Deadline: 7 January 2019

The Commonwealth Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2018/2019 grants programme.

The Foundation works to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development with effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels of participatory governance which implies creative and constructive engagement between civil society and other governance stakeholders.

The Foundation offers grants of up to £200,000 over four years in support of innovative project ideas and approaches that seek to strengthen the ability of civic voices to engage with governments and that have the potential to improve governance and development outcomes through their active participation.

Focus Areas

• The Foundation is interested in supporting projects that strengthen civic voice so that it:
  • Is more effective in holding governance institutions to account
  • Enhances involvement in policy processes
  • Shapes public discourse
• Applicant’s project should address one or both of the following outcomes and may include the use of creative expression to achieve project aims:
  • Stronger civic voices engaging in policy processes to hold government to account:
    • Project will strengthen the capacity of civic voices in contributing to:
      • Supporting the implementation of the sustainable development goals or other international agreements, and related local and national policy agendas
      • Advocating policy priorities to government that address gender and other power imbalances, disparities and discrimination
      • Strengthening participatory methods of engaging in regional national and local governance processes
      • Raising awareness and advocating for specific policy issues
      • Monitoring government commitments and action
  • Public discourse more reflective of less-heard voices:
    • Project will support less heard voices to contribute to public discourse on development issues
    • Project will support less heard voices to access policy spaces and/or platforms with the potential to amplify voices and influence public discourse

Cross-Cutting Themes

All proposals must ensure that the cross cutting theme of gender is mainstreamed throughout the project.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a grant, the following criteria must be met:

• The applicant and, when applicable, partner(s) are registered not for profit civil society organisations (CSOs).
• The applicant and, when applicable, partner(s) must be based in a Commonwealth Foundation member country and the project should take place in an eligible Commonwealth Foundation member country (mentioned below).
• The application is for funding for a maximum of £50,000 per annum
• The applicant is applying for funding for a maximum of four years
• The applicant does not have an existing grant from the Commonwealth Foundation at the time the application window is open.
• The average of the applicant’s total income over the last two years is less than £3m
• The project must address one or both Commonwealth Foundation’s outcomes
• The applicant will provide the following documents as part of the application:
  • a completed logic model using the Commonwealth Foundation template
  • a copy of the organisation’s registration certificate (the official registration document provided by the relevant authorities in the country concerned)
  • a copy of the organisation’s most recent audited accounts (it must include both the accounts and the opinion of the external auditor who has certified them; it should not be older than December 2016)
  • a copy of the registration certificate for all partner organisations

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply online via given website.

Eligible Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Eswatini, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Zambia.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2BF6lrS