Call for Participants | SCOPE Leadership and Training Programme Moldova

Please find the full call, application form and submission link here.

Background

The Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC), together with Promo-LEX, ARTICLE 19 and the Independent Journalism Center, is implementing the project SCOPE: Strengthening civic organisations for participation and engagement – Expanding civil society’s role in Moldova’s EU accession.

The project aims to reinforce democratic participation in Moldova and strengthen alignment with EU values by empowering civil society to monitor and engage in the EU accession process. It responds to the need to strengthen the capacity and resilience of civil society organisations, improve cooperation and coordination among civic actors, and support structured dialogue with public authorities on reforms related to rule of law, human rights, democratic governance, media freedom, freedom of expression and civic space. The SCOPE application specifically foresees a long-term training and leadership programme for national-level CSOs and links this programme to a later restricted FSTP scheme for strategic grants.

Within this framework, NHC is launching this call to select participating organisations for the SCOPE Leadership and Training Programme. The programme combines leadership development, thematic expertise, peer learning and coalition-building. It also has a direct link to the project’s later restricted grants scheme, ensuring that knowledge and strategies developed during the programme can translate into practical coalition-based advocacy and monitoring projects.

Objective of the Call

This call is open to organisations applying to join the SCOPE Leadership and Training Programme. The programme will equip selected participants with the skills, knowledge and partnerships needed to later access a restricted strategic grants scheme for monitoring and advocacy linked to Moldova’s EU accession process.

The programme is intended to:

• strengthen leadership, strategic communications and thematic expertise of participating CSOs;
• deepen participants’ knowledge of EU accession-related reforms, in particular in relation to rule of law, human rights, freedom of expression, media freedom, democratic participation and digital rights;
• support peer learning, cooperation and alliance-building among participating organisations;
• enable selected organisations to develop joint strategies and project ideas during the programme; and
• prepare participating organisations to apply, in coalition format, to the later restricted strategic grants scheme for monitoring and advocacy linked to Moldova’s EU accession process.

Who should apply

This call is addressed to eligible NGOs / civil society organisations / think tanks applying as organisations, not to individual persons.

Each applicant organisation may nominate up to three staff members to participate in the programme. The nominated participants should collectively represent the organisation’s expertise, priorities and potential contribution to the programme. The organisation should nominate staff in a way that supports continuity, internal knowledge-sharing and institutional anchoring of the learning gained through the programme.

Depending on their role, expertise and organisational needs, different nominated staff members may attend the camps that are most relevant to them. At the same time, the organisation remains responsible for ensuring consistent participation in at least four core camps, notably Camps 1, 3 and 4. This model is meant to reduce the risk of staff turnover and ensure that knowledge is retained within the organisation rather than concentrated in one person only.

The working language of the training programme is English, but interpretation to Romanian will be available during the camps.

What selected organisations will receive

Selected organisations will join a 2.5-year leadership and training programme delivered through seven intensive camps, each lasting approximately 2.5 days and hosted in different regions of Moldova. The curriculum combines leadership and coalition-building skills, thematic expertise and EU-level peer learning. All costs related to this leadership and training programme, including transportation, accommodation, meals and training materials, will be covered by the programme.

The camps will cover, among other topics:

• the EU integration process and the role of civil society;
• change management and leadership;
• media freedom, freedom of expression and access to information;
• rule of law, civic monitoring and policy writing;
• networking and exchange with European peers;
• digital rights in the context of EU accession;
• electoral rights and standards; and
• freedom of assembly and association and policy drafting.

Selected organisations will also benefit from:

• peer learning and exchange with other participating organisations;
• support in coalition-building and joint strategy development;
• opportunities to contribute to wider policy dialogue and networking activities under the project; and
• preparation for later participation in the restricted strategic grants scheme.

Link to the later restricted strategic grants scheme

The leadership and training programme has a direct link to the project’s restricted FSTP scheme for strategic grants for monitoring and advocacy linked to Moldova’s EU accession process. CSOs selected for the training programme will later have the opportunity to develop projects in cooperation with other programme participants and submit proposals under a restricted call. These proposals are expected to be coalition-based and to support monitoring, advocacy, policy engagement, public information and coordination related to accession-linked reforms.

