Grants to regional development agencies to strengthen dialogue between government and business and support entrepreneurship in communities

The “Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine”, Phase 2 (PFRU-2), implemented by Chemonics Group UK Limited and funded by the governments of Canada, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, provides grants to Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) under the strategic project “Economic Recovery and Employment” (EREO).

The aim is to strengthen the capacity of local self-government bodies and military administrations in border and front-line oblasts to create an enabling business environment, restore and support local businesses, attract investment and ensure the economic resilience of communities during the war and in post-crisis situations. The activity contributes to PFRU-2 Result 2: improving the delivery of priority services in vulnerable communities and strengthening public trust in the Ukrainian state.

RDAs act as experts and mentors for local authorities, helping to develop “government–business” dialogue platforms, improve policies and regulations, restore business support infrastructure, create business spaces, business support centres and digital solutions, and build their own institutional capacity to work with business. Particular attention is paid to supporting enterprises owned or managed by members of vulnerable groups (women, youth, IDPs, veterans) and relocated businesses.

Eligible applicants:
- Regional Development Agencies officially registered in the target oblasts as non-profit organisations, established under the special law on RDAs, with experience of relevant initiatives and capacity to implement the described project activities.
- The organisation’s staff must consist of qualified specialists with experience in project management and financial reporting.
- The organisation must confirm the existence of an effective governance structure, financial, administrative and technical management systems, internal controls, as well as a “Health, Wellbeing and Human Rights Protection Policy” and procedures to ensure compliance.
- The organisation must be ready to undergo due diligence, complete the Self-Assessment Form and adhere to the Chemonics Supplier Code of Conduct and standards of ethics and business conduct.

Not eligible:
- Organisations registered in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine that have not re-registered in government-controlled areas.
- Organisations not registered under Ukrainian law (unless otherwise agreed with FCDO).
- Organisations that have misused donor funds in the past five years.
- Organisations listed in additional UK government sources as prohibited or debarred, and those with a “current exclusion” status in Visual Compliance.
- Political parties, their groupings, institutions and affiliated entities.
- Organisations that support or promote anti-democratic policies or illegal activities.
- Organisations registered in Russia, North Korea or Iran.
- Organisations linked to persons or entities included in the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine sanctions register.

Grant expenditures must:
- be directly linked to the implementation of activities and necessary for their delivery;
- comply with the applicable laws of Ukraine (including taxation, labour relations, etc.);
- be reasonable, necessary and consistent with sound financial management principles;
- be incurred within the defined grant implementation period;
- be identifiable, properly documented and recorded in the grantee’s accounts in line with applicable standards and organisational practices.

Procurement of goods produced by Huawei Technology Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company and Dahua Technology Company is prohibited, as is offering or supplying goods and services from companies suspended from receiving funding or assistance by the governments of the United Kingdom or the United States, or otherwise debarred from such funding/assistance. Costs must be eligible under the FCDO “Eligible Cost Guidance for Commercial Contracts” and “Eligible Cost Guidance for Accountable Grant Agreements”.

Main directions (Activities 1–4):
- Activity 1. Development of dialogue between authorities and business: mentoring and support to “business–government” dialogue platforms; organisation of spaces for business meetings; institutionalisation of such platforms; development of regulations and roadmaps; training of LGA staff; organisation of events/forums; support to establish or restore business councils at regional and local levels, strengthening their secretariats and preparing roadmaps and procedures for their functioning.
- Activity 2. Development of policies and regulations: improvement of regional and local policies, programmes and regulations to support business and communication with the private sector; creation or updating of policies to facilitate business access to resources, information and infrastructure; reduction of tax burden; rent relief; facilitation of access to investment objects; dissemination of information on opportunities for investors with active involvement of entrepreneurs.
- Activity 3. Institutionalisation/strengthening of business support infrastructure: development, relaunch or restoration of municipal and state institutions, centres, units and business support offices; development of internal regulations, strategies and roadmaps; identification of equipment and material needs; creation of markets, trading platforms and other business spaces on municipal property; provision of business support services through local infrastructure (e.g. Administrative Service Centres), including needs assessments, trainings and deployment of digital solutions (economic dashboards, community profiles, etc.).
- Activity 4. RDA capacity: development or update of long-term entrepreneurship support plans; trainings for RDA staff on business support and private-sector engagement; provision of equipment and materials to significantly enhance RDAs’ capacity to work with business and improve operational efficiency.

