Request for Proposal (RFP) for services to support gender equality and youth employment through social entrepreneurship in Al-Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates.

~~Dear Sir/Madam,

Subject: Request for Proposal (RFP) for services to support gender equality and youth employment through social entrepreneurship in Al-Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates.

1. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) plans to procure services to support gender equality and youth employment through social entrepreneurship in Al Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates as described in this Request for Proposal and its related annexes. UN Women now invites sealed proposals from qualified proposers for providing the requirements as defined in these documents.

2. In order to prepare a responsive proposal you must carefully review and understand the contents of the following documents:

i. This letter and Proposal Instruction Sheet (PIS) including
ii. Instructions to Proposers (Annex I)   available from this link http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/commoncontent/procurement/rfp-instructions-en.pdf
iii. Terms of Reference (TOR) (Annex II)
iv. Evaluation Methodology and Criteria (Annex III)
v. Format of Technical Proposal (Annex IV)
vi. Format of Financial Proposal (Annex V)
vii. Proposal Submission Form (Annex VI)
viii. Voluntary Agreement for Promoting Gender Equality in the Workplace (Annex VII)
ix. Proposed Model Form of  Contract (Annex VIII)
x. General Conditions of Contract (Annex IX)
xi. Joint Venture/Consortium/Association Information Form (Annex X)
xii. Submission Checklist (Annex XI)
 

3. The Proposal Instruction Sheet (PIS), below, provides the requisite information (with cross reference numbers) which is further detailed in the Instructions to Proposers (Annex-I – see above link).

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~~Annex II
Terms of Reference

