Call for Concept Note: Strategic Grant Application Guideline · guideline is intended as the primary guidance document for the preparation of applications. In order to apply for this

Call for Concept Note: Strategic Grant Application

Guideline

Civil Society Support Programme Phase 2 (CSSP2)

July 2019 Addis Ababa

The Civil Society Support Programme Phase Two (CSSP2) is funded by the people of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Norway. The Programme is managed by the British Council, in consortium with PACT UK and Social Development Direct

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Welcome to CSSP2 Thank you for your interest in the Civil Society Support Programme Phase 2 (CSSP2) Strategic Grants. This guideline will help you to decide whether you need to apply, and explains about CSSP2 strategic themes and sub themes, and requirements etc. The guideline is intended as the primary guidance document for the preparation of applications. In order to apply for this grant, you have to:

1) read through this document carefully 2) check that you meet the mandatory eligibility requirements 3) complete the attached concept note application form 4) complete the declaration form (The lead CSO and each co-applicant should

complete) 5) complete and sign the MoU of teaming agreement 6) attach your supporting documents


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Contents

1. Background information ...................................................................................... 1

2. Theory of change .................................................................................................. 1

3. Strategic themes ................................................................................................... 2

4 Indicative grant size .......................................................................................... 12

5 Project duration .................................................................................................. 13

6. Orientation session ............................................................................................ 13

7. Geographic coverage ......................................................................................... 13

8. Eligibility criteria ................................................................................................. 14

9. Rules of the call .................................................................................................. 14

10. Allowable and unallowable costs ................................................................. 16

11. Application procedure .................................................................................... 17

12. Application deadline ....................................................................................... 18

13. Assessment of applications .......................................................................... 18

14. Selection process ........................................................................................... 20

15. Full grant application ...................................................................................... 20

16. Grant approval ................................................................................................. 20

17. Appeal mechanism ......................................................................................... 20

18. Annexes ............................................................................................................ 20


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1. Background information Civil Society Support Programme Phase 2 (CSSP2) in Ethiopia is a three year programme (August 2018 to August 2021) intended to operate in all regions of Ethiopia within the legal framework of the country. CSSP2 is funded by the peoples of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, and Norway; and the programme is managed by the British Council, in consortium with Pact UK and Social Development Direct. CSSP2 aims to support Ethiopian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to help them to contribute to the country’s national development, poverty reduction and advancement of good governance in line with the government’s policies and strategies. CSSP2 therefore works to build effective relationships that foster collaboration between civil society actors, citizen and the government in order to support CSOs to work on the rights and needs of women, men, youth, boys and girls, including those hard to reach groups. Since CSSP2 is adopting an adaptive programming approach, the programme is suited to respond to the changing context and varied issues flexibly and strategically through its three grant windows (strategic, flexible, and local action grants). Informed by the strategic review and analysis, CSSP2 has recently identified three strategic themes/issues (each with three sub-themes) on which strategic grants to respond to. CSSP2 aims to support CSOs through strategic grants to adopt human rights based approach in their interventions; and work in coalition with others to engage with the government to influence policy and programming. This guideline is a primary source document in the management of strategic grant applications: It helps to give guidance and direction to interested and eligible CSOs in the preparation and submission of applications on strategic themes and sub themes-under strategic grant window. CSSP2 invites applicants from across all regions of Ethiopia, but it encourages applicants who will implement projects in the emerging regions such as Afar, Somali, Gambella and Benshangul Gumz.

2. Theory of change In order to achieve CSSP2’s programme purpose, CSSP2 has developed the following theory of change which should guide potential applicants; and to which grantees should contribute to. If CSSP2:

Supports selected civil society organisations (CSOs) to become more professional, accountable and active organisations, better able to identify and respond to and represent the needs of women, men, youth, boys and girls, including those hard to reach groups;

Supports the Agency for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) and other key sector offices to implement the new CSO legislation through open, transparent and practical engagement with Ethiopian civil society and its representative organisations;


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Navigates a potentially dynamic context skilfully, tailoring its approaches and relationships in near-real time based on relevant political economy analysis, appropriate research and targeted learning, including beneficiary feedback.

Then:

These CSOs will be able to develop more and better collaborative relations (with their communities; with each other; and with government) in support of the people and communities with which they work; and

Government will increasingly value the benefits of an enhanced culture of dialogue and constructive policy advocacy which will help to improve policy-making and service delivery through increased evidence-based decision making.

And then:

Government, CSO and public trust and confidence in each other will grow helping to create an enabling environment in which there is an increasing space for constructive dialogue ‘and requisite action’ between citizens and government on issues of common concern;

Contributing towards:

Responsive and accountable governance for better equitable and inclusive access to services; and an improving environment for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all Ethiopians.

3. Strategic themes CSSP2 identified three strategic themes (each with three sub-themes) on which applicants should prepare and submit their strategic grant applications. The themes are young people, gender transformation, and citizen-state engagement. The purpose of strategic grants is to support CSOs to implement projects in pre-identified strategic themes/issues that are relevant to the changing socio-economic and political contexts, where there is an opportunity for having a multiplier effect in various development outcomes, while at the same time maintaining a focus on hard to reach communities and issues where they overlap. The three strategic themes (each with three sub-themes) are presented diagrammatically and described below.