Indicatively, up to 10–12 projects may be selected under that later restricted scheme, with grant amounts of EUR 25,000–30,000 and an implementation period of up to 12 months. The grants are intended to strengthen the role of established national CSOs in monitoring reforms linked to Moldova’s EU accession process and in carrying out coalition-based advocacy and evidence-based policy engagement on rule of law, media freedom, human rights and democratic governance.

Participation in the present call does not automatically result in grant funding. It results in selection into the programme and eligibility to access the later restricted grant pathway under the conditions of that subsequent call.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• be legally registered as Public Associations (NGOs);
• be based in Moldova;
• operate at national, regional and local level;
• work on one or more of the following areas: civic education, democracy, rule of law, media freedom, human rights, freedom of expression, access to information, electoral rights, digital rights, or related EU accession themes;
• apply as an organisation;
• nominate up to three staff members to participate in the programme; and
• commit to ensuring consistent participation in at least four core training camps, notably Camps 1, 3 and 4. Please note that Camp 1 is planned to take place in Chisinau from 06-08 July 2026, and attendance of selected organisations and nominated staff members is required on 06 July.

Applicants should also demonstrate willingness to:

• engage actively in peer learning and exchanges with other selected organisations;
• contribute to alliance-building and joint strategy development; and
• participate later in coalition-based project development for the restricted strategic grants scheme.

Criteria for selection

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

Relevance:

• relevance of the organisation’s work to the objectives of the SCOPE project and this call;
• relevance of the organisation’s thematic focus to Moldova’s EU accession process and related reforms.

Organisational track record:

• demonstrated experience in advocacy, monitoring, policy engagement, coalition work, civic participation, media freedom, human rights, democratic governance or related work.

Motivation and quality of application:

• clarity and coherence of the application;
• strength of the motivation for joining the programme;
• suitability of the nominated participants.

Commitment and institutional anchoring:

• quality of the organisation’s plan to ensure continuity across the programme;
• ability to embed knowledge and skills gained through the programme within the organisation;
• capacity to ensure internal knowledge-sharing among nominated participants and beyond.

Potential for coalition-building and future project development

• openness to cooperation with other selected organisations;
• potential to later develop strong coalition-based proposals under the restricted strategic grants scheme.

Information needed to apply

Applicants should submit an application containing the following information:

Part 1 – Organisation profile

• full legal name of the organisation;
• registration details;
• address and contact information;
• short description of the organisation, its mandate and areas of work;
• summary of relevant experience.

Part 2 – Motivation and participation in the programme

• explanation of why the organisation wishes to participate in the SCOPE Leadership and Training Programme;
• description of how participation in the programme would strengthen the organisation’s work;
• explanation of how the organisation will ensure continuity of participation across the programme.

Part 3 – Nominated participants

• names and positions of up to three nominated staff members;
• short biographies or profiles of the nominated staff;
• explanation of why these staff members are suited to participate;
• indication of the thematic areas or camps that may be most relevant to each nominated participant, while making clear that the organisation as a whole will ensure continuity across the programme.

Part 4 – Thematic focus and future cooperation

• short note on the thematic area or reform issues the organisation is most interested in developing through the programme;
• indication of interest in coalition-building and future joint initiatives with other participants;
• brief explanation of how the organisation expects to contribute to peer learning and later strategic project development.

Application Process

Interested organisations are encouraged to APPLY ONLINE in English or Romanian no later than 31 May 2026.

The following documents need to submitted:

1. Completed Application Form
2. Copy of the organisation’s Extract from the State Register of Legal Entities
3. Copy of the organisation’s statutes
4. Any additional supporting documents requested in the annexes

For questions regarding the call for proposals or the application procedure, please send us an email to hrd@nhc.nl no later than 25 May 2026.

Only full applications consisting of a completed application form and all requested additional documents will be assessed.

Selection Process

An independent evaluation committee will evaluate submitted proposals consisting of three experts with voting power, a chairperson and a secretary. The group of experts will be composed of NHC and project partners. The evaluation will be based on the criteria listed here.

The applicants will receive feedback on their proposals via email within 4 weeks after the submission deadline.

The outcomes of the call will be published on the project webpage and will include a description of the selected organisations brief overview of the selection process, the number of applications received and selected, and the list of selected organisations with a short description of their work and relevance to the programme.