Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund Call for Proposal (2022)

1. About the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)

The overall goal of the WPHF’s theory of change is to contribute to peaceful and gender equal societies. Achievement of this goal will require that women are empowered to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from conflict prevention, crisis response, peacebuilding, and recovery. Since its launch in 2016, WPHF has been supporting over 450 civil society organizations and is present in 25 countries or group of countries.

The WPHF is governed by a Funding Board at the global level, which is comprised of four UN entities (currently UN Women, UNHCR, UNFPA and PBSO), four donor Member States (currently Norway, Germany, Sweden and Australia), as well as 4 Civil Society Organizations (currently Feminist Humanitarian Network, Kvinna till Kvinna, Action Aid and Women’s Refugee Commission).

UN Women acts as the WPHF’s Technical Secretariat at the global level. UN Women also acts as Management Entity for civil society organizations where UN Women has a country presence.

2. Nature and scope of the Call for Proposals

The focus of this WPHF call for proposals will be on improving the political participation of women and young women for more inclusive peacebuilding in Lebanon. This call for proposals also provides an opportunity for civil society organizations, working on the implementation of commitments related to the Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action (WPSHA) in Lebanon, to apply for institutional funding that will be used to strengthen and sustain their capacities. Special attention will be provided to applications supporting women and girls multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as those marginalized and excluded due to poverty, ethnicity, disability, age, geography, migratory status, HIV status, among others, which is in clear alignment with the 2030 Agenda and the principle of leaving no one behind.

The proposal submitted must be aligned to the impact statement(s) of the respective WPHF funding stream that the organization chooses to apply to:

Programmatic Funding Stream

WPHF Impact area 6 (Peacebuilding and Recovery): Improved political participation of women and girls in peacebuilding contexts. More specifically, the Call for Proposals will focus on funding initiatives that:

o Enhance women’s, including young women’s, participation in political and decision-making processes. This could be within community committees or forums, decision-making and governance bodies at district, regional or national levels, student clubs and unions, or in political processes such as elections or processes aimed at promoting peacebuilding and recovery;

o Enable women and civil society organizations to successfully contribute to integrating gender-specific language, women’s demands and/or financial commitments into recovery and peacebuilding plans and policies;

o Increase women and young women's political participation to contribute to peacebuilding efforts inter- and intra-community

AND/OR apply for institutional funding (Stream 1)

Institutional Funding Stream (WPHF impact area 1) to reinforce the institutional capacity of local women’s rights civil society organizations working on implementing commitments related to the Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action agenda (WPSHA).

Please read through the WPHF Tip Sheets for guidance on the result framework for Impact area 6 and Institutional Funding (Impact 1) in Section 8 below.

3. Duration of Grants

All civil society organizations can apply for a maximum of 2-year grants.

4. Location

Projects should be implemented in the following location(s):

Applications for project all over Lebanon will be accepted and applications focusing on areas outside Beirut are highly encouraged.

5. Funding streams and amounts

The WPHF will grant a total of 900,000 USD over a period of two years to Lebanon. The Call for proposals aims at responding to the needs of local women’s organizations in fragile settings, with two (2) funding streams:

Funding stream 1: Institutional funding: from 2,500 USD to 30,000 USD

This funding stream will provide institutional funding to local civil society organizations working on gender specific issues in peace and security and humanitarian contexts, to ensure they are able to sustain themselves and to improve their impact. Prospective applicants will need to demonstrate how the current context affects their institutional and financial capacities and how the funding would support them as an organization. It will aim at financing a limited range of activities to support the development or strengthening of a CSO’s institutional capacity. The purpose of this funding stream IS NOT to finance the delivery of a programmatic activity.

Funding stream 2: Programmatic funding: from 30,000 USD to 200,000 USD

This funding stream will finance projects which aim specifically to fund programmatic activities aligned with the WPHF Impact Area 6.

IMPORTANT: An organization (lead or co-implementing partner) can only apply one time for programmatic funding AND/OR one time for institutional funding. Organizations who apply for both streams need to submit two applications packages based on the requirements and related templates of each stream.

6. Eligibility, Application, and Selection Process

6.1. Who is eligible to apply and receive funding?

National and local women-led, women’s rights, feminist, or civil society organizations with a proven track record working with women and girls, are eligible to apply. Grassroots and local community-based organizations are particularly encouraged to apply. Joint projects are allowed and encouraged.

To be considered a “Women’s Rights or Feminist Organization,” the organization’s official mission/vision statement must reflect its commitment to addressing multiple/intersecting forms of discrimination and advancing gender equality and women’s rights. The organization must aim to address the underlying drivers/systems/structures, including patriarchy and gendered power dynamics, and work to transform these.