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Diagram1:CSSP2 strategic themes and sub-themes

3.1 Gender transformation

The purpose of this strategic theme is to support CSOs, especially women’s rights organisations (WROs), to implement projects designed to address the systemic underlying causes of gender inequality in Ethiopia, including through work with both formal and/or informal institutions. The premise of the theme is that transformational change will happen when CSOs/WROs have sufficient institutional capacity; work together with other WROs to build a movement; and have the resources they need to engage with government and other powerful actors to challenge formal and informal power structures, institutions and norms. The proposed grant applications are expected to employ at least two of the following strategies:

Institutional capacity building of WROs

Policy engagement and advocacy, research & social and behavioral change communication in areas that address the systemic gaps in gender equality.

Movement building, coalition building & networking of WROs/CSOs within the country

Under this strategic theme, there are three sub themes that CSSP2 has prioritised to work on:

CSSP2 Strategic Themes

Gender

Transformation

Young

people Citizen-state

Engagement

Gender based violence

Land rights

Political participation

Substance abuse

Decent work

Youth voice

Social minorities inclusion

Stronger, better CSOs

Trust and confidence


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3.1.1 Reducing gender based violence (GBV) GBV is a manifestation of deep rooted gender inequality, as well as a major risk factor in women’s empowerment and well-being. Different forms of gender based violence are widespread in Ethiopia. Social norms that perpetuate gender based violence are deeply entrenched. The tendency to report cases of violence and seek assistance by survivors is very low, due to lack of legal awareness, stigma or lack of trust in the justice system. Absence of a comprehensive law and other legal challenges also affect survivors’ access to justice. The attitude of law enforcement personnel towards gender based violence is a reflection of the patriarchal social norms and they tend to be lenient. The weak accountability system coupled with harmful social norms limit the effective implementation of existing laws. CSSP2 will support a holistic approach to address GBV with interventions that assist prevention, mitigation and response to GBV, including improving systems of support and rehabilitation to survivors of violence. The projects supported need to tackle systemic causes of GBV related to social norms in the informal sphere and the functioning of the justice sector in the formal sphere. Projects supported under this sub-theme are expected to contribute to at least three of the following four main result areas.

Empowering women and girls and their organisations (WROs): building the capacity of women’s rights organisations to organise and jointly advocate for revision and implementation of laws on gender based violence

Shifting social norms: adopting different community mobilisation and behavioural change tools to shift social norms at local level by engaging various community groups; building the capacity of media organisations to improve responsible reporting on GBV and public education

Improving response to mitigate GBV: building the capacity of law enforcement personnel to implement existing laws and engaging in national level advocacy for revision of laws on GBV

Improving services for survivors of violence: providing legal aid, legal representation and self-representation skills to women survivors; improving referral systems for medical, legal and psychological support to survivors. (Note that provision of improved services for survivors will only be supported as part of a wider programme on GBV that addresses systems, such as norms and legal frameworks and institutional practices.)

Projects supported are encouraged to work in at least one of the emerging regions (Gambela, Benishangul, Somali and Afar). Projects are also encouraged to work in partnership with organisations representing people with disability working on gender based violence.

3.1.2 Women’s land rights Access and control of land is a strategic pathway to women’s economic empowerment in Ethiopia, where 80% of the population lives in rural areas, with livelihoods depending on agriculture. Access and control over land contributes to increasing women’s economic security, reducing their reliance on male partners and relatives and increasing their bargaining power in the household. It also contributes to improved household food security and poverty reduction. Ethiopia’s 1995 constitution, the federal revised family code of 2000 and the Federal Land


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Administration and Use Proclamation of 2005 provide some of the basic legal frameworks that ensure women’s equal access to land in Ethiopia. However there are a lot of challenges to the enforcement and protection of existing legal rights. While, in recent years, there is progress in women having documented land rights through land certification process in regions, such as Tigray, Amhara, SNNPR and Oromia, women face a lot of challenges in the registration process. Even when they have certification, women can lose their land rights due to violence or lack of a supportive system when land disputes arise. Court decisions made in favour of women on land cases sometimes face enforcement problems. During divorce women are often disadvantaged during share of land and traditional mediation systems are biased against them. In some communities, cultural and religious practices lead to dispossession of women’s right to land. Women’s representation in land governance structures, such as kebele land administration committees is very low, which contributes to decisions being passed that are biased against women. Women, especially in male headed households, have limited ability to assert control over the land they use. They also have limited access to support and information, labour and non-labour inputs and extension support, which they need to make effective use of land. CSSP2 aims to support projects on women’s land rights that will work in a complimentary way with existing initiatives, such as other donor supported land programmes, and harness existing opportunities, such as, an ongoing effort to revise the federal rural land administration and use proclamation. CSSP2 aims to support projects that facilitate learning across various initiatives and work with others to jointly push for policy actions.