- Step 1. Complete the Online Project Summary Form via: Google Forms (basic information about the organisation and proposed project).
- Step 2. Prepare the Grant Proposal Form (Annex A) in line with the RFA, including a detailed project implementation strategy and demonstration of understanding of PFRU-2 needs, and have it signed by an authorised representative.
- Step 3. Prepare a detailed budget (Annex B) using the prescribed template, with unit costs explained in the budget notes.
- Step 4. Complete the Applicant Self-Assessment Form (Annex C) and the Risk Matrix (Annex D).
- Step 5. Attach copies of existing policies and statutory documents requested in the Self-Assessment Form.
- Step 6. Submit the full document package electronically to pfru-grants@chemonics.com with the competition number 23-05_DevAgencies by 23:59 on 19 January 2026 (Kyiv time).

Applications are first screened for basic eligibility (timely submission, organisation’s status, alignment with geographic priorities, checks in Visual Compliance and YouControl, completeness of the document package). Full grant applications are then evaluated against the following criteria (maximum 100 points):
- Project methodology and design – 40 points (quality and realism of the methodology, feasibility of the technical approach, appropriateness of the methodology, relevance and quality of integrated GEDSI approaches, alignment with the requirements and expectations in Section 2.2).
- Expertise and experience – 30 points (up to three examples of relevant projects delivered in recent years; referees’ contact details; CVs of proposed staff, relevant experience in the target geography and thematic area).
- Budget and value for money – 20 points (clarity and justification of the budget, completeness, optimal use of the organisation’s and grant resources, value for money; explanation of unit cost calculations in budget notes).
- Risk management – 10 points (quality of the “Risk Matrix”, coverage of financial, environmental and security risks and mitigation measures). Applications scoring more than 70 points proceed to the next stage.

- Completed Online Project Summary Form.
- Grant Proposal Form (Annex A), signed by the applicant’s authorised representative.
- Budget (Annex B) in the prescribed format.
- Applicant Self-Assessment Form (Annex C).
- Risk Matrix (Annex D).
- Copies of internal policies and statutory documents requested in the Self-Assessment Form.
- Up to three examples of previous relevant projects (description/information in the proposal).
- Contact details of referees for previous projects.
- CVs of proposed project staff.

- Online pre-submission workshop on 18 December at 11:00 (Kyiv time) via Microsoft Teams (opportunity for interested applicants to ask questions about the RFA and receive guidance on completing the application form, self-assessment form and other requirements).

- Grant type: “cost-reimbursable” or “milestone-based cost-reimbursable” – both require periodic financial reporting.
- Grants are awarded under the FCDO “Standard Terms and Conditions” and the Chemonics “Supplier Code of Conduct” based on the FCDO Code of Conduct; compliance with these provisions is mandatory.
- All selected organisations undergo due diligence, including assessment of managerial and financial capacity and checks in Visual Compliance and other international lists.
- The grant proposal is submitted together with copies of all relevant policies and statutory documents requested in the Self-Assessment Form.
- FCDO reserves the right to refuse proposed grantees and to suspend or terminate funding in whole or in part at any time.
- The final payment of 5–10% of the total project budget is made after submission of 100% of required reports, including confirmation of all financial transactions.

- Grants are awarded in accordance with FCDO “Standard Terms and Conditions” and the Chemonics Supplier Code of Conduct based on the FCDO Code of Conduct; these provisions are mandatory for all funding recipients.
- PFRU-2 must ensure that all organisations funded by FCDO comply with the relevant guidance.
- FCDO reserves the right to refuse candidates proposed by Chemonics and to suspend or terminate grant funding at any time, in whole or in part.
- This Request for Applications does not oblige Chemonics to finance any activity or to award funding to any applicant.