The second wave of oblast level social action projects call

We are launching the second wave of oblast level social action projects call in Ukraine

If you have an idea for a social action project that will improve the life of the community in your oblast, and if you are able to implement it in cooperation with local authorities, offer it at the oblast pitching and receive funds for its implementation!

Oblast pitching is a call for social action projects with the financial support of the European Commission and the British Council.

Social Action Project (SAP) – a project aimed at positive social change in the community.

Call Timetable

For calls at the level of Vinnytsia, Lviv and Sumy oblasts:

Start of applications submission	03 February 2021
Deadline for applications	03 March 2021
Notification of Selection results	10 March 2021
Online training starts	15 March 2021
Online training ends	18 March 2021
Public voting on the portal	05-11 April 2021
Presentation of projects to the Committee	13-14 April 2021

Who can participate?

Active citizens over the age of 18, as well as teams of citizens who are planning a social action project for the development of their community and want to receive financial support for its implementation can take part in the pitching.

What are the requirements for Social Action Projects (SAPs)?

The project must be based on generally accepted societal values, be well-planned and relate to local-global connections.

Projects should focus on improving the lives of citizens, developing cooperation with the authorities to resolve problematic issues and achieving a common goal.

Projects should involve active cooperation with government officials.

We invite you to submit new initiatives to participate in the call, as well as initiatives that are already under implementation.

We recommend submitting projects that will take place online or in a mixed format without holding mass events. It is allowed to carry out repair work or other actions that do not involve a mass gathering of people in one room. The implementation of the SAP should be in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Health for behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic and not endanger human health.

Priorities

SAPs may be aimed at:

strengthening of social cohesion in Ukraine;
creation and strengthening links between volunteers, local authorities, hospitals, businesses and other representatives of the social processes;
intercultural dialogue between different social groups in Ukraine;
support for older people and promote inclusiveness (enhancing equal access to the community, including disabled people);
contribution to the improvement of the environment;
promotion of youth development, popularization of active citizenship and leadership;
support of mental health of the community citizens in condition of social distancing;
promotion of the gender equality and ensuring equal rights and opportunities.

Projects should not include agitation, protest or political actions, be of a commercial nature.

Here are some examples of ideas for social action projects, but don't limit your imagination to them:

Creative space: creation of creative elements and picturesque corners of improvement on city streets.
Carrying out activities to improve the health of young people, safe lifestyles and health culture among young people.
Ecological and tourist ideas: laying eco-trails, creating new tourist attractions, etc.
Creative initiatives: development of meaningful leisure of youth, youth festivals, events, activities, etc.
Ideas aimed at providing access to public and tourist facilities for disabled people.

Project budget:

Up to UAH 35,000 is provided for one social action project by the British Council in Ukraine*

* except for pitching in Sumy oblast, where local authorities join the funding, which increases the budget of one social action project to UAH 58,000. Funding from the British Council does not change.

The application must provide for co-financing of at least 20% of the British Council funding (both in cash and in kind) from the project team or authorities.

The process of submitting a social action project for pitching:

1. Submission of Idea

Submit the idea of a social action project aimed at developing and improving the life of the community on the web page activecitizens.in.ua or by link at the bottom of the page. Before submitting, make sure that you plan to work with local authorities to involve them as actively as possible in the project.

2. Expert evaluation

Your idea will be evaluated by experts from the British Council and partner organizations. From all projects, the Committee will select up to 25 projects that will score more points according to the competition criteria. These projects go to the next stage: finalization of ideas. A prerequisite for participation in this stage is that the project team members take an online course "Project Design for Social Initiatives" on the VUM platform (have your certificates ready).

3. Training

The selected participants, together with the facilitators, will begin to study at a four-day online training, where participants will be explained in detail the logic of pitching and will work out all components of the project process.

4. Mentoring of projects

Three days are allocated for mentoring of participants' projects, during which participants will receive recommendations for their project applications and their presentations.

Topics for mentoring:

Social action and community involvement
Budget, estimates and own contributions, etc.
Dialogue and cooperation with the authorities
Other topics will be identified separately for each group during the training

5. Entering information on the voting platform and voting

The finalized projects will be included on the voting platform (http://activecitizens.in.ua/) and the public will vote openly for the existing social action projects for seven days.

6. Presentation of projects before the call Committee and announcement of results

Participants will present their projects to the Committee, as well as answer questions from Committee members about the details of the projects. The points that the jury will give to the project will be combined with the points that the project will receive from the public voting (in the ratio of 70% and 30% of the votes, respectively). British Council funding is UAH 280,000 per pitching. In oblasts where the pitching budget will consist solely of British Council funding, support for about eight applications is expected. For oblasts where local government will be voluntarily involved in pitching funding, the budget for one project will be increased according to the amount of additional co-financing. That is, the budget of one social action project will be up to UAH 35,000 from the British Council plus funding from other sources.

Thus, in Sumy region, the total pitching budget is UAH 580,000, of which:

UAH 280,000 is provided by the British Council in Ukraine,
UAH 300,000 is provided by the Department of Youth and Sports of Sumy Regional State Administration

Applicants who do not pass the competitive selection will receive feedback on how to improve their idea of a social action project, which will help to implement it in the future.

7. Implementation and reporting

Implementation of funded projects and reporting should take place according to a schedule approved separately for each oblast, which you can see on the website http://activecitizens.in.ua/.

8. Pitching Organisers:

Kherson Regional Charitable Fund "Union" - in Vinnytsia Oblast,
NGO "Strong Community" and the Department of Youth and Sports of Sumy Regional State Administration - in Sumy Oblast,
NGO "Youth Platform" - in the Lviv Oblast.

General information:

Active Citizens is a social leadership programme that promotes intercultural dialogue and social responsibility. The programme is being implemented by the British Council in Ukraine since 2014.

Organisations – national partners:

Kherson Regional Charitable Fund ‘UNION’
Non-governmental organisation ‘Strong community’
Non-governmental organisation ‘Youth Platform’

The Strengthening Cross-Sectoral Collaboration for Social Cohesion (SC3) project is a 36-month project aimed at effectively addressing development challenges and opportunities at local level through improved cooperation between civil society organisations (CSOs) and local authorities (LAs) in Ukraine. It is funded by EU and the British Council and delivered by the British Council working with three experienced (CSO) co-applicants and will operate across all of the Government-controlled areas (GCA) of Ukraine, including GCA Donetsk and Luhansk.

European Union, represented by the European Commission

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, working with over 100 countries across the world.