Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility
- Who is eligible to apply for a UN Trust Fund grant?
- All civil society organizations working on the front lines of the COVID-19 response and recovery to address and respond to the growing reports on violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Women-led and women’s rights organizations that have existing and proven specialized knowledge, expertise and a track record of working on women’s human rights and prevention and/or elimination of violence against women and girls Supporting documents are required (constitutions, by-laws, organigrammes) to enable the UN Trust Fund to determine whether the organization is women’s right and/or women-led.
- Other legally registered civil society organizations that have specialized knowledge, expertise and a track record of working on prevention and/or elimination of violence against women and girls.
- International women’s rights organizations and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) that explicitly focus on gender equality only. To be eligible under this category, you must be an INGO that has national presence in the country and/or territory of implementation. The proposal must be focused on a single country and demonstrate how the proposed intervention will contribute to national change and/or capacity development and ownership of national and local women’s organizations in the implementation. You must work with relevant partners to complement your expertise, outreach capacity and build the capacities of grassroots organizations.
- Do we need to be a legally registered entity/organization to apply?
- The applicant and any co-implementing partners must be legally registered entities.
- The applicant organizations must have legal status with the competent national authority. The applicant organization or at least one of its co-implementing partner organizations must be legally registered in the country and/or territory of implementation. Applying organizations must attach proof of legal registration (or legal status) as part of the grant application.
- Applications without clear proof of legal status will be considered incomplete and removed from the review process. Note that articles of incorporation are not proof of legal status.
- Can organizations that are not legally registered apply?
- Organizations that are not legally registered are not eligible to apply.
- Can an eligible organization submit more than one application?
- An organization may not submit more than one application either in the capacity of the applicant organization or of a co-implementing partner, across all countries under this Call.
- What type of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are eligible?
- Only international women’s rights organizations and those INGOs that explicitly focus on gender equality are eligible to apply under this Call.
- For international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), can more than one local, affiliate or associate office apply?
- Only one office may apply per funding cycle. That office must be legally registered (or present its implementing partner legal registration) in an eligible country and/or territory of implementation.
- This is extended to include national affiliates of INGOs (i.e. only one national affiliate is eligible per grant). Further, an INGO can only apply once under this Call for Proposals, either in the capacity of the applicant organization or of a co-implementing partner, across all countries under this Call.
- Can several organizations apply together?
- Organizations may work with relevant co-implementing partners to complement their expertise, outreach capacity and build the capacities of grassroots organizations.
- It is recommended that a proposal include no more than 3 co-implementing partners that will receive a portion of the requested funding. In these cases, grant proposals must clearly indicate which organization will take lead responsibility for project management and contractual obligations.
- If several organizations are applying together, how should they divide up the roles and responsibilities?
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The roles and responsibilities of all implementing partners should be clearly described in the proposal.
For example, the implementation of specific components of the proposed intervention can be attributed to specific implementing partners. However, the lead applicant (whose contact details are provided in the proposal) is overall accountable for programmatic and financial delivery, monitoring, progress reporting, associated risks and results of the overall project across the work of all implementing partners.
- As per the terms of the contract that will be signed between a successful grantee and UN-Women on behalf of the UN Trust Fund, only the lead applicant is accountable for the management of the grant in its entirety. It is the responsibility of each lead organization to make sure that its co-implementing partners understand and comply with the requirements and obligations of the UN Trust Fund grant and that this information is shared with them in a timely and comprehensive manner. If awarded a grant, the applicant organization will also be responsible and liable for its co-implementing partner’s performance and results delivery.
- The UN Trust Fund highly recommends that lead applicants do consider signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)/contract with all of their implementing partners setting out specific roles, responsibilities, deliverables and lines of accountability as relevant to the project and for the duration of the grant.
- What kinds of initiatives does the UN Trust Fund support?
This funding provides an opportunity to test initiatives (unique or adapted to the COVID-19 crisis) that simultaneously and comprehensively prevent and respond to the short and longer term needs of women and girls at risk. The UN Trust Fund recognizes that the impacts of the pandemic are localized and require tailored solutions and remains committed to a demand driven approach. Please see the 2020 Call for Proposals document for specific examples of the kind of initiatives that will be considered under this funding cycle.