Projects supported under this focus theme are expected to contribute to at least three of the following result areas: • Improved legal frameworks on women’s land rights and protection and

enforcement of existing legal rights: advocacy for endorsement of the revised draft federal land administration and use proclamation at the national level and its subsequent adoption by regional governments; research on rural land administration and use proclamations and their application in emerging regions, such as, Gambela and Benishangul to generate evidence for advocacy to improve women’s land rights in emerging regions; advocacy for improved representation of women in land governance structures, including kebele land administration committees

• Improved capacity of local government structures to enforce and protect women’s land rights: building capacity of woreda level government offices responsible for protecting and enforcing women’s land rights, including, land administration and use office, courts, women’s affairs offices and woreda administration offices; supporting linkage between relevant local government organisations and universities to provide legal assistance to women and vulnerable groups on land disputes; supporting coordination platforms among woreda offices responsible for enforcing and protecting women land rights

• Improved capacity of women rights organisations and women’s associations to promote women’s land rights: legal education on women’s land rights targeting women rights associations; support to women rights organisations to provide legal assistance and legal representation to women by linking with organisations that can provide legal aid; supporting dialogue between women’s rights organisations and local government offices on status and challenges around women’s land rights

• Changing social norms on women land rights: engaging elders, kebele land administration committees and other influential members of the community on dialogue around women land rights; public education on women land rights and improved decision making power


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• Improved capacity of women and other community organisations to advocate for rights of local communities in the context of large scale land based investments: research on legal frameworks and their application for land expropriation (related to large scale land based investments) in emerging regions, such as, Gambela and Benishangul and its impact on women’s land rights to generate evidence for advocacy; building capacity of organisations of indigenous/ local communities to raise community consciousness on land rights, organise and represent concerns of their constituency in dialogue with local government; building capacity of local government organs, including working with the justice system, to improve implementation of responsible agricultural investment guidelines; facilitating dialogue between organisations representing indigenous/local communities, local government and investors on large scale land based investments

Projects supported under this sub theme will be encouraged to focus especially on emerging regions (Gambela, Benishaingul, Afar and Somali regions) where women’s land rights are poorly protected and enforced. Coalitions between CSOs and research institutions1 to support the research components of the project are also encouraged.

3.1.3 Women’s political participation Improved women’s political participation is an outcome that can have a multiplier effect in various areas of women’s rights, including development of gender sensitive and responsive public services, women’s economic empowerment, and peace and security outcomes. Although, recently in Ethiopia more women have assumed political leadership positions, studies on participation of women in leadership positions in Ethiopia show there is a high rate of drop out of women from leadership positions for various reasons. Prioritisation of gender issues in democratic governance related institutions (such as the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Ethiopian Institute of Ombudsman, National Electoral Board, Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission & Ministry of Peace) is low. Social norms are not favourable for women to assume leadership positions and women elected to political office encounter various challenges. For example, meetings are set after working hours and on weekends, which creates challenges with the burden of unpaid care work responsibilities that most women shoulder. People in general, and male colleagues in particular, prefer male leadership due to prevailing norms and challenge their authority and influence. Limited exposure and networking opportunities are further challenges for women in leadership positions. CSSP2 aims to support projects to improve women’s political participation that work in complimentary way with other ongoing initiatives. CSSP2 aims to support projects that work with women rights organisations supporting women’s political participation from bottom up. Projects supported by CSSP2 are expected to contribute to at least three of the following result areas:

Improved capacity of women rights organisations to advocate for women rights in the upcoming national election: support to umbrella WROs to mobilise their members and identify through a consultative process priorities on women’s rights issues to

1 A research institution can apply if it meets eligibility criteria of the call. Please refer to the eligibility

criteria indicated in this guideline.


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advocate for in the forthcoming election; support to WROs to hold public dialogues and debates with political parties on identified women’s rights priorities; organise public sensitisation events and rallies on identified women’s rights priority areas

Improved capacity of women leaders to advocate on women’s rights issues at regional, zonal and woreda levels: organising capacity building trainings and opportunities for women in regional councils (including women and children standing committees; women’s caucus) on women’s rights, transformative leadership and other identified capacity needs; organising capacity building trainings and opportunities for women in executive organs at sub-national levels, on women’s rights, transformative leadership and other identified capacity building needs; organising regular networking platforms between women rights organisations and women leaders

Improved capacity of women on leadership skills in women rights organisations and grassroots associations: capacity building trainings on transformative leadership, policy engagement, communication skills and other identified needs

Social behavioural change communication to change social norms and stereotypes related to women’s participation in political leadership: innovative education programmes to address social norms; introducing/profiling women leaders as role models; holding public dialogues and debates on women’s role in leadership.

3.2 Young people

Young people are among the largest demographic group in Ethiopia. They are currently disenfranchised and affected by joblessness. They are also a strong force in the ongoing social and political change process; and are involved in most of the ongoing internal conflicts. CSSP2 aims to support projects that enable young people to constructively engage them in the ongoing democratisation process; contribute to conflict prevention and peace building; and address some of the major economic and social challenges facing young people in the country. Among other approaches the grant applicants are expected to employ the below:

Creating innovative and contextually relevant platforms or avenues for young people and their organisations to effectively engage with government, communities as well as within themselves (i.e. within young people).

Research and evidence for policy improvement/development, support decisions and policy implementation.

Innovative pilot projects with high potential to scale. Under this strategic theme, there are three sub themes that CSSP2 has prioritised to work on:

3.2.1 Substance abuse

In Ethiopia, substance abuse has a highly detrimental effect on the productive labour force; and on future generations. Particularly, youth who lack job opportunities are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse, leading to negative influences in their community, juvenile mental health problem and increased GBV. Young children are also increasingly engaging in Khat value chain at the cost of their education and future lives. Through various actors and actions including CSSP1, government has realised the need for and has started to draft legislation on khat along with tobacco and alcohol. However, whilst the tobacco and alcohol proclamations were approved by Parliament very recently, the draft proclamation on khat control ('የጫት ቁጥጥር ረቂቅ አዋጅ') has not been approved because of various reasons.


