UN Women Call for Proposals CFP 02 /2017 UN Women Uganda Country Office invites NGOs and CSOs for the following: Call objective: To develop and implement a project aimed at conducting civic education and enhancing community understanding of gender equality and women s right to political participation. Duration 1 year (March 2017 March 2018) Organizational Unit Women s Political participation and leadership Geographic Area of National Implementation Background/Context: UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Under its mandate to support member states to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gender- related targets in general and in particular SDG 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) with a target of ensuring women s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life. UN Women Uganda is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals (see Annex I for detailed guidelines on preparing the Proposals) from women-led Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) with innovative and high impact programmes on the advancement of gender equality, protection of women s rights and the empowerment of women to help localize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5 by promoting women s political participation and leadership. Women are significantly under-represented in political and electoral processes be it as voters, candidates, elected representatives or electoral administrators. In Uganda as of February 2016, Women consist of 32.8% of the National Parliament. This political under- representation occurs despite many Government commitments to women s right to participate equally in democratic governance and their proven abilities as leaders at different levels. Women s political under- representation is due to the combined effects of institutional and structural constraints as well as cultural and attitudinal barriers
that discourage women from having a role in public life. Structural barriers include lack of finances to run electoral campaigns and the high incidence of electoral violence which bar women from participating. In addition, negative media portrayal and cultural beliefs and perceptions are often biased against women in leadership positions.. The other constraint identified is the limited number of women with the required skills to mentor younger women to take interest in political participation, leadership and decision-making at different levels. Through this Call for Proposals, UN Women seeks proposals from women-led NGOs and other NGOs with strong track record in advancing gender equality and empowerment of women. Such NGOs will have proven capacity to develop and implement a programme to change negative social and cultural norms that hinder women from participating in politics and other leadership processes. The project also seeks to engage the media and improve the portrayal of women in leadership positions. The program will be implemented in the selected districts in Kampala, Acholi and Karamoja sub-regions and in Eastern Uganda The overall objective of the program is: To enhance community understanding of gender equality and women s right to political participation and leadership To enhance the capacity of the media to promote positive portrayals of women leaders and gender equality as a social goal. To build the capacity of cultural institutions to advocate for and promote women s role in leadership and decision making To facilitate implementation of gender, culturally and conflict sensitive civic education on women's rights and political participation Proposed Intervention(s) The Programme envisages four (4) key components to be implemented by either a single organization or jointly in partnership with other NGO/CSO in which case they will have to show proof of the partnership at the time of submitting the proposal. The indicated budget estimates are for a 1-year period and interested CSOs/NGOs are expected to submit proposals covering this period. Component 1: Develop tools for conducting Gender Sensitive Civic education The component will aim at developing and documenting best practices and methodologies on conducting gender, culturally and conflict sensitive strategies for civic education on women's rights and political participation using local and international experiences. It should aim at developing a tool that can be used in effective civic education taking note of the cultural and religious diversities in Uganda. Component 2: Conduct civic education to communities at the national and community level Conduct civic education and awareness creation on women's rights and political participation at national and community level using the most innovative methods and networks to reach a large number of people and achieve maximum impact. The community based interventions should be innovative and informed by good practices worldwide, in terms of gender, cultural and conflict sensitivity. The interventions should aim at changing the negative cultural perceptions that deter women from participating in politics reaching large sections of society in the target areas. Component 3: Media engagement
