| Overview : All Propective Proposers are advised of the following: 1. Deadline of submission of proposals extended till 21 May 2021. 2. Some changes has been made on the requirement. Please refer to the attachment "CSO Small Grants - extension and proposed changes" for reference/guidance. 3. Minutes of the Zoom Clarification Session with CSOs is uploaded for further reference/information. ________________________________________________________________________________
The 2020 UNAMI/UNDP project “Support to Iraq’s Electoral Process – Early parliamentary elections support” (together with subsequent amendments) proposes enhanced support and direct electoral technical assistance through a wide range of activities. The objective of this call for proposal is to increase informed voter participation, inclusiveness/awareness of the electoral process and conflict prevention through civic and voter education activities. The civic and voter education activities will target different groups: a) the general electorate, b) women, c) young people, d) minority communities, e) IDPs and f) people with disabilities. - Expected outcomes
Grantees’ proposals in this area can offer a variety of approaches and associated outcomes. They could range from more formal activities (awareness workshop, training, discussion group, community gatherings etc.) to audio-visual and more creative and interactive ones (shows, quizzes, visual arts/graffiti, music, etc.), - including production of awareness material and distribution of official IHEC one - tailored to respond to specific groups or community needs and inclinations. Proposals for solely on-line and social media civic-voter education campaigns would also be favourably considered. However, if the other CSOs possess their own social media page, they are encouraged to use them, as source of awareness of their activities and to further disseminate the information. Requirements on methodological approaches would be kept flexible depending on the partners’ specific expertise and specialisation also based on the profile of the target group/beneficiaries (age, gender, socio-cultural background, rural vs urban setting etc). The civic and voter education’s messaging must be consistent and accurate across all small grant partners. The core voter information must always be sourced from IHEC. It can be developed, and/or modified to meet specific public outreach needs but, for consistency purpose, it will need to be reviewed and cleared by IHEC. Education messages will include a combination of core civic and voter information, such as: - Why voting matters and the importance for all citizens of active participation in public life;
- An overview of the new electoral system, its constituency arrangements and its concrete implications on how voters will choose their representatives;
- The how, when, where and whys about one or more of the major steps of the electoral process (i.e. the biometric voter registration and its importance to build a credible voter registry and reduce room for frauds, candidate nomination, campaigning. voting and counting, complaints and announcement of results) with a special focus on polling procedures/requirements and the use and functioning of electronic counting and sorting machines as the election date gets closer; Covid-19 mitigation measures inside the registration/polling places;
- The role of IHEC both at central and at the Governorate level together with role, rights and duties of major electoral stakeholders.
- Good governance.
- Conflict and violence prevention: messages aiming at reducing tension and countering hate speech during the electoral period, to promote a peaceful process, especially targeting women and also including specific messages targeting political candidates
- Bribery, abuse of power and force/corruption: messages sanctioning abuse of power/ vote buying, to be addressed to candidates and to voters
- Security provisions in place for the elections, to contribute to raise confidence and the feeling of safety among voters.
Uncertainties over Covid-19 pandemics would require the adoption of adequate social distancing, protective measures and methodological/logistical arrangements, for in-person activities. In case of virtual/online messages and activities attention should be given to the technological readiness of the recipients (especially for remote/isolated target groups) and the actual effectiveness of the approach. - Eligibility and Qualification Criteria
All interested CSOs must meet the following criteria to be eligible for selection: - Legally Registered National Iraqi civil society organizations (CSOs) under the NGOs Directorate of COMSEC.
- Can have diversified size and mission, ranging from small women’s-based group through to large youth rights-based groupings, or umbrella organisations;
- Mandate and/or founding document should be in line with the activities for which the grant is being sought;
- Must prove engagement with the community or the target group relevant to this call for proposals in the Governorate where activities will be carried out;
- Must have an established office and/or operational capabilities in the Governorate (s) they intend to reach out;
- Must not be currently implementing similar projects/activities funded by other donors in the same Governorates targeted by this call for proposals;
- Must provide evidence of previous/ongoing projects and expertise in their specific area of engagement (i.e. Women rights, Youth, disabilities, online/social media, training, etc.). If available also include performance evaluation and/or certificate of good/satisfactory performance from two previous clients/donors).
- Have the financial capability necessary to perform the Contract (Auditing Report or Annual Financial Report).
- Must abide to an ad-hoc Code of conduct.
- Will preferably – though not necessarily - have some demonstrated background in election and civic and voter education work;
- Must coordinate with IHEC to source relevant electoral related information and materials and abide to IHEC instructions. Materials autonomously produced by the grantees on electoral-related matters to carry out project activities will have to be reviewed and cleared by IHEC.
- Must be able to produce narrative and financial reports (as required in the section XII Reporting Requirements).
- Important 1: Each proposal of activities must strictly target: (i) one only target group, and (ii) one only Governorate. Each Low Value Grant (LVG) can include up to three proposals. Any given CSO can apply for only one Grant. Multiple proposals within the same Grant must all target the same target group and cover as many Governorates as the number of proposals. In case of Multiple proposals’ LVG, UNAMI/UNDP reserve the right to choose the number of proposal/s to be awarded.
- Important 2: While each proposal for in person Civic and Voter education activities is mandated to be carried out in one Governorate only, activities carried out solely through online platforms/social-media are obviously considered as having a larger, multi governorate/country-wide coverage. All CSOs using online/social media are required to be able to moderate and monitor comments in view of preventing spreading of fake news and hate speech.
A Virtual Information Session to address clarifications will be held on 22 April 2021, at 14:00 to 16:00 hrs. Topic: Small Grants Virtual Meeting Iraq Electoral Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83360496984?pwd=ZFJLS3YvMTV4cUVsdkpIZW40WTNGUT09 Meeting ID: 833 6049 6984 Passcode: 2021 Deadline for organizations to submit proposals under this Call for Proposal is on 7 May 2021. |
