Call for proposals - Training for Iraq – MENA Scholarship Programme (MSP)

Iraq faces many challenges, including a fragile security situation, challenges in the field of rule of law and economic insecurity. Iraq’s young people have over the past few years demonstrated their desire to make a positive change for their country.

Since 2021, NIMD launched their Democracy Schools in Iraq, bringing together young activists and aspiring policy makers for workshops on building democratic knowledge and skills as part of a project, implemented by the Women’s Empowerment Organization and funded by the Dutch Embassy in Iraq. In 2022, the local partner organisation MOJA started the implementation of the Hope Forward project, focused on training and equipping aspiring young policy makers. This project is also funded by the Dutch embassy in Iraq.

As an add-on to these projects the MENA Scholarship Programme is offering an opportunity for Dutch training providers to organise a training for activists and aspiring young policymakers in Iraq.

This call is open for Dutch training providers who:

• have a track record of providing training in the suggested topics of policy making and implementation, democratic values and political procedures, accountability and human rights.
• have experience in the region and/or knowledge of the political context of Iraq.
• are interested in giving training in Iraq, the Netherlands and online.
• are interested in working together with local partner organisations.
• are interested in customising a training for representatives of grassroots organisations, young Iraqi civil society and young aspiring policy makers.
• agree with the MSP TMT Grant Conditions.
• meet the general criteria.

About the participants
Selection criteria for participants:

• The participants are representatives of grassroots organisations, young aspiring policy makers and young Iraqi civil society. They will be selected by the local organisations, the Dutch training provider and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Baghdad.
• The participants are enrolled in ongoing projects with NIMD/Women Empowerment Organisation and MOJA or were enrolled in these projects in the past. All of the mentioned projects are set-up to equip young and reform-minded Iraqi civil society with the right skills set and tools to claim their rights, participate politically, and to be heard.
• The participants are those from the ongoing projects who prove most committed to the trainings, have high potential and benefit from being enrolled in an advanced and more tailor made programme with other participants from two ongoing projects.
• The trainings must be tailored made and based on the needs of the participants, therefore in-depth interviews before and during the trainings must be held once a training provider is selected. Dutch training providers have to commit to tailor the training to the needs of the participants based on the interviews.

About the local partners:

• To make the training sustainable, the Dutch training provider is asked to work with two Iraqi organisations: Women Empowerment Organisation (working together with NIMD) and MOJA, Iraqi-based NGOs with a focus on policy making.

Suggested topics:

• Skills development: public speaking, advocacy, debate, stake holder analyses.
• Political experience: how to start and organize a party, how to maintain an inclusive and democratic party, how to develop policies that are effective in achieving policy objectives, how to develop a manifesto, what is effective and inclusive leadership, democratic processes and procedures, how writing motions, how does public consultation work.
• Campaigning: dialogue, communication, PD, maintain and expand a network
• Advocacy: strengthening advocacy capacity (locally and internationally), facilitation of underrepresented groups’ participation in advocacy (local and international, addressing local and international policies to improve supportive environments)
• All trainings must be an advanced level of the trainings given to participants by NIMD/WEO and MOJA in the ongoing projects of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Iraq.

Suggested criteria:

• Contextualising training curriculum with local partners, NIMD and NL Embassy.
• Training grassroots organisations with support from local partners (can be hybrid with at least 60% in-person, including a minimum of 1 group training for approximately 15 participants in the Netherlands).
• Providing individual coaching sessions to participants requiring further support (hybrid or online modality).
• Instilling part of the training curriculum at the local partner organisation(s).
  

• Basic information about one of the ongoing projects is available on the NIMD site.
• Outreach to grassroots organisations can be supported by the local partners in Iraq, as well as the Embassy of the Netherlands in Iraq.
• The Dutch training provider must coordinate the design of selection criteria with the embassy once the proposal is selected.
• Due to the timelines of the already existing projects in Iraq, the start of this TMT preferably should be Q2 of 2024 or later.
• The embassy will take part in the selection process of the participants.

Budget

75.000 Euro.

Deadline

Friday 6 October 2023, 5 pm CEST.

More information on MSP TMT

Read more on procedures and additional documents for this call on the MSP call overview page.

How to apply?

You can find all information on the process of applying and the required documents on the MSP page. Please use the proposal form to submit your application.

Application document

Proposal form (103.4 kB)