Develop and implement a program with media organizations to enhance the capacity of media to understand gender programming and improve the visibility and positive portrayal of women in politics and leadership as well as contributing to change of the negative cultural perceptions which deter women from participating in politics and leadership through their media outlets. Component 4 Engagement with cultural institutions Develop and implement a program with selected cultural institutions to develop their capacity to understand gender equality and women s right to political participation and leadership. The intervention is aimed at influencing the cultural leaders to advocate for and promote women s role in leadership and decision making through their institutions and outreach programs. Amount and Technical Assistance Budget Request Size Develop a tool for conducting Gender Sensitive Civic education 70,000,000 UGX Conduct civic education to communities at the national and community level using innovative channels to reach large numbers in targeted areas -162,000,000 UGX Media engagement -70,000,000 UGX Engagement with cultural institutions -70,000,000 UGX Applicants should submit separate proposals for each component above All applicants will have to demonstrate absorptive capacity and a financial management record commensurate with the grant request amount. Technical Assistance: Successful applicants will also benefit from the following support from UN Women Uganda Country Office as follows: Package of monitoring and technical support services Impact tracking through Results Based Management support Eligible Programme Proposal An overall thematic focus on gender equality in politics and decision making. A 1-year implementation schedule only Geographical implementation will be national level, with a focus on the central, northern, eastern and Karamoja regions. Please note: All applicants are advised to review UN Women s website to familiarize themselves with the organizations strategic priorities www.unwomen.org Application and Selection Process Who can apply? Women s rights organizations that are legally registered in Uganda and have specialized knowledge, expertise and track record of working on women s human rights in the context of governance and decision making programming, including but not limited to: non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations and media networks at national or sub-national level). Legal status: Applicants must have valid legal status with the Government of Uganda. (A valid Certificate of Registration is required) Gender equality focus: Applicant must demonstrate experience implementing programmes on gender equality and women empowerment with a focus on political participation, media engagement and
engagement with cultural institutions through an organizational resume or CV of past implementing experience and areas of expertise. (Documents required) Women leadership: Applicants must have at least 50% women on its Board and its staff, with substantive representation of women in leadership positions. (Documents required) Audit reports: Applicants must have certified audit reports for 2-3 previous fiscal years i.e. 2014, 2015 (and 2016 if available) (Audit reports required) Endorsement: Applicants must submit at least one Letter of Endorsement from a gender equality or women s empowerment mechanism, governmental authority on gender equality, or other multistakeholder institution (including UN offices other than UN Women). Please note: To ensure fairness, Letters of Endorsement by UN Women offices will not be accepted. (Letters of Endorsement Required) Experience on political participation programming Extensive programme experience in working on women and governance issues, including on: media programming and work with cultural institutions. Long track record and presence working in the target sub-regions/districts Experience working on civic education, Have presence (an office with staff capacity) in the target districts. Alternatively, applicants should demonstrate that they have existing partnerships or will establish partnerships (with key Women s Rights Organizations (CBOs/CSOs/NGOs) based in the target districts. In such cases, applicants will indicate potential partnerships and will subsequently need to enter into an MoU as part of this engagement Important notes: The application should be submitted by either a single organization or more than one organization working in a consortium on the above thematic areas. Proposals should ideally reflect partnerships among civil society and Government. Special attention will be paid to organizations with a demonstrated record of working with local women s organizations. Transfer of funds by the Applicant Organization to UN Agencies, private sector entities, International NGOs and International Organizations will not be allowed. UN Women will sign contracts with and disburse funds to the applicant organization only. Eligible organizations currently partnering with UN Women may apply under this call for proposals. Non-eligible applicant organizations The following are NOT eligible to apply to this call for proposal: Government agencies or institutions UN agencies Bilateral or multilateral organizations, financial institutions, development agencies Private sector entities Private individuals CSOs not focused on gender equality and women s empowerment CSOs with lack of gender balance in their staff, board membership and leadership positions. Evaluation Criteria Proposals passing the eligibility criteria (see above) will be scored against the following:
Relevance of the proposal (see focus areas and priority areas) 30 points Vision for structural change in a relevant thematic area Quality of the context analysis and gender assessment Implementation strategies (see required quality elements) 40 points Linking local implementation to National, Regional and international Commitments Rights based approach Strategic partnerships Engaging traditionally excluded groups Added value elements 30 points Monitoring SDG implementation Innovation and ICT Evidence based intervention Sustainability Engaging men and boys Successful proposal(s) will be expected to be further developed as a Programme Document meeting UN Women standards and formatting requirements, with support from UN Women staff as required, to include high quality standards of programme strategy, monitoring and evaluation plans, results and resource framework, budget, etc. Submission details All submissions should be delivered through one of the following: