Frequently Asked Questions

Maternal health projects are those whose main objective is to improve the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium.

The main objective of neonatal health projects will be to improve the health of the newborn from the moment of birth until approximately the first month of life. The term "neonate" is used for the newborn during this period of 28 to 30 days.

Projects in child health will have as their main objective the improvement of the health of children between 1 month and 5 years of age.

No. This call seeks to support projects that propose possible solutions to the main causes of infant and maternal mortality through the following areas of action:

1. Advocacy in public policies and programs.

2. Training of professionals in the public health system and in priority health specialties in the country/countries where the project is being carried out.

3. Strengthening of scientific institutions and promotion of networks in the country/countries of action.

4. Evaluation of programs and interventions for the improvement of the health status of vulnerable populations with high disease burden.

5. Improving access to and management of supplies of medical products.

6. Or others related to health systems strengthening including improving access and quality of care.

The countries of action for this call will be countries in sub-Saharan Africa - the region that concentrates the majority of under-five (60 %) and maternal deaths (70 %) and in which ”la Caixa” Foundation has implemented global health projects.

See the list of countries in section 4 of the call guidelines: Geographic focus.

No. The countries of action for this call for proposals are those detailed in section 4 of the call guidelines.

No. Projects must be implemented in only one country. The inclusion of more than one country in the implementation of the project will result in the exclusion of the proposal from the evaluation process.

Yes, as long as they comply with the requirements established in section 5 of the call guidelines.

No. Both the lead and partner organizations must be non-profit organizations.

For more information on the requirements for applicants, see section 5 of the call guidelines: Requirements for applicants.

Organisations with current projects within the Child Survival program that wish to apply for a following phase or a new project will be required to submit in the application the final reports, or if that is not possible, a pre-closing technical or economical report, including a justification and audit of at least 80 % of the funds awarded by ”la Caixa” Foundation.

If they have not been able to execute 80 % of the awarded funds, they will have to attach, in addition to the before required documentation, detailed planning of the compromised funds and/or pending of execution, and, in any case, they will have to be fully executed when starting the next phase or the new project.

Lead organisations of current Child Survival projects may, however, apply as a network partner for a new project even if they have not implemented the awarded funds.

See section 5 of the call guidelines: Requirements for applicants.

It is preferable that the documentation is submitted in English. If you do not have original documentation in English, please attach a reliable translation of the document together with the original copies.

Yes.

Yes, but it must be well argued what they contribute to the network, what their role is, why they are necessary and how they can operate in the project without having to manage any part of the budget.

For proposals up to a maximum of EUR 450,000, the network must consist of 4 or 5 partners (at least one of which must be a local partner).

For proposals up to a maximum of EUR 150,000, the network must consist of 3 partners (at least one of which must be a local partner).

For more information on the requirements for networks and applicants, see section 5 of call guidelines: Applicant requirements and 7: Funding.

Yes, as long as it does not appear as an applicant entity in more than one network.

In other words, an entity can submit a proposal as an applicant entity and on the other hand be a partner entity in other proposals.

For more information on the requirements of the networks and applicant entities see section 5 of the call guidelines: Applicant requirements.

It is not mandatory that there are Spanish or Portuguese entities in the network, but it is mandatory that there is at least one entity from the country of action, either as an applicant entity or as a partner entity/entities.

See the countries of action in section 4 of the call guidelines.

An organization can only lead one network. However, an organization can be a partner in more than one network.

For more information on the requirements of the networks and applicant organizations see section 5 of the call guidelines: Requirements for applicants.

The maximum funding that can be requested is 450.000 € for networks of 4 or 5 organisations and up to 150.000 € for networks of 3 organisations.

The amount granted may not exceed 80 % of the total cost of the project, with the contribution of other funds totalling at least 20 % of the entire amount required (monetary or in-kind contribution).

As local contributions, in-kind contributions will be accepted provided that they are sufficiently accredited and intrinsically linked, exclusively or proportionally, to the action to be developed. These in-kind contributions will be subject to control and monitoring, as will the rest of the contributions.

A contribution of more than 20 % of the total amount will be positively valued.

For more information regarding funding, see section 7 of the call guidelines: Funding.

Yes.

The contribution can be made by the lead entity and/or the partner entities of the network. Co-funding from partners and other sources will be an asset.

Yes, the project may have a higher budget cost which will need to be co-financed by the lead entity, the partner organisations in the network or any other partner contributing to the project.

No. As indicated in the call guidelines, the budget must be presented in accordance with the Excel template that can be found on the ”la Caixa” Foundation's call platform, respecting the associated instructions on eligible expenses.

See section 7 of the call guidelines: Financing and Annex II.

If there is no indication that this is mandatory, lines can be left blank.

It is necessary to maintain ‘Advocacy’, ‘Training’, ‘Innovation’, ‘Project Management’ and ‘Evaluation and Communication’ in the budget template.

See Annex II of the call guidelines: Funding and eligible costs.

Yes, expenses related to travel, accommodation and per diems of project staff (local and expatriate staff) as well as technicians, trainers and final beneficiaries are eligible if they are directly related to the actions foreseen.

For more information on eligible expenses see Annex II of the call guidelines.

A lump sum may be subsidized, up to a limit equivalent to 7 % of the amount of the total eligible costs of the action requested from the ”la Caixa” Foundation, for indirect/overhead costs corresponding to the general administration costs of the project assumed by the applicant entity and the partners.

The selected organisations may justify expenses charged from the date of signature of the collaboration agreement until the end date of the agreement itself.

Up to 10 % of the expenses can be charged retroactively.

See section 10 of the call guidelines: Schedule.

Yes.

There are two phases of evaluation:

1. Phase one: remote evaluation of all eligible proposals. 2 reviewers assess each proposal.

2. Phase two: remote evaluation of shortlisted proposals. 2 reviewers (different from those from Phase 1) assess these finalist proposals. At this stage, evaluators may ask additional questions about the proposals to the lead organisations.

3.  Advisory committee: Final decision on awarded proposals following the final feedback from the 4 reviewers of the call.

All proposals will be analysed, evaluated and prioritized by an external evaluation team. The proposals selected by the external evaluation committee will be submitted to the governing bodies of the ”la Caixa” Foundation for final approval.

The resolution of the call is expected to be before the end of 2026.

Proposals can only be submitted in English.

The lead/applicant entity must upload an audit report with complete financial statements, notes and auditor's opinion if applicable.

However, if the entity is not legally required to have such an audit, it may alternatively submit an audit of projects similar to the one being presented, carried out within the last 36 months.

It is highly recommended that the partner organizations also submit audits, as described above.

You can attach all the necessary documentation (max. 2 MB) at the end of the “Proposal” section of the application form.

As stated in the call guidelines, no information or documentation submitted outside the online application or after the deadline will be accepted.

If you have any doubts or problems with the call for proposals platform, please contact through this email: [email protected].

Yes. Click on the ‘Print Application’ button in the GENERAL tab to download the application form in PDF format.

The start of the projects submitted under this call for proposals may be planned for December 2026.

See section 10 of the call guidelines: Schedule.

Projects may have a maximum duration of 24 months.

See section 8 of the call guidelines: Content of the applications.

It will be necessary to notify in advance any alteration, equal to or greater than 10 % in any of the budget items. In these cases, the organisation will have to provide the updated budget proposal and wait for the subsequent review and approval by ”la Caixa” Foundation.