Call For Proposals: Promoting Financial Integrity, Economic Justice and Domestic Resource Mobilization
Call for proposals to advance advocacy and public discourse leading to financial integrity and domestic resource mobilization.
1. General information about Norad’s portfolio for governance and public finance
Norad’s portfolio for governance and public finance aims to strengthening developing countries’ capacities to collect, manage and allocate domestic resources to implement development plans while advancing transparency that enables accountability and contributes to a strengthened social contract. Approved applications will be part of this portfolio.
Civil society organisations and journalist organisations play a critical role in advancing fair and effective tax and public finance systems at country level and contribute to advancing fairness and financial integrity in global processes. Both civil society and journalist organisations contribute to transparency, knowledge production and dissemination which strengthen public discourse and accountability.
Other partners in the portfolio include multilateral organisations, knowledge institutions and bilateral partners primarily advancing capacity in the public sector and improving systems for domestic resource mobilization, accountability and effectiveness in public financial management.
2. Application criteria and objectives
Norad welcomes applications directed to one or more of the following three objectives:
Objective 1: Civil society in developing countries: Civil society in developing countries advances public discourse and solutions for improved domestic resource mobilization, economic justice, transparency and financial integrity.
Objective 2: Engagement of civil society from developing countries in global processes: Civil society's representation in and contributions to multilateral forums for public finance and financial integrity have been strengthened, either through directly engaging in multilateral processes, or by championing policy ideas and solutions that are in the interest of developing countries on the topics of tax, domestic resource mobilization, transparency and financial integrity.
Objective 3: Capacity of journalists in developing countries: Journalists in developing countries have increased capacity to produce stories and engage in investigative journalism that improve transparency and information regarding financial secrecy and justice (tax, corruption and illicit financial flows).
Each objective will be assessed separately and competitively. Preference will be given to organisations that can demonstrate a track record of results under the relevant objectives and can document that the objective in the organisations strategy and theory of change. The application should present the organisation, including geographic presence, budget and organisation’s strategy, as well as relevant results reports from the past two years. Please document the organisation’s expertise and capacities by including relevant strategies, reports and evaluations.
Norad aims to enter into up to 8 grant agreements for up to three years based on this call for proposals. Alliances and consortiums are encouraged. Overall indicative amount of funding available, is currently estimated to be Norwegian kroner (NOK) 60 mill annually in total 180 million NOK for a three-year period, allocation may vary from recipient to recipient.
Applications are assessed and approved or rejected on the basis of the guidelines and criteria set out in this call for proposals. For each of the objectives below, applications are subject to a comparative assessment in relation to other applications. No applicants are automatically entitled to a grant, even if they meet all the formal and practical criteria. All proposals must comply with the OECD/DAC criteria for official development assistance (ODA).
The deadline for submission is 6. May 2025 CET 13.00.
3. Grant scheme for support to civil society
Potential grant recipients under this scheme are civil society actors such as network organisations, non-governmental organisations, trade unions and independent media. Organisations must have activities and partnerships in Africa, but does not exclude applications that cover other regions as well.
Applicants will be assessed considering the objectives above and provisions in Norad’s Grant Scheme for support to Civil Society. The objective of the Grant Scheme is to strengthen civil society in developing countries in order to promote the realisation of human rights, democratization, gender equality, food security, agriculture, environment, climate and inclusive growth.
The following indicators are to be used to measure results under this Grant Scheme:
the number and type of local civil society actors (NGOs, CSOs, independent media, trade unions) that have been reached through the scheme in what number of countries.
the number of local civil society actors that have been reached that have strengthened their capacity and ability to perform their role in civil society.
4. Assessment criteria
Norad will assess the applicants’ expertise and capacity in the relevant field as well as their administrative capacity, including systems for monitoring, evaluation and learning. For applicants that previously have received grant(s) from Norad, experience from previous performance, reporting, and financial management will form part of the assessment.
The applicants will be assessed based on how well the applicants document and demonstrates how it responds to the criteria. Norad will use the documentation the applicant provided in the proposal as well as knowledge based on previous partnership.
Organisation and administration:
The applicant must be an independent legal person. Accurate and complete information about the nature of the organisation must be provided.
The applicant must have its own statutes/articles of association and an independent board of directors. The applicant’s board of directors must be administratively separate from the daily management of the applicant’s organisation in order to ensure that it can perform its role as an independent overseer.
The applicant must have the necessary expertise and administrative capacity to be able to implement the measures applied for. Results of previous efforts in the area covered by the scheme should be included here. Recent due diligence processes, accreditations or certifications by other donors should be disclosed as they may contribute to documenting capacity and competence. A minimum of five years of experience within the thematic field applied for is required. To document capacity and competence, organisations that do not already have an agreement with Norad, should submit annual audited accounts for the last three years.
The applicant must confirm that ethical guidelines exist for their organisation. These guidelines must as a minimum include principles for the prevention and handling of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH).
Civil society partners that are approved as strategic partners by Norad in relevant thematic areas can submit simplified applications.
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