Preliminary results of the call for proposals for project support in 2019–2022 – The greatest number of proposals in Somalia

The call for proposals, opened by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the spring, produced 129 proposals for project support in developing countries. The decisions are expected by the end of the year.

The call for proposals for project support in 2019–2022, open for civil society organisations' and municipalities' development cooperation projects, ended on 14 May 2018. The Unit for Civil Society of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs received a total of 129 project proposals, of which 92 were new and 37 were proposals concerning continuation of an ongoing project. Civil society organisations submitted 127 proposals and two were received from municipalities. Support was applied for projects extending from one to four years and the total amount applied was nearly EUR 51 million.

The greatest number of proposals, 20 in all, apply to projects in Somalia. The second biggest number of proposals, 15 in all, were related to project in Tanzania, followed by eight proposals for Kenya. Proposals concerning support for projects in India and Nepal were also received.

Like in the previous years, the majority of the proposals were related to education and health, but other sectors were also mentioned.  The projects that will be supported must strengthen local civil societies or the capacity of local administrations. Many projects' aim is to systematically strengthen human rights and civil society in the recipient country.

The previous call for proposals in 2016 produced 168 proposals.  The majority of these proposals also concerned projects in Somalia and Tanzania. In 2016, the amount of support that was applied totalled approximately EUR 57 million for projects lasting from one to four years.

The project proposals will be processed in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs during the next six months, and decisions can be expected before the turn of the year.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs grants discretionary government transfers to Finnish non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and municipalities for their development cooperation projects. A call for proposals for project support is launched every second year. More information: keo-30@formin.fi