ACCESS TO JUSTICE, SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS STRENGTHENING PROGRAMME
 Request for Proposals (RFP) for Small Grants 
Request for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) including NGOs and/or CBOs for application of Small Grants to conduct public outreach awareness-raising, information dissemination and coordination on transitional justice
Wau and Yambio, South Sudan
Deadline for proposal submission: 8 December 2020

I.	Background:
The UNDP’s Support to Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening progamme aims contribute to national priorities in line with the United Nations Cooperation Framework (UNCF).   In this regard, the programme supports the priorities of the rule of law institutions (Judiciary of South Sudan, Ministry of Justice, South Sudan National Police Service, National Prison Service South Sudan, and Local Government Board). 
The objectives of the programme includes strengthening justice and security institutions, delivering equitable access to justice to the most vulnerable, increasing community security especially in conflicted areas and enhance national human rights awareness. The programme also provides support for transitional justice initiatives in South Sudan, including the implementation of Chapter V of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). The programme support to transitional justice in South Sudan consists of technical assistance to the rule of law institutions; the gauging of perceptions of South Sudanese on issues related to truth, justice, reconciliation and healing; development of policy and discussion papers; creating space for dialogue and raising awareness through workshops, lectures and conferences; and support to civil society in promoting transitional justice.
As part of its support to transitional justice initiatives, UNDP intends to promote awareness, disseminate information and enhance coordination on transitional justice amongst traditional leaders, youth, women and the general public both at national level and in the states. To this end, UNDP intends to partner with civil society to implement initiatives that will ensure that information reach out to the public and create awareness on transitional justice and the agreed upon mechanisms. This call for proposal invites Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in Wau and Yambio to submit proposals for projects that will contribute to this awareness-raising.
II.	Objectives:
The overall objective of the grant is to create awareness,  enhance coordination and disseminate information to traditional leaders, youth, women and the wider community to create a common understanding of transitional justice processes and the mechanisms provided by the R-ARCSS that is founded on national ownership. This awareness-raising will enhance the public’s understanding about transitional justice, and acts as a platform for South Sudanese to add their voice to and participate in transitional justice processes and the agreed upon mechanisms.
III.	Expected results:
CSOs are encouraged to develop their own expected results based on their analysis of the needs and particularities of the context and problems. The expected results may include the following: 
1.	Awareness-raising campaigns and outreach activities in Wau and Yambio on transitional justice that provides increased understanding of transitional justice mechanisms and the provisions of the R-ARCSS;
2.	A series of dialogues and workshops conducted on transitional justice at state level involving government stakeholders, civil society organizations and traditional leaders;
3.	The generation of knowledge on thematic topics relevant to the transitional justice process in South Sudan through public lectures delivered by experts and compiled and published as policy briefs, research papers or working documents.  
IV. 	Structure of proposal:
The structure and size of the proposal must comply with the following guidelines:
a.	Project Summary (maximum of 1/3 page)
Describe project’s objectives, main activities, stakeholders and expected results.
b.	General information about applicant organization (maximum of 1 page)
Main areas of expertise – describe your organization’s main competencies, especially concerning 
Transitional justice initiatives; rule of law and access to justice. Describe your organization’s 
mission.
c.	Relevant experience (maximum of 1 page)
Describe the work performed by your organization that demonstrates its capability to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
d.	Problem analysis (maximum of ½ page)
Describe the main problem(s) that your proposed project will aim to address.
e.	Project objectives (maximum of ½ page)
Describe your proposed project’s goals and objectives.
f.	Expected results (maximum of ½ page)
Describe specific results that you plan to achieve with your project. Please make them SMART: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound.
g.	Target geographical location and audience (maximum of ½ page)
Describe the project’s main target audience as well as other stakeholders. Please also describe how they will be engaged. Explain if and how your project will cooperate with relevant government bodies.
h.	Project Activities (maximum of 1 page)
Briefly describe the form and content of the activities that will be carried out during project implementation to reach its objectives.
i.	Organizational capacity improvement (maximum of ½ page)
Explain how this project will help to strengthen your organization’s capacity.
j.	Work Plan (maximum of 3 pages)
Please include a work plan (preferably in table form) that contains specific activities to be undertaken, when they are planned to be implemented and by whom.
k.	Project Monitoring and Evaluation (maximum of ½ page)
Please include a monitoring and evaluation framework (preferably in table form) that describe how you will monitor project implementation and evaluate its results. Such a framework can include a baseline, qualitative and quantitative indicators, as well as means and moments of verification.
l.	Budget (maximum of 2 pages)
Provide an activity-based project budget in SSP/USD.

