Renaissance Foundation competitions
The International Renaissance Foundation, under the ‘Rule of Law’ programme, announces the following competitions in 2009
The Mission of the Foundation is to financially and organisationally assist in the establishment of an open, democratic society in Ukraine by supporting public initiatives important for its development. The International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) financially supports projects and programmes that strengthen the influence of civil society in Ukraine, in particular, facilitating the establishment of the rule of law, the development of independent mass media, information resources for an open society, education, translation of the best works of world social and humanitarian thought, reforms in the healthcare sector, the development of national minorities and their integration into the society of Ukraine.
The aim of the ‘Rule of Law’ programme is to support civil society initiatives aimed at protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, promoting the finding of consensus between interested stakeholders regarding the realisation of institutional reforms in the legal system of the state.
1. Competition: ‘Realisation of the Right to Access Information about Government Activities’
The right to access information is an inalienable human right, which is provided for by the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art. 19), the Constitution of Ukraine (Art. 34, 40), and the Laws of Ukraine ‘On Information’ and ‘On Citizens’ Appeals’. Access to information is a mechanism that ensures the transparency and accountability of the government to citizens.
The aim of the competition is to facilitate the activities of non-governmental organisations aimed at realising the right of a person to access information; ensuring greater openness in the activities of government bodies, their officials and civil servants.
Participants of the competition: non-profit organisations.
Priorities of the competition:
• initiating the submission of information requests (in accordance with the Law of Ukraine ‘On Information’) and citizens’ appeals (in accordance with the Law of Ukraine ‘On Citizens’ Appeals’) regarding the provision of information of public interest, subsequent administrative and/or judicial appeal of illegal refusals to provide information, and government inaction through failure to provide responses;
• analysis of the state of government openness regarding the subject of requests based on the provided responses;
• analysis of the grounds for classifying information as confidential, which is owned by the state;
• determination of the relationship between the right of ownership of information (with corresponding restrictions on its dissemination) and the right to information;
• countering the illegal use of restrictive classifications on information that is of public interest;
• development of proposals for improving the legal regulation of access to archival information in Ukraine;
• conducting educational events on issues of government openness and the realisation of the right to information.
Information requests and appeals must be coordinated in terms of subject matter and directed to those government bodies that possess (or should possess according to legislation) the relevant information. The addressees should be both central and local government bodies.
Preference will be given to projects that envisage broad territorial coverage, contain a classification of the requested information that is of public interest, provide for the involvement of a wide range of partners, and provide for activities in all the above-mentioned priorities.
The project implementation period should not exceed 1 year.
The maximum grant size is 20,000 US dollars.
The deadline for project submission is 16 June 2009.
The results of the project review for the competition will be announced by 25 July 2009.
2. Competition ‘Protection of Human Rights through Mechanisms of Administrative Justice’
The aim of the competition is to conduct complex measures aimed at the judicial protection of human rights from decisions, actions, and inaction of government bodies, their officials, and civil servants.
Participants of the competition: non-profit organisations.
Priorities of the competition:
• determination of the range of the most relevant problems in relations between government bodies and citizens;
• analysis of existing judicial practice regarding the problems identified by the executing organisation;
• assisting persons in drafting administrative lawsuits against government bodies regarding issues of public interest;
• providing legal aid to citizens in administrative cases (including representation of interests in court);
• development of a mechanism for appealing illegal actions of officials and civil servants of law enforcement agencies (Ministry of Internal Affairs, SBU, Prosecutor’s Office, State Tax Administration, State Border Guard Service, etc.).
• conducting educational events on issues of judicial protection of human rights using the mechanisms of administrative justice.
Preference will be given to projects that envisage broad territorial coverage and provide for the involvement of a wide range of partners.
The project implementation period should not exceed 1 year.
The maximum grant size is 20,000 US dollars.
The deadline for project submission is 19 June 2009.
The results of the project review for the competition will be announced by 25 July 2009.
3. Competition ‘Promoting the Reform of the Criminal Justice System of Ukraine’
The aim of the competition is to engage the public in analysing the activities and determining the directions and methods of reforming the bodies and institutions of the criminal justice system of Ukraine.
Tasks of the competition:
• to expand the range of interested stakeholders (non-governmental organisations, analytical centres, researchers, etc.) in reforming criminal justice;
• to carry out an independent analysis of the effectiveness of key institutions of the criminal justice system;
• to provide support to government bodies in the implementation of the provisions of the Concept of Criminal Justice Reform (approved by the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 311/2008 of 8 April 2008)
Participants of the competition: non-profit organisations.
