Strengthening governments’ evidence-based responses to urban forced displacement issues (SUIDAC)

CALL FOR PROPOSAL- GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 

Cities Alliance: SUIDAC 

Cities Alliance, hosted by UNOPS, is a global partnership promoting the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Managed by a Secretariat based in Brussels, it is a unique partnership with a diverse membership that has come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader with a strong track record in grant-making, supporting strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies, and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, flexible grant-making mechanism with global reach.

Cities Alliance provides financial and technical assistance to local city stakeholders in low-income countries to identify and implement approaches for improved local migration management relevant to each city’s context. As migration and displacement in developing countries are characterized by informality, Cities Alliance builds partnerships among various constituencies at the local, national, and global levels to jointly identify and negotiate a better way forward. Sustainable urban planning instruments, such as urban expansion planning, are at the forefront of Cities Alliance’s work to provide equitable access to a city for all.

Starting in June 2024, for a period of 48 months, Cities Alliance (UNOPS) will be responsible for the indirect management of the “Sustainable Urban Integration of Displacement-Affected Communities'' (SUIDAC) Action – financed by the European Union. The Action will address the nexus between forced displacement and urban development in nine different cities from five Sub-Saharan countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Through its Global Programme on Cities and Migration, Cities Alliance has made a long-term commitment to supporting secondary cities in low-income countries that have to manage large inflows of migrants and refugees. Cities Alliance has renewed its commitments with a dedicated programmatic approach on cities and migration in its Strategic Plan 2022‒2025. This approach benefits from the knowledge of Cities Alliance’s other thematic priorities, i.e., informality, equitable economic growth, resilience and climate change, and cities for women. SUIDAC Outcomes, Outputs and Logframe Indicators have been agreed with the EU as part of the contract signature. The Action contributes to the R-MIP’s Priority Area 6 (Migration, mobility, and forced displacement), specifically the following results: - Result 2.1: Refugee and asylum seekers’ needs and rights are addressed in a balanced, coherent, comprehensive, and coordinated manner aiming at the implementation of the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) and its Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). - Result 2.2: Nationally owned durable solutions for IDPs and host populations supported in full respect of human rights and principle of complementarity. - Result 2.4: Stronger political dialogue at continental, cross-regional, regional, or sub-regional level on forced displacement.

BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES AND IMPACT OF THIS GRANT/FUNDING

Displaced populations often view secondary cities as better alternatives to existing refugee camps/settlements. The quality of services offered in camps and/or settlements gradually degrades when refugee emergencies are protracted and sustained. Compared to camps and settlements, cities can potentially offer displaced people better services, more education opportunities, a wider choice of health centres/hospitals for referral, and food markets usually unavailable in rural areas or refugee camps. At the same time, cities present numerous challenges for DACs. The effects of rapid urbanisation have exacerbated land change use and led to often negative changes in secondary cities’ physical and social landscapes. Urban DACs are mostly found sharing spaces in informal settlements and expanding urban slums. This is the result of increased pressure on the local economy and society caused by large flows of displaced persons into urban areas where planning and development do not cater to their presence and needs. Environmental issues – such as land degradation, erosion, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and pollution – and overall poor land use often exacerbate the negative effects of unplanned urban growth. Day-to-day life in these urban areas is characterised by high unemployment rates, poor or absent basic services (e.g., education, health, WASH, housing, land and property rights), weak or absent legal protection (e.g., lack of formal registration, low access to rights and documentation), and exclusion from decision-making processes and civil society associations. 

DACs living in secondary cities are also exposed to higher health and safety risks due to difficult (or non-existent) access to first aid or humanitarian assistance (e.g., medicine and food rations). In almost all cases, urban authorities struggle to find or implement solutions to these interconnected challenges. Moreover, local authorities often lack the capacity to turn the hosting of forcibly displaced people in their cities into an opportunity for local development. Parallel and temporary systems are set up, but insufficient attention is paid to the importance of integration and inclusion. Consequently, local leaders often fear that additional arrivals would place further strain on already limited resources. Unfortunately, in many cases, the growing populations in these cities are not matched by increased municipal budgets, and host governments argue that they lack the financial resources necessary to adequately protect and care for refugees and displaced people at the local level. This issue largely stems from the fact that cities and national systems have not effectively capitalized on potential revenue sources generated by refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) when available.         

