| Overview : Dear Sir/Madam: Below are the three key purposes of this Call for Proposal. 1. Increased space for youth engagement, dialogue, and civic participation to diffuse potential election prone conflict at community levels and significantly reduced the number of reported incidents of electoral related violence in 15 counties;
2. Strengthen capacity of youth led and youth-focused organizations on peacebuilding including mapping of activities in peacebuilding; and
3. Increased capacities of national, county and district level institutions to engage youth particularly young women and girls in peacebuilding and linkages with the early warning and response mechanism are created. 1. BACKGROUND
The UN system in Liberia, primarily the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through its elections project has played an important role in supporting the successful planning and delivery of elections in Liberia since 2011. As the country move closely toward implementation of the 2017 Legislative and Presidential elections, there is nevertheless a strong commitment to enhance the rules of engagement, processes and institutions and allow for a peaceful transition that offer the scope for a greater and more equitable representative voice and participation. The UNDP 2015-2018 Electoral Cycle Support Project is supporting the National Election Commission of Liberia with specific focus on the 2017 presidential and legislative elections. The Elections Project with support from donors including EU, Swedish and Canada has now constituted into a basket fund . Amongst other objectives of the project is the aim to enhance young people’s participation especially women, and strengthened capacity of political parties for proper political parties coordination and use of conflict prevention. The project also aim at fostering inter-party dialogue with active involvement of community leaders and youth organizations in rural and urban areas as a mechanism for conflict prevention. However, the scope and outreach of the activities indicates a focus on the core election operational and voting day processes. Though massive sensitization and voter education campaign are envisaged and conducted under the project, little focus is placed on addressing youth related issues from a peacebuilding perspective. Furthermore, beyond the engagement of young people as facilitators of high community engagement, the mandate and programmatic objectives of the election project did not envisage targeted initiatives to bring in young people as vectors of stabilization before, during and after the elections. Within the above context, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Liberia secured funding from the United Nations Peace Building Fund (PBF) for the project “Enhancing Youth Participation in the 2017 Legislative and Presidential Electoral Process”. The overall aim of the project is twofold: (i) Increase leadership and participation of young women and men in electoral and post electoral mechanisms and processes for peacebuilding at all levels; and (ii) Increase capacity and skills of young men and women to monitor, prevent and mitigate electoral violence including gender based. The Increasing Youth Participation in the 2017 Legislative and Presidential Electoral Process project will work with and compliment the ongoing 2015-2018 Electoral Cycle Support Project in all aspects of its implementation. Precisely, within different outputs of the electoral project and in direct collaboration with field based staff and partners of the election project, the youth project will seek to use youths in diffusing potential conflicts at community levels and significantly reduce the number of reported incidence of youth related conflict or violence during the electoral cycle. The project will also seek to advance and achieve a cascading impact of skills transfer on conflict diffusion and non-violent resolution strategies through training for youth in local communities that are prone to violence around election period. It is therefore aim at supporting: • Key government ministries and agencies and CSOs to undertake programming aimed at education, engagement, and advocacy that dissuade youth from engaging in electoral violence by reducing their vulnerabilities for recruitment and instill electoral values consistent with national, regional and international norms and standards. This call for proposal focusing on output 1.1, 2.1 & 2.2 of the project is intended to: 1. Increased space for youth engagement, dialogue, and civic participation to diffuse potential election prone conflict at community levels and significantly reduced the number of reported incidents of electoral related violence in 15 counties;
2. Strengthen capacity of youth led and youth-focused organizations on peacebuilding including mapping of activities in peacebuilding; and
3. Increased capacities of national, county and district level institutions to engage youth particularly young women and girls in peacebuilding and linkages with the early warning and response mechanism are created. The CFP is consistent with the UNSC Resolution 1325 and its call for women’s equal participation, and the promotion of gender equality in peace and security decision-making processes at national, local, regional and international levels, and UNSC Resolution 2250 that demands for meaningful inclusion of young people in every aspects of development. II. SUBMISSION PROCESS Organizations shall bear all costs related to proposal preparation and submission. Applying organizations must read the details in the Terms of Reference, complete the project proposal template and submit their proposals on or before 3rd. July, 2017 at 12.00 Noon (GMT) Submission should be made by hard copy seal in an envelope to the following address: United Nations Development Programme
UNMIL HQ, PAP 3rd Street Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia
Attention: Head of Procurement UNDP-Liberia
and marked: CALL FOR PROPOSALS: 1. Increased space for youth engagement, dialogue, and civic participation to diffuse potential election prone conflict at community levels and significantly reduced the number of reported incidents of electoral related violence in 15 counties;
2. Strengthen capacity of youth led and youth-focused organizations on peacebuilding including mapping of activities in peacebuilding; and
3. Increased capacities of national, county and district level institutions to engage youth particularly young women and girls in peacebuilding and linkages with the early warning and response mechanism are created. Or Proposal Submission Address via email: bids.lr@undp.org. FEMALE ORGANIZATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE. | 
