Iraq: Improving access to quality and inclusive education with gender equality for out-of- school children in Iraq

INV**I**TATION FOR PROPOSALS FOR A PARTNERSHIP Ref.: IRQ/CfPP/18/08

*‘Improving access to quality and inclusive education with gender equality for out-of-**sc**hool children in Iraq’ – Funded by Education Above All Foundation - Qatar

Closing date: August 23, 2018 (15:00 Baghdad local time)

Submission via email to: baghdad.proc@unesco.org

Inquiries via email to: s.osawa@unesco.org (technical aspects)

baghdad.proc@unesco.org (administrative & financial aspects)

A. SCOPE OF THE PROPOSAL

UNESCO is seeking for applicants to implement a set of activities under the Project “Improving access to quality and inclusive education with gender equality for out-of-school children in Iraq” described below and is inviting interested and qualified parties to submit proposals.

Applicants must ensure that they fully understand the terms and conditions set forth in the present document. They are expected to fully read and examine the contents of this invitation for proposals and must fully comply with all the requirements set forth in it. UNESCO reserves the right to reject any and or all proposal that do not comply with any provision in the Invitation.

B. GENERAL BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

As per the Ministry of Education (MoE) of the Central Government 2015/2016 school year statistics, the total number of Out of School Children (OOSC) aged between 6 and 12, is 110,223 excluding the governorates of Ninewa, Anbar and KRI. For these three governorates, no detailed data are available from the MoE since 2014 due to armed conflict and the massive internal displacement which has resulted therefrom. However, it is estimated that a total 1.3 million school-age children (6-12 years old) are currently affected by crisis in Iraq. The governorates with highest number of OOSC children are the governorates of Ninewa with 657,374 OOSC followed by the governorate of Anbar 181,990 and then Salah Al-Din with 105,775.

The absence of education negatively impacts the lives of Iraqi children in m ultiple ways. Unoccupied and disengaged children and adolescents (both boys and girls) are more likely to marry early, participate in child labour, be recruited by armed groups or be affected by other forms of abuse. Lack of educational opportunity is also a key source of social tension between host and displaced communities, as well as a barrier to the voluntary return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The absence of education deprives children of the knowledge and skills necessary to live productive and responsible lives.

There are numerous barriers preventing children’s access to education. Many schools face a shortage of teachers and physical space. In poor communities, many parents are unable to cover the cost of learning materials or school transport costs. The long distances to education facilities, coupled with the increasing use of informal child labour, further reduces access to education. Anticipated displacement and return will continue further stretching Iraq’s education system. More teachers are required as many schools are overcrowded and operate in two or three shifts per day, with many teachers and school staff also living in displacement. Moreover, greater teacher training is required, as few teachers are trained in psychosocial care and inclusive education. All recent assessments implemented in liberated areas highlighted similar needs: rehabilitation of WASH facilities in schools; minor repairs of school infrastructure (windows, doors, electricity and heating systems); mine risk education; replacement of teaching and learning materials; and psychosocial support for students and teachers.

The “Educate A Child Initiative” (EACI) in Iraq – Phase I was implemented between November 2012 and March

2015 in four governorates (Baghdad, Erbil, Ninewa and Basra). During the project t implementation, 37,353

OOSC were enrolled into accelerated learning programmes, 109 schools were rehabilitated or reconstructed, and 34 prefab caravan classrooms were established for IDP OOSC.

Building upon the experiences of Phase I, Phase II aims to target 150,000 OOSC, including IDPs and returnee children in six governorates with high number of OOSC (Baghdad, Erbil, Babil, Thi Qar, Salah Al Din and Ninewa).

The main purpose of the project is to accelerate the achievement of universal access to primary education**; by considerably lowering the number of OOSC and re-integrate them into the formal education system in Iraq.

Objective 1: Improve safe and child friendly learning space

Objective 2: Increase primary school enrolment for 150,000 out of school children

Objective 3: Enhance national capacity to provide quality primary education

Objectives one and two focus on OOSC children enrolment through providing a safe and child friendly learning space, community involvement, awareness campaigns and providing basic school kits for students. The third objective focuses on capacity building of teachers, administrators, MoE officials and CSO partners to ensure the quality of education to be provided for children. Project activities will be implemented through the partnership with International and National non-governmental organization (I/NGOs) to maximize the benefits of available resources at the grass root level with an active participation of communities and all stakeholders.

This particular call for proposals will target 40,000 children in Ninewa governorate as part in achieving the objective one and two to contribute to the improvement of access of OOSC to learning spaces and the increase of the enrolment of OOSC. While UNESCO Iraq Office will be directly managing school rehabilitation and procurement of school kits and furniture, the applicants are to carry out specific activities which are mentioned under Section C under the two objectives.

C. DESCRIPTION OF THE OVERALL PROJECT/ACTIVITY AND BENEFICIARIES** The estimated target number of students in the two governorates are as below

Governorate Estimated OOSC boys girls IDPs Target Year 1 (40,000)

Ninewa 262,949 98,362 40,000

For this call for proposals only covers the Ninewa governorate (Ninewa governorate separated into two areas: Mosul city and areas except Mosul city). The activities should start at the beginning of September 2018 and completed by mid-December 2018 against a four-month (04 months) Implementation Partner Agreement (IPA).

