Support to Master’s Degree Programmes in Human Rights and Democratisation outside the European Union

This European Commission call for proposals may not be directly relevant to NGOs as only higher educational institutions are invited to submit applications. However, NGOs and international development organizations are necessary components of any action undertaken in this programme. According to the proposal guidelines issued, “Academic teaching should be supervised by academics of high professional standing. It is also strongly encouraged that teaching is not limited to lectures by academic experts, but also by experts from intergovernmental organisations, national authorities, NGOs and human rights practitioners experienced in fieldwork.” This means that applicants need to work out collaborations with NGOs to implement the programme.

Under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the global objective is “to strengthen the international frameworks for the protection of human rights, justice and the rule of law, and the promotion of democracy in accordance with EU policy priorities. The specific objective is to provide assistance to regional networks for the training of specialists in the application of international human rights instruments, in particular, to support Master’s Degree Programmes in Human Rights and Democratisation outside the European Union.”

“Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum mounts:
• minimum amount: EUR 400 000
• maximum amount: EUR 1 500 000

A grant may not be for less than 50% of the total eligible costs of the action.

In addition, no grant may exceed 80% of the total eligible costs of the action (see also section 2.1.4). The balance must be financed from the applicant’s or partners’ own resources, or from sources other than the European Union budget or the European Development Fund.”

The deadline to submit applications is 2 March 2010. For more information, visit this link.