Grants

RAVI funding will be available over a five year period with annual calls for Expressions of Interest. Two broad types of grants will be disbursed and in any one year a CSO can only apply for one but not both types of grant. The two types are:

• Grants to ‘intermediary’ CSOs. An intermediary CSO will use this grant for working with and strengthening civil society capacity at the district and community levels to carry out citizen-government engagement.

• Grants to CSOs for Direct Engagement. These will be used for direct citizen-government engagement at the regional and national levels in Ghana using rights based approaches and people centred advocacy.

Each year RAVI expects to award 10-25 medium and large grants (£25,000 each and above) and around 25 small grants of £5,000-£25,000.


Intermediary organizations

Past studies and experience have shown that organisations with intermediary responsibility have sometimes usurped and stifled the roles and efforts of smaller organisations that they work with. RAVI expects to work in partnership with intermediary organisations to play a facilitative and enabling role for grassroots organisations to carry out citizen-government engagement. The role of intermediary organisations will have two components: a) to focus on the strengthening of civil society capacity at the district and community levels in rights based approaches and with a concern to reach civil society partners that are not easily reached by other initiatives in a broad range of human rights issues, b) channelling small grants to CBOs/LNGOs to do citizen-government engagement at the district and community levels. Intermediary CSOs should be legally registered not-for-profit Ghanaian CSOs working at the regional and national levels in Ghana.

In addition, intermediary organisations are expected to carry out value-adding strategies that will help to:

a) Build partnerships/alliances/coalitions among grassroots CSOs
b) Build district and community capacity in a responsive way
c) Increase local ownership
d) Develop learning capacity, and capacity for replication
e) Reduce urban and capital-city/town bias

The purpose of the grant is to enable intermediaries to identify and work with CBOs/LNGOs (small grantees) in Ghana to engage with Government in relation to the respect, protection and fulfilment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In this regard, intermediaries are expected to nurture and empower the CBOs/LNGOs (through capacity building, grant disbursement and technical support) to exercise voice in the arenas of public debate and demand for transparency and accountability in Government’s relations with its citizenry.


Direct Citizen-Government Engagement by CSOs

Legally registered not-for-profit Ghanaian CSOs working at the regional and national levels in Ghana who are interested in carrying out direct citizen-government engagement using the rights based approach and people centred advocacy can also benefit from RAVI funding. RAVI understands rights based approach and people centred advocacy to the following elements:

* Promoting accountability at all levels
* Linkages to human rights standards
* Shifting power relations
* Facilitating transformation
* Strengthening voices of poor and marginalised people
* Ensuring inclusion and participation