Call for proposal - open - Human Rights & Democracy programme country allocation Mongolia 2025

The European Commission Call EuropeAid funds actions under the Human Rights & Democracy programme in Mongolia with an indicative total budget of €240,000 and eligible grant requests between €200,000 and €240,000. Projects must be implemented in Mongolia by non-profit legal persons (CSOs, public sector operators, local authorities or eligible international organisations) and align with objectives to protect and empower individuals and safeguard fundamental freedoms including digital rights. Actions should run 24–36 months, co-financing is required (EU contribution typically 70–90%, up to 95% for qualified Mongolian-established applicants), and certain activities (e.g., microcredit, primary capital expenditure, stand-alone scholarships) are ineligible. Applicants must register in PADOR, submit applications online via PROSPECT using the required annexes, and meet the submission deadline of 30 September 2026, 23:00 Brussels time.

Human Rights & Democracy programme country allocation Mongolia 2025

What it funds

Grants to support promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Mongolia. Priority areas include protection and empowerment of individuals, safeguarding fundamental freedoms (online and offline), support to human-rights defenders, independent media and civil society strengthening.

Budget and award size:Total indicative allocation €240,000. Individual grants must request between €200,000 and €240,000; EU co-financing rate typically 70–90% (up to 95% in specific local cases) ¹.

Who can apply

Lead applicants must be legal, non-profit entities (civil society organisations, NGOs, public sector operators, local authorities or eligible international organisations) effectively established in eligible countries and directly responsible for preparing and managing the action. Co-applicants and affiliated entities are allowed; affiliated entities must have a structural link to applicants.

Key eligibility and features

1. 1Actions must take place in Mongolia and be consistent with HR&D country priorities and EU human-rights based approach.
2. 2Action duration: minimum 24 months, maximum 36 months.
3. 3Online registration in PADOR and submission via PROSPECT are mandatory; an information session is scheduled 06 July 2026.
4. 4Simplified cost options, financing not linked to costs (FNLC) and financial support to third parties are possible under conditions in the guidelines.

Applicants must follow the Guidelines for applicants and use the official application templates (concept note + full application). See the call notice and published annexes for application form, budget and logframe templates Call page. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full application instructions, eligibility rules, co-financing rates, reporting, contractual templates and annexes are in the Guidelines for applicants and Annexe documents available on the call page and in the published annexes.

Basic facts and timeline

Reference and contracting authority

Title:Call for proposal - open - Human Rights & Democracy programme country allocation Mongolia 2025. Reference: EuropeAid. Contracting authority: European Commission, Directorate/Service responsible: DG International Partnerships / Human Rights & Democracy programme. Call identifier: 187193. Primary publication and details: EU Funding & Tenders Portal and PROSPECT.

Key dates:Call start: 29 June 2026. Deadline for submission of full application (Brussels time): 30 September 2026 at 23:00 (PROSPECT online submission mandatory). Information session: 06 July 2026 (online). Clarifications deadline and publication dates as per Guidelines for Applicants ¹.

Purpose, objectives and scope

This open call is part of the Human Rights & Democracy thematic programme country allocation for Mongolia and aims to promote and protect human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law in Mongolia. Projects must adopt a human rights-based approach, mainstream gender and include sex-disaggregated data where possible. Actions must be implemented in Mongolia and be consistent with EU HR&D country strategies, the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy and relevant EU strategies (gender, disability, LGBTIQ, rights of the child).

Specific objectives and priority areas (non-exhaustive)

Overall objective:promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Specific objective 1: Protecting and empowering individuals (civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights). Specific objective 2: Safeguarding fundamental freedoms including the digital environment and addressing challenges arising from new technologies. Priority elements include strengthening civil society oversight and capacities, protection of human rights defenders and journalists, strategic litigation and advocacy, justice system strengthening, and public awareness on HR&D and digital rights.

Financial framework

Overall indicative budget for the call:€240,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all funds.

