zivik Funding Programme

Dancers with traditional clothes of the Tharu in Nepal

+ + + Applications up to 3 months before the start of the project, if possible by 1 October of the previous year + + +

Civil Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding

The zivik Funding Programme supports civil society actors worldwide in preventing crises, transforming conflicts, and creating as well as stabilising peaceful social and political systems. With their commitment, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) complement state actors by providing significant perspectives and activities. The zivik programme is providing funding for international, national or local NGO projects, which are dealing with civil conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts. This also includes measures in the field of advancing and furthering democracy, as well as measures in the framework of the Ta’ziz Partnership for Democracy with selected countries in the Middle East and North African region. In addition to that, the programme provides advice and networking opportunities for civil society actors, and supports them in the project evaluation.

zivik Projects on Social Media

Who can apply?

The programme is designed for local and international NGOs that are planning a project to strengthen local capacities for crisis prevention, stabilisation and peacebuilding in a crisis and conflict region worldwide.

What does the funding include?

Consultation and financial support for projects

Consultative support with regard to the concept design and the application.
Application review and funding decision-making.
Processing of funding disbursement requests and monitoring of project finances.
Consultative assistance with regard to the implementation of the project and financial reporting.
Review of the final report on expenditure of funds and the formal closure of the project funding.

Networking and best practice

Exchange and networking among civil society actors and with experts in politics and sciences.
Analysis of experiences and best practice examples.
Providing support in evaluation and impact analysis.

What requirements must be met?

The project to be funded is compatible with one of the following funding concepts set forth by the German Federal Foreign Office (see Documents to Download):
- International measures in the fields of crisis prevention, stabilisation and peacebuilding;
- Projects to support democracy-building aid in the context of crisis prevention, stabilisation and peacebuilding.
The organisation plans and reviews the project's desired effects according to the manual 'Monitoring of effects (movie)' (see Documents to Download).
The organisation familiarises itself with the principles of the German Federal Budget Code as the legal basis of the funding, by consulting, among other things, the 'Frequently Asked Questions' document (see Documents to Download).
The organisation can prove the proper conduct of business, as well as compliance regulations (measures to protect against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse as well as to prevent corruption, terrorist financing and ethical misconduct), by providing relevant documents.
Only funds for project-related expenses are to be applied for. The organization first exhausts all possibilities to use own or third-party funds to finance the expenses. Expenses during January must be covered by own or third-party funds.
The project to be funded ends on 31 December (at the latest) of the same year in which it shall start (example: 01.03.2025-31.12.2025). The funding applied for does not exceed 400,000 EUR; for applications from organisations that have not been funded in the past, the funding applied for does not exceed 100,000 EUR.
Only for cases that have been subject to prior agreement on the project outline (see Application in 4 steps | step 2), and only for applications from organisations that have been funded successfully in the past: The project to be funded ends on 31 December (at the latest) of the year which follows the year in which the project shall start (example: 01.03.2025-31.12.2026). The funding applied for does not exceed 400,000 EUR for twelve months.

Exclusion criteria for applications

The organisation cannot provide evidence of state registration.
Measures that have already been started or completed cannot be funded.

Application in 4 steps

Step 1: Check if all requirements are fulfilled

First, the organisation must ensure that all the requirements are met and that the necessary supporting documents are available.

Step 2: Consultation with the zivik team

The zivik team provides support and assistance by guiding the organisations through the application process. For this reason, it is necessary to contact the zivik team with a project outline as early as possible. The project outline should be no more than three pages and answer the following questions:

Which funding concept does the project fit? – Concrete reference to one of the three German Federal Foreign Office's funding concepts (see Documents to Download).
Where and in what timeframe should the project take place?
Which partners / partner organisations are expected to be involved in the project?
Who are the key actors of the project (according to the manual 'Monitoring of effects (movie)', see Documents to Download)?
What activities are planned (according to the manual 'Monitoring of effects (movie)', see Documents to Download)?
What changes should be achieved through the project (according to the manual 'Monitoring of effects (movie)', see Documents to Download)?
What are the expected expenses and how will the project be financed? – Please provide a rough estimate of the expenses as well as information on the financial resources available (own or third party).

Step 3: Submit application

At the end of the consultation process, the zivik team would request selected organisations to submit their application. The application consists of three documents: The Application form, The Project planning form, and the Financial plan. Templates are available in the download section (see Documents to Download). The completed application is to be sent by email to: zivik(at)ifa.de.

Step 4: Legally binding application

After reviewing the applications, the zivik team will contact the organisations and request that they submit a hard copy of the application. This application, which is legally binding, must be signed, dated and affixed with a seal, or stamped, and must be sent with all supporting documents by post to:

ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Förderprogramm zivik
Linienstraße 139/140
D-10115 Berlin

Application deadlines

The complete application must be submitted no later than three months before the start of the project; for a project starting in January or February no later than October 1 of the previous year. Due to limited capacities, it is also recommended to apply by October 1 of the previous year for projects that are to start at a later date.
Please note the requirement to submit a project outline in advance, and allow sufficient time for consultation on the project outline before submitting the application (see Application in 4 steps | step 2).

What happens after applying?

The submission of the funding application is followed by an acknowledgment of receipt, a request for additional information in most cases and lastly, a letter of acceptance or rejection. Usually, the review and decision-making process takes several weeks.