The Fund is closed for applications

The Fund is open for applications

The Fund for Joint Capacity Development strengthens the partnerships of Danish civil society organisations and global majority partners through joint capacity development and learning and with an aim to support the journey for organisations that want to address power imbalances and strengthen equitable partnerships. On this site, you can find guidelines, relevant documents, application format, get answers to your questions and find contact information.

The Fund received a strategic lift in 2025 with the aim to support joint capacity development in Danish civil society organisations (CSOs) with humanitarian or development activities in OECD-DAC countries (global majority countries) and their global majority partner(s). The strategic lift has been founded in the Global Focus strategy 2024-2027 and motivated by the changing landscape where civil society organisations in Denmark and around the world are increasingly facing a range of challenges and changes related to power imbalances. You can read more about the thoughts behind the strategic lift in this article. All applications formats as well as the guidelines have been renewed as part of this process.

Apply for the big grant

Apply for the small grant

Do you want to know more or do you have questions? Please contact:

Nina Falkesgaard Sørensen

Project Manager/
Rights advisor
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?

The fund supports projects that jointly explore, test, and address power imbalances and shape new common understandings and frameworks for collaboration between Danish organisations and their global majority partners through innovative activities and joint learning and capacity development.

Funding is available for projects of two different amounts.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Civil society organizations based in Denmark that meet the requirements for partner organizations for grants and networks (Danish) and have activities in or with the global majority. For the large grant, it is a requirement that the applicant group must consist of both a Danish CSO and an existing partner organisation based in the global majority.

Read more about the types of organizations that can apply for the Fund for Joint Capacity Development in the guidelines.

HOW DO YOU APPLY?

You apply by filling out the application form below. There is a separate application form for both large and small grants.

Before applying, please review the guidelines to ensure that your project and activities meet the formal requirements of the fund.

All applications must be submitted via the application form below. Please note that filled-in data is not saved actively.

WHEN CAN YOU APPLY?

The Fund is open for applications from September 24th 2025. The deadline is Monday, November 3rd, at 12pm.

FIND GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION FORMS BELOW.

Do you want to know more?

Nina Falkesgaard Sørensen
Project Manager/
Rights Advisor

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About the Fund for Joint Capacity Development

The Fund for Joint Capacity Development (hereafter the Fund) supports capacity development in Danish civil society organizations with humanitarian or development activities in OECD-DAC countries and their local partner organizations in the global majority. The fund is financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by Global Focus.

PURPOSE OF THE FUND

To support Danish organisations in addressing and challenging power imbalances
embedded in international development and humanitarian engagement.
To create a space for Danish organisations and their global majority partners to jointly explore,
test, and address power imbalances and shape new common understandings and frameworks for
collaboration.
To support shared learning, innovation, and joint capacity development between Danish organisations and their global majority partners.
To foster meaningful collaboration for all involved partners, both Danish CSO(s) and global majority partner(s).

With the fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Global Focus wish to strengthen the implementation of Danish development aid. This means that the guidelines that define which projects can receive funding are broad within the extent to which the purpose of the application is assessed to contribute to the overall objectives of the fund. The decisive criterion for support is that the identified need that the project aims to address must be relevant to the activities that the applicant organisation carries out in countries in the global majority.

You can apply for funding for projects of two different amounts:

1. 100,000-400,000 DKK

2. Up to 50,000 DKK

THE FUND'S GUIDELINES

Guidelines are available for each of the fund's grant sizes.

Read the relevant guidelines before applying.

In the guidelines you will find important information about the fund's priorities as well as descriptions of the fund's requirements, formalities, the application and assessment process and administrative guidelines.

Guidelines for the big grant

Guidelines for the small grant

APPLICATIONS FOR LARGE GRANTS
between DKK 100,000-400,000

Application round for large grants

The Fund is open for applications from September 24th 2025 to November 3rd, at 12pm.

Stay updated on our website or subscribe to our newsletter (DA) here.

Here you will find current formats and guidelines when you either apply for, have received or need to report on a large grant from the fund.

Large grants: Refers to grants between DKK 100,000-400,000. Large grants are awarded in one annual call in the fall.