Grant sizes and co-financing:Eligible grant amounts: minimum €200,000; maximum €240,000. Co-financing rates: the action must be co-financed from sources other than the EU general budget. Minimum EU contribution: 70% of total eligible costs. Standard maximum EU co-financing rate: 90% of total eligible costs. Exception: up to 95% EU co-financing may be permitted for applicants established in Mongolia and proven to be local organisations by their statutes. International organisations are not eligible for the increased local rate. ¹

Eligible applicants and partners

Lead applicant:legal person, non-profit making and effectively established in an eligible country listed in the NDICI-Global Europe regulation (for this country allocation the action must be implemented in Mongolia). Eligible legal forms include non-profit Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), public sector operators, local authorities, international organisations (where expressly eligible). Lead applicants must be directly responsible for preparation and management of the action and not act as intermediaries. Co-applicants: may participate in design and implementation and must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the lead applicant. Affiliated entities: entities having a structural link with the applicant (control or membership). Associates, contractors and recipients of financial support are distinct roles with specific rules.

1. 1Eligible lead applicant types: non-profit CSOs / NGOs, public sector operators, local authorities, international organisations (if eligible), public law bodies, and other non-profit legal persons as specified in the Guidelines.
2. 2Co-applicants: may be included; must sign the mandate in Annex A.2 and meet eligibility.
3. 3Affiliated entities: allowed under defined structural link criteria; must sign affiliated entity statement.

Eligible actions, duration and location

Location:All actions must take place in Mongolia. Duration: minimum 24 months and maximum 36 months. Types of action: activities addressing the specific objectives listed in section 1.2 of the Guidelines (capacity building, advocacy, protection/support to HRDs and journalists, monitoring, public awareness, legal support, digital rights work, etc.). Ineligible actions include individual sponsorships or scholarships as the core activity, stand-alone one-off conferences, microcredit activities, primary capital expenditure, political party support and proselytism, or actions that discriminate or violate human rights.

Form of grant and eligible costs

Grants take the form of reimbursement of eligible costs and may include financing not linked to costs (FNLC) where specified. Eligible direct costs: staff, travel and subsistence, equipment and supplies, project office costs (subject to rules), service contracts, audits/expenditure verification, evaluations, translations, financial services and costs deriving directly from the contract. Contingency reserve: up to 5% of estimated direct eligible costs subject to prior written authorisation. Indirect costs: flat rate up to 7% of eligible direct costs (excluding volunteers and project office costs). Volunteer work may be accepted as an in-kind contribution under strict unit-cost rules. Ineligible costs are listed explicitly (debt service, provisions, purchases of land/buildings except in limited circumstances, currency exchange losses, in-kind contributions except volunteers, bonuses in staff costs, etc.). ¹

Application and submission rules

Application is submitted online through PROSPECT. Registration in PADOR and the EU Participant Register (PIC) is mandatory for organisations (unless a justified on‑line impossibility; in that exceptional case offline PADOR form Annex F must be uploaded). This is an open call in a two-stage evaluation process: a concept note (Annex A.1) is evaluated first; pre-selected lead applicants are invited to submit full applications (Annex A.2). All supporting documents required by the Guidelines must be uploaded in PADOR and PROSPECT by the deadline.

1. 1Submission portal: PROSPECT (online) — automatic confirmation of receipt online.
2. 2Mandatory templates to use: Concept note (Annex A.1), Full application (Annex A.2), Budget (Annex B), Logical Framework (Annex C), Declaration on Honour (Annex H), PADOR forms (Annex F), Standard Grant Contract (Annex G) and other annexes listed.
3. 3Language: English.

Evaluation and selection process

Evaluation is composed of three main steps:STEP 1 opening and administrative checks and evaluation of concept notes; STEP 2 evaluation of full applications (financial and operational capacity, relevance, design, implementation approach, sustainability, budget and cost-effectiveness); STEP 3 verification of eligibility and supporting documents for provisionally selected applications. Concept notes are scored out of 50 points; a minimum score of 30 is required for pre-selection. The full application is scored out of 100; the financial and operational capacity section must obtain at least 12/20 and no subsection with score 1.

Application stages:Applicants must submit both concept note (Annex A.1) and full application (Annex A.2) at first submission in PROSPECT; only concept notes are evaluated initially and shortlisted applicants are invited to the full application stage. For shortlisted lead applicants, eligibility checks (statutes, bank account, declarations) will be performed prior to contracting. This is therefore a three-stage process: 1) administrative check and concept note evaluation, 2) full application evaluation, 3) document eligibility verification and award decision ¹.