Personal Delivery/ Courier mail/ Registered Mail addressed to: The Country Representative, UN Women Uganda Plot 17-19, Clement hill road, Kampala, Uganda with subject line indicating REF: PPL/ Call for Proposals CFP/02/2017. otherwise applications will not be accepted within this call. Interested CSOs/NGOs must provide the following: Required Documents for the Applicant Organization Proof of legal status by competent national authority Certified audit reports for 2-3 previous fiscal years for 2014, 2015 (and 2016 if available) List of all staff, board members of the applicant organization, with gender and position (especially leadership positions) An organizational resume or CV showing mandate focus area, expertise of staff who will work on this programme and past experience (1-2 pages) Letter of Endorsement from a Gender Equality institution (not including UN Women) Applicants are expected to submit proposals in accordance with the guidelines for Call for Proposals using the Proposal submission templates listed below which are also found as Annexes to this Call for Proposals: Proposal template (Annex 1) Results Matrix Template (Annex II)
Work Plan Template (Annex III) Budget form (Annex IV) Proposals should be submitted in English. The proposal currency shall be Uganda Shillings (UGX). Budget distribution between Programme and Administration/Operations should be 70:30 %. Deadline: The Call for Proposals will be open until 23rd March 2017 5.00pm (Ugandan time). UN Women will acknowledge receipt of the applications through a confirmation e mail. Only those short listed shall be considered and further contacted. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. Proposals will be selected in accordance with the procedure set out in the UN-Women Rules and Regulations. This Call for Proposals does not entail any commitment on the part of UN-Women, financial or otherwise. UN-Women reserves the right to accept or reject any or all Call for Proposal without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant/s of the reasons. Annexes: Annex I: Proposal submission form Annex II: Results Matrix template Annex III: Work Plan template Annex IV: Budget Template Annex I: Project Technical Proposal Template Focus Area: Please indicate the theme of your proposal Project title: i) Write the name of the project. Please keep the title brief ii) State the project site/ specific area/ region to be covered by the project. Project Duration
UN Women will give funds maximum for a maximum of two years Proposal Format: The proposal should be written in the format given in the right hand column Project Proposal Format: Operational and Technical Context and problem analysis: (not more than 1 ½ pages) Justification: (not more than 1 ½ pages) Expected results: Use the Results template in Annex II Project design: (not more than 1 ½ pages) Work plan: Use template in Annex III Partnerships: A description of the partners needed to successfully implement the project and their roles (1-1 ½ pages). Institutional profile: A brief description of the organization, including its registration details and relevant experience working on the thematic issues proposed; familiarity with international commitments on women political participation, experience on women s rights, gender equality and women s empowerment both at the local and national levels Capacities and experiences of key staff members Project management (organization and project management flow chart and description of roles and responsibilities indicating full time or part time) and resource management (adequacy, efficiency and cost effectiveness of personnel, facilities, etc.) Project sustainability and replicability Monitoring and evaluation plan Budget Itemized budget (please use template in Annex IV): Explanation note on the expenditure heads Budget should be output based showing amount required to achieve each output. The budget should include an allocation for preparation of a certified financial report.
Total project Budget: The administrative/indirect costs should not exceed 8% of the total budget. Amount Requested and Request in Percentage: Other funding, if applicable: Applicant NGO s Authorised Signatory and the Position in the Organization: (including full contact details) Status: Registration Details: (please mention the name and contact details of the authority with whom the organizations are registered, the Act/Law under which the organizations is registered, and provide the registration numbers) List of Annexures: (Tick the documents being submitted with an understanding that these are minimum required. Where a document is unavailable, please give reasons) Essential Documents: Registration certificates Organizations by-laws/constitutions MoUs/ agreements between partners in the consortium. Past three annual reports for each partner in consortium Past three organization audit reports for each partner in consortium List of current donors for each partner in consortium Evaluation of the organizations, if any conducted CVs of key staff members for each partner in consortium Optional Documents: Any other (specify below)
Signature of the authorised signatory/ Lead agency and stamp Signature: Name: Title: Place: Date: Organization s/ lead agency Stamp: Annex II: Results Matrix Result Indicator Means of Verification Important assumptions Goal: Outcome 1: Output 1.1: Activities: Output 1.2: Activities: Outcome 2: Output 2.1: Activities: Output 2.2: Activities: Annex III: Work Plan
Outcome 1 Output 1.1 Key Activity Implementing Partner (s) Timeframe Amount Output 1.2 Outcome 2 Output 2.1 Output 2.2 Annex IV: Budget Proposal No. Budget Item Unit/ Quantity A Personnel Rate Total Budget Notes on budget line items Subtotal personnel B Programme Subtotal programme C Equipment Subtotal equipment D Administrative costs Subtotal administrative costs TOTAL