CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Small Grant Project in Support of Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme
(ICRRP)
Conflicts with armed opposition groups (AOGs) in Iraq have led to massive internal
displacement. Iraq is now contending with one of the largest internally displaced populations in
the world; over 1.8 million people have been displaced since January 2014, in addition to
approximately 220,000 Syrian refugees. Given the scale and complexity of the current
humanitarian situation, the United Nations have declared a ‘Level 3 Emergency,’ the highest
level of humanitarian crisis, for Iraq on 13 August 2014.
In response to this crisis, UNDP has launched Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme
(ICRRP) for the next 2 years, focusing on the following key thematic areas: 1) coordination, 2)
basic services and accountability, 3) livelihoods recovery, 4) protection, and 5) social cohesion,
in order to build the resilience of the communities that are most affected by the displacement of
refugees and IDPs. The programme will have a strong gender focus and aim to address the
specific needs and opportunities for affected women.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play a
critical role to provide emergency assistance and basic services to the IDPs and host
communities, utilizing their network with local actors and knowledge on cultural and social
factors particular to the community.
In this context, UNDP established a small grant scheme for NGOs/CSOs and wishes to call for
a proposal that addresses the urgent needs of income generation and job creation, capacity
building of local communities and rehabilitation of basic social and productive infrastructure
for the most vulnerable amongst the IDPs and host communities in the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq (KR-I).
I. OBJECTIVES, EXPECTED RESULTS AND TARGET BENEFICIARIES
The objective of the Small Grant Scheme is to strengthen cooperation with NGOs/CSOs to
jointly implement community-based initiatives, responding to the priority needs of the affected
populations in an inclusive and participatory manner.
i.
Overall Objectives:
All Small Grant Projects should aim to:
1) Respond to the urgent socio-economic needs of the displaced population and the host
communities through strong partnership with NGOs/CSOs
2) Promote social cohesion through a community based participatory approach inclusively
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involving the beneficiary groups and local stakeholders, with strong focus on local
ownership.
ii.
Expected Output
Each Small Grant Project should be targeted to achieve one or more output(s) described below:
1. Capacity of local communities and productive infrastructure enhanced to more
effectively deliver basic social services.
2. Small-scale social and public infrastructure rehabilitated or constructed based on priority
community needs (e.g., water and sanitation provision; solid waste collection and disposal;
market place; electricity distribution, and community centres).
3. Improved short and longer term income generation, job creation and other related
livelihood initiatives for both IDPs and host communities, especially women and other
vulnerable groups , including but not limited to:
a. Micro- and SME businesses strengthened both for the displaced populations and
host communities;
b. Vocational and technical, financial and administrative skills enhanced to respond to
market needs, as well as facilitates self-employment and on-the job training;
c. Increased access to productive resources for women in the formal and informal
sectors (especially finances and land), Women entrepreneurs business skills are
enhanced
4. Other initiatives promote individual self-reliance and community resilience of refugees, IDPs
and host communities (e.g., environment).
Detailed objective and related outputs and deliverables are provided in the Terms of Reference
of Small Grant Scheme (SGS) – Annex A
iii.
Target Beneficiaries
Eligible proposals will focus on the following target beneficiaries:




The vulnerable groups of the displaced population, both IDPs and Refugees, as well as
host communities
Youth in general, since the project will create jobs and alternative sources of income,
which may help to reduce displacement or mitigate its impact on this important stratum
of the society;
A minimum of 30% of each project beneficiaries should be women and their families
People with special needs, such as the people with disability and the elderly
II. ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility Criteria: Organisations must be:

A non-governmental, not-for-profit making organisation registered with the Kurdistan
Regional Government.
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


