We are launching our autumn calls for proposals: innovation in the social sector, support for carers, and scholarships for secondary school pupils
With the start of the new school year, we are launching further support initiatives in the Mladá Boleslav, Rychnov, Vrchlabí and Jilemnice regions.
Through the ‘Region without Barriers’ programme, we focus on innovative solutions, new approaches and collaboration that can improve the quality and accessibility of social and related services. We are currently launching two calls for proposals – one to support people who provide long-term care for their loved ones, and another for projects focused on social inclusion and maintaining social ties. These will be followed in October by a Scholarship Programme, which will offer secondary school students from our regions the opportunity to gain study experience abroad.
Detailed information on the individual calls for proposals and application forms can be found HERE.
Region without Barriers – support for informal carers
This call is aimed at projects that help people providing long-term care for their loved ones to better cope with the demands of caregiving and to access faster and more accessible support.
We are primarily looking for innovative solutions that introduce new models of support, utilise technology or link social, health and community services. These may include, for example, more flexible respite care services, support available in the evenings or at weekends, peer support and mental wellbeing, better guidance for carers navigating the service system, or new models such as home-sharing. Applications will be accepted from 1 to 30 September 2026.
A Region Without Barriers – Social Inclusion and Maintaining Social Ties
The second call supports the introduction of changes and new approaches in social and related services, as well as new initiatives. The aim is to improve the accessibility and quality of support, to help people remain in their natural environment for as long as possible, and to reduce the risk of social isolation and marginalisation. For example, we wish to support new methods, technologies, processes and models of care in the areas of personal assistance, social rehabilitation, day centres and community centres, low-threshold and outreach services, and other forms of field-based and outpatient support.
This does not involve supporting the day-to-day running of existing social services, but rather projects that bring about concrete change and have the potential to be sustainable in the long term.
We are accepting applications from 1 to 30 September 2026.
Scholarship Programme – overseas stays for secondary school pupils
This autumn, in collaboration with AFS, we will also be launching another round of the scholarship programme. It will enable secondary school pupils in supported regions to gain cultural and educational experience abroad and to develop their independence, language skills and ability to function in a new environment. Selected scholarship recipients can receive up to 250,000 CZK to fund their stay abroad with AFS. Applications will be open from 15 October to 15 November 2026.
We are looking for inquisitive young people who want to explore the world, learn and later pass on the experiences they have gained.
An overview of current calls for applications, their rules and application forms can be found HERE.
The Škoda Auto Endowment Fund team