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Now, CSSP aims to support actions that combine:

Raising critical awareness and reflective understanding on substance abuse (khat, shisha, heroin, cocaine) among decision makers and the wider public.

Advocacy for services for addicts to aid recovery.

The finalisation of the draft law on khat and approval including support to the engagement of regions in the process of approval and adoption of the proclamation.

Pilot/support innovative business start-ups for job creation with a potential to scale.

Broad areas of change to which your intervention is expected to contribute to:

Increased government and community engagement to respond to issues of substance abuse among the youth and society.

Introduction of regulatory mechanisms to reduce the adverse impacts of substance abuse on children, youth and the society at large.

Improved availability of services and support to citizens suffering from or recovering from chat addition.

Identified and supported promising start-ups businesses with high potential for jobs creation and poverty impact.

3.2.2 Decent work The emerging industries in Ethiopia are generating a new dynamism in development through attracting foreign direct investment and creating jobs. If well governed, the industry will pave the way for the country’s industrialisation and contribute to achieving pro-poor development goals. However, the industry faces challenges related to industrial relations, working conditions and productivity that require action to improve governance and develop effective frameworks and practice in accordance international labour standards and national labour proclamation. Decent work2 has become a universal objective and has been included in major human rights declarations including in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Although Ethiopia has labor proclamation (2003) and policies to ensure decent work, enforcement remains a challenge and ensuring decent work among workers is at stake. Since most of the workers in industrial parks and in private sectors are young people, promotion of decent work has paramount importance for their career development, work place safety and for improved productivity. Most workers do not get fair income to survive, and often operate in unsafe and insecure workplaces and conditions. This is worse for women as compared to men. They do not have social protection scheme (particularly in the private and informal sector) and there is limited enabling environment to organise themselves, dialogue with responsible institutions and voice for their rights. In the face of promoting broad-based industrialisation in the country, the issue of decent work is becoming a growing concern in Ethiopia. Thus, CSSP aims to support actions that facilitate evidence-based discussion and dialogue among key stakeholders for enforcement of labor laws and conventions that will contribute to

2 According to ILO, decent work involves employment creation that delivers a fair income, ensures rights at work (safety and security in

work place), social protection and social dialogue that provide freedom for people to express their concerns, organise and participate in the

decisions that affect their lives.


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the attainment of the four pillars of decent work, both for men and women, particularly in industrial parks and private sector. Broad areas of change to which your intervention is expected to contribute to:

Improved labour market governance (labour law, wage policy, labour inspection, social dialogue, collective bargaining, dispute settlement) for better wages and working conditions, and respect of workers’ rights in various industries including floriculture.

Improve industrial relations, working conditions and productivity.

Increased stakeholders’ engagement for positive and sustainable change.

3.3.3 Youth voice This sub-theme aims to support constructive youth engagement in the current transition; and in reform process including building peace; promoting social cohesion; and youth participation in the decisions that affect their lives, both boys and girls. Under this sub-theme, CSSP will support actions that combine the following issues in a coherent and mutually reinforcing manner.

a) Create spaces for youth (both boys and girls) to express their opinions− and listen to those of others. Innovative ways to transform the way in which youth engage with each other and with the government and their community including in universities. For instance;

structured dialogue that will give young people the opportunity to interact and debate with key decision-makers on the issues that affect them most and to influence policy including youth development strategies;

systematically structured youth voices, opinions and questions to decision makers and response mechanisms, physically or virtually, by use of technologies;

b) Use of arts and a combination of indigenous and innovative approaches that will bring together youth and decision makers, different social groups with divergent views, and youth and older people for discussion and dialogue to build social cohesion, prevent conflict, increase civic engagement and prevent violence in Ethiopia.

c) Build the social resilience of youth and their communities currently faced with conflict, poverty and limited employment opportunities. For instance:

actions that build hope and aspirations among the youth by helping them to understand the opening opportunities, challenges and lived realities;

build gendered youth leadership to voice issues of concern;

guide youth on constructive courses of actions in their engagement with government and communities so as to realize their own and societal aspirations and objectives.

Broad areas of change to which your intervention is expected to contribute to:

Constructive youth engagement in the current reform process, decisions affecting their lives, peace building and conflict prevention

Youth voices heard, recognised, and youth considered as positive agents of change by their community and government


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Increased engagement among youth (and youth organisations) government and community at large.

3.3 Citizen-state engagement CSSP2’s over-arching purpose is to promote engagement within and between civil society/CSOs, government and communities. Effective and constructive engagement by all parties involves preconditions such as good relationships, trust, collaboration, transparency and the capacity to deliver. As the result of a prolonged absence of trust, and weak relationships between CSOs, government, and citizens, there is a need to raise awareness about the legitimate roles of each organisation/group; and the importance of engaging with each other, to build capacity and trust, and to establish and strengthen vital relationships. The socio-political and legal change in the country in the past few years requires more collaboration, trust, and capacity if this window of opportunity is to be used to the benefit of poor people in an effective and sustainable manner. The legal change happening around previously restrictive laws, specifically concerning the change of CSOs regulations, opens new opportunities to work in a more strategic manner to enable duty bearers to discharge their mandated responsibilities and for rights holders to assert their rights and contribute to their enjoyment of them.

