Skip to content
Media
Valtioneuvosto frontpage

2020 INGO Call for Proposals: Humanitarian Mine Action

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Publication date 6.7.2020 14.47
News item

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) announces a Call for Proposals for International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) concerning support in the field of humanitarian mine action for the period of 2021 - 2025.

The INGO support is a discretionary government transfer granted by the MFA, and as such the MFA is not obligated to grant support to all eligible INGOs. The Finnish Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (Valtionavustuslaki 688/2001, unofficial translation in English) is applied to INGO support procedures and the use of the INGO support. The eligibility for INGO support is defined under the heading "Minimum Requirements”. Eligible proposals will be evaluated and assessed according to the principles listed under the heading “Principles for Support”.

INGO support will be granted for the implementation of specific projects i.e. it should not be applied for core funding.

Finland’s approach to humanitarian mine action

Humanitarian mine action is based on the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention i.e. the Ottawa Treaty. Its humanitarian obligations include inter alia providing assistance to countries trying to remove the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) - including cluster munitions and improvised explosive devices (IED) - as well as assisting the victims.

Finland’s humanitarian mine action employs a comprehensive approach that contributes to wider efforts to promote global security, stability and development. Fragile states and fragile contexts are the focus of Finland’s humanitarian mine action efforts. The goal is to support and strengthen long-term security and development in the supported areas. Supporting local communities through partnerships and employment, promotion of gender equality and a human rights based approach are essential in Finland’s approach.

Humanitarian mine action comprises five pillars: mine clearance, mine risk education, victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy. In addition to these five pillars, local capacity building is important. Finland’s comprehensive approach to mine action emphasises the importance of context specific analysis and combining several pillars of action in accordance with the needs at hand.

Focus areas of the Call for Proposals

The priority countries and focus areas during 2021 - 2025 in the current Call for Proposals are listed below.

The total amount of funding to be distributed based on the applications received through this Call for Proposals is 10 500 000 euro for the period of 2021 – 2025. The maximum allocation for each priority country is indicated below.

1. Afghanistan

  • Funding will be available to maximum 2 proposals with contract duration of 1-5 years.
  • The maximum total amount to be allocated to this priority area is 4,000,000 euro for the period 2021 - 2025. The support is subject to annual parliamentary approval by the parliament of Finland.
  • Priority will be given to projects focusing on demining.

2. Iraq and Syria:

  • Funding will be available to maximum 2 proposals with contract duration of 1-5 years.
  • The maximum total amount to be allocated to this priority area is 5,000,000 euro for the period 2021-2025. The support is subject to annual parliamentary approval by the parliament of Finland.
  • The proposals can cover projects either in Iraq or in Syria or alternatively a project that will be conducted cross border, or both in Iraq and Syria.
  • Priority will be given to projects that support stabilization in the areas liberated from ISIL.

3. Somalia

  • Funding will be available to maximum 2 proposals with contract duration of 1-5 years.
  • The maximum total amount to be allocated to this priority area is 1,500,000 euro for the period 2021-2025. The support is subject to annual parliamentary approval by the parliament of Finland.
  • Priority will be given to projects focusing on ammunition management with the aim of preventing IED construction and to projects contributing to increased security in border areas.

4. Ukraine

  • Financing will be available to maximum 2 proposals with contract duration of 1-5 years.
  • The maximum total amount to be allocated to this priority area is 2,000,000 euro for the period 2021-2025. The support is subject to annual parliamentary approval by the parliament of Finland.
  • Priority will be given to projects focusing on demining in the area or vicinity of the contact line in Eastern Ukraine.

Minimum Requirements

To be eligible for INGO Support, the INGO has to be a non-profit organization that operates politically and administratively independently from governments. In addition, the INGO has to meet the following Minimum Requirements.

The INGO has to have:

  • at least three different nationalities represented in its governing structures;
  • operations in more than two countries;
  • been registered and/or legally competent for at least two years;
  • funding from at least one other source.

A minimum requirement for a successful project proposal is that the proposal must be:

The proposal has to demonstrate how the work of the applicant INGO complies with the priorities set in the Humanitarian Mine Action Concept.

Principles for Support

Proposals of eligible INGO’s that meet the above Minimum Requirements will be evaluated and assessed according to the following Principles for Support:

  • quality of the proposal (inter alia, clearly defined objectives, sustainable  results, risk assessment, partnerships  and long term impacts) and the proposal’s alignment with Finland’s mine action policy as well as development, foreign and security policy goals.
  • previous, successful and efficient – preferably evaluated – operations with proven monitoring and evaluation and reporting systems;
  • expertise in and experience of humanitarian mine action and experience of operating in fragile states, preferably in the target countries of the project proposal;
  • financial stability (e.g. ability  to cover its operational expenditure by its fund-raising activities) and proven financial management systems, including managing financial risks;

All of these requirements and principles will be taken into consideration when assessing the applications.

Please also consult the MFA’s approach to results-based management in development cooperation, cross-cutting objectives (gender equality, non-discrimination, the position of people with disabilities, climate resilience and low emission development), Finland’s development policy priorities and theories of change and aggregate indicators when preparing the application and project plan.

The successful INGOs will have to sign an agreement with the MFA and will have to agree to follow the General Terms and Conditions for the Government Grant. Please see the agreement template as well as General Terms and Conditions, Reporting instructions and Ethical Code of Conduct attached to this Call for Proposals.

How to Apply

The completed application form (signed and scanned) and the necessary attachments must be received by the MFA no later than 16:15 hrs (UTC/GMT +2) on Sunday 2nd of August 2020. The list of required attachments can be found on page 8 of the application form. The completed application form, the project plan and attachments must be sent to the following e-mail addresses: [email protected]  and  [email protected]

The maximum size of the e-mail message is 7 MB. The application will be registered according to the arrival of the e-mail.

Applications arriving after the 16:15 hrs (UTC/GMT +2) on Sunday 2nd of August 2020 deadline will not be considered.

The processing of the applications is estimated to take 2-3 months. All applicants will be informed of the decision.

Contact Information

For further information, please contact the Unit for Arms control of the MFA: [email protected]

We strongly advise that any questions related to this Call for Proposals be sent in due time, and at the latest by 15 July, 16.15 hrs (UTC/GMT +2).

For general information on the Ministry’s support to International Non-Governmental Organizations, please see: 

Annexes:

 
Back to top