Belgrade, 2 August 2023 – In partnership and cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) issues a public call for participation in the Challenge Call intended for private and public enterprises, universities and research institutes in the Republic of Serbia. The aim of this public call is transfer of knowledge and implementation of innovative solutions that may address different developmental challenges and crisis situations in the Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The public call is supported by the Government of the Republic of Serbia as a part of the Official development assistance provided in order to strengthen the economic potentials in North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

Legal entities from Serbia may respond to this call with their projects that contain solutions, products or services which have already been successfully applied in Serbia and proven in practice, and that have potential to be spread throughout the region. The projects may be in the following areas:  

1. Food safety and availability 

2. Sustainable tourism 

3. New digital services, solutions and platforms. 

These areas have been selected bearing in mind present challenges and disturbances on the global food market, especially in the supply chain, and the need to secure unobstructed access to healthy and safe food to everyone. Development potential of the regional tourism has also been taken into account, as well as its significance for sustainable development, especially when it comes to decreasing amounts of waste, accepting circular economy, promoting local food and culture, and preserving nature and biodiversity. The third area has been selected considering the fact that digital services may help in closing the digital gap, decreasing inequalities and improving the inclusion of vulnerable social groups. 

Before sending their applications, the entities from the Republic of Serbia that wish to participate in the Challenge Call, need to establish and develop partnerships with local entities in a country, or countries - where the proposed solution would be implemented. In this way, the awarded funds would contribute to the transfer of knowledge, innovations and practice. 

The total amount of funds to be allocated under this call is 200,000 USD. The maximum amount of a grant (non-refundable financial aid) is 40,000 USD per project, while the applicants are obliged to secure co-financing for at least 20% of the total project costs (this may also be a non-financial contribution, i.e. in-kind support). 

The public call for applications in this Challenge is open until 10 October 2023.  

Please find detailed application instructions HERE, application form HERE, and budget form HERE. The documentation needs to be filled in in English.   

Applications, as well as any questions concerning the call, may be sent to the following e-mail address: oda.challenge.rs@undp.org 

Also, all potential applicants may find the answers to frequently asked questions HERE.  

The previous public call for official development support by the Government of the Republic of Serbia was issued in 2021 and implemented from November 2021 to April 2022. On that occasion, six innovative solutions by Serbian companies and innovators were selected to help their partnering organisations and enterprises in North Macedonia and Albania to alleviate socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The selected solutions included, inter alia, a web and mobile app to access healthcare services remotely, open access digital tool for remote learning, algorithm to precisely interpret results of COVID-19 antibodies testing, as well as development of a digital platform for the assessment of the impact of new investment projects on the environment and society.

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Answers from the first Info session are available here. 

Answers from the second session are available here, while here you can watch the info session that was held on October 3, 2023.