The purpose of CSSP2’s citizen-state engagement theme is to provide support to CSOs and government in order to build their capacities better to engage with each other and with the communities they serve. The support will also enable CSOs to play their role as a voice for the voiceless; and to create networks and forums which a have stronger voice, better able to advocate for the concerns and issues that matter to poor people. This theme will help CSOs to have effective and efficient systems; to self-regulate; and to be more transparent. In this way, CSSP2 hopes to help trust and confidence amongst and between citizens and their government. It will also help government to develop its capacity to work with CSOs and other partners to discharge its responsibilities in protecting and promoting the human rights of all but especially the hardest to reach in society, improving the services that change their lives and to facilitate sustainable and scalable changes.

Under this strategic theme, there are three sub themes that CSSP2 has prioritised to work on: 3.3.1 Social minority inclusion

This sub-theme will support CSOs to better advocate for the issues and concerns of social minority groups; to give voice to social minority groups; to promote inclusive changes (social, political and economic); and to promote and protect the human rights of social minority groups. Projects supported under this sub-theme are expected to contribute to at least three of the following four main result areas.

Increased Voice: promote citizen voice on issues and concerns relating to social minority groups and protection and promotion of their rights, the rights of girls, women and young people in social minority groups in order to help counter the impact of combined discrimination;


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Enhanced policy dialogue: support actions and initiatives to generate evidence which informs dialogue and policy change or implementation;

Increased Capacity: support actions and initiatives that increase capacity and visibility of local CSOs which work on issues and concerns of social minority groups;

Improved Partnership and Engagement: support actions and initiatives that strengthen relationship, constructive and effective engagement between CSOs, government and citizens on issues that matter to social minority groups.

3.3.2 Stronger, better CSOs and networks/coalitions

There are assessments and studies conducted by donors and academia which acknowledged that there has been an extreme distrust between Ethiopian government and CSOs. The reasons for the distrust come from both sides; reasons in the CSO side include weakness of the CSO sector in the area of accountability and transparency to the communities they serve; weak regulation and system development; lack of funds; lack of organisational governance; and reportedly poor networking and collaboration culture.3. CSOs are often challenged to include all relevant stakeholders in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of their projects and other activities. Few CSOs in Ethiopia have long-term strategic plans due to lack of a stable resource base and the nature of the project based funding available4. This sub-theme aspires to support CSOs and networks/coalitions of CSOs to have better organisational capacity in order to have a more organised voice, sustained opportunities to work collaboratively with government and citizens to address challenges in the operating environment. Projects supported under this sub-theme are expected to contribute to at least three of the following four main result areas.

Increased Capacity: support initiatives which aim to develop CSOs knowledge and skills in identified key areas of need;

Improved self-regulation: support initiatives which facilitate strong self-regulation mechanism in place (including, but not limited to, establishment of CSOs council, support for the development and implementation of a CSO code of conduct), strong organisational/institutional capacity (financial, governance, fund management, safeguarding, etc.).

Enhanced partnership and collaboration: support initiatives which aims to increase partnership and collaboration among CSOs, CSO and networks/coalitions, networks/coalitions with other networks/coalitions. These include supports to CSOs to become stronger, more professional, accountable and active organisations, including through the development of networks and coalitions. Support for better, more collaborative relationships between CSOs (and their representative networks and Coalitions) and, government and citizens.

Enhanced engagement platforms: support initiatives to facilitate culture of constructive, evidence based dialogue between CSOs, government and citizens on issues that matter to poor people.

3 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2014). Civic Engagement for Effective Service Delivery

in Ethiopia: Tools, Opportunities and Challenges. (Working Paper No. 2) 4 The 2015 CSO Sustainability Index for Sub-Saharan Africa. USAID, 2015


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3.3.3 Trust and confidence

Ethiopia has been recorded as one of the four least successful environments for CSOs, especially in the area of governance, legal framework and relationships between civil society and government5. The change in CSO law is a fundamental development which can serve as foundation to address the other challenges recorded as limitations. The aim of this sub-theme is to support both government and CSOs - acting alone or in networks or coalitions - to promote trust and confidence between themselves and the constituencies which they seek to serve and represent, in order to establish sustainable foundations for relationship building and future effective engagement. Projects supported under this sub-theme are expected to contribute to at least three of the following four main result areas.

Increased understanding: support initiatives that promote a wider understanding of the new CSO law, and revised regulations and rules throughout the country;

Enhanced adaptation of new CSO law by regional states: support initiatives which facilitate adaptation of the new CSO law by regional states;

Enhanced engagement platforms and spaces: help to foster a culture of collaboration through the provision of support for Agency for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) and selected government sector offices in order to facilitate constructive engagement between them and CSOs;

Improved implementation of the new CSO law: support the full implementation of the new CSO law through the revision/development of regulations and rules designed to give effect to the new CSO law;

Increased Evidence and learning: support initiatives which generate evidence and shares learning, the evidence and learnings to be used for positive influence and change in the relationships between CSOs, government and citizens.

4 Indicative grant size 6

In order to foster support and learning among CSOs, CSSP2 invites interested applicants to apply in coalition7. The number of coalition members should be a minimum of three (one lead and two sub recipients) and a maximum six CSOs (one lead and five sub recipients). The allocated grant size (budget ceiling) per coalition is ranging from £105,000 to £ 360,000. As the numbers of coalition members vary from three to six, applicants should propose a budget which is proportional to the number of members within a coalition. For this, average budget ceiling per member organisation is ranging from £35,000 to £60,000. However, depending on the grant management experience and capacity of coalition members, funding requests below the aforementioned range will also be accepted. CSSP2 will take into account of recent audit reports and due diligence assessments when reviewing the applicant’s proposed budget. Thus, CSSP2 advises each applicant to propose a reasonable budget on the basis of grant management experience and capacity.