The target beneficiaries are out of school children including the IDPs and returnees who are school age at the primary level. The specific activities to be carried out are as below

Ac**tivities**

Comments

Ac**tivities Under Objective 1-** Improve safe and child friendly learning space

Identify the areas which have high number of OOSC, IDP and returnee school aged children in the target governorates

In coordination with Directorates of Education (DoE)

Identify community school locations in the areas which have no near school but have a large number of out of school age girls

In coordination with DoEs and community members

Assess the needs of identified community schools

In coordination with DoEs

Ac**tivities under Objective 2 – Increase primary school enrolment for 150,000 out of school children**

Identify as many OOSC, IDP and returnee communities in the target governorates for enrolment in schools, ALP centres and community schools and the reasons for them not going to school

Along with the activity under Objective 1

D. OBJECTIVES OF THE PARTNERSHIP

Unlike procurement contracts, Implementing Partners need to satisfy additional aspects beyond delivery of a service to include capacity-building elements with respect to the partner and/or beneficiary. The outputs from the IPA need to be sustainable. The technical proposal that to be submitted by applicant implementation partners should thus incorporate a framework to deliver on the capacity-building strategy, which requires monitoring and assessment during its implementation.

Partnerships are defined as “voluntary and collaborative relationships between various parties, both public and non-public, in which all partners agree to work together to achieve a common purpose or undertake a specific task and, as mutually agreed, to share risks and responsibilities, resources and benefits”.

Building upon the above definition, UNESCO has developed the notion of “added value” to be brought by the partner: “criteria facilitating the financial and programmatic efficiency of the Project/Activity through an exclusive contribution in nature or in cash and beyond the sole delivery of a service”.

The applicants are expected to contribute to this partnership by securing and partly providing staff and running cost to achieve the expected outcomes in close coordination with UNESCO. It is also expected that by maintaining qualified staff in implementation of the activities, the applicants will ensure the quality of services provided to the beneficiaries. This partnership will serve two ends: OOSC, IDP and returnee students distributed in Ninewa and the civil society organizations in Iraq. With coordination with UNESCO Iraq Office and the Ministry and Directorates of Education in Iraq, the successful applicants are to carry out the activities which are stipulated in the above section. In summary:

Under Objective 1:**Identifying safe and child friendly learning space in the areas, which has no school nearby with high number of OOSC in Ninewa.**

Under Objective 2:

Enrolling 40,000 out of schoolchildren (20,000 in Mosul and 20,000 in other areas of Ninewa expect in Mosul city).

E. EXPECTED RESULTS AND OUTCOMES OF THE PARTNERSHIP**

The expected results and outcomes of this partnership are:

(1) Community school locations are identified to contribute to the improvement of access of OOSC, IDP and returnees to safe and child friendly learning space; and

(2) 40,000 OOSC, IDP and returnee children are enrolled in schools, ALP centres and community schools. In details and importantly:

1. The areas which have high number of OOSC, IDP and returnees are located and the reasons for them not-going to school are identified

2. The existing schools, ALP centres and community schools which have capacity to accommodate students in the areas which have high number of OOSC, IDP and returnees are identified

3. The locations for new community schools in the areas which have high number of OOSC, IDP and returnees but do not have schools in the vicinity as well as the needs of those identified community schools

Further insight:

Participation of the community members is key to successful enrolment and retention of children at school and other educational institutions. Active participation of eminent community members in the enrolment campaigns can attract a large number of community members including those parents of OOSC to understand the importance and value of education for their children. Community members also include parents who can play active roles in school activities through PTA. Awareness campaigns in the community can also discuss barriers to education to find solutions for those who are unable to send their children to school.

1. Campaign materials are prepared (printed) in coordination with UNESCO Iraq Office such as banners, posters, T-shirts, etc) are printed to be distributed among the campaign attendees – OOSC.

2. Back-to-school campaigns, targeting to enrol 20,000 children in Mosul city, 20,000 in Ninewa except Mosul city are conducted. The campaign activities include, but not limited to, innovative awareness raising events to mainstream the value and importance of education, counselling sessions with parents who have difficulties to send their children to school, distribution of campaign materials, games, etc

3. DoE as well as community members (at least 20 members in each governorate or area) are coordinated and involved to work hand-in-hand to maximise the impact of the campaigns to enrol and retain as many children as possible in educational institutions

4. In coordination with DoE, if possible, the children who are willing to enrol in schools, ALP centres and community schools are enrolled

5. 10,000 school kits (in Ninewa) are distributed to the most marginalised children at the enrolment to minimise the economic burden in schooling

6. The enrolment of the recorded children is registered in EMIS and continuously monitoring and updating the data on bi-weekly basis for their attendance and retention in the educational institutions. UNESCO will provide the necessary training and technical support.

