Please read the detailed instructions below. ከስር የተጠቀመጠውን እያንዳንዱን መረጃ በጥንቃቄ ያንብቡ።

Call for concept notes for community-based organizations and small Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Northern Ethiopia:

Receive funding for your own project on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Dealing with the Past and peacebuilding

The Support to Transitional Justice in Ethiopia Project (S2TJ) of the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) aims to support community-based organizations (CBOs), survivor associations and small Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in building a peaceful, inclusive and just future for conflict-affected communities in Afar, Tigray and Amhara.

Eligible community-based organizations (CBOs), survivor associations, and civil society organizations (CSOs) from Afar, Tigray, and Amhara are invited to apply for funding to implement their own gender-responsive projects that bring together Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Dealing with the Past, and Peacebuilding1.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS):

MHPSS means supporting people and communities in recovering stress, trauma, or difficult experiences. This can include listening and counselling, community and family support, cultural or faith-based healing activities, and connecting people to specific care when needed.

Your project ideas to improve mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in conflict-affected communities should have a special focus on women, youth, and other marginalized groups.

Your activities can include, for example, community-based counseling, peer support initiatives, safe spaces for survivors, awareness-raising on coping strategies, or training local actors to provide culturally sensitive and survivor-centered/trauma-informed psychosocial support.

Dealing with the Past:

Dealing with the Past means assisting communities in addressing and recovering from past violence or injustice — for example, by sharing truth, recognizing victims, promoting justice, and rebuilding relationships.

Your project ideas should be aimed at supporting communities to confront and process past conflicts in a safe and inclusive way, promoting reconciliation and social cohesion. This could include activities such as community dialogues led by conflict survivors, women and other key actors, locally remembrance and memorialization events, storytelling projects, or capacity building for local organizations to support survivors and document local experiences of conflict.

Peacebuilding:

Peacebuilding means supporting people and communities in living together peacefully by solving conflicts, promoting dialogue, and strengthening trust and cooperation.

Your project ideas to strengthen trust, cooperation, and resilience within conflict-affected communities should have a focus on women, youth, and marginalized groups. Your activities could include peace dialogues and mediation forums, joint community projects that foster collaboration across divides, youth-led peace campaigns, training in non-violent conflict resolution, or creating inclusive platforms where diverse groups can work together to address shared challenges.

Please also refer to the UNDP guidance note on MHPSS and peacebuilding and the IASC guidelines on MHPSS in emergency settings.

Linkage of the three intervention areas: The projects should link the three above-mentioned areas in a feasible and sound manner. Supporting people’s mental health and emotional recovery enables them to take part in efforts to face and talk about past harm, which in turn makes it easier to rebuild trust, strengthen relationships, and prevent new conflicts. Therefore, combining interventions on MHPSS, Dealing with the Past and Peacebuilding helps communities to get better and move forward in a more peaceful and inclusive way.

Target group: Conflict-affected communities in the above regions with high focus on conflict victims and survivors, including survivors of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, vulnerable women, youth, internally displaced people and people with disabilities.

Project duration: 12 months
Project sites: Conflict-affected areas of Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions
Available budget: max. 30,000 Euro

Eligibility criteria:

Your organization is eligible if you meet all of the following conditions:

1. Your organization is based in Afar, Amhara or Tigray.

2. Your organization works at community-level in one or more conflict-conflict affected communities.

3. Your organization is working (formally or informally) in the areas of MHPSS, Dealing with the Past, peacebuilding, and similar interventions.

4. Your organization is formally registered and has a basic accounting and time- management system.

4. Your organization is a small CSO, meaning that your annual financial turnover has not exceeded USD 100,000 in any of the last three years.

5. Your organization is interested in participating in integrated capacity development measures with regards to organizational development, financial management, MHPSS, Dealing with the Past, and Peacebuilding.

How does the application process work? What are the final selection criteria?

• Applications must be submitted in English, using the attached concept note template.
• Applications that do not use the attached template or exceed 6 pages will not be considered.
• Each organization may submit ONE application only. Multiple submissions by the same organization will not be considered.
• Applying with other CSO/CBO in partnership (consortium applications) will not be considered.
• Applications requesting funding exceeding 30,000 Euros will not be considered.

Please send your application materials to stc_procurement_Quotation@giz.de  by November 24, 2025, 23:59 pm. Clearly mention “Submission of concept note for the Support to Transitional Justice project” on the subject line of your email.

In the first round of the application process, eligible CSOs can submit a short concept of their project idea outlining the objectives, approaches, timeline, and budget. If your application meets the eligibility criteria, it will be assessed by a selection committee and can then be shortlisted.

In the second round, short-listed applicants are invited to work on a detailed proposal.

Shortlisting in the first round and final selection is conducted by the selection committee against the following criteria:

• Objectives: The proposed project and its activities meet the objective of the S2TJ, aiming to build a peaceful, inclusive and just future for conflict-affected communities in Afar, Tigray and Amhara.
• Combination of intervention areas: The proposed project convincingly combines the three thematic priorities of MHPSS, Dealing with the Past and Peacebuilding.
• Project logic: The concept note provides a coherent understanding of the project’s logic, explaining the impact of the planned activities.
• Local context description: The proposed project should reflect a clear understanding of the local context, its needs, and challenges.
• Conditions for meaningful participation: The concept note clearly explains how target groups, local communities and especially women, conflict survivors, and other marginalized groups will be meaningfully involved in the implementation and planning of the activities, and how their emotional readiness to participate will be ensured.
• Long-term impact: The sustainability and long-term impact of the proposed project are clearly outlined
• Adherence to timeframe and budget: The proposed project shall be implemented with the available funding (up to 30.000 EUR) and within the timeframe (12 months).
• Community standing and capacity: The organizational capacity and standing in the community to implement the activities effectively and ensure collaboration with the S2TJ team is well illustrated.
• Priority will be given to women-led, youth-led and survivor-led organizations.
• Commercial Eligibility Assessment will take place following the final selection by the selection committee.

We are looking forward to your concept notes!
The GIZ/S2TJ team