“Women-led organization” must be headed by a woman as director/head of organization.

To be considered “Youth rights”, the organization’s official mission/vision must reflect its commitment to addressing multiple/intersecting forms of discrimination and advancing the rights of youth.

“Youth-led organization” must be headed by a youth as defined by the country/organization.

Other CSOs must demonstrate experience in addressing violence against women and girls, gender inequalities and/or women’s rights.

The following are NOT eligible to apply for a grant from the WPHF:

• International NGOs or branches of International NGOs;

• Organizations with a 2020 yearly budget of one million USD (or equivalent in LBP) and above;

• Organizations that are currently receiving funding under the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund or have received funding in the last two years

• Organizations proposing a multi-country intervention;

• Organizations proposing an intervention in a country different from the eligible country;

• Lead-organizations that are not legally registered in the country/territory of implementation;

• Government agencies or institutions;

• UN agencies or UN Country Teams;

• Private individuals;

• Private sector entities;

• Universities and Education institutions

Organizations that are currently implementing a WPHF project cannot apply for programmatic funding (stream 2), however, they are eligible to apply for stream 1 (institutional funding).

6.2. Do I need to be a legally registered entity/organization to apply?

The lead applicant organization must have legal status with the competent national authority in the eligible country of project implementation as well as a USD bank account that is registered in the NGOs name. Organizations that are not registered in the country of implementation may apply in partnership with a locally registered implementing partner as the lead applicant.

Proof of legal registration (or legal status) is a required attachment for any grant application. Applications without clear proof of legal status will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn from the application process. Note that articles of incorporation are not proof of legal status.

Only the lead partner has to provide their legal registration. Implementing partners that are part of a joint proposal, do not have to be legally registered but have to be civil society organizations (non-profit and non-governmental).

6.3. Can my project cover several countries?

No, projects can only be implemented in one single country. Multi-country proposals are not eligible.

6.4. May I submit more than one application?

No, organizations (either as lead or implementing partner) may not submit more than one application per funding stream. If an organization appears in more than one application in the same funding stream, only one project may be considered as eligible.

6.5. Can more organizations apply jointly?

Yes, joint projects are encouraged. For joint projects, only the lead organization is required to meet the eligibility criteria.

For joint projects, the roles and responsibilities of each organization must be clearly detailed within the application in the appropriate section in the proposal template. Proposals must clearly indicate which organization will take lead responsibility for project management and contractual obligations.

6.6. May I apply for funding for an ongoing initiative or project?

Yes, the WPHF accepts proposals for ongoing projects. However, the specific value added of the contribution should be clearly outlined.

This is not the case for ongoing WPHF funded project. Current WPHF grantees are not eligible to apply for additional programmatic funding. However, they are eligible to apply for stream 1 (institutional funding).

6.7. What are the requirements for project design?

For this Call for Proposal, the project(s) must contribute to the following WPHF Impact area 1 for institutional funding and WPHF Impact area 6 for programmatic funding as outlined in Section 3.

Impact area 6 for Programmatic Funding: Improved political participation of women and young women in peacebuilding contexts.

Required Impact Indicators (select at least 1):

6.1. Number and types of plans and/or policies in peacebuilding contexts influenced by women or civil society organizations

6.3. Number of women and young women participating in political and decision-making processes.

AND/OR

Impact area 1 for Institutional Funding: Enhanced role of civil society organizations in advocating for and ensuring accountability on WPS commitments

Required impact indicators (select at least two):

1.1. Average number of months organization can be sustained as a result of institutional funding

1.2 Number/Percentage of staff retained as a result of institutional funding

1.3. Development of risk management and/or contingency plans or strategies for organization

1.4. Types (and number) of adaptive strategies, tools or systems adopted by organization for continuity of operations

Please note that all projects are required to Include the following reach indicators:

• Number of people directly benefiting from the response (by sex, age group, or other variables)

• Number of people indirectly benefiting from the response

• AND develop 1-2 additional indicators for each outcome that captures the change of your project



Please refer to the indicator tip sheets for additional information.

6.8. Must applicants contribute to the project budget?

Civil society organizations are not required to contribute to the budget.

6.9 Where do we obtain more information about the call?

An information session will be organized with prospective applicants on 16 February 2022 at 12pm in English and on 17 February 2022 in Arabic at 11am (Beirut time) online organized by UN Women with WPHF Secretariat support. To register, please add your contact details to the following link by 14 February 2022: https://ee.humanitarianresponse.info/x/dgh2hFOy (for the English information session) or https://ee.humanitarianresponse.info/x/Tm7zMBRd (for the Arabic session).