UN Women Country Office for Jordan

INTRODUCTION
UN Women is grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women, and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
UN Women Jordan currently supports projects that promote the economic participation of Jordanian women, and works to improve access and effective participation of marginalized Jordanian women in economic and public life by addressing the barriers that have led to their exclusion.
BACKGRUND/PROBLEM ANALAYSIS
The Arab Spring has had important social and economic impacts on the Arab World.  Economic injustice played a central role in the uprisings across the region. The high expectations of youth, women’s economic inequality and the broader economic crises brought to the fore the dire structural challenges facing the region.  In 2010, the employment-to-population ratio for North Africa and the Middle East were 46.6 and 45.4 per cent respectively (compared to the global average of 61.1 per cent), meaning that less than half of those able to work were participating in the labour force.   Female labour force participation rates in the region at 26 per cent (compared to 52 per cent globally) were among the lowest in the world, and are indicative of the significant barriers to women’s meaningful participation in socio-economic and public life, including lack of economic opportunities.  In the years following the Arab Spring the expected gains failed to materialize and increased unrest, violence and political instability ensued in many countries. Across the region, economies have also been negatively affected, unemployment rates have risen, female labour force participation rates remain low and there has been decreases in foreign investment and tourism, and interruptions in exports. Youth unemployment rates are particularly high: at 27.2 per cent (22.9 per cent for males and 43.9 per cent for females) in the Middle East and 29.4 per cent (23.2 per cent for males and 45.0 per cent for females) in North Africa, they are more than double the global average.
In Jordan civil unrest in 2011 was met with a number of political and socio-economic reforms and the country has remained stable. However, the crisis in neighbouring Syria has severely impacted Jordan, which is hosting more than 630,000 Syrian refugees.  With some 85 per cent of refugees living outside of the official camps, Jordanians in host communities, in particular in the northern governorates, have been affected by the increased competition for and pressures on wages, public services, housing and limited natural resources. Mafraq, Zarqa and Irbid governorates host – with Amman - the highest concentrations of Syrian refugees and contain within them numerous pockets of poverty that pre-existed the Syria crisis. In Zarqa 21.9% of all households are deemed to be vulnerable, with 26.7% classified as vulnerable in Irbid.  Across Jordan in Q1 2015 the male unemployment rate was 11.0% while female unemployment was more than twice this rate at 22.1%. Youth unemployment was even higher at 35.8 % for those aged 15-19 and 30.4 % for the 20-24 age group.   In Zarqa and Irbid governorates, women’s employment stood at 10% and 11.9%, respectively, in 2012.  
Global data shows the positive impact women’s engagement in the labour market can have on national economies. Therefore finding meaningful ways to integrate women into the Jordanian economy is a key strategy for addressing household and community poverty, while also promoting issues of gender equality.
Social Entreprenuership
 As the Arab region works to address challenges within its boundaries, it has witnessed an increase in community spirit, with a growing awareness of the need for citizens to actively participate in bringing about social change and community development. Moreover, the central role that women played in the Arab Spring has created a new momentum for meaningful citizenship and empowerment in a region that has the lowest levels of political and labour force participation rates among women globally. One manifestation of this has been the increase in the recognition of social enterprises – defined as entities that aim to “fulfill a social mission while following a business model that helps [to] achieve financial viability, sustainability and scale”  – as a means for responding to some of the challenges facing the region. A survey conducted by Standford University among more than 12,000 citizens of 18 Arab countries found that despite the many obstacles social entrepreneurs face, there is a strong potential for social entrepreneurship in the region.  Respondents of the survey demonstrated: i) a strong interest in volunteerism; ii) a preference to be self-employed or own a business over other forms of employment; iii) familiarity with the term entrepreneurship (around 50 per cent of respondents); iv) interest in entrepreneurship as a profession; v) and a belief that young people are more interested in improving their communities  – all indicating a positive environment for the role and potential of social entrepreneurship in the region.
In Jordan, the notion of social entrepreneurship is being introduced as a way to combat unemployment, barriers to employment and to engage citizens in improving their local communities. As such, social enterprises present an option in responding to Jordanians’ socio-economic needs. Organizations are moving towards utilising social entrepreneurship to address persistent problems of poverty and inequality by harnessing the potential of this model to fuel equitable and inclusive economic growth with positive social outcomes. While social entrepreneurship is still a relatively new concept in Jordan, there is evidence of its arrival through international programmes and organizations supporting entrepreneurs in both business and social sectors.
UN Women aims to use employment-focused social enterprises to advance gender equality and support youth unemployment in Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates. Specifically, the goal is to help women, in particular young women, break the cycle of poverty and unemployment by supporting those who are most vulnerable and face the most significant barriers to employment and economic engagement.The project will utilize and build upon the existing capacities of young entrepreneurs in Jordan and raise their awareness of social entrepreneurship and how it can be successful in introducing new reforms and models that could ultimately lead to achieving social outcomes. Rather than maximizing financial profit, the primary goal is to achieve a positive social impact, while at the same time generating employment opportunities. As such, UN Women aims to generate knowledge on the value and potential of social entrepreneurship in addressing community and development challenges. It further aims to support a limited number of social entrepreneurship initatives to address issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment, focusing in particular on women’s access to the labour market, using business principles and non-conventional approaches. 
The project is aligned with the following sectoral objective in the Jordan Response Plan to the Syria Crisis 2015;
Livelihoods and Food Security Sector –
To protect food security to save lives, and enable livelihoods to cope with and recover from the impact of the Syria crisis, as well as strengthen the capacity to adapt to future shocks.
Resilience Strategic Objective 1: More and better job opportunities created for vulnerable women, and young men and women.
PURPOSE
This project seeks to support the promotion of gender equality and youth employment through social entreprenership in one or more of the following areas: Al Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates. UN Women is seeking innovative and impact-oriented initiatives to support women’s access to the labour market and gender equality through social entrepreneurship in Jordan with the aim of addressing challenges exacerbated by the Syrian crisis.
TIMEFRAME 
The duration of the project is 9 months – ending August 2016. The ceiling for this work is $250,000.
GUIDANCE FOR PROPOSALS
Proposals should reflect the following sections to be considered:
Section Description/Guidance
Executive Summary An overview of the project and its aims.
Project Duration and Geographical focus The project must close in August 2016 and target at least one of the following governorates: Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa.
Context and Justification Please include information on the operating context, including information related to the challenges that your project is seeking to address.
Organisational Profile Please describe your organization history, registration details and relevant experiences working on relevant issues to women socio-economic empowerment and social entrepreneurship.
Expected results  Please describe the outputs and the outcomes of your proposal. Please also describe clearly the strategies as well as the activities intended to address the main objective of this project as outlined in this TOR
Logical Framework  This should include: goal, outcome, outputs, activities, indicators, means of verification and targets/baselines for each indicator. The logical framework should be based on the logical framework provided below.
Workplan  Please indicate activities, responsibilities and timeframe for each of your activities.
Partnerships Please list any organizations you are planning to partner with to carry out your proposal (this could include other civil society organizations, international NGOs, and private sector or government entities if relevant).
Management Plan Please outline the personnel that will be implementing this project.
Monitoring and Evaluation This section should detail the plan for the monitoring of the project, and whether an external evaluation will be undertaken (and when). This should also include information on reporting to UN Women – including the frequency and type of reports to be submitted (e.g. progress or final). 
Budget Budget proposal should include details of budget allocation, i.e.  Amount to achieve each output.