Required documentation and templates

Applicants must use the standard annex templates published with the Guidelines. Key published documents include: Guidelines for Applicants; Application form - Concept Note (Annex A.1); Application form - Full proposal (Annex A.2); Annex B Budget (worksheets for cost-based, FNLC and hybrid budgets); Annex C Logical Framework; Annex D Identification forms (public law, private law and natural person); Annex F PADOR offline registration; Annex G Standard Grant Contract (Special and General Conditions) and additional contractual Annexes (Procurement rules, Financial Toolkit, Model Financial Guarantee, Terms of Reference for contractual expenditure verification and third party assessment for FNLC, Annexes VI templates for narrative and financial reporting). All annex files are provided by the contracting authority and must be used unchanged. Links to public reference material are provided in the Guidelines.

1. 1Annex A.1 Concept note template (max pages specified).
2. 2Annex A.2 Full application template (narrative, methodology, logical framework, activity plan, sustainability, risk analysis).
3. 3Annex B Budget templates: 1a cost-based; €1Bhybrid cost-based + FNLC; 1c FNLC-only; justification worksheet and expected sources of funding worksheet.
4. 4Annex C Logical Framework (Logframe) and Activities Matrix (Annex E3d).
5. 5Annex H Declaration of Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (mandatory where applicable).
6. 6Annex F PADOR offline registration where online registration impossible.
7. 7Annex G Standard Grant Contract package (Special Conditions & Annex II General Conditions) and templates for contractual expenditure verification (Annex VII-A) and third party assessment for FNLC (Annex VII-B).

Eligibility, ethics and safeguards

Lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities must not be subject to exclusion situations. Applicants must respect EU values (human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights) and comply with anti‑fraud, anti‑corruption, anti‑bribery rules. Zero tolerance applies to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment; successful applicants must complete self-evaluation questionnaires (Annex L) for SEA-H unless exempted. Financial, environmental and core labour standards compliance is required. Visibility obligations apply unless derogation is agreed for security reasons.

Consortium and partnerships

Consortiums are permitted (lead applicant + co-applicant(s)). The lead applicant may act individually. Co-applicants must sign mandates in Annex A.2. Affiliated entities with structural links may participate; they do not sign the grant contract but must sign affiliated entity statements. Associates, contractors and recipients of financial support have separate defined roles and must not confuse roles. One lead applicant may submit only one application and be awarded only one grant under this call, but can appear as co-applicant/affiliated entity in other applications.

Project maturity and recommended stage

Targeted project stage:implementation / development of substantive civil society and rights-strengthening programmes at country level. Projects should be ready to operate at TRL equivalent: demonstration/operational implementation of activities in-country (not basic research or idea-only). Expected maturity: demonstrated organisational capacity, clear intervention logic and monitoring plan.

Funding type, modality and nature of support

Funding type:grant (action grant / operating support where specified). Modalities: reimbursement of eligible costs (actual costs and/or simplified cost options) and where authorised financing not linked to costs (FNLC) either entirely or as a hybrid. Nature of support: monetary funding to beneficiaries; non-monetary support such as capacity building is expected to be part of the funded activities but the contractual instrument is a monetary grant.

Administrative & compliance highlights

Mandatory PADOR and Participant Register (PIC) registration for organisations; PROSPECT online submission; IT support hours and helpdesk contacts provided. Supporting documents required with full application: statutes/articles of association, declaration on honour (Annex H) for amounts above €15,000, latest accounts (where applicable), audit reports for large applicants, identification forms, and other documents as listed in Guidelines. Originals or QES signatures required for some documents; translations required when not in the call language. Visibility rules apply; derogation possible for security reasons and must be agreed. Procurement by beneficiaries must follow procurement rules in Annex IV. Financial reporting and controls: contractual expenditure verifications, third party assessments for FNLC components, record-keeping obligations and rights of access for audits and checks are defined in Annexes and General Conditions.

1. 1Mandatory registration: PADOR (or offline PADOR Form Annex F if technical/security constraints) and EU Participant Register (PIC).
2. 2Online submission via PROSPECT only (exceptional off-line only if explicitly allowed, with conditions).
3. 3Supporting documents to be uploaded in PADOR and PROSPECT as required: statutes, accounts/audit report (if applicable), Declaration on Honour (Annex H), identification forms.
4. 4Procurement and subcontracting must comply with Annex IV procurement rules; financial support to third parties is allowed under strict conditions and must be defined in Annex A.2.
5. 5Contracting: successful applicants sign the Standard Grant Contract (Annex G). Pillar-assessed organisations may sign a contribution agreement instead.