- What makes a strong Concept Note and Full-Fledged Proposal?
In general, successful concept notes include the following components: they focus on specific forms of violence against women and girls—as opposed to addressing all forms of violence—thus ensuring more effective and dedicated interventions; they demonstrate sustainability, reflecting a deeper understanding of how competencies will be institutionalized and relationships strengthened; they specify partnerships, especially that of women’s groups and networks and describe their specific roles in the project; they indicate both qualitative and quantitative mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation; and lastly, they demonstrate a clear theory of change. This includes articulating what results should be achieved, for and with whom, where and how, and for what ultimate purpose.
For this particular Call for Proposals, it is expected that concept note submissions will be directly focused on ending and preventing violence against women and girls in the current and specific COVID-19 context.
- Can grantees with ongoing projects funded by the UN Trust Fund apply for new grants?
- Can an organization that has received a grant from the UN Trust Fund in a previous funding cycle submit a new proposal?
- An organization that has previously received a grant can apply as long as the previous project funded by the UN Trust Fund was operationally and financially complete and closed by September 2020.
- Can an eligible organization submit the same proposal to another funding source besides the UN Trust Fund? If yes, what if two or more funding sources approve the same proposal for a grant?
Eligible organizations are encouraged to submit their proposals to additional funding sources, as the UN Trust Fund Call for Proposals process is extremely competitive and the UN Trust Fund receives many more proposals than it is able to fund. In the case of two or more funding sources approving the same grant, organizations would be expected to communicate:
- Whether funding from the UN Trust Fund and additional sources covers the entire cost of the proposed project;
- Whether there is still a funding gap, and the organization’s proposed strategies to bridge that gap;
- Whether the amount received exceeds the resources required for the project, and what would be the exact amount that will be needed from the UN Trust Fund;
- List the contributions of the various donors and what budget lines are financed through each contribution.
Application and appraisal process
- Where can I find information about the Call for Proposals?
- The Call for Proposals is published on the UN Trust Fund’s and UN Women’s website.
- Information about the Call for Proposals is also shared via UN Trust Fund and UN Women social media accounts.
- How can I apply?
- Applicants must submit initial proposals in the form of a Concept Note.
- All applications must be submitted online via the UN Trust Fund’s web application system at grants.unwomen.org.
- The UN Trust Fund will not accept applications submitted via e-mail, regular post and/or facsimile.
- What language can I submit my application in?
- Applications may be submitted in English, French and Spanish.
- Please note while the Call is also available in Arabic, Chinese and Russian, applications are only accepted in English French and Spanish.
- What is the process for appraising and short-listing Concept Notes?
- Concept Notes are assessed by independent experts and the UN Inter agency Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) and a subset of applicants are invited to submit a Full-Fledged proposal.
- What is the process for shortlisted applicants?
- Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit Full-Fledged proposals that are reviewed and appraised by independent experts.
- A final group of applications is reviewed and approved by the Global UN Inter agency Programme Advisory Committee (GPAC).
- Following the final selection and acceptance of the grant, and agreement will be signed with UN-Women on behalf of the UN Trust Fund.
- Once agreements are signed, first year funding is disbursed to the grantee.
- If my application was not successful can I receive feedback on how to improve it?
- Due to the high volume of applications, the UN Trust Fund is unfortunately unable to provide individual feedback on specific proposals.
- How are unsuccessful applicants informed?
- The UN Trust Fund informs applicants of their status via email. The email is sent to the email addresses provided by applicants in the online application.
Budgets and Funding Requests
- Is there a recommended range for funding requests?
- For large civil society organizations budget requests must be within the range of a minimum of US$ 150,001 to a maximum of US$ 1 million total for a duration of three years.
- For small civil society organizations with an annual budget of less than US$ 200,000 budget requests will also be considered for a minimum of US$ 50,000 to US$ 150,000 for a duration of three years.
- Determination of budget requests should be made based on an organization’s operational and absorptive capacity.
- Must applicants contribute to the project budget?
- While all applicants – whenever possible – are encouraged to make financial and/or in-kind contributions, it is not a requirement to do so.