The link of the online session will be shared on 15 February with everyone registered through the link. If you have any problems registering through the link, please send us an email cfp.lebanon@unwomen.org

7. Where, when, and how to apply for the Call for Proposals?

• The deadline for submission of proposals is 15 March 2022 11:59pm (Beirut time). Applications received after that date will not be considered.

• Applications are accepted in English and Arabic Only applications in these languages will be accepted.

• You may not make changes to your application after it is submitted.

• Application packages should be emailed to cfp.lebanon@unwomen.org

• Applications can be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. No other formats will be accepted. Legal registration certificates can be submitted in jpeg, doc., docx., or pdf format. All documents should be submitted together as a package.

• The UN Women Country Office will aim to acknowledge receipt of application within three days of receipt. Please DO NOT resend your application unless you do not receive a confirm of receipt within three days.

• The UN Women Country Office will be able to provide some limited support to grant applicants. Please note, that questions contained in this guidance note will be responded to. Please allow a minimum of 48 hours for responses to any questions. In addition, an online information session for prospective applicants will be organized on Wednesday 16 February 2022 at 12pm (in English) and Thursday 17 February 2022 (in Arabic) at 11am local time. If you would like to participate, please register following link by 14 February 2022: https://ee.humanitarianresponse.info/x/dgh2hFOy (for the English information session) or https://ee.humanitarianresponse.info/x/Tm7zMBRd (for the Arabic session).

7.1. Required Components of the Application Package

Applicants are required to use the WPHF templates provided. Please note, incomplete applications or use of different templates will NOT be considered.

 WPHF Proposal Template (attached, no more than 10 pages, excluding Annex A and B)

 Results Framework (Proposal Template Annex: A)

 Project Budget (Proposal Template Annex: B)

AND

 Proof of valid legal registration or status of the lead organization (if you are in the process for renewal, please share proof)

DO NOT submit photos or additional documents other than the ones listed.

7.2. Evaluation Criteria As you write your application, please keep in mind that proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

Stream 1: Institutional Funding

Project objectives:

• Alignment with the WPHF’s theory of change, particularly with respect to institutional capacity building.

• Clear articulation of experience of organization and rationale how the current crisis affects their institutional and financial capacities

• Definition of clear objectives and expected results and outputs focused on strengthening CSOs institutional capacity and how the organization will be sustained

• Identification of risks and appropriate mitigation measures

Budget:

• Budget is consistent across all documents and detailed per output in the result framework

• The budget includes indirect operational costs at the allowed level (no more than 7%)

• The budget is sufficient and reasonable for the activities proposed and takes the scale of problems into account

Stream 2: Programmatic Funding

Project design and objectives:

• Alignment with the WPHF’s theory of change, particularly with respect to a specific impact in its results framework.

• Definition of clear objectives, results, and outputs, taking account of best practices of gender-responsive approaches.

• Ensuring meaningful participation of groups facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as those marginalized and excluded due to poverty, ethnicity, disability, age, geography, migratory status, among others which are in clear alignment with Agenda 2030 of leaving no one behind.

• Partnership and capacity development of local women’s organizations and/or a clear capacity building plan for CSO partners in place to deliver programme results. Joint projects are strongly encouraged.

• Complementarity with other Funds and Programmes.

Programme management and monitoring:

• Identification of comprehensive risks and appropriate mitigation measures

• Realistic activity schedule and implementation strategy to achieve objectives within the time frame.

• Identification of relevant and appropriate monitoring and evaluation approaches based on the results framework and indicators

Budget:

• The budget is sufficient and reasonable for the activities proposed and takes the scale of problems into account. • The budget includes indirect operational costs at the allowed level (no more than 7%).

Sustainability and national ownership:

• Promotion of national and local ownership in developing and establishing activities, and specific objectives to build the capacities of national and local players.

• Sustainability of the programme beyond the financing period and (where applicable), how to reproduce it and improve it over time.

8. Useful Resources

• The WPHF’s website: www.wphfund.org

• Results-Based Management Capacity Building Webinar:

• The Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund’s Operations Manual

• The WPHF’s page on the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office’s Gateway: http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/fund/GAI00

• The WPHF’s Twitter account: @wphfund

• M&E and Results Based Management Terms. The OECD/DAC Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation available in English, French and Spanish. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf

• WPHF Monitoring and Evaluation Guide