Partnership Application – DRI Small Grants

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organization registered in Berlin. DRI promotes the political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies, and the development of democratic institutions worldwide. Democratic discourse is the basis of our mission and vision. In our work, we facilitate discussion and exchange about democratic government and the need for a continuous discourse adhering to democratic rules.  

DRI has been active in Lebanon since 2016. We strengthen democracy by bringing it closer to people through effective local governance, improved transparency, and citizen participation. Our work in Lebanon focuses on three main areas:

• Empowering civil society, notably youths and women, to participate actively in political life and elections, increasing their representation in decision-making positions.
• Promoting good governance, public integrity, and the rule of law.
• Increasing engagement between people and local authorities to help improve how public services are delivered and cooperation between different levels of government.  

The project “A bottom-up reform agenda for Lebanon: Supporting youth, women, and civil society actors to expand civic space” aims to enable an inclusive political and systemic change based on active citizenship, accountability, and good governance. It is articulated around the parliamentary and municipal elections to build on the growing trend of civic activism by supporting emerging civil society actors to shape the political decision-making. With active citizenship at the forefront, the project aims to channel civic activism to shape policy and decision-making in Lebanon through supporting civil society actors and municipal officials to influence a reform agenda revolving around their demands.

DRI is seeking to partner with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), or civil society organisations (CSOs) from various geographical areas in Lebanon. DRI will fund and support the implementation of small grant projects at the local community level within select regions. The partnership aims at increasing the impact and sustainability of the project, building networks with DRI, and enhancing local capacities.

To do so, DRI will also facilitate people-centred and inclusive community-driven processes (e.g., townhall meetings, consultations, discussion rounds, brainstorming sessions) with local stakeholders in partnership with successful applicants, to enable civil society to capture the needs of their communities, identify pressing challenges, co-create solutions with the local authorities, and validate proposed projects ideas. These public fora and the initiatives resulting from them will connect local communities to their municipal representatives and provide meaningful opportunities for participation in agenda-setting, oversight, informed deliberation, and shared learning at the local level. The small grants, which DRI will provide, should be geared toward creating community action plans that are focused on locally owned solutions to local issues.

The concept notes must propose local community actions/projects that address at least one of the thematic areas below:

• Increasing the participation of women, youths, and/or vulnerable or disadvantaged groups, and their increased participation in the local community
• Strengthening the capacity of municipalities and/or their unions to provide public services and to better serve their population.
• Curbing corruption through the implementation of Access to Information, Digital Transformation, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, or the new Public Procurement Law.

Once the required documents are submitted, shortlisting of successful applicants shall take place. The shortlisted organisations will be invited to present their concept notes and project ideas in a presentation format for DRI team at our local office in Beirut.

Prior to selection, the winning organisations shall be required to validate their proposed projects ideas through people-centred and inclusive community-driven processes (e.g., townhall meetings, consultations, discussion rounds, brainstorming sessions) with local stakeholders. The catering within the sessions will be provided by DRI.

During the implementation phase of the projects, each selected organisation must commit to two full day training sessions on Project Cycle Management. The trainings aim at understanding project cycles from its initiation to its closure phases, use M&E tools, and enhance reporting skills in compliance with DRI’s partnership guidelines in terms of narrative and financial reporting.