Foreign Ministry to renew government grants awarded to civil society organisations for development cooperation

In line with the Government Programme, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio has decided to allocate more funds for improving opportunities for Finnish organisations to acquire international funding. Under the reform, the application round for communications and global education projects will not be opened during this government term. The application round for UN-based organisations opens in autumn 2024, and grants can be applied for the period 2025–2027.

Civil society organisations play an important role contributing for Finland to achieve its development cooperation objectives. “Going forward, it is important that we will invest more in opportunities for Finnish organisations to acquire international funding from the EU and the UN, for example,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.

Later this year, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will launch a pilot scheme that will enable Finnish organisations to apply for government grants not only for EU projects but for acquiring other international funding as well. The aim is to improve opportunities for domestic organisations to obtain international funding and to participate in multi-actor projects in line with the Government Programme. The Ministry will provide information on the schedules and application criteria for the call for government grant applications later this year.

As part of the reform of discretionary government grants, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will not open a funding round for communications and global education projects. The Ministry will provide information on the call for general grant applications directed at Finnish UN-based organisations in September. The call for applications will open in the autumn, and grants can be applied for the period 2025–2027.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will also renew the administration of discretionary government grants awarded to organisations in order to make activities more efficient and effective and to increase openness and transparency. The Ministry has started using the central government’s joint online service. Information on different funding opportunities is available on the Applyforgrants.fi website, which brings together in one place all the calls for grant applications of the different government grant authorities.

In its spending limits discussion in April, the Government decided on significant new savings measures for this budget planning period. The aim is to improve the sustainability of general government finances and create the conditions for reducing the growth of public debt. The measures to strengthen central government finances amount to EUR 9 billion.