** No further CSF funding rounds in 2010 **

Irish Aid, the Government’s development cooperation programme, is committed to supporting civil society organisations as partners in the attainment of the Millennium Declaration and associated goals for poverty reduction, and in the protection and promotion of human rights. The Irish Aid Civil Society Policy published in April 2008, further outlines the objectives and principles of Irish Aid’s approach.  

The two principal objectives of the policy are as follows:

1. To support an enabling environment for civil society to organise and engage with government and its own broader constituencies; and

2. To support the role of civil society:
(i) in promoting participation and good governance;
(ii) in ensuring pro-poor service delivery and pro-poor growth; and
(iii) globally and nationally, to build a constituency for development, human rights and social justice.

As a measure to support the implementation of the policy, Irish Aid is seeking applications for one round of funding in 2010 under the Civil Society Fund.  The CSF supports civil society organisations to respond to development needs and promote the realisation of human rights of poor and marginalised communities overseas. The 2010 guidelines and applications forms are amended and are available below.   

The funding round is open to Irish organisations which fulfil certain eligibility criteria, as detailed below.  Organisations that are currently in receipt of funds from the Civil Society Section will not be eligible to apply. 

The deadline for completed applications is 11th June 2010. Applications should be completed and submitted electronically to the email address; CivilSociety.Funding2010@dfa.ie as per Section 6 of the CSF Guidelines 2010. Note: Hard copies of the application form can be received after the deadline to the address set out below. Organisations should ensure to forward hard copies asap after the deadline.  Enquires on the funding round can also be forwarded to this email address.  The Approvals Committee meeting is scheduled to be held on the 6th and 7th of September 2010.

An organisation may submit only one application to the Civil Society Fund. The maximum grant available will be €200,000 annually. The funding round will be highly competitive and based on clear criteria and policy objectives.  In the appraisal matrix, greater weighting will be attached to proposals which clearly demonstrate how the intervention contributes to Ireland’s development cooperation policy objectives.

In order to ensure a policy focused funding round, applicants are requested to consider how submissions for funding contribute to the Hunger Task Force recommendations and/or to an established set of DFA human rights priorities. These two priorities will receive an additional weighting during the appraisal process. This is not the exclusive policy focus of the round, other proposals contributing to Irish Aid policy objectives will be also considered. 

Civil Society Section has received some queries on how organisations should demonstrate the 30% required contribution toward project costs from non-Irish Aid sources. Organisations may wish to note the following:
-At the time of application, 30% of the year 1 total project budget must already be either available or committed to the organisation.
-Regarding the 30% contribution for years 2 and 3, organisations must guarantee that these funds will be made available. For years 2 and 3, Civil Society Section will take into consideration the organisation’s track-record in sourcing funds, as demonstrated by the audited accounts submitted along with the organisation’s application.

Please Note:

Civil Society Section, Irish Aid, is located in Limerick.

Irish Aid
Department of Foreign Affairs
Riverstone House
23-27 Henry Street
Limerick

Tel: 01 408 2000, Fax: 061 774090.

Guideline and Application Documents