Application Guidelines for Diaspora outcome DSP II DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY PROMOTION (DSP) APPLICATION GUIDELINES FOR DIASPORA (OUTCOME II) Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO‐K) through the project Democratic Society Promotion (DSP) implemented by the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) – provides financial support for projects, the purpose of which is to contribute in the fields and results expected from this project. BACKGROUND Kosovo, in proportion to the size of its population of approximately 2 mln people, has relatively large diaspora community estimated at around 800,000 people, much of which is concentrated in Germany and Switzerland but also in other countries. Diaspora support, for decades now, particularly in the form of remittances, has undoubtedly played a crucial role in Kosovo’s economic survival and development. Kosovo diaspora and migrants have accumulated significant potential in terms of knowledge, expertise and contacts; therefore, efforts should be made to channel these resources as efficiently as possible to actively contribute to the democratic and social development in Kosovo. However, despite various attempts much of the huge potential of Kosovo diaspora in the development of their historical homeland through supporting transfer of knowledge and know‐how remains untapped. The current practice targets only part of Kosovo’s diaspora and is limited to attract business investments, whereas other possible resources for democratic and socio‐economic development are neglected. At the same time, traditional diaspora organizations are focusing on keeping Kosovo identity abroad through culture, language, youth exchanges and education. Special attention needs to be paid to the mobilization of the civic actors in diaspora, for whom Kosovo remains an everyday concern. Hence, through support to diaspora organizations DSP will galvanize civic actors to contribute to democratic and social development in Kosovo. The areas where DSP will invest cover diaspora civic and political rights in Kosovo and transfers of “know‐how” by Kosovo’s diaspora for social and economic development in Kosovo. In reaching these objectives, DSP will employ project grants with the purpose of supporting the existing and new civic potential in Diaspora. Democratic Society Promotion ‐ DSP Page 1 Application Guidelines for Diaspora outcome DSP II OVERALL GOAL The overall goal of DSP is to support the development of a democratic society in Kosovo. DSP will contribute to the following two objectives/outcomes: Outcome I Kosovar citizens and civil society organizations increase their demand for, and take an active role in seeking high quality services, good governance and the integration of minorities. Outcome II Diaspora actively contributes to the democratic and social development of Kosovo. This call for applications, specifically call upon organizations in diaspora to apply with project proposals which will contribute to Outcome II only , namely Diaspora. PRIORITY AREAS Applicants with their proposals shall address one of the priority intervention areas below: 2.1 Diaspora media and civil society contribute to policy and decision‐making processes that reflect diaspora civic and political rights in Kosovo. 2.2 Initiatives that aim to create sustainable and institutional mechanisms for providing and transferring sectoral know‐how between diaspora and Kosovo are supported. EXPECTED RESULTS1 Through their activities, grant beneficiaries shall strive in reaching the following expected results but not limited to: 
Advance the diaspora civic and political rights in Kosovo and enable their practical implementation  Generate cases of positive changes in political, social, economic and administrative behavior regarding diaspora concerns;  Increased number of diaspora members participating in public debates which concern their civic and political rights;  Raised awareness of Kosovo institutions, civil society, academia and general public on specific diaspora needs/concerns related to their civic and political rights;  Create entry points and improve impact of diaspora civil society in policy‐making;  Create sustainable and institutional mechanisms to facilitate the transfer of sectorial know‐
how from diaspora to Kosovo Transversal theme Gender: Special attention shall be given for gender sensitive intervention strategies, projects, objectives and targets. 1
The results list does not reflect their importance. They are all equally important. Democratic Society Promotion ‐ DSP Page 2 Application Guidelines for Diaspora outcome DSP II Transversal theme Governance: Special attention shall be taken to foster the core principles of good governance: accountability, transparency, non‐discrimination, participation, right to information, and efficiency. INSTRUMENTS Under this call, DSP provides project grants: Project grants are intended to achieve specific results within a given timeframe. These grants will be awarded to those organizations in diaspora offering the most convincing ideas and with the greatest prospect of advancing above listed expected results. There is no high or low budget threshold for project grants. The application templates are straightforward. However, there will be strict and robust review process to ensure projects have working intervention logic and a concrete plan to tie together the objectives and activities, as well as to contribute in the achievement of expected results. FINANCIAL RESOURCES In reaching the above mentioned two priority areas, under outcome II, the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo has made available a budget of around 350.000 EUR. APPLICATION CRITERIA DSP will provide financial support to civic actors (NGOs) that will implement qualitative and meaningful projects that contribute to achieve above mentioned expected results. In order to be eligible for application, applicants shall: 
Be legal entity operating anywhere in Diaspora; 
Be non‐for‐profit organizations 
Be directly responsible for project management and not have intermediary role; and 
Are able to prove their capacities for the management of suggested activities. NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR APPLICANTS Interested applicants may apply with more than one application. However, applicants may not be beneficiaries of two grants simultaneously. DURATION Project grant duration needs to be in compliance with the expected overall goal and outcomes. However, the project duration may not exceed 24 months. Note: All projects and activities shall be concluded by 30th of March 2018 at the latest. Democratic Society Promotion ‐ DSP Page 3 Application Guidelines for Diaspora outcome DSP II BUDGET Minimal and maximal amount of funding is not determined. Applicants are encouraged to present effective and realistic budgets for the presented project. Budgets shall be presented in EUR regardless of the currency in the applicant’s country. HOW TO APPLY Applicants need to apply with proposals that are in compliance with the present guidelines and specific requirements in the respective application forms. Handwritten applications will not be accepted. Applicants shall fill in the application in one of these languages: Albanian, Serbian or English. Application forms can be downloaded from www.kcsfoundation.org/dsp Applicants need to fill in the project grants application form including the budget form, and other obligatory documents specified in the form. WHERE AND HOW TO SEND THE APPLICATIONS Applications must be sent in electronic form in .doc or .pdf format to following e‐mail [email protected] with clear reference in the subject line stating “Application from DIASPORA”. Only complete applications will be reviewed. APPLICATION DEADLINE The application deadline for project grants is 30/09/2015 at 24:00 (CET). EVALUATION Applications will be evaluated by a separate and independent body called Diaspora Grants Board (DGB). The board is chaired by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo. NOTIFICATION OF DECISION Only the selected applicants will be notified on the boards decision. The grant beneficiaries list will be posted online at www.kcsfoundation.org/dsp QUESTIONS PERIOD Any question you may have on the preparation of applications or grant application details can be sent via e‐mail at [email protected] at the latest by 31/08/2015. All answers will be uploaded on our website during September, 2015. CONTACT DETAILS www.kcsfoundation.org/dsp I [email protected] Democratic Society Promotion ‐ DSP Page 4