor and vulnerable in peripheral regions including indigenous peoples, women, youth, migrants and refugees, undocumented persons, and persons with disabilities).
    • Levelling up wider SDG performance in key human development domains across regions, focusing on communities in lagging peripheral areas.
    • Expanding resilience through greater social protection measures, focusing on excluded and under-served groups and those in informal work.
    • Addressing the specific human development needs of women at risk of being left behind.
    • Addressing geographical and economic imbalances, especially those faced by communities living in remote locations, including by assisting them to unlock local comparative advantages (natural capital, sustainable exploitation of natural resources and products, enhanced tourism).
• Planet
  • Priority Areas: 
    • Building the resilience of communities (groups and localities) at most risk to the impacts of climate change through active adaptation efforts.
    • Tackling biodiversity loss, particularly for marginal communities which rely on the natural capital for their livelihoods.
    • Assisting marginal communities to tackle land, sea and river pollution, which blights their living conditions.
• Peace and Partnership
  • Priority Areas:
    • Helping to build social and political cohesion among Malaysia’s diverse communities.
    • Enabling the realization of key socioeconomic rights for marginal and excluded groups (e.g., the poor and vulnerable in peripheral regions including indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees, undocumented populations, and persons with disabilities).
    • Enabling, within the law, the recognition of undocumented people and their social inclusion.

Funding Information

• NUNOs: A minimum of USD100,000 per proposal (a minimum of USD100,000 per participating NUNO, if more than one) and a maximum of USD500,000​ per proposal.
• PUNOs: A minimum of USD200,000 per proposal (a minimum of USD100,00 per PUNO) and a maximum of USD500,000​ per proposal.

Timeframe

• 6 (minimum) – 18 months (maximum)​

Eligibility Criteria

• In line with the Fund’s thematic pillars, the CFP-2024/25 will be open to proposals from:
  • Malaysia-based civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other non-profit organizations such as academic institutions and think-tanks. Organizations registered as social enterprises will not be eligible to apply.
  • Designated as Non-UN Organizations (NUNOs), these applicants must be registered in Malaysia and have a separate legal personality. Every NUNO and partner(s) will also be subject to due diligence assessments as required by UN rules and regulations, and must meet special requirements for NUNOs to have direct access to UN managed funds. NUNOs can also explore partnering with Participating UN Organizations (PUNOs) to leverage their expertise and resources, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and reach of their initiatives.
  • UN agencies that are members of the Malaysia UN Country Team and have been recognized as PUNOs in the Fund by signing the Fund’s MOU. Proposals submitted by PUNOs must involve at least two UN organizations. In addition to submitting joint proposals, PUNOs are encouraged to partner with non-UN entities.
  • Each legal entity may submit a maximum of 3 proposals only.

For more information, visit United Nations in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.