Priorities of the competition:
Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine in the criminal justice system:
• exercise of public prosecution by the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine: effectiveness of activity and ways of improvement;
• improvement of prosecutorial supervision over investigation bodies and places of deprivation of liberty;
• analysis of the exercise of other functions by the Prosecutor’s Office (participation in the consideration of civil, economic, and administrative cases, supervision of human rights observance);
• development of proposals regarding alternative forms of evaluation of the activities of the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine.
Ministry of Internal Affairs in the criminal justice system:
• improvement of the system of investigating facts of ill-treatment by police officers;
• improvement of the practice of receiving and registering statements and reports from citizens;
• improvement of the system of registration and accounting of hate crimes;
• development of proposals regarding alternative forms of evaluation of the activities of internal affairs bodies.
Preference will be given to projects from organisations that have previous experience in analytical work and cooperation with criminal justice bodies.
The project implementation period should not exceed 1 year.
The maximum grant size is 25,000 US dollars.
The deadline for project submission is 22 May 2009.
The results of the project review for the competition will be announced by 25 June 2009.
4. Competition: ‘Human Rights in Penal Institutions’
The aim of the competition is to strengthen the capacities of civil society organisations, lawyers, and public activists to counter human rights violations in the penal system institutions.
Tasks of the competition:
• to ensure public control over the observance of human rights in penal institutions;
• to strengthen the information openness of the State Department for the Execution of Punishments and institutions and establishments of the penal service of Ukraine.
Participants of the competition: non-profit organisations.
Priorities of the competition:
• provision of legal aid to prisoners (in civil, administrative, and criminal cases);
• analysis of the practice of applying disciplinary sanctions to prisoners, provision of legal aid in appealing them;
• analysis of the regulatory provisions of acts of the State Department for the Execution of Punishments regarding their compliance with international human rights standards;
• monitoring the effectiveness of control mechanisms for the observance of human rights in penal institutions (Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Prosecutor’s Office, supervisory commissions, public councils, etc.);
• monitoring the information openness of the State Department for the Execution of Punishments and institutions of the penal service of Ukraine.
The project implementation period should not exceed 1 year.
The maximum grant size is 20,000 US dollars.
The deadline for project submission is 19 May 2009.
The results of the project review for the competition will be announced by 25 June 2009.
The total budget of the programme competitions is 330,000 US dollars
THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD SHOULD NOT EXCEED 1 YEAR.
NO MORE THAN ONE PROJECT MAY BE SUBMITTED BY ONE APPLICANT FOR EACH COMPETITION.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING PROJECTS UNDER THE ‘RULE OF LAW’ PROGRAMME:
• compliance with the goal and priority directions of the programme;
• projected impact of the project on changing society’s attitude towards human rights, judicial and penitentiary reforms, and the involvement of government bodies and civil society institutions in this reform;
• comprehensiveness of approaches envisaged by the projects to solving problems;
• practical orientation of project results;
• the organisation’s experience in conducting events envisaged by the project;
• realism of project implementation, availability of a clear plan for its realisation, and definition of expected results;
• balance of the budget, availability of co-financing of the project from other donor organisations.
PLEASE NOTE!
• Projects received after the deadline specified in the announcement will not be considered.
• The date of project submission is determined by the postmark.
• The programme does not provide grants to for-profit organisations, political parties, religious communities, and private (physical) persons.
• Projects sent by fax or only by e-mail will not be considered.
• Materials submitted for the competition will not be returned or reviewed.
• Participants will be informed about the results of the competitions by letter.
• The final decision regarding a project or application is not subject to review.
• Reasons for refusing to support a project are not provided.
Projects are to be prepared according to the Foundation’s standard application forms. The original project and 3 copies must be submitted or sent by mail to the address:
International Renaissance Foundation, 46 Artema St., Kyiv, 04053,
Project Management Department.
The project must also necessarily be sent to the e-mail address: [email protected]
The Foundation officially confirms the receipt of projects by letter, which is sent to applicants within 7 days from the moment of receiving the correspondence.
PROJECT FORMS CAN BE OBTAINED:
1. By regular mail, by pre-sending a request to the programme director, at the address:
International Renaissance Foundation, 46 Artema St., Kyiv, 04053;
2. On the IRF website: http://www.irf.kiev.ua
3. From regional information partners of the IRF (see the website in the ‘Contacts’ section)
CONTACT PERSONS:
Roman Romanov, Programme Director
E-mail: [email protected]
Liana Moroz, Programme Manager
E-mail: [email protected]
Vasylyna Yavorska, Programme Manager
E-mail: [email protected]
Mariana Mazur, Programme Assistant
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel./fax: (044) 482-03-63
Fax: (044) 486-76-29