General requirements:

Applications must follow the fund's existing formats and consist of an application form, budget and implementation plan. Application formats can be downloaded below.
The grant recipient's management of the grant must follow the administrative guidelines updated in 2025. Requests for payment of grants, budget changes or changes to the project period as well as the final reporting must follow the fund's formats and guidelines. All of these can be accessed below.
Language: All formats are available solely in English and all applications must be written in English.

The grant system

The purpose of Global Focus' Grant committee is to make decisions on the eligibility of applications for the large grants under the Fund for Joint Capacity Development on the basis of applications and recommendations from Global Focus' secretariat.

The committee consists of four representatives from Global Focus' member organisations with relevant professional background and one representative from CISU. Members can be elected for a one-year or a two-year term.

The fund's Grant committee

The Fund is getting a new Grant committee in 2025. As soon as the grants committee is final, the members will appear on this site.

Read more about assessment criteria and the funding system in the Guidelines for large grants.

When your project is ending:

Final narrative report
Format for reporting for big grants (Danish)
Audit instructions
UM instruks 4b (Danish)
Accounting format
For financial reporting, we encourage you to use the budget format adapted with columns that include any revised budget and actual spend.

APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL GRANTS
up to DKK 50,000

Application rounds for small grants

The Fund is open for applications from September 24th 2025 to November 3rd, at 12pm.
Stay updated on our website or subscribe to our newsletter (DA) here.

Here you will find current formats and guidelines when you either apply for, have received, or need to report on a large grant from the fund.

Small grants: Refers to grants up to and including DKK 50,000. Small grants are awarded in one annual call in the fall.

General requirements:

Applications must follow the fund's existing formats and consist of an application form and budget. Application formats can be downloaded below.
The grant recipient's management of the grant must follow the administrative guidelines updated in 2025. Requests for payment of grants, budget changes or changes to the project period as well as the final reporting must follow the fund's formats and guidelines. All of these can be accessed below.
Language: All formats are available solely in English and all applications must be written in English.

The funding system

The funding system for small grants operates independently of the Grant committee. Advice and administration are handled exclusively by the Global Focus Fund Administrator, while the Director of Global Focus has the grant-making authority. In the event of the disqualification of the Director, the grant authority is transferred to the Executive Committee of Global Focus.

Read more about assessment criteria and the funding system in the Guidelines for small grants here.

When your project is ending:

Final narrative report
Format for reporting for small grants (Danish) (up to DKK 50,000)
Audit instructions
UM instruks 4b (Danish)
Accounting format
For financial reporting, we encourage you to use the budget format adapted with columns that include any revised budget and actual spend.

FAQ

Do I need to be a member of Global Focus to apply?

No, it is not a requirement to be a member of Global Focus. Find more information about who can apply for this fund at the top of the page under 'Who can apply?' or in the guidelines.

How do I make a budget?

First, read the guidelines for the size of the grant your organisation(s) wants to apply for. Then download the budget format, which also contains a guide. If you have further questions, please contact the fund responsible via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and you will be provided with guidance.

Can I apply for partnership travel funding?

The primary purpose of the Fund for Joint Capacity Development is to strengthen Danish civil society organisation(s) and their partner(s) in the global majority in addressing and challenging power imbalances, contributing to the delivery of professionally strong and effective initiatives.

The fund places great emphasis on the project being related to the applicant organisations' activities in the global majority, but the fund does not finance a very high degree of travel activities to the global majority.

What is a learning product?

The learning product is a tangible product - digital, physical or both - that brings together the knowledge and learning generated by the project in a way that other organisations can benefit from it.

For smaller projects of up to DKK 50,000, a smaller learning product must be prepared than for large grants, summarizing the most important learnings and outcomes from the activity.

Inspiration for different types of learning products can be found here (Danish).

How long will it take to receive a response on my application?

Applicants can expect to receive a response no later than 6 weeks after the application deadline via email. As the deadline in 2025 is November 3rd, applicants can expect a response by the latest on December 15th.

Get help with your application

Before the fund's deadline, Global Focus offers advice that prepares applicants to apply for the fund. Inquiries regarding counseling must be made well in advance of the deadline for the large grants to ensure the fund administrator's capacity to advise all projects that may wish to apply.

If you want verbal advice, please contact us with your question via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and the fund administrator will then get in touch.

An online information meeting is held yearly. In 2025, this meeting will take place on October 8th from 11.00-12.30 CEST. Get in touch through the above email to sign up.