Artificial Intelligence and Digital Resilience Program for Civil Society Organisations Small Sub-Grants
Donor: Innovation for Change
Location: Middle East & North Africa (Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel)
Beneficiaries: Organisations
Project focus areas: Artificial intelligence and digital resilience
Funding amount: US$7,000 to US$10,000
Project duration: 2.5 months
Deadline: 30 August 2026
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Digital Resilience Program for Civil Society Organizations offers small sub-grants to support local digital pilot initiatives, such as civic technology prototypes or AI-powered awareness campaigns.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Digital Resilience Program for Civil Society Organizations was established in response to the increasingly restrictive civic space and the rise of AI-driven cyber threats targeting Civil Society Organizations, activists, journalists, and Women/Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa. Many Civil Society Organizations in the region face significant challenges due to limited budgets and a lack of in-house technical expertise, making it difficult to develop robust AI governance and cybersecurity policies or to safely integrate emerging technologies into their operations.
This 7-month regional initiative, designed and implemented by the Innovation for Change (I4C) Middle East and North Africa Hub, aims to equip Civil Society Organizations with the financial resources, technical skills, and internal policies needed to protect their operations from digital and AI-related risks, benefit from AI technologies, and lead policy advocacy in the digital rights landscape. The program combines sub-grant funding with a comprehensive support framework that includes online training workshops, access to self-paced massive open online course (MOOCs), mentorship, and participation in a regional Community of Practice on Artificial Intelligence and digital resilience.
The program will award four small grants of US$7,000 to US$10,000 each to support local digital pilot initiatives, such as civic technology prototypes or AI-powered awareness campaigns. These grants are embedded within a broader support framework that provides both financial and non-financial technical assistance to selected Civil Society Organizations.
Eligible applicants must be registered civil society organizations based in the Middle East and North Africa region, or registered outside the region but primarily working on civic space and civil society in one or more Middle East and North Africa countries, including diaspora-led or diaspora-focused organizations and initiatives. Proposals must address at least one of the following priority areas: AI adoption and digital transformation, digital resilience and cybersecurity, responsible AI and data governance, AI-enabled organizational innovation, digital rights and privacy, or organizational knowledge management and digital learning.
Learn more here. Arabic documents available in the linked page.