- What costs are covered by a UN Trust Fund grant?
- For all details, please refer to the UN Trust Fund Annex 2 Concept Note Budget.
- What costs are not covered by a UN Trust Fund grant?
- For all details, please refer to the UN Trust Fund Annex 2 Concept Note Budget.
- What are the UN Trust Fund auditing requirements?
- Each selected project may be subject to an audit during its lifetime by an UN-Women designated auditor.
- A provision of 3.5 per cent (3.5%) of the total amount requested should be included in the first year of implementation to cover this cost.
- Is creating additional budget lines permissible in the template?
- The existing budget lines should be used to detail all costs relevant to the satisfactory completion of the project.
- Can a budget submitted with a Concept Note be increased when developing a Full-Fledged proposal?
- The budget submitted with a Concept Note represents the total funds available and allocated for the Full-Fledged proposal. However, budget lines may be modified as long as the budget is in line with the approved programme strategy or strategies.
- Can the budget of a selected intervention be increased after the final budget is approved?
Online Application Technical Questions
- I don't remember my user password.
- To retrieve your password, click on the link that says "forgot your password?" on the application front page. An automated message will be sent to the email address associated with your account with instructions on how to reset your password.
- Can I switch the language of my application once I have started filling out my application?
- You can change the language of your application by:
a) Changing your language using 'My Account' settings (or)
b) Selecting the language from the top right corner of your application
- Do I have to fill out the application in order?
- The application does not have to be filled out in the order the questions are asked.
- Use the navigation links on the right side of the application to move from section to section.
- Please note that data you enter into the form is only saved when you hit the “Save” or “Save and Logout” buttons on the right side of the application.
- Make sure to save your work often.
- Do I have to complete the application in one sitting?
- The application does not have to be filled out in one sitting. With your user name and password, you can log in as many times as needed to complete your application before the deadline.
- Can I print my application?
- If you have a PDF printer installed on your computer, you can print the full document (for free PDF creation software visit www.download.com).
- How do I know when I have completed my application?
- Once a section has been completed, a check mark will appear next to it (under the “Application Sections” on the left side of the application form).
- Check marks must appear for Sections I. through V. for the application to be considered complete.
- What do the green checkmarks next to the application sections mean?
- The green check marks in the navigation bar signify that a section has been fully completed. Check marks must appear for all required sections for the application to be considered complete.
- What do the red circles next to the application sections mean?
- Sections in the navigation bar with a red circle signify that there are mandatory questions that are either unanswered or answered incorrectly in that particular section.
- The number in the red circle indicates the number of questions unanswered or answered incorrectly. You may click on the red circle to investigate and address the questions that need to be filled out in order to complete a particular section.
- What is the Application Inspector?
- The Application Inspector (located under the navigation bar on the right side of the application form) is a tool that assists users in accurately completing application forms.
- The Application Inspector vets an application to ensure that all required fields are completed.
- Any required fields that are left blank or contain an invalid answer will be flagged in red ink. You must then go to the relevant question or section and correctly fill in the required fields to pass the Application Inspector.
- You can run the Application Inspector at any time and as many times as you like prior to submitting your application.
- All online forms must pass the Application Inspector before submission.
- Can I make changes to sections that I have already completed?
- You may edit any part of your application as many times as you want before submitting it.
- It is not possible to make any changes after an application has been submitted.
- How do I submit my application?
- Once your application is complete you will be able to click on the “Submit Application” link on the left side of the application form.
- Can I make changes to my application after I have submitted it?
- It is not possible to make changes to a submitted application under any circumstance.
- What if I only have my documents (audit reports, annual financial reports, etc.) in hard copies, not on a computer?
- Please scan all your documents and upload them as PDFs in the online application system.
- No mailed documents will be accepted.
- I am trying to upload a file but am having problems. What should I do?
- Your files cannot exceed 50 MB in size.
- If your file is larger than 50 MB, please split it into two parts and upload them separately.
- If the file is still larger than 50 MB, consider scanning only the pertinent sections and re-trying.
If you are still having problems, please send an email to untf-gms@unwomen.org with the following subject line: “APPLICATION HELP: Country of implementation / Organization name”.