Funds for Local Cooperation (FLC): Call for project proposals for 2025-2026
The Embassy of Finland in Tel Aviv is launching a Call for proposals for projects to be funded from the Embassy's Funds for Local Cooperation in 2025–2026. Eligible projects will enhance possibilities for a two-state solution and build trust between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Deadline for submitting the proposals is Thursday December 4, 2025.
About the Funds for Local Cooperation and the 2025–2026 Call
Funds for Local Cooperation (FLCs) are an instrument of Finnish development cooperation used by Finnish Embassies. They are funds channeled through the local civil society organizations.
The overall objective of the FLC Program in Israel is to contribute to building peaceful, democratic societies. With this Call for project proposals, the Embassy of Finland in Tel Aviv is looking for projects which will be implemented in 2025-2026 and which will contribute to the following outcomes of the Embassy's FLC Program:
- Enhancing possibilities for a two-state solution
- Building trust between the Israelis and the Palestinians
An important focus group in the FLC are young Israelis and Palestinians. Projects should also adhere to the cross-cutting themes of Finnish development policy, specifically gender equality and non-discrimination. In the 2025-2026 FLC Call, the Embassy emphasizes especially projects that strengthen women’s leadership and meaningful participation.
Please note that the Embassy can only fund projects of civil society organizations that are registered in Israel and projects whose beneficiaries are Palestinians in East Jerusalem, West Bank and/or Gaza. The project activities may take place also in Israel.
The total funds available in the 2025-2026 FLC Call are €120,000. Depending on the quality of the project proposals, the Embassy aims to fund a maximum of four projects with €30,000–60,000 funding per project. The funding must be used and the projects concluded by 31 December, 2026.
The funding is intended for projects, the FLC will not provide core funding.
Legal and Normative Context
The FLCs are governed by Finnish legislation, particularly the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001), and the FLC Internal Instructions (6/2014) of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Finland. The Internal Instructions set out the main principles concerning eligibility criteria for partners and use of the FLC funds.
The local partners implementing FLC projects must abide by the relevant local legislation. As a rule, all projects must be implemented by the local partners themselves, and only small procurements of a maximum of €15,000 from external agents may be allowed. If any procurement of goods or services for the value of over €15,000 is needed, the procurement shall be carried out in compliance with the Finnish legislation on competitive bidding.
How to Apply?
All applicants must use the Application form in Attachment 1. This is required in order to guarantee that all key facts are presented and to allow for better comparability. The Application form has to be accompanied by the Obligatory attachments listed in the Application form.
Applications with a headline "FLC: [name of organization]" should be sent to [email protected]. Only submissions received via email will be considered.
The deadline for applications is Thursday 4 December, 2025 (by 23:59). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. This is the only opportunity to apply for FLC funding for the period of 2025-2026.
Any further questions related to the FLC Programme and the Call for proposals can be sent by email to Ms Suvikki Silvennoinen, Deputy Head of Mission and FLC Coordinator, email: [email protected]
Selection Process
Applicants have to be registered civil society organizations in Israel. Eligible applications must meet the compulsory requirements of the assessment criteria described in Attachment 2 (Assessment Criteria for Applications).
Those applications that meet all the compulsory requirements will be submitted for technical assessment. On the basis of a competitive scoring, the Embassy will select the best, a maximum of six, applications for final selection.
For the applications accepted for final selection, the Embassy will assess the applicant organization's financial and administrative capacity, as described in Attachment 3 (Assessment of Financial and Administrative Capacity of the Applicant Organization). The application of an organization failing the assessment will be rejected. The Embassy may also reject applications for budgetary reasons, because of the financial limits of the Embassy’s FLC Programme. Based on the competitive scoring results, the Embassy will finally approve the best applications for funding.
FLC Partners are requested to apply in their project plans the key elements of the Finnish development policy and quality standards, namely the Results Based Management (RBM), Human Rights Based Approach to Development (HRBA), and Cross-Cutting Objectives (CCOs). These quality standards are an important part of the selection criteria for FLC applications. Projects which are assessed as Human Rights blind cannot be funded. If needed, a capacity development plan can be part of the Project Plan for a systematic integration of the quality standards throughout the project cycle. Please see attachments for further details on Results Based Management, Human Rights Based Approach to Development and Cross-Cutting Objectives.
Please note that FLC funding cannot be granted:
- To Finnish Non-Governmental Organizations
- For projects of friendship associations in Finland
- To Finnish Government agencies or public bodies
- To Finnish municipalities
- To Finnish businesses
- To the Government, ministries or municipalities of the host country
- To an unregistered association or organization
- To support the activities of a political party
- For basic research
- For one-off cultural events
- For charity
- For humanitarian aid
- In the form of a grant, scholarship or assistance for the applicant’s personal use
- For purchasing land
- To a Fund
- For building the capital of microcredit systems
Attachments to the Call for project proposals:
- Application form word-version
- Assessment Criteria for Applications
- Assessment of Financial and Administrative Capacity of the Applicant Organization
- Guidelines for Local Partners
- Example of a Work Plan
- Example of a Results Chain and Framework
- Example of a Detailed Budget
- Ethical Code of Conduct
- Human Rights Based Approach
- Guideline for the Cross-Cutting Objectives of Finnish Development Policy and Co-operation
- Results Based Management (RBM) in Finlan’s Development Cooperation