The UN Democracy Fund has asked us to post information about a forthcoming funding round for civil society-led work on projects that can advance and support democracy. 

We’re happy to do so, in the hope that NGOs based in middle and low income countries will have project ideas that can make advances in getting democracy working for sustainable development.

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The United Nations Democracy Fund invites civil society organizations to apply for funding  

The United Nations Democracy Fund invites civil society organizations to apply for funding for projects to advance and support democracy. Project proposals may be submitted on-line between 16 November 2009 and 31 December 2009 at www.un.org/democracyfund, where applicants can also find guidelines, FAQs and lessons learned from previous rounds. Only on-line applications in either English or French will be accepted.

This is the Fourth Round of Funding to be launched by UNDEF, which was established by the UN Secretary-General in 2005 as a United Nations General Trust Fund. UNDEF funds projects that strengthen the voice of civil society and help ensure the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

The thematic categories for applications are:

       democratic dialogue and support for constitutional processes;

       civil society empowerment, including the empowerment of women;

       civic education and voter registration;

       citizen’s access to information;

       participation rights and the rule of law in support of civil society;

       transparency and integrity.

The selection process is expected to be highly rigorous and competitive, For the Third Round, fewer than 70 project proposals were selected out of more than 2,100 received.

UNDEF funding ranges from US $50,000 to US $500,000, with most projects in the mid-range.  It is anticipated that the vast majority of applicants and short-listed project proposals will emanate from local civil society organizations.