More data and research are needed on the locations where DACs settle size and type of city and town, and how these settings affect their lives, wellbeing, livelihoods and integration. It is crucial to document and register DACs at the local level for both emergency and long-term planning. Including DACs in censuses (for example) and government planning is key to understanding numbers and needs, and to ensure that central government and international funding to municipalities takes them into account. The potential role of systematic referral systems such as one-stop shops should be studied in order to find sustainable solutions on regularly updated data generation at the local level. 

Efforts should focus on establishing standardized data collection techniques that ensure consistency across various urban contexts while leveraging collaboration with local entities for accuracy. Frameworks, surveys, and evaluations should be used to highlight the living conditions, vulnerabilities, wellbeing, and aspirations of urban displaced people. Furthermore, research should examine how urban areas, in contrast to camps and settlements, are adapting to these population movements and providing alternative solutions. Examining how specific minority groups are better recognized and supported in certain cities could inform advocacy and urban development planning focused on the integration and wellbeing of displaced populations.

Engaging local researchers, knowledge centers (including universities), DACs, and community members as co-researchers and enumerators is crucial. This approach can include providing research training as necessary, which will help strengthen the accuracy and relevance of data and findings.

This Call for Proposals (CFP) seeks to select a partner with demonstrated research 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.

Specifically, this component aims to address the lack of precise and up-to-date data on the number, living conditions, and wellbeing of Displacement-Affected Communities (DACs) in the countries targeted by the Action, with a particular focus on the targeted secondary cities.

Applicant eligibility

1. The proposed proposal must align with the geographical scope as outlined in this Call for Proposals.

2. The proposed proposal must also align with the thematic scope as outlined in this Call for Proposals.

3. The proposed budget must not exceed USD 500,000.

4. 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

5. Applicants must demonstrate proven experience in the thematic areas of urban development and/or migration.

6. 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. 

7. Entities on the UN Sanctions List are ineligible to apply.

Additional notes:

The applicants will be requested to submit proof of registration for at least three years and a bank statement as additional documents upon completion of the technical evaluation in order to receive funds in US dollars.

Content of proposal submissions

1. Proposal Application Form - (Please read Instructions to Applicants before completing the Proposal Application Form)

2. Financial Proposal Form (Please read Guidelines on Eligible expenditures for grants for eligibility of the expenditure) 

3. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Capacity Assessment Form, along with all relevant supporting documentation

4. Capacity Assessment Form - Fiduciary , along with all relevant supporting documentation

5. Proposal Submission Declaration Form (Please read Terms and Conditions of Grant Support Agreements)

Additional notes:

Based on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Capacity assessment and Fiduciary Capacity Assessment results, if an applicant is selected and if improvement is required, the selected applicant might follow a capacity strengthening plan developed by UNOPS-Cities Alliance. 

Proposal Currency : USD

Proposal  Language : English 

Proposal submission Deadline : 

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 10:00 Central European Time on 13 December 2024. 

Proposals shall be submitted using the following method:

Submit via e-mail only to the Cities Alliance Secretariat at ca-proposal@citiesalliance.org with the subject line including “SUIDAC CfP _ Research”. 

Refer to Article 10, “Proposal Submission”, of the Instructions to Applicants for details on the specific requirements for proposal submission.

Q&A : 

Questions can be submitted to [ca-proposal@citiesalliance.org] between 22 November and 11 December 2024. A reply will be posted within 48 hours on UNGM.

Note: The research under this CFP will focus on the following countries: DRC, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. No direct grants will be allocated to the beneficiary countries as part of this specific CFP.