Grant Competition "Young Voices: Place, Memory and Identity" under the PFRU Program

The grant competition "Young Voices: Place, Memory and Identity" (RfA 018-12) is implemented under the Partnership for a Strong Ukraine Program (PFRU), executed by Chemonics Group U.K. Limited with support from the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. The initiative aims to strengthen societal resilience, preserve vertical and horizontal social cohesion, and create effective platforms for constructive interaction between citizens and the state in the fields of culture, memory, and identity. The main goal of the competition is to support up to three cultural and media projects developed by youth or with their active participation, within which teenagers will research local stories, places, memory, and related identities under the guidance of professional mentors.

Unlike traditional educational or cultural programs, the competition strictly excludes the creation of products "for youth" by adult authors. The key principle of activity is real agency, participation, and co-creation, where participants aged 12 to 18 themselves choose the topic, formulate research questions, and make final creative and editorial decisions. Professional practitioners and mentors share skills and accompany teenagers at all stages of implementation, retaining full authorship with them. Work in projects is based on the principles of gender equality and social inclusion (GEDSI), mandatory protection of minors' rights (safeguarding), and a "do no harm" approach taking into account trauma-informed practice. At the same time, youth engagement is conducted strictly on a voluntary and uncompensated basis.

The competition operates at a national level and is open to initiatives from all regions of Ukraine, not limiting the topic exclusively to "native land" or displacement experience — the starting point can be a city, village, district, place of origin, or any other space with which youth associate themselves. The result of each project lasting up to 6 months must be the creation and public presentation of a physical, digital, or hybrid product — from audio walks, podcasts, Reels/Shorts series, and video works to guidebooks, digital stories, or Minecraft models. Grant recipients will also be involved in systematic organizational learning and monitoring activities of PFRU to track the depth of teenagers' participation and share experience.

• Eligible applicants:
  • Officially registered non-profit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ukraine.
  • Cultural, artistic, media organizations, or heritage centers capable of working with youth aged 12–18.
  • Youth and educational NGOs experienced in working with teenagers and engaging professional cultural or media expertise.
  • Proven track record of executing at least 2 similar projects over the last 5 years.
• Geographic scope:
  • The competition is national and open to organizations from all regions of Ukraine.
  • Project activities may take place across all government-controlled territories of Ukraine (at local, regional levels, or across multiple communities, excluding TOT).
  • Youth temporarily displaced abroad may be engaged in the project (via digital tools).
• Ineligible applicants:
  • Organizations registered in TOT that have not re-registered in government-controlled areas of Ukraine.
  • Political parties, their subsidiary or affiliated entities.
  • Religious organizations whose primary objective is religious activity.
  • Organizations that misused donor funds within the last 5 years.
  • Entities under sanctions (NSDC/RNBO, UK, US, EU, UN) or registered in Russia, North Korea, Iran.

• Funding amount: up to UAH 4,100,000 (equivalent of GBP 70,000) per grant project.
• Total call budget: up to UAH 12,300,000 (equivalent of GBP 210,000) to support up to three winners.
• Disbursement currency: UAH / GBP (budgets are prepared in UAH with an estimated equivalent in GBP).
• Eligible costs:
  • Direct personnel costs and engaged experts (salaries/fees of the project manager, finance manager, MEL specialist, trainers, professional mentors).
  • Programmatic activities (venue rental, coffee breaks/catering for participants, research activities, production and release of cultural or media products, public events).
  • Equipment and software (procurement or rental of equipment necessary for the project; items valued over £500 require dedicated justification and tracking).
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEAL: surveys, focus groups, outcome evaluation).
  • Travel and transport expenses (lodging, per diem, travel costs, fuel for work trips within Ukraine, calculated according to OANDA exchange rates).
  • Sub-partners (allocation of funds via sub-grants to second-tier partners, provided there is justification).
• Ineligible costs and restrictions:
  • Any financial remuneration, fees, stipends, or financial incentives to youth participants aged 12–18 are strictly prohibited.
  • Procurement of equipment or services from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, Dahua is strictly prohibited.
  • Procurement of goods and services from entities listed on sanction lists (UK, US, EU, UN, NSDC) is prohibited.
  • Non-project expenses, alcohol, entertainment events, religious or political activities are ineligible.

• Teenagers' research process: study by youth (ages 12–18) under the guidance of professional mentors of local history, memory, heritage, (micro)districts, places of residence/origin, and displacement experience.
• Creation of cultural and media products: release of various formats (audiowalks, podcasts, Reels/Shorts series, video works, digital stories, guidebooks, Minecraft models, etc.).
• Professional mentorship and co-creation: engaging expert practitioners to transfer skills to teenagers while preserving their core authorship.
• Public presentation of results: exhibitions, online presentations, distribution of created content in media, social networks, and local communities.
• Application of trauma-informed approach: implementation of safety procedures (safeguarding) and personal data protection.