V.	Some other important considerations to be noted by applicants are:
•	The proposal should be realistic, well-structured and address the problems stated in the problem analysis of the proposal;
•	The proposal should be consistent with organizational mandate (objectives) of the CSO and professional skills and work experience of its staff;
•	The proposal should include how the applicant plans to work with the civil society founded transitional justice working group;
•	Roles and responsibilities of all staff and partner organizations should be clearly mapped out (e.g planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation);
•	The proposal should include results with indicators as well as realistic monitoring and evaluation plans capturing especially the impact on the targeted groups.
•	The budget should be well structured and realistic.
A detailed proposal template is annexed to this Request for Proposals (RFP) as attachment I.
VI.	The applicants should take into account the following in relation to the budget:
•	A separate budget should be prepared for each project location that the applicant intends to conduct its work;			
•	The budget must not exceed USD 15,000;
•	The administrative cost must not exceed 10% of the total amount;
•	Following the selection of grant recipients, the UNDP may require that the budget be revised into UNDP format.

VII.	Grant size and project duration:
•	One or more grants not exceeding USD 15,000 will be made to different organizations within a 4month period per project location. The amount of grants awarded will depend on the quality of proposals received and the amount of available donor funds.
•	UNDP may call for a second round of proposals depending upon the availability of funds. Where budgets are prepared in South Sudanese Pounds, grants will be paid at the UN exchange rate of the day of the transfer of funds. Payment will be made into the bank account of the applicant.
•	Duration of the project shall be 4 months.

VIII.	 Scope of work and expected output
This is a request for proposal only and should not be considered in any way as an offer to enter into an agreement. The proposals will be subjected to a transparent evaluation based on pre-determined UNDP criteria.

IX.	Duties and responsibilities
With support from the UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening progamme, the CSOs will provide awareness and disseminate information to traditional leaders, youth, women and the wider community to increase awareness and create a common understanding of transitional justice processes and the mechanisms provided by the ARCSS that is founded on national ownership. The following duties and responsibilities may contribute to achieving this objective:
•	Coordinate state-level transitional justice actors in Wau and Yambio to gather and distribute information;
•	Develop and conduct a community awareness-raising campaign (including materials) and outreach activities about transitional justice and the transitional justice mechanisms provided by the ARCSS;
•	Advocate for dialogue on transitional justice processes, peace and reconciliation through radio talk shows, drama and other channels of communication;
•	Organize a series of dialogues, workshops and public lectures on transitional justice at community level;
•	Compile, write, print and disseminate the results of the events, awareness-raising campaign and outreach activities as meeting reports and practice notes;
•	Monitor progress of the project and evaluate its impact so as to adequately measure increased space for and awareness, knowledge and understanding of transitional justice; 
•	Write and submit monthly and quarterly financial and progress reports including recommendations to address programmatic/operational challenges; and provide a final narrative and financial report at the end of the project.

X.	Grant applications review process:
Proposals will be reviewed by a Grants Appraisal Committee composed of representatives from various UNDP units and Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening Programme and the final approval made by UNDP Management.
a.	Grant Appraisal Committee
To ensure full transparency and equity of the process, UNDP forms a Grant Appraisal Committee that will select and approve the grant projects. The UNDP will conclude grant agreements with the winning organizations whose projects will be recommended for funding by the Grant Appraisal Committee. 

The Grant Appraisal Committee is an authorized body in charge of the review, selection and approval of submitted grant project proposals. The Grant Appraisal Committee shall have the following tasks: 
1.	Review and appraisal of grant project proposals;
2.	Recommends project proposals for funding or rejection of project proposals.

The Grant Appraisal Committee will consist of members, who will be invited subject to the specific nature of project under consideration and approved by UNDP Deputy Resident Representative (Programmes). The Grant Appraisal Committee may decide to request an independent expert opinion during the grant project selection process.

