Frequently Asked Questions about the CFCS

The project has to bring an innovative solution to the development challenge for one of the priority countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Georgia, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Moldova and Republic of Zambia.

Eligible Applicant: Private or public sector entity, NGO, university, state institution, municipality or research center – all must be registered in the Czech Republic.

The proposed project must have a potential for financial, social and environmental sustainability and scale-up.

All projects must be inclusive in nature and benefit the target beneficiaries and contribute to the achievement of SDGs, rather than solely benefitting the participating Entity.

Expected length of contract: up to 12 months.

Estimated grant award: US$ 20,000 – US$ 40,000.

Co-funding from applicant’s side: at least 20% of the total cost of the project.

Development challenges (focused areas) are defined for each priority country and each call for applications differently. Innovator should submit its innovative solution that corresponds with development challenges defined for the respective country (i.e. energy efficiency, waste management, circular economy, sustainable agriculture etc..) Development challenges for the current call for applications can be found here.

The priority countries are the following: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Georgia, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Zambia.

Applicant may submit only one application per country. A limit that only one application per call for applications may be selected has been lifted. However, if there are identical projects for multiple countries, only one may be selected for award.

The Challenge Fund: Czech Solutions for SDGs co-funds innovative solutions, technologies, services, ideas, or products, and views innovation in its broadest sense including:

• A new approach, product, idea or service that has not been tested anywhere;
• A new approach, product, idea or service that is new or unique for a priority country;
• A service or a business model being introduced to a target group where it has not been tried before.

Projects supported by the Challenge Fund: Czech Solutions for SDGs should have the proven potential for financial, social and environmental sustainability and scale-up.

Projects must be available for sharing, replicable, and must built on technologies or methodologies that are adaptable to various contexts.

The supported outcome is a new approach, product, idea or service. The supported outcome is also a feasibility study providing an innovative and replicable solution to the identified development challenge. The study will include evidence that the proposed solution is feasible, and implementation plan specifying concrete actions and partnerships necessary for the implementation of the solution. It will list all associated activities, stakeholder engagement, implementation costs and possibilities for scale-up.

SDGs is the abbreviation for the Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030, which is a framework and blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They include the targets and indicators to measure progress toward reaching the goals like “No poverty” (SDG 1) or “Clean water and sanitation” (SDG 6).

Please, see the following website in English or Czech for your further reference.

Applicants are required to engage local partners for the sake of viability, sustainability and scalability of their solution.

All projects must be inclusive in nature and benefit the target beneficiaries and contribute to the achievement of SDGs, rather than solely benefitting the participating entity. The partners could be local private sector entities, NGOs, universities, state institutions or research centers – in the line with the proposed topic of the proposed project.

If you need advice regarding local partners, please contact the respective Embassies of the Czech Republic in Sarajevo, Addis Ababa, Tbilisi, Phnom Penh, Chisinau, or Lusaka.. You can also get in touch with the UNDP Country Offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Georgia, Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Moldova, or the Republic of Zambia.

The proposed solutions need to have a potential for:

• Commercial sustainability: How will the activities be financed after the CFCS funding ends?
• Environmental sustainability: Will the proposed solution contribute to the quality of environment on a long-term basis?
• Social sustainability: How does the proposed solution promote well-being of people and understanding of their needs?

Projects should be scaled up in the priority country and/or a broader region. They must be available for sharing, replicable and must be built on technologies or methodologies that are adaptable to various contexts.

The Challenge Fund: Czech Solutions for SDGs grants US$ 20,000 and US$ 40,000 per project.

Typical items that can be covered by the Challenge Fund: Czech Solutions for SDGs may include, but are not limited to:

• Project staff salaries;
• Consultancy fee for technology, design, business, development and other services;
• Small equipment and supplies, e.g. software, toner, stationery;
• Training and workshop expenses;
• Travel costs provable related to the project implementation.

The applicants are expected to provide in-kind or financial co-funding of at least 20% of the total project costs. Co-funding can be in-kind.

Co-funding above the minimum threshold is preferred and will be taken into account during evaluation.

You have to register and complete an online project application here before the deadline stated in the call for applications.

More information about the call for applications and other activities of the Czech-UNDP Partnership for Sustainable Development Goals are available via: cup.applications@undp.org