Strengthening Local Capacity for Effective Service Delivery and Responsible Public Resource Use

The call is announced under the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) programme implemented by Chemonics and funded by the governments of Canada, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The programme aims to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and support local communities in delivering public services and managing public resources effectively.

The grant activity focuses on strengthening the capacity of local governments to make evidence-based financial decisions, plan expenditures and allocate limited resources efficiently.

The selected grantee will implement training and mentoring activities for partner communities, including practical capacity-building, analytical support and the use of the DREAM digital system for project management.

Eligible recipients

The competition is open to:

• non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
• educational institutions with relevant experience in practical training and mentoring;
• other entities with appropriate qualifications.

Eligible organizations should demonstrate:

• proven theoretical and practical experience in the use of public funds, including cooperation with territorial communities in developing short- and medium-term institutional and operational frameworks and project portfolios;
• experience in designing and delivering training programmes with a practical component for local self-government bodies, as well as mentoring support;
• knowledge of national legislation, standards and methodologies related to public finance management;
• experience in analysing financial and socio-economic risks;
• experience using digital project management tools, including the DREAM system, and the capacity to train communities in their use;
• experience in facilitating cooperation between communities, donors and central government institutions;
• the ability to adapt activities to the conditions of the PFRU-2 target regions, considering wartime challenges and recovery needs.

Key requirements for applicants

Organizations submitting proposals must:

• have non-profit status, confirmed by registration documents;
• be ready to undergo PFRU due diligence procedures and complete the self-assessment form;
• pass screening in the Visual Compliance system and other relevant compliance checks;
• have staff with relevant experience in project management and financial reporting;
• demonstrate an effective governance and management structure, including financial, administrative and technical policies;
• maintain internal control systems to prevent fraud, corruption and misuse of funds;
• implement policies ensuring protection of health, well-being and human rights;
• comply with ethical and business conduct requirements, including the supplier Code of Conduct of Chemonics based on the FCDO Code of Conduct.

Ineligible organizations

The following entities are not eligible to apply:

• organizations registered in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine that have not re-registered in government-controlled territories;
• organizations not registered under Ukrainian law (unless otherwise agreed);
• organizations that misused donor funds during the past five years;
• organizations included in debarment or sanctions lists of the UK government or other donors;
• organizations with an active exclusion status in the Visual Compliance system;
• political parties and their affiliated institutions or entities;
• organizations supporting anti-democratic policies or illegal activities;
• organizations registered in Russia, North Korea, or Iran;
• organizations linked to any person or entity included in the sanctions register of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC).

Funding under the grant programme is provided in accordance with defined cost-eligibility principles and financial management requirements.

• The grant may be awarded in the form of “reimbursement of costs” or “fixed amount / milestone-based funding” (financial reporting is mandatory for both types).
• Expected number of grants: 1.
• Expected duration of the grant: up to 8 months.
• Expected grant amount: up to UAH 7,000,000.
• The selection committee may adjust the proposed budget (either increase or decrease it) depending on the justification and the scale of the planned activities.

Principles of cost eligibility

Costs financed under the grant must:

• be directly linked to the implementation of the activities and necessary for their execution;
• comply with the legislation of Ukraine, including taxation, labour relations and other relevant regulations;
• be reasonable, justified and consistent with the principles of sound financial management;
• be incurred within the defined project implementation period;
• be identifiable, properly documented and recorded in the accounting system of the grant recipient in accordance with applicable standards and usual accounting practices.

Additional restrictions and requirements

• Procurement of goods produced by Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company is prohibited.
• Budgeted costs must comply with:

• • Eligible Cost Guidance for Commercial Contracts,

  • FCDO Eligible Cost Guidance for Accountable Grant Agreements.

• Participants are not allowed to propose supplying goods or services to companies receiving funding or assistance from the governments of the United Kingdom or the United States if such companies are suspended or debarred from receiving such assistance or funding.

Main activity areas

Within the grant programme, selected grantees will implement:

• training and mentoring support for partner communities;
• practical methodologies and tools for managing priority project portfolios;
• approaches to effective local budgeting and expenditure planning;
• mechanisms to strengthen transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

The programme promotes a comprehensive approach to managing priority project portfolios financed from public resources to support essential services, including:

• education services;
• healthcare services;
• administrative services;
• social services;
• critical infrastructure facilities.

Practical implementation format

• The programme is designed with a strong practical orientation.
• Participants will work with their own community budget documents and priority initiatives.
• Approximately:

• • 80% of activities will focus on real community case studies;

  • 20% will consist of structured theoretical sessions and expert guidance.

• This approach allows participants to develop practical solutions during the programme.

Training delivery format

• Activities will be implemented throughout the entire grant period.
• The programme will follow a blended learning format:

• • about 60% online activities;

  • around 40% in-person activities.

• This format ensures flexibility while maintaining peer learning and expert interaction among communities.

Expected practical impact

The supported activities are expected to contribute to:

• improved financial planning at the community level;
• more evidence-based allocation of limited resources;
• reduced risks of inefficient or fragmented expenditures;
• stronger coordination among local actors;
• enhanced social and economic stability.

Additional project requirements

Project proposals must ensure the integration of GEDSI principles (gender equality, disability and social inclusion) throughout the design and implementation of activities.
Applicants are expected to consider the needs and barriers affecting women and men, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities and other social groups.