Meeting(s) of the Grant Appraisal Committee will be held subject to submission of the grant project proposals. The Grant Appraisal Committee meeting will be organized and facilitated by UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening programme staff. 
b.	Selection process
•	Grant Appraisal Committee formed by UNDP selects project proposals based on evaluation criteria and recommends them for funding;
•	UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening programme forms a short list of CSOs whose project. proposals have been recommended for funding by the Grant Appraisal Committee;
•	UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening programme assesses the organizational capacity of the short-listed CSOs, i.e. their capacity to achieve project results, and ensure the appropriate use of funds in compliance with the UNDP procedures. The CSOs’ organizational capacity assessment methods are based on the standard UNDP CSO capacity assessment instrument, and may include: visits to potential grantees, telephone interviews, reference checks on potential grantees, analysis of information on potential grantees available from other sources;
•	Based on the results of the short-listed CSOs’ capacity assessment, UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening  programme submits the list of CSOs recommended for funding that have required capacity to the UNDP Programme Manager of the Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening  programme for clearance;
•	UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening Programme Manager clears the list of CSO projects recommended for funding submits it to UNDP South Sudan Deputy Resident Representative (Programmes) for approval; 
•	UNDP South Sudan Deputy Resident Representative (Programmes) approves the final list of CSO projects recommended for funding;
•	UNDP concludes grant agreements with the CSOs approved by UNDP South Sudan Deputy Resident Representative (Programmes).
c.	Evaluation criteria
•	Applications will be evaluated by the Grant Appraisal Committee against the following main criteria:
•	Importance of the problem concerning vulnerable groups of people addressed by the project;
•	Specificity in defining target audience of the project, as well as other stakeholders; 
•	Level of competence and experience of the applying organization in issues addressed by the project, and professional level of project personnel;
•	Clearness, feasibility and practicality of planned results;
•	Effectiveness of the proposed methodology with regard to resolving the given problem and achieving planned results;
•	Impact of the project on the strengthening of the applicant organization’s capacity;
•	Justified and balanced project budget.

Each proposal will be given a score from 0 to 100 as indicated below:
Technical Evaluation (70 score)
1.	Consistency with project objectives – (15).
The proposal should contribute to creating awareness and disseminating information traditional leaders, youth, women and the wider community to create a common understanding of transitional justice processes and the mechanisms foreseen in the R-ARCSS that is founded on national ownership. In addition, the proposal should enable South Sudanese to add their voice to and participate in transitional justice processes and the agreed upon mechanisms.
2.	Likelihood of success and project feasibility/sustainability – (15).
The proposals should be feasible and clearly demonstrate sustainability during the grant period without any additional external funding.
3.	Capacity of the organization to implement the project (institutional, financial) – (10).
The CSO should demonstrate the ability to effectively manage grant funds as well as the institutional capacity (equipment, facilities, competence and experience of personnel, and past record of managing such projects) necessary for project implementation.
4.	Comprehensiveness of the project description – product, plan and budget - (15).
The proposal should clearly define its strategy for implementation detailing a step-by-step project work plan with clear timelines for activity duration, supported by an itemized budget, and description of target groups.
5.	Competence of the organization’s staff. Previous experience in related fields, availability of skills and training – (10).
The proposal should include a brief background of the key staff working on the project and their competence and prior experience and necessary skills required to successfully implement the project. 
Financial Evaluation (30 score)
The budget should be detailed, complete, rational and realistic, and must not exceed 15,000 USD.
Administrative costs exceeding 10% of the total proposed amount will be rejected.
XI. Reporting, monitoring and evaluation
Reporting under grants
CSOs will be expected to present updates and financial reports, with documented proof of data on the project progress and expenses from grant funds. Minimum reporting requirements will include, mid-term progress and project completion reports. An evaluation of the grant scheme will be undertaken at the end of its cycle in order to review lessons learned and assess impact to date. Reporting under the grants will be to the UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening Programme Manager.
Monitoring 
The Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening Programme Manager or his/her designate will undertake periodic visits to the project sites, as well as participate in the events organized by grant winners. If challenges occur in the course of project implementation the Programme Manager, together with the Grant Appraisal Committee, will provide assistance and consultations to resolve problems and facilitate the smooth implementation of the project.
Project evaluation
The Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening Programme will pay special attention to evaluation of project results. Therefore, the inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative indicators is recommended in the project design as this will help track and assess results of the project implementation. Where necessary, the Project will undertake an external evaluation of individual grants or groups of grants. Results of such evaluations will be made available to grant winners of this programme as well as to other interested parties.
XII. Application process 
Interested parties must submit a proposal along with the following documents:
a)	Proof of registration as a non-governmental/non-commercial organization including copies of registration certificate and constitution or other governing document.
b)	Organizational profile with the following details:
•	A clearly defined management structure;
•	Experience and expertise in training and capacity building;
•	Knowledge of international human rights norms and experience of working on human rights and protection issues;
•	Work experience in South Sudan or in post-conflict situations;
•	Details of the local partners if application is made jointly by two or more CSOs.
c)	Curriculum vitae of two key staff members involved in the implementation of the Project.
d)	Bank details.