5 CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation). (2013). Enabling Environment Index (EEI). Final report.

7 A collection of different eligible organisations who will implement one project in a group


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5 Project duration

Up to 18 months until April 2021

6. Orientation session

CSSP2 will organise grant orientations in different parts of the country to brief about CSSP2’s eligibility criteria, strategic themes, priorities, requirements etc. This will help interested and eligible applicants to prepare a standard concept note. Orientations will be undertaken in following cities and venue at the specified time. CSSP2 will use a uniform PowerPoint presentation in all locations, and interested participants can attend the orientation in any one of the nearby location. Potential applicants are advised to attend the orientation session once at any one of the locations as all sessions will deliver the same content. The orientation will take a maximum of half-day. As electricity and other factors may affect the PowerPoint presentation, we advise participants to attend with hard-copies of the strategic grant application guideline and the concept note template by downloading it from British Council/CSSP2’s website. CSSP2 will cover expenses related with hall rent, and refreshment. CSSP2 will not cover or reimburse for expenses that participants incur to attend the orientation workshop.

S/N City Date of Orientation Time of orientation Venue

1 Addis Ababa 16th & 17th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Capital Hotel

2 Mekelle 18th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Axum Hotel

3 Shashemene 17th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Haile Hotel

4 Dire Dawa 16th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Ras Hotel

5 Bahir Dar 18th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Semerland Hotel

6 Semera 18th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Dini Hotel

7 Assosa 18th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Blendana Hotel

8 Jimma 17th July 2019 9:00 AM -12:00 PM Central Jimma Hotel

9 Gambella To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed

7. Geographic coverage CSSP2 would like to receive grant applications that are intended to be implemented in one or more than one regions or city administrations of the country. The regions and city administrations to be covered under this call are Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somalia, Gambella, Benshangul Gumz, Southern Nations and Nationalities, and Harari. Applications for more than one region are encouraged as this facilitates cross learning.


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8. Eligibility criteria Applicants must meet all the following eligibility criteria. In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead and co-applicants must:

1) be a local civil society organisation8 , and 2) have a renewed registration licence given by Agency for Civil Societies

Organisation (ACSO), and 3) be non-profit-making, and 4) be directly responsible for the preparation, management, and implementation of

the project, not acting as an intermediary, and 5) have functional financial management systems (to be checked using audit reports

and due diligence9 assessment), and 6) have at least one year of experience of implementing a project in the thematic area

on which the applicant is submitting the application, and 7) have proven track record10 of managing a grant ,which has a proportional budget

size with the amount that the applicant is proposing, and 8) Willing to develop and submit safeguarding policy of the lead and co-applicants.

Submission of safeguarding policy is not required at concept note stage but will be required at full proposal submission stage

9. Rules of the call 1) Organisations which meet all the eligibility criteria can apply. 2) In order to help CSOs to support each other, and to facilitate constructive citizen-

state engagement, interested and eligible organisations should apply in coalition. A coalition should be formed by three to six CSOs with one Lead applicant from the coalition.

3) Successful lead applicants will be responsible for the overall management, leadership, facilitation and coordination of their grant; and, it will also be responsible for providing capacity development support to its co-applicants; and, CSSP2 will have contractual obligation with the lead applicants; subsequently, each lead applicant will have contractual obligation with their respective co-applicants.

4) Each applicant has to select and prepare the application on any one of the CSSP2 strategic themes. Having one thematic focus, applicants can integrate other themes as well.

5) Each applicant should submit a full set of the application pack in soft and three hard copies. The pack should include all the below.

a. Renewed registration licence of the lead and co-applicants; and b. Completed concept note; and

8 Local Organisation means a civil society organisation formed under the laws of Ethiopia by Ethiopians,

foreigners resident in Ethiopia or both, and its Head Office is located in Ethiopia; Civil Society Organisation

means a Non-Governmental, Non-partisan, Not for profit entity established at least by two or more persons on a

voluntary basis and registered to carry out any lawful purpose, and includes Non-Government Organisations,

Professional Associations, Mass based Societies, and Consortiums 9 CSSP2 will do due diligence assessment on applicants who are successful at the concept note stage. The

assessment will be done at the Offices of applicants. 10

Applicant’s track record of grant management will be verified through the recommendation letter or the audit

reports and due diligence assessments. Applicants who have or had grants with CSSP, CSSP2 will evaluate

track record of applicants through the CSSP grant.


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c. Signed and stamped declaration form by the lead CSO and each co-

applicant; and d. 11Recommendation letter about past performance and experience of the

applicant ; and e. Three latest audit reports of the lead and co-applicants (for fiscal years

of 2016, 2017, and 2018) 6) The application process will have two stages; concept note and full proposal

application stages. 7) CSSP2 applies a co-creation approach during the full proposal write up stage. Only

successful applicants (at the concept note stage) will be invited and involved in the co-creation process for the preparation of their full proposal. Participation of applicants in the co- creation process is not a guarantee to secure funds from CSSP2.

8) An organisation is required to submit one application at a time as lead or co-applicant. If an applicant submits two or more applications as a lead or/and co-applicant at a time, the applications will be rejected.

9) Any application received after the deadline, or incomplete submission of required documents will result in rejection of the application.

10) Lead and co-applicants should develop and submit 12safeguarding policy along with full proposal if they pass the concept note assessment.

