The submission of projects and research proposals for 2019 grants to civil society organisations closed on 26 April 2019 with a total submission of 290 applications received, which recorded enormous increase in comparison to the previous call which received 199 proposals.

The grants are part of the programme dubbed “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations for responsive and accountable governance in Rwanda” jointly implemented by Government of Rwanda and One UN/UNDP-Rwanda.

The call for proposals remains the first step to be followed to apply for the micro-grant programme for national/local CSOs, and research institutes, academia and think tanks specifically for the research grants.

Submitted proposals are evaluated by an independent Grant Selection Committee to ensure equity and transparency.

Uwimana David, pastor of Reformed Covenant Church in Rwanda heard about the call and got committed to develop a project and join the competition.

“After realizing that it is about civil society organization we decided to join” he said. “Our mission is to help the citizens achieve development, that’s why we chose to submit our proposal.” He continued

The beneficiaries of the previous editions of the program affirm that the grants significantly helped them to address critical issues that citizens are faced with.

 “It is not our first time, we received a grant in 2017.  It helped us to execute a project that was carried out in Karongi district. Said Pascal Ndayambaje, the representative of GAERG

The program was launched in 2014 to strengthen civil society organizations for responsive and accountable governance in Rwanda. When this programme ended in 2018, it was extended for an additional five years (2018-2023). The objective of the CSO strengthening programme is to enhance CSOs operating environment to play a prominent role in service delivery, policy design and reforms, to represent the voice of the people and to hold state and corporates responsive and accountable.

Supported projects are implemented in different areas including Human rights, legal aid and gender equality ,Family promotion, anti-SGBV and child protection, Empowerment of people with disabilities, Social protection , Citizen participation and accountability , Service delivery, Youth empowerment and culture promotion, Capacity building of organizations, including the media sector, Protection of the environment for green growth and climate resilience and agriculture.