Call for Proposals to Strengthen Resilience of Refugee and IDP Women impacted by Crises (Iraq)

Deadline: 4-May-23

UN Women is looking to partner with an NGO to strengthen resilience of vulnerable refugee and IDP women impacted by crises, displacement, disasters due to climate change and exacerbated food insecurity by taking urgent actions to deal with the increasing risks, enabling them to contribute to, and benefit from, disaster risk reduction inclusive of green growth in Kirkuk.

Within this context, UN Women Iraq CO is currently implementing a green economy programme “Strengthening resilience of vulnerable refugee and IDP women impacted by crises, displacement, and disasters due to climate change “ in Baghdad with the aim to engage with vulnerable women impacted by crises and displacement and translate it to a shift within Iraq’s green economy, greater awareness of issues related to gender, climate change and disaster risk reduction while challenging perceptions and behavior related to harmful gender norms. The project will target only the most vulnerable refugee, and IDP women.

Objectives

• Overall project objective: To strengthen the resilience of vulnerable women (refugees and IDPs) impacted by crises, displacement, and disasters due to climate change and food insecurity, and enabling them to contribute to, and benefit from, Iraq’s disaster risk reduction inclusive of green growth, in ways that build their overall adaptive capacities to shocks and help them meet their needs in the shorter term and longer term.
• Impact Area 4/ Outcome 4: Women and girls contribute and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and from humanitarian action.
• Outcome 1: To strengthen the resilience of vulnerable women impacted by crises, displacement, and disasters due to climate change and food insecurity, and enabling them to contribute to, and benefit from, Iraq’s disaster risk reduction inclusive of green growth, in ways that build their overall adaptive capacities to shocks and help them meet their needs in the shorter term and longer term.

Funding Information

• The budget range for this proposal should be (Min. $175,000 – Max. $200,000) per partner.
• Timeframe: Upon signature of contract – 28 February 2024: duration is 9 months

Key Activities

• Output 1: Resilience of refugee & IDP women (in total) strengthened though improved access to green productive and financial assets and green skills building opportunities with a focus on entrepreneurship and job placement in Iraq’s green economy.
  • 1,800 vulnerable women are equipped with marketable demand-driven green innovative skills and climate-smart practices such as Agriculture tech (greenhouse-hydroponic farming), waste to Energy (biomass briquettes), production of sapling, gardening, recycling, water harvesting and storage, etc. which will improve women’s access to new green job opportunities in sectors where women are already well positioned, including Agriculture.
  • 180 women are supported with medium term green income generation opportunities through job placement (i.e., Job Fairs) in Iraqi eco-friendly companies in private sector to ensure women’s access to long term livelihood opportunities including internship and apprenticeship programs.
  • 400 vulnerable women are capacitated to develop their small/medium green businesses through business planning, increased access to financial support and mentorship, and trade fairs etc. areas of development may tackle but not limited to (entrepreneurship, understanding markets, business, and financial planning, bookkeeping, and accounting, sales, and marketing techniques, saving and business expansion and quality assurance in business).
• Output 2: Women and men engage as leaders and partners in climate action through the promotion of positive gender-equitable climate resilient attitudes and practices.
  • 200 women’s knowledge & capacities in leadership, climate change, DRR and gender equality are developed and strengthened to lead, influence, and participate in decision-making process with regards to climate change at the community level and can lead interventions as DRR agents of change shaping and building climate resilience.
  • 3 community-led committees of gender, climate action and DRR are established and/or strengthened to explore and map innovative local solutions to facilitate the shift of Iraq’s economy towards sustainability, and advance dialogues on the engagement of women in climate action, peace and among civil society representatives and government stakeholders.
  • Establish or utilize an existing a cooperative system at community level led by women which serves as a connection point between the community and green industries (waste and recycling, food industry) in Iraq, and facilitate linkages for women who were equipped with green skills/and or established green businesses with access to income generation mechanisms by linking them up with green industries in Iraq including trade fairs and exhibitions.
  • Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of 2,500 men and boys on gender, climate change and DRR and the intersection between both are affected through awareness raising sessions and community dialogues.

Competencies

• In the selection of partners, the following competencies will be considered:
  • Soundness of technical competency described in the approach to the outcome/outputs as described in the Terms of Reference for the Call for Proposals.
  • Organizations with a track record of working on women’s rights and gender equality and delivering results for women’s rights.
  • Capacity to deliver expected results: governance and management competency, and financial and administrative competency.
  • Relevance of the mandate and the role of the organization to implement expected results and to contribute to the sustainability of said results.
• UN Women is soliciting proposals from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Women’s organizations or entities are highly encouraged to apply.

For more information, visit UN Women.