7. At least 80% of enrolled children are staying at the educational institutions at the final reporting period

8. Other data and information mentioned under reporting is quality checked and regularly submitted to

UNESCO

1. The involved staff are familiarised with UNESCO processes and procedures as well as their capacity being built and sustained to implement and monitor the activities effectively and efficiently.

F. REPORTING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION** Coordinating and reporting to UNESCO Iraq Office on a monthly basis of the progress of the activities. The report includes the detailed narrative accounts of each activity, disaggregated figures (gender, location, etc) for all the participants (children, parents, community members, involved NGO staff, and others), enrolled children (gender, level of education, age, where they are from, etc), school kits, campaign materials, etc, comparison between the planned and actual implementation as well as the financial reporting. In addition to UNESCO’s requirement, it is the responsibility of implementing NGO to monitor and report on the progress of implementation of their activities in accordance with the stipulation of the implementation partner agreement (IPA) and performance measures included in their proposal. Failure to monitor and report on progress of implementation could be a reason to blacklist an NGO for all future UNESCO projects.

G. TENTATIVE TIMELINES**

FOR THE INITIAL PROCEDURES:

Activities Date (tentative) Time (Baghdad time)**

Formal launch of the call for partnership 7 August 2018

Closing date for inquiries 17 August 2018 12h00

Deadline to submit proposal and application form 23 August 2018 15h00

Start date of implementation period for Y1 3 September 2018

FOR ACTIVITIES:

Activities Outputs Sep Oct Nov Dec**

Preparation of campaigns Campaign materials printed X Campaigns and registration 40,000 children registered X X

Enrolment of children, distribution of

School kits

40,000 children enrolled X X X

Data entry and regular monitoring 40,000 children retained X X X

FOR MORE AND THROUGH DETAILS AND ATTACHMENTS PLEASE VISIT UNESCO IRAQ OFFICE WEBSITE: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/iraq-office/about-this-office/vacancies/

General Information**

All the proposals shall be signed, dated and sent before the submission deadline using the procedure described in this document at Section E. No proposal nor additional document will be accepted after the expiration of the submission period. For further information on the application process, please refer to section

Any error or major discrepancy related in the information provided (e.g. the amounts mentioned in the budget are inconsistent with those mentioned in the concept note) may lead to rejection of the application.

Please note that this Invitation notice does not entail any commitment on the part of UNESCO, which reserves the right to change or cancel this requirement at any time in the Invitation process.

The applicants is also aware that:

· All applications must be in English;

· Hand-written applications will not be accepted;

· The complete identification form, concept note and draft budget must be submitted in Word and Excel or PDF;

· Please note that only the requested documents will be evaluated. It is therefore of utmost importance

that these documents contain ALL relevant information concerning the Project/Activity.

· Incomplete applications will be rejected

Applicants shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of their proposals. UNESCO shall not bear any liability and shall not be held responsible for any cost the applicants may incur while preparing their proposals, regardless of the final outcome of the selection process.

All the quotations and proposals made by applicants shall be valid for at least 60 days after the closing of the invitation period.

Submission details**

All submissions should be addressed to:

SaeOsawa/ Senior Project Officer

Email: s.osawa@unesco.org and Baghdad.proc@unesco.org

Reference: IRQ/CfPP/18/08 - ‘Improving access to quality and inclusive education with gender equality for out- of-school children in Iraq’ – Funded by Education Above All Foundation – Qatar

*(*Mandatory, otherwise applications will not be accepted within this Invitation)

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax) or delivered to other addresses will not be considered under this Invitation for Proposals.

Deadline for submission of proposals

The deadline for the submission of applications is 23 August 2018 as evidenced by the date of receipt of submission email. Any application submitted after the deadline will be automatically rejected.

Document to be provided in the submission by the applicant

Applicants must provide the following:

• The identification form duly filled;

• All the documents requested to support the identification form;

• A budget breakdown in USD linked with the concept note.

• A concept note explaining and discussing the way to implement the Project/Activity/activity proposed in the framework of the partnership. This concept note must provide the following information:

Ø A General strategy for the implementation based on all the information provided in this document;

Ø A preliminary work plan;

Ø A description of the Capacity building development plan;

Ø A draft planning for Human resources, including subcontracting, where relevant;

Ø The estimated procurement needs;

Ø The Estimated time to deliver and timeframe;

Ø The Added value you are offering;

Ø The comparative advantage you are offering;

Ø Identify the risks in the Project/Activity and explain how you will deal and mitigate them;

Ø Describe how sustainability of results after completion will be ensured and specify the institutional partners that will contribute to this. Consider key sustainability factors such as: Capacity Development, Gender Equality, Environmental Sustainability, Human Rights-Based Approaches (including Right to Food, Decent Work), financial/economic sustainability and technological sustainability.

Ø Demonstrate your absorptive capacity and a financial management record commensurate with the grant request amount.

Ø Certified financial reports for 2015, 2016 and 2017

Ø CVs of key personnel

FOR MORE DETAILS: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/iraq-office/about-this-office/vacancies/