11) Applicants will not be reimbursed for the costs they incurred in the preparation and submission of a concept note or proposal. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s expense.

12) CSSP2 can reject an application at the concept note or full proposal write up stage if; a) an application fails to meet CSSP2’s expected quality standards or requirements; or b) the due diligence assessment shows a major finding; or c) CSSP2 faces an unanticipated cause.

13) CSSP2 reserves the right to enter into discussions and negotiations with any applicant about the content, structure or budget of proposed project after the concept note stage; and, CSSP2 reserves the right to fund any or none of the grant applications received.

14) CSSP2 will undertake due diligence assessment at the Offices of each coalition member if their application is successful or selected at the concept note stage. Applications can be rejected if the due diligence assessment results in a major finding.

15) The concepts and contents outlined in the concept note may not be modified at the full proposal development stage.

16) Any error or major discrepancy related to the concept note instructions may lead to the rejection of the concept note.

17) Purchase of land, vehicle and major capital assets will not be supported as the primary focus of the proposed project

18) Hand-written concept notes will not be accepted; Concept note should be typed and written in English language

19) Any form of plagiarism in the preparation of concept notes will result in rejection of the application.

11

Recommendation letter should be written by any donor who funded to the applicant. The letter should include at least the

following information ; Title of the project, sector ,fund size manged, project duration(from/to), project location, and applicant’s performance 12

Safeguarding is about protecting children and adults from harm within CSSP2 programme and activities. These include the

prevention of exploitation and abuse as well as harm caused by failure to take reasonable care. Generally, safeguarding is making the organisation safe for beneficiaries; protecting beneficiaries from any forms of abuse, exploitation, and harm as a result of individuals, own staff behaviours and/or programme activities. Target groups for safeguarding are children, youth, adults (adults at risk), staff and representatives.


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20) Applicants who will be successful at the concept note stage will be invited to prepare and submit a detailed budget breakdown that comprises of a summary budget of the lead and co-applicants; and also, a separate detailed budget shares of lead and each co-applicant. The budget should be presented in Ethiopian Birr (ETB).

21) CSSP2 requires each applicant to propose a reasonable budget in relation to the applicant’s grant management experience and capacity. CSSP2 will check grant management experience and capacity using audit reports and due diligence assessment.

22) CSSP2’s Grant Contract template is posted on British Council/CSSP2’s website along with other attachments for applicants to read it ahead so as to avoid lengthy negotiations with finalists in the Grant Contract signing.

23) Each finalist lead applicant should sign a Grant Contract with CSSP2, and then with its co-applicants. Subsequently, the lead applicant is expected to submit a completed cash request and bank detail forms within three days from the date of Grant Contract signing. Grant contract signing and first disbursement is expected to be made in October 2019

10. Allowable and unallowable costs

Budget costs should be necessary, reasonable and essential to the administration and operation of a project, are considered as allowable for funding. CSSP2 grants are designed to provide for the allowable costs of operating.

Allowable costs:

Programme activity costs

Consultancy costs

Transportation costs

Space: Rental costs for office etc. However rental costs for property owned by the grantee may not be charged.

Conferences and workshop costs. Including costs for conference/meeting arrangements, rent of conference rooms, and travel expenses

Staff salary and benefits

Printing, duplication, and publication

Equipment rental

Audit fees

Office and programme supplies

Security

Project-related telephone and postage expenses

etc. Unallowable costs:

Purchase of land

Purchase of car/vehicles

Major capital expenditures will not be supported as the primary focus of the proposed initiative

Compensation of government employees

Gifts

Bonus or commission payments

Military-type equipment

Corporate formation


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Fines and penalties

Funds for activities that add no value to the CSSP2 purpose

Alcoholic beverages, and drugs

Costs incurred outside of the project period

Payments for activities of exclusively have religious or political mission

Statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties

Payments for works or activities that are fully funded by other sources

Payments for unfair dismissal or other compensation

Contingency/ unforeseen costs which was not planned originally

Depreciation is an accruals accounting concept and should not be included

Debt repayment, bad debts to related parties, or interest payments or service charge payments for a finance lease

etc.

11. Application procedure A full set of application pack should be submitted in soft and hard copies. Soft copies of the application pack should be submitted to CSSP2 via [email protected] by indicating CSSP2 strategic grant Application on the subject line of the email. If the size of attachments is larger than the allowable limit, the applicant has to send the attachments in two rounds; however, the subject line of the second email should denote CSSP2 strategic grant Application R2. In addition to the soft copies, applicants should deliver the application pack (in three copies) to any of the following nearby CSSP2 Offices through a sealed envelope. Or, hard copies can be sent to the CSSP2 Addis Ababa Office by DHL. The CSSP2 Office is located in Bole Sub-city, Africa Avenue Street, infront of Millinium Hall, near to Bole Mini, 6th floor of SEVITA Building, Addis Ababa; Tel +251-116-153-411(Ext.127/167)

s/n Office

Physical location

1 CSSP2 Addis Ababa Office Africa Avenue Street, infront of Millinium Hall, near to Bole Mini, on the 6th floor of SEVITA Building

2 CSSP2 Hawasa Office Menahria Sub city, Guwi Kebelle around Gaete Hotel besides the new stadium

3 CSSP2 Dessie Office Dessie, Menafesha area, Subcity, Kebele 08 Around Abebech Wollo Sefer; House Number 772

4 CSSP2 Dire Dawa Office Number one, around Green hotel

5 CSSP2 Assosa Office In front of Yetebaberu fuel station next to Millennium Medical College on 1st the floor of Benishangul Gumuz Development ion Association Network (BGDAN) building

