Call for Proposals: Society Against Corruption in Montenegro

Deadline: 15 December 2023

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Civic Alliance (CA) announce a new opportunity, funded by the US State Department, for local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and media outlets to combat corruption, a major impediment to establishing the rule of law in Montenegro.

Montenegro faces significant challenges related to corruption, impacting its economy and human rights. Despite the government prioritizing the fight against corruption, results are often inadequate, contributing to political instability and societal divisions. The project aims to bridge the gap between citizens, civil society and local media, empowering them to collaboratively identify, report and combat corruption, particularly in healthcare, education and the environment.

Objectives

As a result, this project aims to bring Montenegrin citizens, civil society and local media closer to one another and empower them to work together on identifying and reporting corruption, holding institutions accountable and demanding results – while at the same time raising awareness of the damage of corruption, especially in the strategic areas of healthcare, education and the environment.
The objectives for this round of grants include:
- Increased capacities of local media, civil society and citizens to identify corruption in healthcare in their communities, report it to responsible authorities and hold institutions accountable;
- Empowered civil society and media to report and counter corruption in healthcare at national and local level and influence changes;
- Improved constructive engagement among civil society, government(s) and/or private sector and policies, laws and/or anti-corruption practices in healthcare.

Funding Information

Maximum grant amount: $12,430.00
Number of grants: 6
Total estimated amount: $74,580.00
No co-financing required from applicants.

Outputs and Activities

The expected outputs (Op) and activities (A) depending on your application type, whether as a Media Outlet or a CSO, may include:
- For Media Outlets:
  - Output 1.1 Cases of corruption in healthcare throughout Montenegro identified and, revealed
    - Activity 1.1 Developing factual and objective in-depth articles on healthcare based on the needs of local communities
  - Output 1.2 Increased public awareness in Montenegro regarding the significance of anticorruption efforts and the mechanisms for public interaction
    - Activity 1.2 Enforcing anti-corruption campaign via mainstream and social media
- For CSO’s:
  - Output 2.1 Drafted and published anti-corruption policy papers providing recommendations for improving anti-corruption policies, laws and/or practices in healthcare
    - Activity 2.1 Developing anti-corruption policy papers based on the needs of local communities
  - Output 1.2 Increased public awareness in Montenegro regarding the significance of anticorruption efforts and the mechanisms for public interaction
    - Activity 1.2 Enforcing anti-corruption campaign via mainstream and social media

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible entities: Registered CSOs and media outlets in Montenegro.
- For Media Outlets
  - Demonstrate a commitment to producing high-quality, independent journalism that serves the public interest.
  - Propose (at least 5) community impactful anti-corruption stories focused on healthcare.
- For CSOs
  - Demonstrate a commitment to producing high-quality, independent policy papers that serves the public interest.
  - Propose (at least 3) community impactful anticorruption policy papers focused on healthcare
Express clear intention and means of including under-represented communities in stories and policy papers. These may include marginalised groups, such as minorities, youth, women and other underreported communities.
Be a legally registered entity within Montenegro.