Stage 1. Preparatory and diagnostic phase

• The programme begins with engagement with core partner communities, followed by a structured diagnostic assessment.
• The assessment analyses:

  • existing medium-term regulatory and procedural documents;

  • initiatives aimed at restoring critical infrastructure;

  • the maturity of approaches to structuring and coordinating priority initiatives.

• Based on the assessment results, partner communities are grouped according to their institutional capacity and level of development of public-funded project management instruments.
• The findings determine how training content and mentoring intensity should be adapted to the needs of different community groups.

Stage 2. Programme implementation

Following the diagnostic phase, the grant recipient implements a capacity-building programme consisting of four interconnected modules.

Module 1. Prioritisation and allocation of publicly funded projects

• application of structured approaches to prioritising and sequencing projects;
• integration of project proposals into medium-term regulatory and procedural documents;
• development and improvement of project portfolios using transparent selection criteria.

Module 2. Project preparation and feasibility assessment

• preparation of documentation for projects financed from public funds;
• development of justifications regarding costs, socio-economic impact and risks in accordance with national requirements.

Module 3. Digital systems for project coordination and control (DREAM)

• practical use of the DREAM digital system for coordination, management and monitoring of projects;
• data entry, progress tracking and reporting at the community level.

Module 4. Implementation and monitoring of stabilisation projects

• use of institutional tools for identifying priorities of stabilisation projects;
• practical development of project ideas and implementation mechanisms within a guided learning process.

Stage 3. Targeted expert support and mentoring

• After completion of the training modules, the grant recipient provides targeted expert support to participating communities.
• Assistance is delivered individually or in groups, depending on community needs and priority projects.
• Support includes:

• • expert consultations on developing unified project portfolios (UPP);

  • analysis of financing opportunities from state and donor sources;

  • technical support for preparing medium-term priority plans for the use of public funds.

Stage 4. Consolidation of results and scaling of experience

• At the final stage, the grant recipient summarises programme outcomes and shares lessons learned with participating communities.
• Key activities include:

• • a final results workshop;

  • community case studies demonstrating successful practices;

  • preparation of recommendations for scaling the experience to other communities.

Engagement of experts

• The training programme involves independent national and/or international experts.
• Their expertise includes:

• • public finance management;

  • financial and socio-economic analysis;

  • risk management;

  • short- and medium-term planning.

• Experts provide both individual and mentoring support throughout the programme.

Expected results

As a result of the programme, participants are expected to:

• strengthen practical skills in managing public resources to ensure basic service provision;
• develop or improve short- and medium-term governance documents;
• prepare framework documents and decision packages ready for implementation;
• enhance institutional capacity for planning, coordination and transparent management of public funds.

Grant proposals must be submitted in Ukrainian in Word format using Times New Roman font, size 11, single spacing, based on the templates provided in Annexes A, B, C and D.

• Complete applications must be submitted electronically to: pfru-grants@chemonics.com.
• The subject line of the email must include the competition number: 22-01_Public_Resource.
• Submission deadline: 23:59 Kyiv time, 23 March 2026.
• Applications submitted after the deadline or those that do not meet the eligibility criteria may not be considered by Chemonics.

Evaluation criteria for grant applications define the process for eligibility screening and subsequent assessment by the selection committee.

Eligibility screening

Before evaluation, each application is checked against the following requirements:

• The application is submitted within the established deadline.
• The applicant organization is officially registered and recognized under Ukrainian law as a civil society organization or NGO.
• The proposed activities correspond to the programme’s geographic priorities defined in the relevant section.
• The applicant organization and its personnel have passed checks in the “Visual Compliance” and Youcontrol systems.
• All required supporting documents are included in the application.

Applications that meet these requirements are forwarded to the selection committee for evaluation.

Main evaluation criteria

Full grant applications are assessed according to the following categories (maximum 100 points):

• Project methodology and design — 40 points
• Expertise and experience — 30 points
• Budget and value for money — 20 points
• Risk management — 10 points

A. Project methodology and design (up to 40 points)

Assessment focuses on:

• the quality and realism of the proposed methodology;
• the ability of the technical approach to achieve the expected results;
• the appropriateness and justification of the methodology;
• integration of GEDSI approaches (gender equality, disability and social inclusion).

Scores depend on alignment with the programme priorities, methodological coherence and the level of GEDSI integration.

B. Expertise and experience (up to 30 points)

Evaluation is based on:

• up to three examples of previous assignments similar to the proposed activity;
• provision of reference contacts for previous projects;
• CVs of the proposed personnel.

Higher scores are awarded to organizations that demonstrate at least three relevant projects implemented within the past five years, along with proven experience in the relevant thematic or geographic area.

C. Budget and value for money (up to 20 points)

The committee evaluates:

• the detailed budget by expenditure categories;
• justification and realism of the proposed costs;
• efficient use of organizational and grant resources;
• explanation of unit cost calculations for goods or services.

Applications receive higher scores when the budget clearly demonstrates strong value for money.

D. Risk management (up to 10 points)

Applicants must explain how they plan to mitigate financial, environmental and security risks that may affect the implementation of grant activities.

Evaluation is based on a risk matrix:

• 10 points — clear risk structure and effective mitigation measures;
• 5 points — key risks identified but with limited detail;
• 0 points — risk matrix missing or insufficiently justified.

Threshold score

Applications that score at least 70 points and meet all eligibility requirements will be invited to the next stage and due diligence review.

The grantee must provide financial reporting. The final payment (5–10% of the project budget) is made after full reporting is submitted.

Grants are provided under the UK FCDO Standard Terms and Conditions and the Chemonics Supplier Code of Conduct based on the FCDO Code of Conduct.