For any enquiry, please send your request through [email protected]; or Call to:

+251-116-153-411 (Ext.127/167), Addis Ababa

+251-462-126-262, Hawasa

+251-333-126-461, Dessie

+251-252-114-634, Dire Dawa

+251-572-755-922, Assosa

mailto:[email protected]



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12. Application deadline Any interested and eligible applicants can submit applications from the date of announcement until August 05, 2019. Any application received after the deadline will not be considered. Thus, applicants are strongly advised to submit applications prior to the deadline as heavy internet traffic or failure of internet connection (including electricity failure, etc.) may lead to difficulties in submission.

13. Assessment of applications . Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by an assessment panel composed of people with relevant experience on each of the themes. CSSP2 will give a chance to each applicant to select and apply in any one of the strategic themes. Each application will be categorised into three based on strategic themes; and, applications received under the same strategic theme will compete with each other. Assessment s scores will be computed out of 100% and applicants with the highest score will be selected for the next stage. Finally, the average score of assessors will be taken to select successful applicants under each strategic theme. If the assessment score of two or more applications is the same, priority will be given to the application(s) intended to be implemented in the emerging regions such as Gambella, Benshangul Gumz, Somali and Afar. The evaluation will be made using the pre-defined criteria, given a score that ranges from 1 to 5 as follows: 1 = poor; 2= adequate; 3 = good; 4 = very good, 5=excellent


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Indicative evaluation criteria of concept notes/

1. Essential requirements Response

Have the applicant submitted a valid registration licence? Yes/No If the response is NO, the application will be rejected

Have the applicant submitted three latest audit reports with management letters for the fiscal years of 2016, 2017 and 2018? The audit reports are required for both lead and co-applicant/s.

Yes/No If the response is NO, the application will be rejected

2. Relevance and design of the proposed project Weight Score

Have the application clearly justified the necessity of the proposed project? Have the applicant clearly showed the magnitude of the problem? Have the applicant used qualitative and/or quantitative data/evidences to justify the intensity of the problem and for the need of an intervention?

5

Contribution/relevance/linkage of the proposed project to the CSSP2’s expected results or strategic theme/s or priorities

5

Have results framework been logically and coherently presented? Have been key activities, outputs, outcomes and objective(s) clearly explained? To what degree activities, outputs, outcomes and objective are realistic and logically linked to achieve the proposed change?

5

Have direct and indirect beneficiaries been clearly defined and disaggregated by gender? How well their needs and constraints described and differentiated by gender? How the proposed project is good enough to address the identified needs of the beneficiaries?

5

Have the application integrated cross-cutting issues such as gender, needs of disabled people, rights of minorities and/or rights of hard to reach community?

5

Relevance and appropriateness of proposed risk management mechanisms to manage the identified risks

5

Have the applicant proposed feasible, soundness and innovativeness of the proposed engagement methodology(ies) and its relevance for the proper implementation and/or revision of government laws, policies, regulations and strategies in relation to the relevant CSSP2’s strategic theme/s

5

Have the design reflected a robust analysis on the coherence, integration and coordination mechanisms?

o among the coalition members(applicants of this grant), and o with government stakeholders , and/or o with similar initiatives (e.g EU CSF 3 , ESAP3 etc)

5

Track record and past performance( to be proved through recommendation letter, audit reports and explanations given in the concept note);

5

Have the applicant proposed a reasonable grant amount as compared to the applicant’s grant management experience? Does the applicant propose a reasonable administrative budget as compared to the programme budget?

5

Total

50 %

Note: Each sub score will be multiplied by two to sum-up to 100 %


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14. Selection process

After the concept note assessment, a table will be drawn up listing the applications ranking sequentially based on the assessment scores. Applications with the highest score will be provisionally selected. In addition, a reserve list will be drawn up to be used if the pre-selected applicants failed at the full proposal application stage or if the due diligence assessment result shows a major finding or if more funds become available during the validity period of the reserve list. CSSP2 will write an e-mail to each applicant to notify the assessment result of their application. The pre-selected lead applicants will be invited to participate in a co-creation process in order to develop and submit a full grant proposal.

15. Full grant application

Applicants who passed the concept note evaluation and the due diligence assessment will be requested to involve in a co-creation process to prepare their full proposal/application. In the full proposal application, applicants must submit technical proposal, detailed grant budget, Activity plan, M&E plan, and safeguarding policy (for lead and its co-applicants). The full applications will further be evaluated including applicants’ detailed budgets; and, their grant and financial management capacity will be assessed through due diligence assessment (physical examination at the Offices of each applicant). Applications will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria to be disclosed after the selection of concept notes.

16. Grant approval

Lead applicants will be informed in writing of the CSSP2’s decision concerning their application.

17. Appeal mechanism

Any applicant who may have dissatisfaction in the selection process can submit its appeal to the CSSP2 through [email protected]

18. Annexes

Annex 1: Strategic Grant-Concept Note Application Template Annex 2: Declaration Form Annex 3: Teaming Agreement Template Annex 4: Grant Contract Template


Documents

Call for Concept Note: Strategic Grant Application Guideline · guideline is intended as the primary guidance document for the preparation of applications. In order to apply for this