LAOs, CSOs/CBOs, government, and other local actors play essential roles in delivering services and achieving EAJ’s objectives and expected results. Under this award, funding has been set aside for grants to LAOs, and state justice institutions (SJI). The grants will provide EAJ partners with implementation and capacity support to implement legal aid services within specific geographic areas, in support of all three components of the program.

The EAJ program will administer a two-track grants mechanism—a primary grants mechanism and a small grants mechanism—providing the project with flexibility to respond to evolving needs and ensures that partners receive the right level of resources at the right time in line with their abilities and needs. Over the life of the program, EAJ anticipates issuing sub-grants in the selected program implementation program areas in Jubaland, Mogadishu/Benadir, Puntland, Somaliland, and South West State.

EAJ Small Grants Mechanism

Through the small grants pool, EAJ will establish a targeted but flexible, time sensitive, and time bound mechanism for supporting legal aid providers in addressing emerging opportunities or expanding activities beyond those addressed through the primary grant mechanism. The small grants mechanism also provides an opportunity for the program to address new and emerging opportunities during implementation years. The small grants pool may be used for strategic or more urgent activities prior to issuing primary grants. The mechanism has three distinct categories, summarized below. 

The small grants mechanism is managed through an Annual Program Statement (APS), for a link to the current APS please see below.  

 

EAJ Primary Grants Mechanism

The primary grants mechanism will provide the program’s prime partners with multi-year implementation and capacity development support to directly implement legal aid services within specific geographic areas of operation. It will be the main instrument for funding program grantee activities that support all three components, focusing on organizations for which legal aid service delivery is a core aspect of programming. Pact will provide grants and intensive organizational and technical CD to primary program partners in each geographic area, focusing on organizations for which legal aid service delivery is a core aspect of programming. Primary grant recipients will be key partners for direct provision of legal aid, case management, and outreach; oversight of paralegals; implementation of other community-level activities, such as dialogue and coordination efforts; and networking and advocacy at different levels.

Primary grants will be multi-year awards (max 2 years) with initial funding obligation for one year, and future commitment (obligation) for funding in year 2 of a grantee’s award based on achievement of set targets in their award document. Recipients of grants under the primary LAO grant mechanism may additionally be considered for the small grants pool in the event that urgent situations or windows of opportunity arise that are outside of what their existing grants cover.

The primary grants mechanism is managed through a Request for Application (RFA), for a link to the current RFA please see below.