Communications Plan The communication plan should include details of the audience, purpose, messages, communication channels and reources. The final plan will be in line with UN Women’s contractor rules and regulation, and approved by UN Women.

SUMMARY SHEET
Deliverables Key deliverables over the project duration:

1. Social entrepreneurship interventions implemented in Jordan’s host communities (one or more of Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates), reaching at least 250 young Jordanian men and women;
2. Policy paper on promoting women’s social entrepreneurship;
3. Library of success stories;
4. Media campaign promoting social entrepreneurship;
5. A final narrative and financial report.
To achieve the above deliverable applicants are expected to articulate clearly how they will achieve tangible results in one or more of the following areas, Al Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa governorates;

Social and economic empowerment through social entrepreneurship: This initiative focuses on supporting gender equality and empowering young female social entrepreneurs living in Jordan’s host communities through engagement in social entrepreneurship interventions. Applicants are expected to present innovative models and tools to improve the competenceies of young Jordanians that will allow them to engage meaningfully in social entrepreneurship to achieve social outcomes relating to gender equality and youth employment. The focus should be on areas with high unemployment and high numbers of refugees. Sustainable models such as the One Village, One Prodoct model are encouraged.

Payment will be based on a schedule of deliverables, with payment conditional upon the satisfactory acceptance of deliverables by UN Women.

Activities/
Tasks Activities could include, but are not limited to the following:

• The development of a model to support gender equality in jordan through social entrepreneruership interventions.
• The identification of project beneficiaries
• Concrete support to project beneficiaries iniatives that could include the formation of a cooperation, the identiifcaiton of marketable products, means for providing back to communities through entrepreneurship and skills building.
• The production of a policy paper on policy paper on social entrepreneurship, youth employment and gender equality, including best practices on interventions that can scale up social entrepreneurship in Jordan as a model for employment and gender equality.
• The production of a library of "success stories" – including images.
• A concrete communiation and social media strategy that include the production of images and stories throughout the project duration.

Personnel / Qualifications At a minimum it is expected that the following personnel will be needed to undertake this work:
Project Coordinator
Project Assistant
Finance Officer (part time)

Roles and responsibilities of the parties The contractor will be responsible for delivering the above results. UN Women will join the contractor for key events and will work with the contractor to ensure that necessary visibility is provided to UN Women and its donors.

Timeframe and location  The project will end in June 2016 and target one or more of the following governorates: Mafraq, Irbid and Zarqa.

Payment will be based on the following schedule of deliverables, with payment conditional upon the satisfactory acceptance of deliverables by UN Women.

Deliverable Payment (as % of awarded budget)
Full Workplan and communications strategy 30%
Delivery of social entrepreneurship interventions, reaching at least 250 young Jordanians. 30%
Policy paper
Library of success stories  20%
Final narrative and financial report 20%

Communication and reporting obligations The contractor will be asked to submit quarterly reports to the UN Women Recovery Specialist on progress and results The report may cover such aspects as progress made in the provision of the services, identification of unforeseen issues or areas of concern, delays in the provision of the services, causes of such delays and proposed measures to correct such causes.  To receive payment for a deliverable the contractor will be required to submit an invoice with proof of the deliverable(s).

A final financial and narrative report will be submitted upon completed delivery of the services procured. This should be delivered within 3 months of the closing of the project. Upon satisfactory receipt of the reports, final payment will be provided.