Grants for Inclusive Recovery and Reconstruction

The Ukraine's Cities: Inclusive by Design – Disability-Inclusive Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction for Cities and Communities Call for Proposals, launched by the Global Disability Fund (GDF), supports initiatives that place accessibility and disability inclusion at the centre of Ukraine's urban relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts.

The programme aims to:

• embed inclusive design principles into the recovery of urban infrastructure, housing, transport, public services, governance, and financing;
• support cities and communities across the full continuum from humanitarian response to long-term recovery and reconstruction;
• strengthen the role of organisations of persons with disabilities and promote disability-inclusive governance;
• contribute to building more accessible, resilient, and inclusive communities.

The programme highlights the importance of integrating the needs of persons with disabilities into the planning and implementation of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts.

To participate in the grant programme, applicants must meet the established requirements regarding legal status, experience, organisational capacity, and partnership arrangements.

Key eligibility requirements:

• for Lots 1 and 2, eligible lead applicants include municipalities, international and national NGOs, UN agencies, academic institutions, and development banks;
• for Lot 3, eligible lead applicants include UN agencies with humanitarian mandates, international NGOs, and national NGOs that meet GDF due diligence requirements;
• the lead applicant must have a physical presence in Ukraine and/or be legally registered in Ukraine;
• applicants must demonstrate relevant experience together with sufficient organisational, financial, and operational capacity, including grant management, procurement, risk management, and compliance systems.

Partnership requirements:

• every proposal must include a formal consortium partnership;
• Lot 1 requires a formal partnership with a municipality;
• Lots 1–3 require at least one Organisation of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) as a consortium partner;
• for Lot 3, partnership with an organisation holding a recognised humanitarian coordination role is also mandatory.

Additional provisions:

• an organisation may serve as the lead applicant in only one proposal;
• the same organisation may participate as a formal partner in multiple proposals;
• the proposed project must align with one of the priority thematic areas of the Call for Proposals; applications outside these priority themes are not eligible.

The grant programme provides a single funding mechanism with different maximum funding levels depending on the selected lot. Funding is delivered in two phases, and access to the second phase depends on the successful completion of the Phase 1 readiness assessment.

Key funding provisions:

• Lot 1 — up to USD 350,000;
• Lots 2 and 3 — up to USD 500,000 each;
• indicative funding distribution:
  • Phase 1 — approximately 30% of the total budget;
  • Phase 2 — approximately 70% of the total budget;
• co-financing or resource leverage is strongly encouraged, particularly under Lot 1. Depending on the lot, co-financing may include direct financial contributions or leveraged funding from other sources.

Eligible costs may include:

• staff and technical expertise;
• grants or transfers to Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), including at least 10% of the programme budget allocated to their direct implementation and management;
• capacity development, accessibility measures, participation support and reasonable accommodation;
• monitoring, evaluation, learning, and research;
• programme coordination, management, communication and visibility activities;
• partnership activities and eligible indirect administrative costs.

Certain costs may be supported only with prior justification and GDF approval, including expenses related to the design, testing, adaptation, and scaling of innovative solutions, as well as international learning activities.

Ineligible costs include, among others:

• land, building, and capital equipment purchases;
• full-scale infrastructure investments and large-scale equipment production;
• routine medical, rehabilitation, or education services unrelated to innovation testing or scaling;
• individual scholarships, tuition fees, and personal medical expenses.

The grant programme supports projects focused on disability-inclusive urban relief, response, recovery, and reconstruction. Applications must address one of the programme's priority thematic areas and be submitted under a single lot only.

Priority areas include:

• inclusive and resilient urban infrastructure, including transport, housing, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), energy, and public spaces;
• inclusive urban livelihoods and economic systems, including employment, entrepreneurship, skills development, and financial services;
• integrated urban essential services and support systems, including health, rehabilitation, social protection, emergency response, and other essential services;
• institutionalising disability inclusion in municipal governance, data systems, digital systems, and accountability mechanisms.

Supported activities may include:

• designing and implementing inclusive solutions for urban systems and public services;
• removing physical, information, and social barriers;
• improving urban planning, public transport, disaster preparedness, and emergency response systems;
• strengthening inclusive economic participation, financial services, and employment opportunities;
• enhancing accessibility of healthcare, rehabilitation, social protection, and humanitarian service delivery;
• improving municipal data systems, public communication, governance, and participatory mechanisms.

Projects must directly address one of the programme's priority thematic challenges. Applications falling outside the defined thematic priorities or geographic scope of the Call for Proposals are not eligible.

The application process consists of two stages. Applicants first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), and shortlisted applicants are then invited to prepare a full proposal.

Key steps include:

• submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) using the required template by 10 August 2026;
• following eligibility review and shortlisting, selected applicants are invited to prepare a full proposal;
• during the full proposal development stage, applicants receive the full application package and the confirmed submission deadline;
• approximately one week after the invitation, shortlisted applicants receive the proposal package, and about two weeks later they participate in a mandatory kick-off workshop;
• a question-and-answer mechanism remains available until two weeks before the full proposal submission deadline;
• shortlisted applicants submit their full proposals by the deadline confirmed by the programme organisers.

After submission:

• full proposals undergo technical review and final selection;
• successful applicants proceed to grant agreement signing and fund transfer;
• programme implementation is expected to begin in January 2027, subject to successful completion of the required due diligence process.

Applicants must submit the complete EOI package by 10 August 2026 to the email:  globaldisabilityfundcalls@undp.org. Incomplete Expressions of Interest will not be considered.

Applications are assessed through a two-stage selection process. Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are reviewed first, and shortlisted applicants are then invited to submit full proposals for detailed assessment.

At the EOI stage, applications are assessed against the following criteria:

• administrative eligibility and compliance;
• relevance and alignment with the programme objectives and priorities;
• innovativeness of the proposed solution;
• quality of partnerships and government engagement;
• engagement of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs);
• expected impact and effectiveness;
• budget realism and co-financing.

Full proposals are evaluated using an expanded set of criteria, which additionally includes:

• value for money;
• monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) approach;
• consideration of intersectionality, including the needs of women and girls with disabilities;
• sustainability of results beyond the grant period;
• identification of risks and appropriate safeguarding measures.

The programme documentation does not specify a numerical scoring system. Applications are assessed by independent reviewers against the established evaluation criteria at each stage of the selection process.

To participate in the first stage of the Call for Proposals, applicants must submit a complete application package in accordance with the programme requirements. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Required documents include:

• a completed Expression of Interest (EOI) template (Annex A) in English;
• letters of agreement or commitment from the expected consortium partners;
• registration or due diligence documentation, where applicable;
• evidence of a valid GDF framework agreement, HACT/micro-HACT and PSEAH assessments, or other accepted documentation such as EU pillar assessment or GCF accreditation, where applicable;
• all required application fields must be completed.

Applications are accepted from municipality-led consortia involving organizations of persons with disabilities, NGOs, UN agencies, development banks, academia, and other eligible partners. Meaningful participation of OPDs is strongly encouraged.

Applicants must comply with the eligibility requirements, Global Disability Fund rules, partner UN agency policies, and the grant agreement, including integrity, PSEAH, fraud prevention, conflict-of-interest, and other applicable compliance requirements.