Opportunity Title:
Small Grants under the MENA AI & Digital Resilience Program for Civil Society Organizations
Deadline:
30 August 2026. Applications are reviewed and grants are awarded on a rolling basis. The call may close early once all four grants have been awarded or the available funding has been fully used.
Target Audience:
Registered civil society organizations based in the Middle East and North Africa, or organizations registered outside the region that work primarily on civic space and civil society in one or more countries in the region, including diaspora-led or diaspora-focused organizations.
Opportunity Summary:
The MENA AI & Digital Resilience Program invites eligible civil society organizations to submit proposals for small grants supporting larger experimental and innovative digital initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa. The grants aim to help CSOs develop civic-technology prototypes, implement AI-supported awareness campaigns, create digital and knowledge resources, and test innovative approaches to digital resilience and responsible AI use.
What It Supports:
The small grants support experimental initiatives and innovative projects that demonstrate practical applications of AI and digital resilience within the civil society sector. Eligible examples include civic-technology prototypes, AI-enabled institutional innovation, AI-supported awareness and capacity-building campaigns, digital platforms and sector-level knowledge resources, collaborative initiatives involving multiple CSOs, and the scaling or replication of successful AI and digital-resilience initiatives.
Funding / Amount:
Four small grants ranging from US$7,000 to US$10,000 each. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis after suitable proposals are approved, with a maximum of four grants available.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The applicant must be a registered civil society organization based in the MENA region, or an organization registered outside the region that works primarily on civic space and civil society within the region.
- The organization must demonstrate a clear and sustainable focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
- The proposed initiative must be relevant to AI resilience and/or digital resilience for the applicant organization or for other CSOs targeted by the initiative.
- The initiative must address at least one of the thematic priority areas identified in the call.
- The initiative must be locally relevant and community-driven, and inclusive of underrepresented or marginalized groups.
- The initiative must demonstrate innovative, creative and experimental approaches in its design, implementation and field dissemination.
- The initiative must be feasible within the available funding of US$7,000–10,000 and an implementation period of no more than two and a half months.
- Proposed activities must be implemented between 20 August 2026 and 30 November 2026.
- The initiative must comply with ethical and rights-based principles and the do-no-harm principle, and must include a risk-management and mitigation plan.
- Priority will be given to women-led organizations, youth-led organizations and organizations working with LGBTQIA+ communities.
- Syria, Egypt and Palestine are not eligible countries for application. Diaspora organizations from these countries may apply in accordance with the requirements of the call.
- Read the Request for Proposals, instructions, eligibility criteria and ineligible activities carefully.
- Prepare a proposal explaining the specific AI or digital-resilience challenge, the proposed activities, outputs, expected results, timeline and risk-management plan.
- Complete, sign and stamp the application form provided in Annex A.
- Complete the budget template provided in Annex B using the Excel file.
- Attach proof of the organization’s legal registration.
- Submit the application form in PDF and DOC formats, together with the budget in Excel format, to MENA@innovationforchange.net.
- Use the following email subject line: Your Organization Name – MENA-AIDR-2026-SSG.
- Proposals must be submitted in Arabic or English. Late, incomplete or improperly structured applications will not be considered.
- Applications generated extensively by artificial intelligence will not be considered.
- Questions related to this RFP may be submitted up to five days before the deadline. The network does not guarantee that it will be able to respond to every inquiry.
- AI Resilience MENA Homepage
- Program Expression of Interest Form
- Innovation for Change Network Membership Form
- Consultancy and Job Opportunities
➜ النسخة العربية (ARABIC)