Deadline: 30-Jul-2025
The UN Women is seeking proposals to partner with a women rights organization (WRO) to implement an initiative entitled, Mobilisation of Women for Community Resilience (MOWCOR).
UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and development partners, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The WRO partner (henceforth referred to as the Responsible Party will lead the design and implementation of a community based sustainable mechanism, in close coordination with the local GiHA chapters, and in collaboration with relevant government departments and other key stakeholders. The objective is to demonstrate/enhance a community-based mechanism to safeguard embankments in the four target districts.
Given the focus on local level implementation, partnership with local/grassroots women’s organizations under a consortium modality is preferred. This will further contribute to strengthening the leadership and organizational skills of the grassroots women’s rights CSOs to advance gender responsive disaster risk reduction and management.
Funding Information
- The budget range for this proposal should be 25,000,000 BDT – 30,000,000 BDT.
- Duration: 12 months (indicative start/end dates: 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2026)
Expected Outcomes
- By 2026, ecosystems are healthier, and all people, in particular the most vulnerable and marginalized in both rural and urban settings, benefit from and contribute to, in a gender responsive manner, a cleaner environment, an enriched natural resource base, low carbon development, and are more resilient to climate change, shocks and disasters.
- Enhanced leadership and resilience of women, and their networks on gender responsive disaster risk reduction:
- Mobilize women and girls in project locations to establish embankment protection groups to monitor and safeguard embankments:
- Organise community consultations with women and girls on the relevance of community-led mechanisms for disaster response
- Establish village-based women and girls’ groups for embankment protection (EPG) under the guidance of the district level GiHA chapters
- Capacity building of the members of the embankment protection groups on disaster preparedness, and response:
- Undertake capacity development of the members of the embankment protection groups on disaster preparedness, leadership, key embankment protection laws, and embankment management
- Orient local stakeholders including local administration and other functionaries on gender responsive disaster preparedness, management and response in close collaboration with the local GiHA chapter
- Evidence based advocacy on embankment protection at the local and national level:
- In close coordination with the local GIHA chapter, conduct evidence-based advocacy with BWDB, local administration and local government representatives at the upazila and union level promoting enforcement of embankment protection laws, and ensuring transparency in the construction, operation, and maintenance of embankments
- Organize awareness campaigns on the importance of community-based embankment protection.
- Mobilize women and girls in project locations to establish embankment protection groups to monitor and safeguard embankments:
Project Target Areas
- Khulna, Satkhira, Kurigram, Jamalpur (2 Upazila’s per district)
Eligibility Criteria
- Proposals can only be submitted by non-governmental organizations registered in Bangladesh. The organization can submit the proposal as an individual entity or as a consortium, preferably a women’s rights/feminist organization.
- For a consortium, there must be a lead agency, and all other participating agencies must comply with eligibility criteria. The Lead agency will submit the proposal on behalf of the consortium. The details of the consortium partner/s and the scope, result area of work of the partner within the project framework need to be mentioned in the proposal.
- Women’s organizations or entities are highly encouraged to apply.
- Technical/functional competencies required:
- At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in implementing programmes on gender-responsive climate change, DRR, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and social mobilisation.
- Demonstrated experience in evidence-based advocacy and capacity development interventions including training, meeting, dialogues, seminars, conferences, consultations, and conventions. Demonstrated commitment to working with women and girls that are economically, politically, socially, culturally, or otherwise marginalized, and/or disempowered.
- Demonstrated expertise in developing programmes using a rights-based approaches to advance women’s empowerment and ensure the voices and needs of women as rights-holders.
- Operational competencies required:
- Demonstrated track record of working with International/National NGOs.
- Organizational profile having adequate human resources and other office equipment and logistic support.
- Capacity to partner with grass root level women led organisations and administer and manage small funds to them.
- Financial Capability should be shown as financial turnover supported by a registered audit firm for the last three years.
For more information, visit UN Women.