Operational in the Kurdish Region where the main project activities take place, either at
regional or local government level.
Engaged in promoting, advocating, or implementing initiatives for IDPs, refugees, or
host communities;
Able to demonstrate experience in the thematic areas social cohesion, resilience and
sustainable livelihoods
Note: All NGO will be required to complete a UNDP ‘NGO Request for Information (RFI)
template and submit it with the proposal (Request for Information template – Annex B)
III. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Given the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Small Grant Scheme (SGS), the proposal should
contain the following. The suggested proposal template is attached– Annex C
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
Context and Problem Analysis: Describe the situation, highlighting needs and
challenges on the relevant focused areas and provide brief description of emerging
opportunities and key objectives;
Justification: Describe analysis of why it is important to implement the proposed
project.
Project Design: Stipulate strategies, methodologies and approaches that your
organization proposes to adopt or utilize in pursuit of the project’s objectives under
the framework of the Small Grant Scheme.
Target Beneficiaries: Describe the populations targeted and principles for identifying
the target groups or beneficiaries (reference to baseline information such as the needs
assessment conducted, if any, will be useful).
Expected Project Outcomes, Outputs and Planned Activities: State the expected
outputs and outcomes the project aims to achieve and describe activities
corresponding to each output.
Result-based Work Plan: Description of expected results and corresponding
activities and work plan to conduct the activities with timeframe and responsible
parties.
Implementation Arrangement
a) Management structure/mechanisms: Describe how the project will be managed
with key personnel/positions to engage implementation
b) Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and Reporting: Describe how the organization
will conduct M&E and ensure quality reporting to the UNDP.
c) Partnerships: Describe the partners needed to successfully implement the project
and their roles, if applicable. The partnership with local NGOs is encouraged
d) Risk analysis: Indicate the possible risks in relation to project implementation
and suggested countermeasures
Budget: Indicate budget items with unit cost and quantities per Outputs
IV. BUDGET and DURATION
A detailed budget that fulfils the following requirements:
 Result-based budgeting that shows how much is required to achieve each output;
 The administrative overhead cost should not exceed 10% of the total budget;
 Proposals amounts should range from a minimum of USD 50,000 for direct
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
interventions in a single community/ activity or geographical area to a maximum of
USD300,000.
The amount requested in the proposal should be commensurate with the organization’s
administrative and financial management capabilities.
The duration of Small Grant projects duration should not exceed 6 months.
V. EVALUATION CRITERIA & METHODOLOGY
The proposal will be selected on the basis of the following indicators detailed in Table below:
Summary of Technical Proposal Evaluation Forms
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Points Obtainable
Technical soundness that illustrate how the project achieve
its objectives through planned activities, directly targeting
and responding to the needs of the beneficiaries
Well-articulated strategy, activities and expected results
against the problem analysis (realistic work plan to
complete the activities)
Clear articulation of a conflict sensitive approach including
measures undertaken to ensure social cohesion.
Realistic budget with best value for money to maximize the
transfer to the beneficiaries
Applicants’ institutional capacity and relevant experience
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Total
100
25
15
20
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All proposals will be evaluated with Quality-based under a Fix Budget Selection (QB-FBS)
methodology, which implies that all proposals have the same maximum overall price (which
cannot exceed a known fixed budget amount. i.e., USD300,000), focusing the selection on the
quality of the proposal and the CSO/ NGO proposed approach and methodology. CSO have to
provide their best technical proposal and financial breakdown (within the budget) in one single
envelope (clearly stating proposed overheads). Evaluation of all technical proposals shall be
carried out, in accordance with below outlined evaluation criteria, and the institution which
obtains the highest technical score shall be selected. CSOs/ NGOs exceeding the established
fixed budget in their financial proposals will be rejected.
Proposals have to translate community needs into implementable activities by the NGOs/CSOs.
Under QB-FBS, assessment focuses on maximizing transfer of value to the beneficiary user
within a given budget.
Several proposals that demonstrated the highest technical soundness and best value of money
will be selected for funding.
VI. SELECTION PROCESS:
The UNDP will review proposals through a five-step process: (i) determination of eligibility;
(ii) technical review of eligible proposals; (iii) scoring and ranking of the eligible proposals
based on the assessment criteria outlined in the previous section to identify highest ranking
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proposal; (iv) round of clarification (if necessary) with the highest scored proposal; (v)
notification of candidates; and (vi) Responsible Party Agreement (RPA) signature.
VII. SUBMISSION PROCESS
Applicants shall bear all costs related to proposal preparation and submission.
Applicants must submit their proposals in one envelope in hard copy or one pdf file
electronically to:
 Proposal submission address for Hard-Copy: UNDP Iraq, Erbil Office, 100M Road,
UN Compound, Erbil, Iraq (Note: Please indicate “Call for Proposal for ICRRP” on
top right-hand corner of the sealed envelope)
E-mail Address for Electronic Copy: bids.iraq@undp.org (Note: Please indicate the subject: Call
for Proposal for the ICRRP). The documents need to be in the pdf format.

Number of copies: 1(One)
The following documents must be submitted in order for the submission to be considered:
1) Proposal
2) Completed Request for Information (RFI) form with necessary documentations
Only one submission per organization is allowed. Once the application is complete and
submitted, revised versions of proposal documents will not be accepted.
Submission Deadline
Proposals, with supporting documents, should be submitted by 19th October 2014 at 12PM.
Potential applicants should refer to the “Frequent Asked Questions” posted in UNDP’s website.
For additional questions about the Call for Proposals Guidelines or application forms, please
e-mail: mizuho.yokoi@undp.org
Note; UNDP reserves the right not to fund any proposals arising from this Call for Proposals
Estimate Competition Timeline
Below is an estimated timeline for this Call for Proposals.
Call for Proposal opens and relevant documents are posted online: 1st October 2014
Deadline for organizations to submit proposals under this Call:
19th October 2014
Assessment and selection processes will take place:
20th October 2014
Selected applicants will be notified:
23rd October 2014
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
UNDP implements a policy of zero tolerance on proscribed practices, including fraud,
corruption, collusion, unethical practices, and obstruction. UNDP is committed to preventing,
identifying and addressing all acts of fraud and corrupt practices against UNDP as well as third
parties involved in UNDP activities.
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http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Transparency/UNDP_Anti_Fraud_Po
licy_English_FINAL_june_2011.pdf
and
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/procurement/protestandsanctions/ for
full description of the policies)
In responding to this Call for Proposals, UNDP requires all Proposers to conduct themselves in
a professional, objective and impartial manner, and they must at all times hold UNDP’s
interests paramount. Proposers must strictly avoid conflicts with other assignments or their own
interests, and act without consideration for future work. All Proposers found to have a conflict
of interest shall be disqualified. Without limitation on the generality of the above, Proposers,
and any of their affiliates, shall be considered to have a conflict of interest with one or more
parties in this solicitation process, if they:
* Are or have been associated in the past, with a firm or any of its affiliates which have been
engaged UNDP to provide services for the preparation of the design, Terms of Reference, cost
analysis/estimation, and other documents to be used in this competitive selection process;
* Were involved in the preparation and/or design of the programme/project related to the
services requested under this Call for Proposals; or
* Are found to be in conflict for any other reason, as may be established by, or at the discretion
of, UNDP.
* In the event of any uncertainty in the interpretation of what is potentially a conflict of interest,
proposers must disclose the condition to UNDP and seek UNDP’s confirmation on whether or
not such conflict exists.
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