The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has opened a competitive call for proposals under the Albania Reintegration Partnership, with up to £1.9 million available through an Accountable Grant Agreement. According to the department’s published notice, the programme is intended to support Albanian nationals returning from the United Kingdom, with delivery in Albania running from October 2026 to March 2029. The stated aim is sustainable reintegration rather than short-term assistance alone. FCDO says bids should improve access to opportunities and support for returnees while also strengthening the ability of Albanian institutions to respond to their needs over time.
The structure of the competition is important. FCDO has not committed to a single award and says it may fund one or more organisations, with the final number and value of grants dependent on proposal quality, value for money and strategic fit. That gives applicants some room on delivery design, but it also means each bid will need a clear justification for how it contributes to the department’s wider reintegration objectives. The call sets three programme outcomes. These are sustainable reintegration for returnees, effective reintegration pathways, and stronger institutional capability in Albania. For prospective bidders, that places the emphasis on joined-up delivery across individual support, referral routes and public-sector capability rather than on isolated interventions.
Eligibility is drawn broadly across the not-for-profit and development sector. Lead applicants may be not-for-profit organisations, civil society organisations, research institutions, international organisations or consortia, provided they are legally registered and can meet FCDO requirements on governance, financial management, due diligence and safeguarding. FCDO also signals a preference in how partnerships are assembled. Consortia are permitted, but a lead organisation must be identified, and the department strongly encourages applications involving local Albanian organisations and institutions. That points bidders towards delivery models that use local knowledge and existing national systems rather than setting up separate parallel arrangements.
The department’s specification is relatively clear about what it wants to fund. Proposals should support sustainable reintegration outcomes, strengthen existing systems, reflect the Albanian context, use evidence, remain adaptable during delivery, and leave benefits in place after the grant period. Strong stakeholder engagement and a credible value-for-money case are also explicit requirements. This is a familiar test in FCDO grant rounds. The question is not only whether a project is well intentioned, but whether it can show a workable theory of change, realistic delivery assumptions and a credible route to continuity after March 2029. Bids that rely too heavily on stand-alone services, or that do not show how Albanian institutions will be better equipped at the end of the grant, may struggle against the published criteria.
Bids are capped at 10 pages excluding annexes, and the submission package must include a technical proposal, a completed budget template and supporting organisational information. The technical proposal is expected to cover the reintegration challenge, the proposed approach, contribution to outcomes, target beneficiaries and geography, partnership arrangements, learning and adaptation, sustainability, and risk management, including safeguarding. FCDO has also published standard documents alongside the call, including proposal, budget, risk management and results framework templates, as well as frequently asked questions. For applicants, that reduces uncertainty about format but increases the importance of compliance. In competitive public grant processes, strong concepts can fall away if required templates are incomplete or the narrative does not align cleanly with the published outcomes.
The evaluation model gives equal weighting to strategic fit and the quality of the proposed approach, each accounting for 25 per cent of the total score. Value for money is weighted at 20 per cent, feasibility and organisational capability together account for a further 20 per cent, and risk management and safeguarding make up the remaining 10 per cent. All proposals will be scored on a 0 to 5 scale and then moderated by an evaluation panel. FCDO says value for money will be judged against the standard 4Es: economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity. That means applicants will need to do more than present a restrained budget. They will need to show that resources are proportionate, linked clearly to outcomes, and targeted towards those with the greatest need, while still offering a delivery model that can be implemented within the grant period.
The competition opened on 17 August 2026, with proposals due by 21 September 2026 and notification of outcome scheduled for 2 October 2026. Clarification questions and completed applications must be submitted electronically to British.EmbassyTirana@fcdo.gov.uk, and FCDO says responses to clarification questions will be shared with all applicants to maintain equal access to information. The published terms also make clear that FCDO retains broad discretion over the process. Under the notice, the department may award all, part or none of the available funding, fund one or multiple organisations, request further clarification or stop the competition at any stage. For charities, NGOs and research bodies considering a bid, the practical task is to align closely with the three stated outcomes, evidence a sound understanding of Albanian delivery conditions, and show how reintegration support will remain viable beyond the life of the grant.