Call for Proposal: Answers to requests for clarifications

Question 1:

Can a private consulting firm or for profit organization apply for the grant, either as a standalone organization or in a consortium with CSOs or other private actors.

The call targets civil society organisations. All applications must be made in consortia. As per the law in Ethiopia, a civil society organisation is defined as " Non-Governmental, Nonpartisan, Not for profit entity established at least by two or more persons on voluntary basis and registered to carry out any lawful purpose, and includes Non-Government Organizations, Professional Associations, Trade Unions, Mass based Organisations and Consortiums.

A for private, for-profit entity can hence not apply for the call. However, consortia can decide to work together with private sector actors/organization to implement their projects. Nevertheless, those companies cannot be formal co-applicants.

Question 2:

Can a federal/ regional or other government organisation be partner for the application?

Civil society organizations can work and propose activities that will be implemented in collaboration with different regional and federal government entities but government entities (at all levels) cannot be applicant or co-applicant for this call.

Question 3:

Can a CSO registered with CSO Proclamation 1113/2019 as a Foreign Organisation apply?

All CSOs registered in Ethiopia can apply. This also includes foreign CSOs registered by the ACSO. However, the call primarily targets new and emerging Ethiopian CSOs. Foreign CSOs are not the target of the call and priority will be given to consortia (1) featuring Ethiopian CSOs (2) proposing a strong project involving new and emerging CSOs.

Question 4:

Is it mandatory to include all the four thematic area (Human rights, Gender equality, media and freedom of expression, Peace building, democratization) or is it possible to select one (or more) thematic areas?

The consortia do not have to include all four thematic areas. However, their project needs to cover at least one of them.

Question 5:

A budget line for specific expertise, for instance – a gender expert- is this included in the ‘consortium activity’ budget category?

Thematic experts who are engaged in project activities should be listed under the consortium activity budget category.

Question 6:

Can a partner submit two or more proposals for different regions with different consortia?

No. CSOs can only participate in one proposal submitted to the CSIF.

Question 7:

Can a consortium implement a project in only one region?

No. Projects should cover at least two regions.

Question 8:

Should consortia submit one budget each per consortium member?

No. Jointly the consortium has to operate in more than one region.

Question 9:

Do the call target specific beneficiary groups?

The call particularly targets new and emerging actors in civil society. No specific beneficiary groups for the projects have been defined prior to the call.

Question 10:

Do consortia need to submit five years of audit reports? Do all consortium members need to submit audit reports?

CSOs should submit audit reports of the past five years. If CSOs are younger than 5 years, they should submit all available audit reports. All participating consortium members have to submit audit reports. Where audit reports are not available, a detailed explanation should be provided and it is up to the AFD to decide if an exemption from the rule should be made.

Question 11:

Should consortia submit different technical proposals per region covered?

No. Each consortium should submit one technical proposal covering the whole project and activities in the different regions proposed.

Question 12:

Should consortia submit different technical proposals per region covered?

No. Consortia should submit one budget for the consortium. In the budget it should be clear which consortium member is responsible for which activity.

Question 13:

Do all consortium members have to operate in more than one region?

No. Each consortium should submit one technical proposal covering the whole project and activities in the different regions proposed.

Question 14:

Has the AFD allocated specific budget to different thematic and regional areas?

No. The funding will be allocated to the highest scoring proposals.

Question 15:

Can CSOs founded before 2019 apply for the call?

Yes. However, more established CSOs should integrate new and emerging CSOs in the consortium.

Question 16:

The 10% of the budget to be allocated to activities targeted at new and emerging CSOs outside of the consortium, should those only finance sub-granting or also capacity building and other activities?

The 10% of the budget reserved for activities targeted at new and emerging actors outside of the consortium can be reserved for sub-granting, and/or capacity building and/or joint activities, and/or support to formalizing registration etc.

Question 17:

Is there a maximum number of regions that a consortium can work in?

No. Consortia are free to choose in how many regions they want to work. However, the project budget has to cover the work proposed.

Question 18:

How the money should be allocated within the consortium. Who is responsible for managing the money?

Consortia have to jointly decide how to allocate the budget within the consortium. Budget allocation should be clear in the budget submitted. Consortia are asked to describe how the budget will be managed and should propose a plan for how to capacitate the weakest consortium members to ensure that those can progressively manage their respective project funds.

Question 19:

Can the consortia still target regions that are covered by CSIF 1?

Yes, even though CSIF 1 has coverage in many regions, there still are several areas at zone, woreda and town level that are not covered, and hence consortia can still target such geographic areas even though the region is reached under CSIF 1.  

Question 20:

Who is going to be the beneficiaries of this project? The community or the emerging CSOs?

The project targets new and emerging civil society actors (CSOs, activists, community-based associations, informal groups etc.). However, the final beneficiaries are the Ethiopian citizens. The proposed project must show the beneficiaries are directly/indirectly related with the program output.

 The project also needs to reserve budget to collaborate with new and emerging CSOs or informal actors (does not necessarily have to be registered CSOs) outside of the consortium.

Question 21:

Should we consider the emerging CSOs as a co-applicant?

Yes, at least one registered (at any level of the government) new and emerging CSO must be a co-applicant of the call.

Question 22:

Which regions are eligible to be covered by CSIF2?  

All regions in Ethiopia are eligible to be covered by the CSIF 2. Special points will be given for geographic areas (can be a region or areas within a region) that are not covered by the CSIF1.  

Question 23:

We cannot edit all cells of the budget template. Could you please send us the passcode to unlock those cells.

In the budget template, only cells with formulas are locked. Applicants can modify all relevant cells.

Question 24:

Are there any exceptions to the interregional collaboration requirement for organizations based in regions that have not received AFD funding in the past?

All consortia have to propose projects that operate in at least two regions. However, within the consortium, it is possible to have organisations that only work on one region as long as the partner(s) cover at least one more region.

Question 25:

Can you share information about the types of projects, project contents, lessons learned and impact of projects funded under the first phase of the CSIF?

Relevant information can be found on the webpage of the CSIF I https://www.csinnovationfund.org/

Question 26:

Can you provide more information on the project implemented by ELRW in Gambella, including any data or reports that may be available?

Currently there is only one activity being implemented in Gambella. EHRDC is collaborating with Gambella University to organize human rights clubs.

Question 27:

Could you please provide information about the geographical areas where the first "Civil Society Innovation Fund" was implemented?

A map of project locations can be found on the website of the CSIF https://www.csinnovationfund.org/projects