The British Council in Albania invites media organisations, local media outlets, civil society, community-based organisations and other legal entities registered and operating in Albania to apply for the Alternative Pathways Grants Scheme.
The British Council in Albania is implementing the Alternative Pathways Grant Scheme – a new programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – that engages directly with teenagers (aged 13–18) in migration hotspots in northern Albania by offering them alternatives to irregular migration through a combination of skills and capacity building, engagement with the media and community action in order to build capacity, strengthen confidence and create opportunities at the local level.
The Alternative Pathways Grant Scheme aims to build skills and offer young people opportunities, while at the same time empowering them in their communities to drive the narrative through the media and bring about change through community engagement. It offers alternative opportunities and raises awareness about the risks of irregular migration in order to steer young people away from the dangerous decision to seek to migrate illegally.
Our intention is to contribute to building the confidence, skills and self-esteem of young people individually as part of the community, with the media, in schools and as contributing members of society, providing opportunities, alternative pathways and hope for a better future for young people in northern Albania.
1.0 Objectives and scope of the call
The following are the outcomes that the Alternative Pathways Programme aims to achieve through this grant scheme:
- Outcome 1: Diverse young people have developed the skills, confidence and capacity to participate in areas relevant to their current and future needs and interests.
- Outcome 2: Diverse young people engage with the media and their communities to identify problems and issues, give voice to them and explore potential solutions locally.
- Outcome 3: Diverse young people engage with civil society and take proactive action in their community to identify challenges and problems, and are able to create, plan and implement creative solutions that contribute to positive change.
Target geography and final beneficiaries of the grant activities
- Municipalities in North Albania (at least eight municipalities, including – but not limited to – Diber, Kukes, Mat, Bulqize, Klos, Has, Tropoje, Malesi e Madhe)
- Young adults (special focus on teenagers aged 13–18)
- Local communities from municipalities of Northern Albania
- Local/grass roots organisations and local activists
- Local journalists and local media
Focus areas
LOT 1: Media engagement and awareness to impact narratives on illegal immigration
Enable the engagement of local media/journalists with young people, their families and communities to address and advocate jointly on local issues and challenges that they care about, and to create locally relevant stories and narratives, including raising awareness of the dangers of illegal migration.
For more information, see LOT 1 Call for Application AP in the ‘Downloads’ section below.
LOT 2: Grants on youth engagement and community actions
Enable and empower local and grassroot organisations and informal groups to directly engage with young people to identify challenges and problems, and to create, plan and implement creative solutions which contribute to positive change.
For more information, see LOT 2 Call for Application AP in the ‘Downloads’ section below.
LOT 3: Regional youth festival for engaged and creative youth in Northern Albania
Establish a sustainable platform for the promotion and development of creative and entrepreneurial skills for young talent from the north, in order to create socio-economic opportunities and to enable social mobility for young people.
For more information, see LOT 3 Call for Application AP in the ‘Downloads’ section below.
2.0 General rules for the call for applications
2.1 Eligibility criteria
The applicant must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for funding under the Grant Scheme:
- The applicant must be a legal entity established and operating in Albania.
- The applicant must prove all due taxes are paid in accordance with local legislation.
- If the applicant is not an organisation from Northern Albania, it is mandatory to form a partnership with a local organisation, a local media outlet or a local informal group from the Northern Municipalities.
Important note:
An applicant may apply for more than one LOT, but only one application per organisation can be approved for a grant (either LOT 1, LOT 2 or LOT 3).
2.2 Duration of the project
The duration of the project must not exceed eight (8) months in total.
The starting date should be from July 2024.
2.3 Location
The activities should be implemented in North Albania, in the municipalities of the Regions (Qark) of Shkodra, Kukes and Dibra.
2.4 Instructions for application submission
2.4.1 Application form content
Applications must be submitted in line with the instructions and guidance of this call. The following documents should be submitted when applying for this call:
- Application Form
- Calendar of Activities
- Budget Form
For more information, please refer to the documents in the ‘Downloads’ section below.
The Application File should include the following supporting documents:
- Legal registration certificate of the legal entity confirming that it is registered in the country of application
- Statute of the organisation (if applicable)
- Financial statements for the 2022 and 2023 calendar years
- Certificate from the relevant tax authority that the legal entity has paid all due taxes, in accordance with local legislation, issued no earlier than January 2024
- CV of the organisation
- CVs of the main working group
- If a partnership is proposed:
– Legal registration and statute of the partner organisation (if applicable)
– CV of the partner organisation/informal group
– Memorandum of collaboration
The Application Form and Budget can be completed in English or Albanian, but English is the preferred language.
