CFPs: Strengthening Governments’ evidence-based responses to Urban Forced Displacement Issues (SUIDAC)

Deadline: 1-Jul-25

The United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) has launched the call for proposals to Strengthen Governments’ evidence-based responses to Urban Forced Displacement Issues in Sub-Saharan African Cities Action.

Objectives

• This Call for Proposals (CFP) seeks to select a partner with demonstrated research, data and capacity development expertise to lead the SUIDAC Research Component (SO2.3 – OP2.3).
  • The Specific Objective of this funding opportunity is to increase the number of new or revised national strategies that support a regionally coordinated response to urban forced displacement.
  • The Output of this component is to strengthen evidence-based responses by governments to address urban forced displacement challenges.

Scope of the grant/funding.

• This component will be implemented during the implementation phase of the SUIDAC Action. Starting in September 2025. Its aim is to strengthen governments’ evidence-based responses to urban forced displacement issues by supporting research mobilisation and influencing policy at multiple geographic scales. The research component is directly linked to Specific Objective 2.2 of the Action, which will gather insights from the participating cities through a series of regional dialogues. In total, six regional dialogues will be organized, and the research partner will be invited to participate in five of them

Funding Information

• USD 490,000 USD

Activities and Timeline

• The grant agreement will be signed in September 2025 and will end in May 2028. Including the below guiding points, the applicant is required to provide an implementation plan and a risk assessment.
  • Activity 2.3.1 Supporting Research Mobilisation
    • Research Proposal and Methodology in the field of research.
    • Literature Review.
    • Participatory data collection practices and techniques, ensuring participation and collaboration with the targeted municipalities and partners. Documentation of best practices and establishment of a replicable framework with key partners.
    • Data collection and provision of data collection methodology – ensuring active involvement of local and national stakeholders.
    • A first draft submission for comments.
    • The final submission should include new and updated data collection including all municipalities targeted by the Action and a final research paper and summary (for donors and governments) aimed at advancing understanding of the role of cities in providing alternatives to camps and settlements.
    • Provide a qualitative overview of the results and emerging learning of the program focusing on the role of cities in managing displacement.
  • Deliverables: 
    • Established data collection & management systems and trained staff in each city to support routine DAC data collection methodologies.
    • Data collection tools, approaches and guidelines based on the city context and information need.
    • 9 City/municipality intention survey reports among newly displaced, and analysis to document new displacements, monitor progress, and assess severity and impact of displacement on both hosts and displaced communities.
    • 9 Area-based study reports exploring the effects of migration and forced displacement on selected cities’ infrastructure, service delivery, urban planning, and development.
  • Activity 2.3.2 Advocacy and influencing policy at multiple geographic scales
    • Publication (with local partners) of at least three peer-reviewed articles.
    • Ensure the use of the produced knowledge by the stakeholders (through campaigns, for example).
    • Participation in SUIDAC peer-learning events to promote newly gathered information and organisation of training sessions with the targeted cities and beneficiaries of the Action for improved knowledge and/or skills on methodologies and data collection for evidenced-based responses
  • Deliverables:
    • At least 3 peer-review articles produced and disseminated.
    • Dissemination and publication of research papers, area-based studies, DACs intention surveys.
    • Final report on the role of cities in managing displacement.

Target Beneficiaries

• The target beneficiaries of the SUIDAC Action are Displacement-Affected Communities (DACs) and their hosting cities. This Action defines DACs as both the forcibly displaced populations: refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs (including climate displacements), returnees and host communities. The Action’s approach is to design area-based interventions targeting the identified DACs as a whole group of beneficiaries. This way, the Action can nimbly tackle the often-blurred realities affecting displaced and hosts in urban contexts, without overlooking the communities’ specific needs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants can be from the following categories (non profit entities): government, local, national, international and non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, refugee-based organizations, research institutions and knowledge centers, United Nations agencies, and/or international development organizations with a strong track record in urban development, migration, and/or integration to secondary cities in low-income countries
• Applicants must demonstrate proven experience in the thematic areas of urban development and/or migration.
• Applicants must comply with all provisions in the Grant Agreement, including the General Conditions, and applicable UNOPS policies and procedures. This includes compliance to UNOPS financial rules and regulations and the submission of an external audit report at the end of the project.
• Entities on the UN Sanctions List are ineligible to apply.

For more information, visit UNGM.