LONDON, July 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
This project will sit in the ISF Ukraine International Crimes Accountability (ICA) programme, one programme within a wider set of UK initiatives aiming to support criminal accountability for international crimes in Ukraine. The ICA programme primarily focuses on support to Ukraine's domestic accountability efforts.
As of February 2026, prosecution authorities have documented over 240,000 conflict-related offences, including more than 211,000 war crimes, with millions of victims and witnesses dispersed across the country and beyond, many outside the direct reach of justice institutions. Against this scale and fragmentation, the CoordinationCentre for Victims and Witnesses within the Office of the Prosecutor General (CCVW OPG) and local units in regional prosecutors' offices need support to build structured outreach and communication mechanisms that enable consistent information-sharing, safe referrals, and sustained engagement with survivors across different channels and institutions.
This project will foster the implementation of a communication strategy for witnesses and survivors** of international crimes, to be introduced within the prosecution bodies in line with Ukraine's official Rule of Law Roadmap (Cabinet of MinistersResolution No. 475r of 14 May 2025).
This project aims to pilot and strengthen coordination models between the representatives of the CCVW OPG and its local units, prosecutors, local authorities, social services, NGOs, and other justice actors that enable consistent outreach, identification, and referral of survivors into support and justice pathways. The successful bidder will support the Centre to build coordinated, local-level partnerships that enable survivors to be reached and supported through multiple trusted channels. Mechanisms should beestablishedto ensure consistent outreach, communication, and referral pathways so survivors can safely access support across different institutions.
This initiative could target all 12 oblasts, where the Centre establishedregional offices OR as a pilot, this initiativecould target a smaller number ofoblastsof Ukraineout of the 12testing local cooperation formats to create joined up pathwaysand identify opportunities for scalability of the approach.As witnesses and survivors are dispersedacross Ukraine, with strong justification,bids will be considered for different oblasts across Ukraine.Bids shoulddemonstratehow the pilot will anchor delivery through local partnerships, with a strong focus on community outreach capacity and sub granting/partnership models with localsurvivor-centredCSOs.
Project proposals shouldevidencethe skills, experience and intended outputs needed to meet the following outcomes:
Pillar 1.Support toCoordinationCentre for Victims and Witnesses within the Office of the Prosecutor General:
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Increasedtrust in justice systemby international crimes survivors and witnessesthroughtimelyaccesstoclear information about their rights, procedure for participation in criminal proceedings and support mechanismsavailable.
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Decreased stigmatisation of international crimes survivors through communicationcampaigns for the population and enhancing media literacy on survivor-centred approaches.
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Coreelementsof the future Communication Strategy for victims and witnesses of international crimesare implemented including:
* Ensuring theright ofsurvivorsandwitnesses toaccessible,clear, andtimely information;
* Minimizingrisks ofsecondaryvictimization andensuringsafe,respectful, andtrauma-informedcommunication;
* Ensuringawareness ofprotectionmeasures,availablesupportmechanisms, andreferralpathways;
* Buildingtrust in thejusticesystem andsupportinstitutionsthroughcoordinated,transparent, andresponsiblecommunication;
* Ensuring inter-institutionalcoordination in thefield ofcommunication andsupport forsurvivorsandwitnesses;
* Ensuringsafeinformation andengagement ofsurvivorsandwitnesses in thedocumentation ofwarcrimes andotherinternationalcrimes;
* Supporting thepreservation ofsurvivors'stories andpromotingrecognition ofharmsuffered.
Pillar 2. Support to theLocal Units for Victims and Witnesses in Regional Prosecutors' Offices and local efforts:
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Improved coordination at regional (oblast) level between the Local Units for Victims and Witnesses,prosecutors, pre-trial investigation authorities, courts, and partner organizations, withbasic interaction protocols, shared communication frameworks,and information-sharing practices.
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Increased survivor access to support and information, including legal, psychosocial, and social services, through more joined-up local responses.
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Models of intersectoral cooperationare tested, withcoordinatedapproaches to communication with survivors and witnesses of international crimes, providing an evidence base for scalingthemnationally
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Core elementsof the future 'Communication Strategy for Victims and Witnesses of International Crimes'(see above) are implementedat regional level where relevant.
Only non-profit organisations are invited to send Proposals.This call for proposals is open for International Organisations (IOs), International non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and local civil society organisations (CSOs), consortium CSO applications will also be considered or as a primary grantee withidentifiedlocal sub grantees.
Successful bids should clearly evidence project outputs linked tostatedoutcomes and should clearlyidentifyhow the change will be brought about. All proposals should make clear how they complement existing activities supported by other donors and international partners, and how work in the regions complements national level activity.
The indicative maximum funding for this project is £700,000. This may be in addition to co-funding and self-funding contributions. Projects must be implemented and all payments made by 31 March 2027. The Proposals should make clear how they will plan for an exit stage of the project and the transfer of capacity and capability building provided through the project lifetime. Proposals are encouraged to describe how their project could be further scaled up if additional funding became available.
The British Embassy Kyiv will carry out due diligence of potential grantees, including seeking references, as part of the selection process.
Call for proposals is competitive and only one selected project will receive funding. The Embassy reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant(s) of the grounds of such acceptance or rejection or provide feedback on unsuccessful proposals. If organizations are not contactedby 30 September, they have been unsuccessful in this round.
Proposals should be sent to the British Embassy Kyivat Kyiv.Projects@fcdo.gov.uk by 23:59 (Kyiv time) on 20August2026. Inthe subject line, please indicate "ICAProgramme" and the name of the organisation. We aim to evaluate proposals by mid-September. Approved projects will commence in October 2026, earlier iffeasible.
Questions and clarifications are accepted by email by 17:00 on 03August.All questions and clarifications will be collected and published by07 August. Inthe subject line, please indicate "Question re ICAProgramme" and the name of the organisation.
Annexes:
Invitation Form Call for Proposals TOR ICA
PDF, 289 KB, 5 pages
Annex A: GESI Marker Guidance
PDF, 582 KB, 33 pages
Annex B: ISF Project Proposal Template
ODT, 60.8 KB
This file is in an OpenDocument format
Annex C: Template Logical Framework (ODS, 21.7 KB)
Annex D: ISF Project Activity-Based Budget Template
ODS, 1.2 MB
This file is in an OpenDocument format
Annex E: Eligible Cost Guidance
ODT, 67.8 KB
This file is in an OpenDocument format
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