Deadline: 24-Aug-23
UN Women has launched a call for applications to support the multi-agency efforts on prevention of violence against women and delivery of comprehensive assistance to survivors in Moldova, including through economic empowerment programs.
The envisaged activities will be implemented by the authorities and partners in improving the current system of raising awareness/prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls, provision of direct assistance to survivors of violence in the country including through strengthening the capacities of involved actors, policies, regulatory and methodological frameworks in the field.
Objective
In order to address all of the above, UN Women will select a Responsible Party and will provide support for the multi-agency efforts on prevention of violence against women and delivery of comprehensive assistance to survivors of violence in Moldova. Through this partnership, UN Women intends to implement initiatives that will contribute to the fulfilling of the following outputs under its Strategic Note:
- Output 1.1: Women and girls, including those who are most often left behind, understand their rights to access and claim quality essential services. In this regard, the chosen civil society organization (CSO) is expected to undertake activities under the following indicators:
- Number of women, especially from the excluded groups, who have knowledge about their rights, have been informed on available services and beneficiate from essential services.
- Number of women survivors of violence supported to access employment and entrepreneurial opportunities through vocational capacity building, mentoring programs, financial literacy and incentives.
- Number of women who benefited of vouchers for economic empowerment.
- Number of designed innovative campaigns and produced copies of the awareness raising materials.
- Output 1.2: State institutions and CSOs increase the quality of prevention and multisectoral response services to address all forms of VAWG including harmful practices and discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes:
- Number of service providers with strengthened capacities, to deliver coordinated multi-sectoral and survivor-centred response services for all women and girls through the approved intersectoral mechanism on VAW.
- Number of organizations supported in their efforts of women’s empowerment.
- Number of proposals for amendments of laws/policy/guidelines on VAWG based on international standards.
Expected Results/Outputs
- With a view to achieving Output 1.1: Women and girls, including those who are most often left behind, understand their rights to access and claim quality essential services it is expected that the selected CSO will inter alia:
- Conduct activities to consolidate the efforts of the service providers in the target selected regions to facilitate access to women from vulnerable groups (e.g. Roma women, women with disability, rural women, women/child refugees etc.) to the labour market and other essential services based on the 5 economic empowerment programs and Government Methodology developed in the previous years with support of UN Women; produce, in participatory way with other national/regional service providers, the friendly-to-use awareness raising materials and innovative campaigns to understand their rights to access and claim quality essential services, with provision of the contact data on the accredited such services (16 Days Campaign, local initiatives etc.).
- Provide capacity building and direct support to survivors, in line with provisions of the existing promising guidelines and good practices in the field, including integration of tailored measures for economic empowerment of women survivors of violence/vulnerable groups into the national employment policies/active labour market measures.
- Following the capacity building events, the beneficiaries, women survivors of violence will be invited to participate in an open competition – Voucher Support Program (VSP). Successful applicants will get up to 50.000 MDL (VAT excluded) each, total amount for vouchers to be limited up to 20 % of the total agreement budget. The voucher will be used to acquire services that are needed and will directly support development of women entrepreneurial initiatives. Only up to 20 applicants will benefit from the VSP. The partner to be selected must develop selection criteria and organize the competitive application process. The partner will also ensure best selection of the service provider and will control the process of service-rendering. The services eligible for the VSP may include:
- Support in accessing funding, preparing and business plan for a grant program.
- Development of a set of texts for online promotion.
- Setting up an online communication plan and ads.
- Others, which direct impact on the entrepreneurial initiative can be easily demonstrated.
- Any service solicitated by the beneficiaries of the VSP, must be of highest possible quality and prove to be of an utmost necessity for the company’s growth.
- To achieve the Output 1.2: State institutions and CSOs increase the quality of prevention and multisectoral response services to address all forms of VAWG including harmful practices and discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes, it is expected that the selected Responsible Party will conduct at least the following activities:
- Development/adjustment of initial/continuous capacity building modules for multiple stakeholders to the provisions of the Istanbul Convention and recently amended national laws; development of methodological guidelines for community social workers on case management and associated activities to address domestic violence cases.
- Conduct series of capacity building events (initial and/or follow-up on-site coaching support) for the service providers-members of the multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) and local public administrations (LPAs) to strengthen their knowledge and skills to facilitate comprehensive victim-centered access to essential services/case management, with a special focus on building robust mechanisms for the inter-sectoral cooperation and referral of cases; This will be ensured based on the service package developed by MLSP.
- Researching and addressing online gender-based violence, including through elaboration of methodologic materials/instructions for multi-agency response for the prevention and countering VAW and DV occurring in virtual space based on the existing studies at local and regional/international levels, etc.
- Drafting the amendments to legislation or normative acts for a better alignment to the provisions of the Istanbul Convention and international standards in the field; development of the guidelines for monitoring and evaluation of the efficiency of addressing DV cases by the members of the MDTs, and other activities under Pillar 2 and 1 of the Action Plan of the National Program on Prevention and Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence for the period 2023-2027.
Funding Information
- The budget range for this proposal should fall between a minimum indicative amount of 200,000 USD and a maximum amount of 280,000 USD. The total budget available for this call for proposal is of up to 280,000 USD.
- Duration of the project: 27 months, tentatively within October 2023 –December 2025.
Specific Requirements for Proposal
- Proponents are highly encouraged to propose interventions that explore innovative ideas to find sustainable and transformative solutions; Intersectionality and Leaving No One Behind principles will be mainstreamed across the proposed interventions through targeted and innovative actions for addressing needs, as well as through support in voicing the multiple forms of discrimination and violence women and girls experience.
- The proponent as a Responsible Party is expected to make substantial contribution to achievement of the outputs for which it is putting an offer;
- The proposed intervention size and budget request is for up to USD 280,000. All currency exchanges will be calculated using the UN Operational Exchange Rate as per the date of submission of proposal.
Competencies
- Technical/functional competencies required:
- Specialized knowledge, expertise, and track record of working with vulnerable and marginalized groups, with a focus on women’s human rights and ending discrimination;
- Extensive expertise and previous experience in working on violence against women issues in the Republic of Moldova.
- A track record of proven collaboration with government authorities (especially in the direct assistance to survivors of VAW, including in labour/employment field) with central level agencies and grassroots organisations, in coordinating activities and implementing strategies;
- A track record of working with underrepresented groups, evidenced with at least 1 specific intervention developed and implemented on economic empowerment of women from above-mentioned groups;
- Experience in implementing capacity building activities for the members of MDTs;
- Other competencies, which while not required, can be an asset for the performance of services:
- Experience in working with UN and/or other international agencies;
- Experience in managing grants/projects with the budget commeasurable with the financial value
- UN Women will sign contracts with and disburse funds to the applicant organization only. Results based budget should be prepared using zero VAT rate. Partners and sub-contractors will benefit from respective fiscal arrangements upon signature of Partnership Agreement with UN Women Moldova.
For more information, visit UN Women.