• October 23, 2026: Official launch of the call and publication of the Request for Applications (RfA No. 018-12).
• November 05, 2026 (14:00 Kyiv time): Online pre-application workshop for potential applicants on Teams.
• Until 23:59, November 13, 2026: Deadline for submitting questions from applicants to pfru-grants@chemonics.com. 
• Until 23:59, November 20, 2026: Deadline for submitting the complete grant application package.
• Within 20 working days after deadline: Review of applications by the Selection Committee and notification of recommended candidates.
• After pre-selection: Due Diligence process, completion of self-assessment form, budget finalization, and obtaining donor approval.
• By June 30, 2027: Final deadline for completing all project activities and submitting 100% final reporting (maximum project duration — up to 6 months).

1. Complete the mandatory online application form via the link in the announcement.
2. Fill out the Grant Proposal Form (Annex A) and Self-Assessment Form (Annex C) in Word format.
3. Prepare the Project Budget (Annex B) and Risk Matrix (Annex D) in Excel format.
4. Assemble the package of supporting legal and financial documents of the organization.
5. Send an email with the complete package of files to pfru-grants@chemonics.com by 23:59 (Kyiv time) on November 20, 2026.
6. State the subject line strictly in the required format: 018-12_Young Voices: Place, Memory and Identity.

Evaluation of proposal applications is conducted on a 100-point scale (passing threshold to move to Due Diligence is 70 points):

• Relevance to competition goal and youth agency (20 points):
  • Depth of addressing topics of place, local history, memory, and identities.
  • Real youth authorship and co-creation — their direct influence on chosen topic, format, and creative decisions.
• Originality of concept and adherence to a consistent GEDSI approach.
• Project methodology and design (30 points):
  • Realism of the technical approach to achieve expected results.
  • Justification of research component and product release process.
  • Quality of integrating gender equality, disability inclusion, and social inclusion.
• Expertise and experience (20 points):
  • Presence of at least 2 relevant projects successfully implemented over the last 5 years.
  • Proven experience in safe and meaningful work with teenagers.
  • Alignment of engaged staff qualifications (CVs) with their project roles.
• Budget and cost-effectiveness (20 points):
  • Justification and appropriateness of each cost line.
  • Transparency of unit cost calculations and resource allocation efficiency.
• Risk management (10 points):
  • Quality and detail of the Risk Matrix (Annex D) and realism of risk mitigation measures.

1. Online application form: completed via link.
2. Grant Proposal Form: signed document in Word format (Annex A).
3. Project Budget: detailed form in Excel format (Annex B).
4. Applicant Self-Assessment Form: signed document in Word format (Annex C).
5. Risk Matrix: form in Excel format (Annex D).
6. Extract from EDR: copy of official registration document.
7. Certificate of non-profit status: decision on inclusion in the Register of Non-Profit Institutions.
8. Organization Charter: current active version.
9. Organizational structure and CVs: of key project personnel.
10. Internal policies: accounting, procurement, code of conduct, child safeguarding, cybersecurity policies.
11. Financial statements: for the last 2 years (if available).
12. Audit reports: for recent years (if available).

• Stages and disbursements: funding is provided in installments based on 3–4 intermediate reporting stages (milestones). The final disbursement payment (5–10% of total budget) is transferred only upon verification of 100% financial and program reporting.
• Sanctions screening: mandatory screening of the organization and leadership staff via Visual Compliance and YouControl for absence from international sanction lists (UK, US, Canada, EU, UN, NSDC/RNBO).
• Due Diligence procedure: completing the Self-Assessment Form (Annex C) to confirm capacity to manage donor funds.
• Mandatory internal policies: existence of regulations on accounting/finance, procurement, anti-fraud, code of conduct, personal data protection, and child safeguarding policies.
• Document retention: obligation to store primary accounting records and reporting documents for 7 years post-project completion.

• Regulatory framework: the competition is conducted in accordance with FCDO Standard Terms and Conditions and Chemonics Supplier Code of Conduct.
• Integrity and ethics: strict prohibition of bribery, kickbacks, fraud, collusion, or falsification under penalty of disqualification and referral to law enforcement.
• Applicant declaration: mandatory signed certification of independent pricing, data accuracy, and absence of conflict of interest (in Annex A).
• Single application rule: one applicant may submit only 1 grant proposal. Applications sent after 23:59 on November 20, 2026, will not be considered.