NATIONAL, REGIONAL, SUB-REGIONAL AND YOUTH IGF INITIATIVES (NRIs)
IGF 2025 CALL TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL GRANTS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NRIs ANNUAL MEETINGS
(Application deadline: 11 February 2026)
In order to foster capacity development in Internet governance at the local level, the IGF Secretariat, with the support of its donors, continues to allocate financial grants to National, Regional, Subregional and Youth Internet Governance Forums (NRIs) that meet the established eligibility criteria and procedures. The main objectives of these financial grants are to:
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• Enhance understanding of Internet governance issues by strengthening bottom-up and multistakeholder NRI processes, with particular attention to local communities in least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition;
• Strengthen the global Internet governance network by raising awareness of the importance of active and sustained engagement by local and regional communities in the IGF’s intersessional and collaborative work.
Subject to the availability of funds, eligible NRIs organized at the national level may apply for grants of up to USD 5,000; those organized at the subregional level may apply for grants of up to USD 6,000; and those organized at the regional level may apply for grants of up to USD 12,000.
The amount of funding awarded will depend on the quality and strength of the project proposal. To support the long-term financial sustainability of the NRI process, applicants are encouraged to demonstrate additional funding or in-kind contributions from other sources.
The final number of allocated grants would depend on the funds available.
Eligibility Criteria
NRIs that meet the following criteria, cumulatively, can apply for financial grants:
- Have recognized status with the IGF Secretariat as an IGF process that adheres to the IGF core criteria and procedures, as outlined in the NRIs Toolkit.
- Operate in, or primarily serve stakeholders in, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition.
- Describe effectively the major objectives of the NRIs process, the envisaged meeting outputs and expected outcomes; illustrative participation and programming plans as part of the preparatory processes.
- Describe how the NRI process and related work scope extends to communities from least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing states and/or transition economies.
- Describe strategic efforts for how to strengthen stakeholder engagement and inclusion of underrepresented and vulnerable groups.
- Outline expected costs of NRI meeting.
- Publicly available NRI annual reports from previous years, including information on the preparatory process, meetings held, and participation records (where applicable).
- An up-to-date NRI website containing process-related information, including identification of the entity performing the secretariat function. (Note: The NRI secretariat can be a government entity or a non-commercial non-government entity. Legal status of the organization will be proven through submission of appropriate documentation, including the entity’s founding documents and activity record, as well as with a statement of an active bank account to which funds will be transferred.)
Due complexity of processing, the eligibility may include also meetings planned to be hosted in the second half of the year.
Selection procedure
- The IGF Secretariat will evaluate all submissions against the above-mentioned criteria, while also taking into account geographical representation and countries with special needs.
- The level of an NRI’s participation in the NRIs’ collaborative work facilitated by the IGF Secretariat will be considered, including participation in meetings and contributions to the NRIs’ preparatory work and the annual IGF meeting, including NRI sessions and booths.
- The Secretariat will also assess the level of inclusiveness and stakeholder diversity within the organizing committee, including representation of all four stakeholder groups. For NRIs that have hosted meetings in the past, additional considerations will include the frequency and quality of discussions, diversity of participation (including gender balance), and the quality of meeting outputs.
Priority may be given to NRIs that are in the initial stages of establishing their IGF processes.
Timeline and Application Form
The Call for Applications is open for two weeks until 11 February 2026.
Eligible NRIs can submit their applications through this application form.
Please note that the estimated time for processing of the request is approximately two (2) months.
