Call for Proposals - Regional Spotlight Initiative for Civil Society Organisations to Strengthen Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for out-of-school youth to reach the most left behind in the Caribbean

Call for Expression of interest (EOI)

Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for out-of-school youth to reach the most left behind in the Caribbean - Regional Spotlight Programme

UNFPA Regional Office for the Caribbean based in Jamaica, invites interested Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to apply for the following:
 

I. BACKGROUND 

The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a partnership by the EU and UN to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful practices. The English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean is part of the United Nations “delivering as one” initiative, and as such, the UNFPA Country Programme for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, is aligned to the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework (UNMSDF) 2017-2021. UNFPA’s programme applies a human rights and culturally sensitive approach, supported by evidence-based advocacy and policy dialogue to address issues of sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, youth and population dynamics. Enabling the environment for sexual and reproductive health and rights; increasing national capacities to advocate for and deliver policies and programmes for access to sexual and reproductive health information and services; and strengthening legal and protection systems for the implementation of laws, policies and programmes to prevent gender-based and sexual violence against women and girls is at the heart of UNFPA’s support in the Caribbean. 

Every CARICOM country has dedicated domestic violence legislation and laws that advance child protection. Many have drafted national plans and strategies to address gender-based violence, in which ending family or domestic violence is prioritised. While these laws have improved some women’s access to justice, recent prevalence surveys suggest that a significant number of women experience intimate partner violence and that the majority of those do not report to police, or access services to protect and prevent the recurrence of violence. Policy making and programme development is not sufficiently informed by research and a coordinated approach to administrative data across sectors does not exist in most countries. 

Alongside and feeding into system inadequacies, a culture of gender inequality persists and, along with other bases of inequalities, contributes to high levels of gender-based violence against women and girls. This culture and the associated inequalities impede quality, accessible, effective and non-discriminatory access to services. Gender norms that associate masculinity with power over and control of women are harmful as is the association of discipline of children with corporal punishment. 

However, with the sustained demand by women’s and human rights organisations, including UN agencies, there is now readily apparent greater resolve to address GBV through systemic approaches. Key inter-governmental and regional institutions have prioritised ending gender-based violence in the period coinciding with the Spotlight Initiative. These include CARICOM and its institutions, OECS Commission and the Caribbean Development Bank. 
 
Complementing the Spotlight country programmes in six Caribbean countries , and taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts, the Spotlight Initiative (SI) Caribbean regional programme will increase policy coordination and functional cooperation across the region to address family violence. It will set regional standards for essential services delivery, for monitoring the implementation of regional and national family violence laws and policies; it will advance best practice models for prevention; and ensure the engagement of women’s organisations in regional accountability frameworks.
The Spotlight Initiative will ensure that all women and girls benefit from adequate legislation and policies, gender responsive institutions, violence prevention programmes, essential services, comparable and reliable data, and strong women’s movements and civil society organisations.

The overall vision of the Spotlight Initiative in the Caribbean is to ensure women and girls realize their full potential in a violence-free and gender responsive society. This is in line with UNFPA’s mission of delivering a world in which every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young persons’ potential is fulfilled. UNFPA is working with governments, civil society, regional partners and other UN agencies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, which specific focus on Goal 3 (health), Goal 5 (gender equality), and Goal 10 (reduced inequalities).
 

II. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS - PREVENTION AND SOCIAL NORMS

Under the Spotlight Initiative to end sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), harmful practices (HPs), and addressing sexual and reproductive health & rights (SRHR), UNFPA under Pillar 3, aims to sustainably contribute towards the elimination of unequal gender power relations and the socio-cultural, religious, economic and political root causes of SGBV and HPs, which negatively affect women’s and girls’ SRHR; and to promote the SRHR of women and adolescent girls. This will be done through Output 3.1 of the intervention: Regional and national evidence-based programmes are developed to promote gender-equitable norms, attitudes and behaviours, including on Comprehensive Sexuality Education in line with international standards, for in and out of school settings
The Spotlight Initiative recognizes Comprehensive Sexuality Education as one of the strategies for transmitting messages, modelling behaviour and building young people’s knowledge, skills and attitudes that lead to positive transformation of social norms that support gender equality. Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to: realize their health, well-being and dignity; develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices affect their own well-being and that of others; and, understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives. 
 

III. DELIVERY OF PROGRAMME THROUGH CSOs 
 
The successful CSO partners shall be engaged in out-of-school CSE consultations which will be led by CSOs and aim to operationalize the International Technical and Programmatic Guidance on out-of-school CSE and support the implementation of out-of-school national programmes. For the purpose of the Regional Spotlight Initiative, the out of school CSE population will be defined as children and young people that are not attending school (face to face nor remotely) or have dropped out. The youth engagement consultation is part of the regional SI efforts that will ensure overall alignment of global and regional strategy for out-of-school CSE and alignment of CSE tools and materials generated from the project. 

The successful CSO partner is expected to deliver on the programme between July - September, 2021.
 

IV. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR CSO ENGAGEMENT

Interested CSOs should have a proven record of accomplishment in capacity building work related to Comprehensive Sexuality Education, gender or related issues, an established organizational culture of accountability and commitment to delivery of results and internal programmatic, administrative and financial capacity for budgets of more than USD $50,000 annually supported with a record of accomplishment of quality and timely project results. 

The CSO must have the following functional/technical competencies:

1. Be a non-profit organization with a track record of youth engagement, delivering CSE, ending violence against women and girls, gender equality, child protection, women empowerment;
2. Proven experience of prevention, mitigation and response of violence against women and girls, capacity building, human rights, access to justice, security, sexual and reproductive health and rights/adolescent sexual reproductive health, legal reform, strong understanding of gender equality and women empowerment principles, advocacy and community mobilization and engagement for social norms change (a minimum of one of the areas listed);
3. Have experience working with different grassroots and vulnerable populations including women, adolescents and members of the LGBTQI+ community
4. Proven experience in and technical capacity for advocacy, policy dialogue around SRHR and lobbying for policy and legislative reforms
5. Strong understanding of gender equality and women empowerment principles, community mobilisation and engagement for social norms change
6. Have the capacity to undertake communication for development
7. Possesses technical capacity to manage programmes and projects effectively
8. Possesses a high capacity to foster partnerships and coordinate with other stakeholders
9. Experienced in resource mobilisation and effecting sustainability initiative
10. Be registered by the relevant bodies
11. Have established physical offices/presence in several countries across the region
12. Have a pulse for what is happening on the ground in relation to youth work
13. Previous experience working with UN agencies is an asset but not mandatory.

V. SUBMISSION DETAILS

Only Expression of Interest Forms submitted in English will be considered. Those wishing to apply shall submit the following:

1. Letter of Expression of Interest (ANNEX 1);
2. Application Form for Proposals (ANNEX 2);
3. Evidence of established management structure (i.e., organogram/ organisational structure);
4. Copy of valid legal registration in the country;
5. Documents such as past contracts, donor reports are desirable but not mandatory;
6. Previous audit report is an asset but not mandatory.
7. Past annual financial statement(s) is required

Interested civil society organisations should submit their Expression of Interest and supporting documents by Friday, 16 July 2021 5:00 PM EST by email to vacancy.sroc@unfpa.org. EOI received after the above deadline and time will not be considered.

For further questions regarding the process please contact: srocprocurement@unfpa.org.

Note:

• There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the bid solicitation process. 
• UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.