MATRA and Human Rights Fund – 2025 - Kosovo
MATRA and Human Rights Fund – 2025
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Pristina invites non-governmental organizations registered in Kosovo, to submit project proposals for the MATRA & Human Rights (HR) Fund before the 22nd of January 2025.
MATRA stands for maatschappelijke transformatie, meaning ‘social
transformation’, aiming to enact societies in which fundamental
freedoms are guaranteed. The MATRA Fund is part of our support to
current, and potential, EU candidate countries and supplements the
European Commission’s efforts. It aims to help countries to strengthen
democracy and the rule of law, thus enhance stability.
Human
rights are the foundation of democracy and ensure that every person
counts and is protected. The Netherlands strives to protect and
promote human rights all over the world. The Human Rights Fund
therefore supports organisations with similar goals.
The
government of the Netherlands attaches particular importance to these
Funds, as it aims to reinforce and promote shared European values –
values that connect European countries, bridging their cultural
diversity. A strong and pluralist democracy under the rule of law,
stable democratic processes and good governance are part of these
values and of the agenda for Europe. The Embassy in Pristina is
looking forward to jointly endorse these principles and receiving your
organizations’ ideas to achieve this.
The Embassy in Pristina
works on the basis of the following mission:
We strive for the
Euro-Atlantic integration of a safe, prosperous, inclusive and
democratic Kosovo that provides equal opportunities for its citizens
as this forms the best guarantee for a mutual beneficiary relation
with the Netherlands and the European Union.
What types of projects are eligible?
The MATRA and HR Funds support demand-driven initiatives. Project
proposals have to be in line with our policy priorities and the
mission statement. To be eligible for support, projects should promote
the process of transformation in the following areas:
•
Promoting Rule of Law and strengthening transparency and
accountability of public and justice institutions;
• Promoting
the European Integration agenda;
• Promoting reconciliation
between communities via civic engagement and supporting efforts on the
internal dialogue;
• Preventing radicalization and violent
extremism;
• Increasing cyber security capacities;
•
Strengthening the LGBTI+ community, media freedom and women’s rights.
What are the minimum requirements?
• Applications are only taken into consideration when the
Embassy provided formats are used: Appendix A for the proposal,
Appendix B for the budget overview.
• Applications must be
relevant to the specific MATRA objectives as highlighted above;
• The project needs to reinvigorate the local ownership of the
issue that forms the business case reason for the project;
•
The applicant should contribute to the project (financial or in
kind). This needs to be specified clearly in the activities and budget
overview;
• The applicant preferably has a yearly turnover of a
minimum of EUR 100.000 for at least three consecutive years. In case
your organization does not meet this criteria, we encourage
partnerships with organizations that do;
• The project has a
maximum duration of 24 months;
• If other donors are involved,
you need to specify this in the application and budget forms. It needs
to be clear which donor contribution goes to the different
activities;
• Beneficiary organisations need to provide a
statement in which they underline their commitment to this
project;
• EUR 100.000 per project is our maximum support. Make
sure the budget complies with the following minimum requirements. Use
the enclosed budget template:
o Not more than 30% of our
contribution goes to salaries. Concerning the staff involved in the
project (regular and contracted) provide information on the hours /
percentage of the time that they are directly involved in the project
activities and provide the hourly rate / wage for their
involvement;
o Not more than 10% of the contribution can be
allocated to Administrative Costs (rent, utilities, office material,
communication, bank fees). Only Administrative Costs directly involved
in the project are eligible for financial support (e.g. the proportion
of the rental costs for the office space that will be used directly
for the project activities);
o Not more than 10% of the
contribution can be used for study trips or tours. Please indicate in
case of study tour why this is necessary and specify why the location
/ country of destination is chosen.
Preference is given to proposals that:
• Use innovative ways to tackle issues (involve the private
sector, use a broad coalition that share a common concern, make use of
digital tools, have a clear media strategy);
• Are gender
sensitive;
• Are risk aware and realistic;
• Are
inclusive and create equal access to project results for all groups in
society. In this sense we encourage organisations to set up activities
in areas where needs are higher, e.g. activities outside the capital
or within underrepresented communities;
• Are sustainable in
nature, and aim for sustainable improvements;
• Are cost
sensitive, whenever possible seek in kind contributions, use alliances
with the business community, work with volunteers etc.
Not eligible are:
• Humanitarian aid;
• Commercial activities;
•
Business registered organisations;
• Projects with a
predominantly academic focus, i.e. feasibility studies, research
etc.;
• Projects that exclusively or largely include the
delivery of goods or materials;
• Infrastructural or
construction projects;
• Scholarships or education programmes.
Co-financing with other donors is possible provided, when:
• The applicant provides statements from the other donor(s) on
their motivation to finance project activities and;
• A clear,
transparent description is given of the division of activities and how
the different donors contribute to these activities.
The application procedure
• The deadline for submitting project proposals is January 22,
2025. The Embassy exclusively considers applications submitted
according to the formats provided (use Appendix
A for the proposal and Appendix
B for the budget overview);
• Proposals must meet the
minimum requirements;
• Application must be submitted to the
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo; via e-mail.
• Application
should be submitted by the project organisers themselves, though they
may be assisted by third parties, such as Dutch NGO’s;
•
Applications should be submitted in English.
• The applicant
must sign all documents submitted for the application.
Approval, contract, payment and reporting
• If the project is approved, the applicant will receive two
copies of the contract, outlining the conditions of the grant. One
copy must be signed and returned to Embassy of the Netherlands. Upon
its receipt, the first instalment of the grant will be transferred.
• The maximum duration is two years (24 months). The applicant is required to submit mid-term and final account and financial reports on the results achieved. The final account and financial reports have to be submitted within one month after the finalisation of the project.
• The accounts should describe activities carried out to date,
activities still planned (if any), problems encountered, achievements,
lessons learned, etc. Upon approval of these documents, the Embassy
will pay the remaining instalment(s). The Embassy reserves the right
to inspect the project accounts and activities at any time.