Interested CSOs may obtain further information at the following address:
Name of Office: 	Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening Programme, UNDP – Juba, South Sudan
Contact persons:	Armania Embaye
Rule of Law Specialist
Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening programme
UNDP - Juba, South Sudan
armania.embaye@undp.org 

Applications (project proposals) in the form of the template attached (Attachment I) must be submitted by CSOs based in South Sudan to the UNDP Offices either by hand  in sealed envelope marked ‘Transitional justice awareness grant’ to the bid box at UNDP Office on Ministries Road or emailed to armania.embaye@undp.org not later than 8  December 2020, 16:00 hours.

Late bids will be rejected. Only short-listed organizations shall be contacted.

ATTACHMENT I

UNDP Civil Society Development Programme
Call for ProposalS
Small Grants to conduct awareness-raising and information dissemination on transitional justice
application TEMPLATE
(please, do not exceed the proposed size limit for each section)
INFORMATION ABOUT APPLICANT ORGANIZATION

Organization’s legal name		
Organization’s legal status		
Year of registration		
Name of executive Director		
Name of project manager	 	
Name of project accountant		
Organization’s legal address		
Actual address (if different from above)		
Telephone: +211925020943/ 	Fax:	
E-mail address: 	Web page: 	
Project budget		
Project dates		

PROJECT’S NAME: PROJECT PROPOSAL
1. Project Summary (maximum of 1/3 page)	

Describe project’s objectives, main activities, stakeholders and expected results
Objective:
Expected outcome: 
Output:

 Activities:	
Expected results: Intended Results: 

2. General information about applicant organization (maximum of 1 page)	

2.1	Main areas of expertise – describe your organization’s main competencies, especially concerning transitional justice, rule of law and access to justice.

2.2	 Describe your organization’s mission.

2.3	Describe main types of activity that your organization carries out.

2.4	Describe main target audiences and partners of your organization.

2.5	Explain what kind of in-house or outside experts your organization involves in its usual work.

2.6	Provide a brief list of your organization’s three current or latest projects supported by international or local organizations and donors (indicate dates, subject matter of projects, project budgets and donors).

2.7	Describe your organization’s main assets: number of full-time staff, office space, and equipment

3. Relevant experience (maximum of 1 page)	

3.1	Provide evidence of your organization’s experience in thematic area of this competition.

3.2	Describe the work performed by your organization that demonstrates its capability to work on transitional justice.

3.3	Describe specific results achieved by your organization in providing support to the vulnerable groups of persons.

4. Problem analysis (maximum of ½ page)	

Describe main problem(s) concerning transitional justice that your project will address. Explain why these issues are important to the target groups and South Sudanese society in general. 

5. Project objectives (maximum of ½ page)	

Overall Goals:
Objectives: 	

6. Expected results (maximum of ½ page)	

6.1	Describe specific short-term and long-term results that you plan to achieve with your project. Described results. 
6.2	Explain what positive changes in the life of the target groups will be achieved through your project.

7. Target audience (maximum of ½ page)	

7.1	Describe project’s main target audience as well as other stakeholders. Please also describe how they will be engaged.   
7.2	Explain if and how your project will cooperate with relevant government bodies.

8. Project Activities (maximum of 1 page)	

9. Communication strategy (maximum of ½ page)	

10. Organizational capacity improvement (maximum of ½ page)
 
11. Work Plan (maximum of 3 pages)	

Provide project’s work plan according to the following format:
Month	Activity, Location	Topic	Implementers	Planned Results	

13. Publications (maximum of ½ page)	
Briefly describe all publications, handouts and other printed materials that will be produced during project: contents, volume, circulation, dissemination.
14. Project Monitoring and Evaluation (maximum of ½ page)	

15. Future activities (maximum of ½ page)	

How will your organization continue to remain relevant in the advocacy for transitional justice after completing the project? 

16. Budget (maximum of 2 pages)	

Provide project budget in SSP/USD according to the following format:		
Description of Activity/Item	Persons/Units	Rate/Cost	Estimated amount in USD	

				

				

				

				

17. Personnel (maximum of 2 pages)	

ATTACHMENTS

In addition to Project Proposal, the application package must include copies of the following documents:
1. Proof of registration as a non-governmental/non-commercial organization including copies of registration certificate and constitution or other governing document;
2. Registration certificate Proof of registration as a non-governmental/non-commercial organization including copies of registration certificate and constitution or other governing document;
3. Curriculum vitae of two key staff members involved in the implementation of the Project;
4. Bank details.