YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND PARTICIPATION
Small Grants Scheme (SGS)

Small Project Grants under UNICEF Youth Development & Participation project

Criteria
Project proposals must comply with all of the following criteria:

Priority regions: At the moment YDP SGS will fund projects in all regions. YDP SGS will give priority to projects with a clear cross-border focus (e.g. activities aiming at the development of regional co-operation or action at the level of a shared trans-boundary. Such project will normally seek to build harmony and promote peace among regional border populations.

Priority actions: A wide range of community activity can be considered. However, priority will be given to secular projects aimed at generating or sustaining activity run on a voluntary basis for the benefit of youth often excluded from mainstream activities.

Local Population: A project proposal should not only state the objectives of a project in terms of youth development & participation. It should also show that the project:

(a) Will not adversely affect the position of the various local stakeholders i.e. that on the basis of being awarded the small grant that the youth will seek or see themselves as the “authorities” in the community.

(b) Seeks to harmonize with the needs, views, expertise and experience of local stakeholders and associate them with the management (this will ensure that risk of (a) above is reduced and also promotes dialogue among the youth and wider community.

(c) Is based, whenever possible, on a participatory approach. Gender: As a general rule, project activities must explicitly integrate gender aspects. More specifically, the project should seek to improve the position of girls or it should at least avoid detrimental effects on gender-related issues.

In the context of youth development & participation, special attention should be paid to differences between girls and boys with respect to: use of resources; access to services and especially participation in decision-making.

Applicants must ensure that there projects support promotion of equal opportunities to both boys and girls.

Synergy: Priority will be given to collaborative/ network proposals or more than one youth groups seeking to work together. However, only one of the groups will be endorsed as the recipient.

A youth group will normally be expected to demonstrate that resources other than the YDP SGS funds have been obtained towards project costs-these may be in cash or in kind.

Administrative Criteria
The following administrative criteria will be used when appraising a project proposal. Appraisals will be undertaken by the LOCAL MANAGEMENT panel with UNICEF participation.

• Grant Recipients. Proposals can be submitted by youth groups with:
• a proven capacity to implement similar types of projects in the fields of youth development & participation
• Sufficient capacity to manage and steer the proposed project
  
  Project proposals should clearly indicate why the involved youth groups are able to successfully implement the proposed project (i.e. capacity in terms of project and financial management, transparent management procedures, qualification and/or experience of personnel, etc.). Previous experience with comparable projects (if any) should be indicated.
  
  Format of proposal: Only project proposals prepared and submitted according to the enclosed format will be considered.
  
  Project duration, completion, and final report: Maximum duration of a project is 6 months and a report submitted to the LOCAL MANAGEMENT panel within 1 month on completion of the project including a report on utilization of the grant.
  
• Local expertise. YDP SGS will give the highest priority to the use of available local expertise.
• Urgency of action. YDP SGS LOCAL MANAGEMENT panel will appraise new project proposals twice a year. These two rounds of appraisal will occur at fixed periods. The deadlines for the submission of proposals for these appraisals are 1 December and 1 May. In emergency situations, however, a request for urgent funding of actions is possible. Urgent actions are field or campaigning activities for which immediate assistance is needed. The maximum amount that can be allocated to an urgent action is US$ 800. Decision on funding of urgent actions will be made within one week after reception of the proposal.

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