About the Project

Build Up is implementing a peace building program that aims to contribute to inclusive, peaceful, and credible elections in Kenya. The programme further aims to ensure that electoral conflict risks are prevented and mitigated through inclusive early warning, digital and community-based peacebuilding, and coordinated rapid response mechanisms. Through multiple partnerships, the project will work towards increasing citizen trust and inclusive participation in electoral processes, specifically engaging the youth and  women while improving  coordination, transparency and preparedness of electoral and security institutions. 

The specific Objective and outcomes of the program are as follows

Overall Objective: To contribute to inclusive, peaceful, and credible elections in Kenya.

• Outcome 1: Electoral conflict risks are prevented and mitigated through inclusive early warning, digital and community-based peacebuilding, and coordinated rapid response mechanisms
• Outcome 2: Increased citizen trust and inclusive participation in electoral processes (youth, women)
• Outcome 3: Improved coordination, transparency and preparedness of electoral and security institutions

To establish implementation partnerships and collaborative programming, Build Up  invites national and county-level Civil Society Organizations (NGOs, CBOs, and non-profits) to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for innovative initiatives under the Kenya Peaceful Elections (KPEP) Program, funded by the European Union.

To ensure a credible, inclusive, and peaceful 2027 General Election, this EOI invites proposals that strengthen electoral institutions, drive citizen participation, foster national cohesion, and deploy robust election monitoring and observation.

Thematic Areas and objectives

• Digital Peacebuilding
• Increasing civic engagement through digital deliberative dialogues 
• Early Warning and Response
• Violence prevention and peacebuilding

This program aims to support local organizations to directly address existing and emerging issues around the electoral period. 

Geographical Scope

This program will cover the entire country. Therefore the call is open to organizations working in any county across Kenya.

Eligibility

• Fully registered legal entity in Kenya with an established operational presence in one of the counties.
• Must be not for profit organization.
• Previous experience and/or current programming on peacebuilding; violence prevention, early warning early response programs, digital deliberations.
• Youth led organizations or those working specifically with women and youth on public cohesion are encouraged to apply. 

Budget:

The Maximum budget for each organization shall not exceed 60,000 EUR inclusive of  7%  of eligible expenses  as administrative costs.

The budget allocation shall be determined based on activity type and urgency in the respective context that the local organization shall be engaging in.

Minimum General Conditions:

Partners must implement only the approved activities within the agreed budget and period, maintain separate and accurate accounting records, follow documented procurement and approval procedures, and retain complete supporting evidence for all expenditures. Obtaining written approval for significant budget or activity changes, prevent double funding and conflicts of interest, safeguard grant-funded assets, comply with EU visibility, sanctions, ethics and data-protection requirements, and submit timely financial and narrative reports linked to agreed milestones. Partners must promptly report suspected irregularities, permit monitoring and audits, refund unused or ineligible funds, and retain records for the period specified in the sub-grant agreement.

Application details:

Send a 2-5  page proposal to applications@howtobuildup.org with the subject Kenya peaceful elections program 

Your proposal should include the following: 

(a)Include reference to previous peacebuilding work and digital engagement programming (b) the target groups you can reach, e.g. youth, women, pwds, duty bearers etc (c) your capacity to deliver digital peacebuilding programming (d) your experience in engaging with youth and the networks, media and government (local and national) 

Applications Deadline: 

The deadline for applications shall be September 12^th at 12 Midnight(EAT)

The selected organizations may be assigned additional activities consistent with the scope of this role, as this document is not exhaustive. These shall be discussed and agreed upon to factor in additional resources required.

Assessment Criteria

CSOs will be selected through a transparent and competitive process based on predefined technical and operational criteria, including: relevance of experience and local legitimacy; access to and trust within target communities; technical capacity and availability of designated focal points for coordination, social media analysis, digital consultations and response actions; organizational and financial management capacity; gender and inclusion track record; value for money and geographic complementarity. The evaluation will be carried out by a selection committee using a standardized scoring grid, and the final award decision will be documented to ensure transparency and auditability.

The amount of each sub-grant will be determined based on: the geographic scope and population coverage; the scale and complexity of the proposed activities; the CSO’s absorption and implementation capacity; cost-efficiency considerations. A minimum and maximum amount per sub-grant will be established in the call for proposals to ensure equitable distribution of resources and effective implementation. 

Prior to the award of any financial support, due diligence checks will be carried out to ensure that selected CSOs are not subject to EU restrictive measures, in accordance with Section 2.4.1. of PRAG. The beneficiary will remain fully responsible for ensuring compliance with these measures throughout implementation.

Selection Criteria

Main Assessment Criteria	Sub-Criteria Section	Key Assessment Focus / Indicators
Strategic & Community Alignment	Relevance & Local Legitimacy	Contextual understanding of local dynamics and established organizational credibility within the target region
	Community Access & Trust	Demonstrated trust, networks, and operational reach within target communities
	Gender & Inclusion Track Record	Demonstrated history and capacity for integrating gender sensitivity and social inclusion into programming.
	Geographic Complementarity	Alignment of target locations with wider project distribution to prevent overlap and ensure balanced coverage.
	Population & Geographic Coverage	Proportionality of proposed sub-grant amount relative to geographic scope and population reached.
Technical & Operational Capacity	Specialized Technical Expertise	Capacity in core project competencies: social media analysis, digital consultations, and active response actions.
	Coordination & Staffing	Availability and technical competence of designated focal points for project management and coordination.
	Scope & Programmatic Complexity	Ability to deliver proposed activity scale and manage campaign/project complexity effectively.
Organizational Governance & Financial Management	Financial & Management Systems	Sound organizational structure, internal controls, and overall financial management capacity.
Administrative Capacity	Absorption & Implementation Capacity	Demonstrated track record in absorbing grant funding and executing timely project deliverables.
	Due Diligence & Compliance	Verification that the CSO is not subject to EU restrictive measures (per PRAG Section 2.4.1) and maintains regulatory compliance.
	Cost Efficiency & Value for Money	Clear alignment of activities to budget outcomes, cost efficiency, and maximum sub-grant limits

Send a 2- 5-page proposal to applications@howtobuildup.org with the subject: Kenya peaceful elections program