The Prague Civil Society Centre is happy to invite civil society and grassroots groups in Armenia to apply for project funding. We support the development of new civil society organisations looking to expand their network and build connections with changemakers across the country.
Who can apply: We invite applications from Armenian civic groups striving to make their society more conscious, open and democratic, and their citizens more informed, engaged and responsive. The grant competition consists of two stages (see below).
What we’re looking for: We are ready to support projects that will accomplish one or more of the following:
- Enable citizens to influence decision-making processes in their communities through participatory advocacy
- Run innovative campaigns aimed at changing narratives or behaviors by engaging new audiences
- Create new spaces for discussion and start a conversation around human rights issues
- Conduct promotional campaigns to encourage target audiences to use organisation’s products or services
- Increase outreach and engagement with target audiences and communities through strategic communication
We encourage the submission of project ideas with a geographic focus on regional and bordering communities. The applicants should be to provide clear justification of the issue they are addressing and explain its relevance to the organisation’s mission and the local context.
What’s involved: The grant competition consists of two stages. At this first stage, applicants will present their concept. The second stage will take place in April, when shortlisted applicants will submit full proposals and budgets for consideration in the final selection. Applicants may apply for co-funding, in which case more information about the nature of the other founders of the project should be provided. The maximum funding available per project is 10,000 euros. The budget can include activities addressing institutional development needs of the organisation in several directions, strategic planning, finding alternative funding sources (including crowdfunding, product/service monetization, testing social business ideas, etc.) strategic communication, staff capacity development in areas such as communication, advocacy campaigns, community organising. The duration of the projects can be from 6 to 12 months. Selected projects can start at the earliest from June 2024.
Mentorship opportunity: Applicants shortlisted in the first stage will have the opportunity to receive targeted project-based guidance and mentorship from the Centre’s pool of mentors specialising in the following areas:
- Strategic planning
- Monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment
- Advocacy
- Campaigning
- Strategic communication
- Community organising and base building
- Product management (including monetisation)
Applicants shortlisted in the first stage have the option to start cooperating with mentors to improve their full proposals to be submitted for final selection. Mentorship is optional, and those who decide not to use it will be invited to directly submit a full proposal. The groups selected in the second stage to receive funding will have continuous access to the mentor pool and will be able to receive support during their project implementation.
Application process: Applicants should submit their project ideas by completing this form. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The application deadline is 7 March 2024. You may submit the applications either in English or Russian. We will consider only one project per organisation. All information provided will be treated with confidentiality.
Evaluation and selection procedure: Your proposal will be evaluated with regard to its relevance to the mission of the Prague Civil Society Centre (further details can be found on our website), as well as the expected and measurable impact of the project, achievability of the project design, and your organisation’s track record․ Applications will be assessed by a selection committee composed of the Centre’s staff, its Board and external experts.
The Centre may contact you throughout the application process with questions and/or requests for additional information. Applicants invited to the second stage of the competition will be informed of the decision by the end of March. If you have any questions, you can reach us at pcsc-arm@protonmail.com.