The Application Form should be signed and stamped.
2.4.2 Where and how to send the applications
The Application Form and its annexes must be submitted exclusively by email in both PDF format (signed, stamped and scanned) and original editable format (Word and Excel).
The application must be submitted to info.albania@britishcouncil.org by the deadline (see Section 2.4.3).
The Application Form (along with supporting documents) must be sent via email, with the LOT number and the name of the applicant in the subject line.
2.4.3 Application deadline
The applicant must submit the Application Form by 7 June 2024 (24.00 midnight local time).
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered for funding. The deadline applies to all parts of your application, including the supporting documentation.
2.4.4 Clarifications, questions and answers
Requests for clarification should be sent to info.albania@britishcouncil.org by 31 May 2024 (17.00) at the latest.
An online Information session will be organised on 23 May 2024 (10.00–11.30).
2.5 Evaluation and selection
The evaluation will be conducted in three (3) steps:
Step 1: Administrative and eligibility check
During the administrative check the following will be assessed:
- Compliance with the submission deadline. If the deadline has not been met, the application will automatically be rejected.
- The Application Form satisfies all criteria specified in section 2.1 Eligibility criteria and subsection 2.4.1 Application form content. If any of the requested information/documentation is missing or incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis, and it will not be evaluated further.
Any application that meets the above requirements will be evaluated further as part of the quality assessment.
Step 2: Quality assessment
The applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- The quality and relevance of the proposed project (40 points)
- Engagement of target groups (30 points)
- Relevant experience/adequate level of expertise and capacity to implement the proposed project (20 points)
- Alignment of the proposed budget with the proposed project and value for money (10 points)
Applications with higher scores will be recommended by the evaluation panel for possible grant awarding and subject to available funding.
Step 3: Due diligence
Due diligence will be conducted through the Due Diligence Checklist which will be provided to shortlisted applicants.
The Due Diligence Checklist is a self-declaration document to be filled in by the applicant and will be confirmed by the programme team. Any missing supporting document or any discrepancy between the declaration by the applicant and the supporting documents may lead to the rejection of the application on that sole basis.
Applicants will be informed of decisions regarding their application by email.
The programme team reserves the right to propose activity and budget changes to maximise impact and budget utilisation, ensuring that the principles of value for money and overall project efficiency are applied.
Successful applicants will receive a Grant Agreement. All projects must be completed in accordance with their Grant Agreement.
In order to understand the impact of the awarded grants, the programme team requires grant recipients to submit a post-grant report that includes a narrative description of project outcomes and a financial report backed up by relevant eligible evidence of spending. The report template will be determined by the programme team.
Notification
Applicants will be informed of decisions regarding their application by email.
The following is the indicative table of the application, evaluation and notification process:
| Call for application process | Date/Month |
|---|---|
| Launch of the call | 17 May 2024 |
| Deadline for requesting clarifications | 31 May 2024 |
| Information session | 23 May 2024 |
| Deadline for submission of applications | 7 June 2024 |
| Notification of the results of the selection | 1 July 2024 |
| Final adjustments and grant agreement signing | July 2024 |
3.0 Conditions of implementation
3.1 Contractual arrangements
Selected applicants will be considered for funding under this call for applications. Subject to a successful due diligence check, a grant agreement containing terms and conditions will be signed with British Council Albania.
3.2 Visibility
All project-related visibility activities will be carried out in accordance with the Programme Communication Strategy. Grantees will be required to plan and carry out communication activities in accordance with project rules and procedures. All equipment purchased with funds from the grant donation will be properly marked to reflect ownership.
Grantees will receive a promotional toolkit designed by the programme team to support their promotional activities and guide them on the project’s visibility requirements.
3.3 Data protection policy
The British Council takes data protection seriously and recognises the importance of collecting and managing data in a way that protects the rights of the people we work with. In doing so, we work to a set of internationally recognised minimum standards in data management, and we support our grant beneficiaries to work to the same minimum standards.
We apply the UK Data Protection Act – including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – in all our global operations, unless equivalent local law is stronger. For more detailed information and guidance, please refer to our website: www.britishcouncil.org/privacy-cookies/data-protection.