How the selection is performed and award

Concept notes that pass administrative checks are evaluated for relevance and design (score out of 50). Concept notes scoring at least 30 and ranked within available budget thresholds proceed to full application stage. Full applications are evaluated on financial and operational capacity (section 1 must meet pass thresholds), relevance, design, implementation approach, sustainability and budget/cost-effectiveness (scored out of 100). Provisional selection leads to eligibility verification of supporting documents prior to award. A reserve list is established. Contracting follows verification and any minor corrections to budget/description (cannot raise EU contribution).

Final summary and explanation

This is an open call under the EU Human Rights & Democracy programme country allocation for Mongolia (2025 allocation) seeking projects that protect and promote human rights, democratic governance and fundamental freedoms in Mongolia. The call offers €240,000 in total with grant requests limited between €200,000 and €240,000. Applicants must be non-profit legal entities effectively established in eligible countries (local Mongolian organisations may benefit from higher co-financing ceilings), register in PADOR and the Participant Register, and submit applications online via PROSPECT. The process is two-phase (concept note then full application) with rigorous eligibility, capacity and quality evaluations. Contracts are awarded as grants with reimbursement of eligible costs and potential use of financing not linked to costs for result-based components. Applicants should follow strictly the provided templates and annexes, respect ethics and visibility rules, and be prepared for contractual expenditure verification and possible third-party assessment for FNLC components. The contracting authority reserves the right to not award all funds and to require clarifications, adjustments and supporting documents during the process.

Footnotes

1. 1Detailed rules, templates, scoring grids, eligibility criteria, reporting formats and contractual conditions are set out in the Guidelines for Applicants and the Annexes published with the call on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and in the PROSPECT documentation (Guidelines for applicants, Annexes A to L, Annex G Standard Grant Contract and all supporting templates). See the call documentation on the portal for the full text and downloadable annexes.

Key Facts at a Glance

Who Should Apply?

The lead applicant must be a non-profit legal person, specifically a Civil Society Organization (CSO), public sector operator, local authority, or international organization effectively established in Mongolia ². Applicants must be non-profit-making and directly responsible for the action's preparation and management, not acting as intermediaries ². Co-applicants and affiliated entities must meet the same eligibility criteria ².

Priority Focus Areas:Proposals must align with two specific objectives: (1) Protecting and empowering individuals (e.g., strengthening civil society oversight, protecting human rights defenders, strategic litigation) and (2) Safeguarding fundamental freedoms (e.g., supporting journalists, media workers, and addressing digital technology challenges) ².

1. 1Enhanced civil society oversight on human rights violations
2. 2Material support and protection for human rights defenders
3. 3Capacity building for advocacy and strategic litigation
4. 4Protection of journalists and media workers
5. 5Public awareness on digital rights and technology regulation

Application Process & Requirements

This is an open call requiring the submission of both a Concept Note and a Full Application simultaneously ³. Only concept notes are evaluated in the first step; pre-selected applicants are then invited to submit full applications for the second evaluation step ³. Online submission via PROSPECT is mandatory, and registration in PADOR is required for all legal entities ³.

Critical Deadlines:An information session is scheduled for 06 July 2026 at 15:00 Ulaanbaatar time ³. The deadline to request clarifications is 09 September 2026, and the final submission deadline is 30 September 2026 ³.

1. 1Register in PADOR and update profile (mandatory)
2. 2Complete Concept Note (Annex A.1)
3. 3Complete Full Application (Annex A.2)
4. 4Prepare Budget (Annex B) and Logical Framework (Annex C)
5. 5Submit Declaration on Honour (Annex H) and Statutes
6. 6Upload all documents via PROSPECT before deadline

Evaluation Criteria & Selection

Concept notes are scored out of 50 points based on Relevance (20 points) and Design (30 points) ³. Only notes scoring at least 30 are considered for pre-selection ³. Full applications are scored out of 100 points, covering Financial/Operational Capacity (20), Relevance (20), Design (15), Implementation (15), Sustainability (15), and Budget/Cost-effectiveness (15) ³. A minimum score of 12 is required in the Capacity section to avoid rejection ³.

Footnotes

1. 1Budget and grant size details are from the Guidelines for Grant Applicants, Section 1.3, available at EU Guidelines.
2. 2Eligibility criteria, duration, and priority issues are from Section 2.1.1 and 1.2 of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants.
3. 3Submission deadlines, process steps, and evaluation grids are from Section 2.2 and 2.3 of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants.