Quick Impact Projects In Mount Lebanon Governorate

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2013 Première Urgence - Aide Médicale Internationale (PU-AMI and formerly PU) referred to hereinafter as PU-AMI or the “Contracting Authority” has been continuously present in Lebanon since 2001. In addition to the emergency and post emergency response to the successive crisis, PU-AMI is providing basic assistance to the most vulnerable Palestinian and Syrian refugees living in unofficial gatherings but also the most vulnerable host communities in Lebanon. Since March 2011 and the continuously escalating crisis in Syria, Lebanon (along with Jordan, Iraq and Turkey) has been a refuge area for Syrian families fleeing the instability and violence in their country. The registered (or awaiting registration) refugees figures are currently around 400 000 individuals with a daily influx of more than 3 000 persons. Lebanon now hosts the greatest number of refugees in the region, unlike in other countries, they are scattered across the country (more than 1 000 locations), hosted directly by Lebanese families or accommodated at the local level. Local infrastructure and capacity to provide for basic service delivery were already particularly stretched prior to the crisis and are now significantly overburdened by the sharp increase in demand. Local authorities remain ill-equipped to mediate the increase in competing demands between populations, potentially threatening social cohesion through rising tension and conflict. Within the frame of a multi-sector project funded by the office of the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), PU-AMI will implement 2 Quick Impact Projects in Mount Lebanon Governorate that would benefit both the Syrian refugees and the host community. The funded projects will be implemented in partnership with the selected National Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) or the selected Municipalities. Before the implementation of any project, the design and costing will be shared with UNHCR for prior validation. This initiative aims at supporting Lebanese host communities struggling to cope with the tremendous additional burden in an already harsh socio-economic environment. The funding will be used to implement projects falling under Output 3 of the Lebanese Government Response Plan: "Assist the Lebanese hosting communities to preserve social cohesion, solidarity and prevent conflict and tension”. PREMIERE URGENCE – AIDE MEDICALE INTERNATIONALE Call for proposals 2013 PU-AMI invites Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) including Community Based Organization (CBOs) and Local Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) and Municipalitiesworking in Mount Lebanon and registered in Lebanon to present project proposals for this call for proposals 2013. Applications / Eligibility of applicants Proposals should only be created and submitted by using the format (Annexes A, B & C) provided by PU-AMI. The applicant must be legal persons, non-profit making, local authority and/or non-governmental organization. Applicants must guarantee the visibility of the UNHCR financing. The applicant may not submit more than one application under this Call for Proposals. Beneficiaries Proposals must be presented by entities registered in Lebanon being associations, local authority and local non-governmental organization. High priority will be given to actions in the most disadvantaged Municipalities in terms of public services coverage. Projects should be gender and children sensitive, this is to ensure that the inclusion of both women and children stakeholders is systematically incorporated within the project. Eligible projects Duration The initial planned duration of a project may not be higher than 2 months and should be completed at the latest end of June 2013. Sectors or themes The following themes are covered by this announcement 1. Women empowerment, Education, and Socio-Education Principal objectives: — Women empowerment:to increase women’s empowerment through providing women with access to skills training, employment and vocational training courses. — Education:to provide social and educational support for vulnerable families or groups (i.e. refugees, poor communities, disabled children…) through vocational trainings, creation of small income generating projects and/or an educational program. — Socio-education:to provide informal education and social interventions with families and children in needs through a community center, committee of volunteers, socio-educational activities, big events and/or family support (i.e. social worker). 2. Infrastructure upgrading, rehabilitation or construction Principal objectives: — Building construction:to upgrade, restore, or build an associative/public building (i.e. school, clinic, kindergarten, municipal garden…), with the aim of improving the access to public services in one Municipality. — Road construction:to rehabilitate, restore or build a road, with the aim of improving the access to one disadvantaged quarter. 3. Water supply and sanitation Principal objectives: — Water supply:to upgrade, rehabilitate or build a water supply scheme, with the aim of improving the access of potable water for a Community. — Environmental sanitation: To upgrade, rehabilitate or build a sewage system, with the aim of improving the sanitary conditions of one quarter. To set up a proper solid waste management system with disposal facilities and recycling of waste. This list is non-exhaustive and other types of projects may also be considered for funding provided they are in accordance with the Program’s requirements as set out in these Guidelines. Location Projects must take place in Mount Lebanon Governorate. Contractors The grant beneficiaries are permitted to award contracts. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules of PU-AMI and UNHCR which are available upon request. Generally,it must award the contract to the tenderer offering the best value for money, that is to say, the best price-quality ratio, in compliance with the principles of transparency and equaltreatment for potential contractors, care being taken to avoid any conflict of interests. Financial allocation and financial rates provided by PU-AMI The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is USD 20,000 per project. PU-AMI reserves the right not to award all available funds. The rate of PU-AMI financial support shall be a maximum of 75% of the eligible costs. The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from PU-AMI) must be financed from other sources. Exceptionally, a maximum financing rate of 100% may be applied to proposals which target in priority the most vulnerable communities and groups. The applicant must provide a realistic and cost-effective itemized budget (Annex B). How to apply and procedures to follow Applications must be submitted in accordance with the Grant Application Form annexed to these Guidelines (Annex A). Applicants must apply in English. Hand-written Proposal will not be accepted. Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is unclear and thus prevents the Contracting Authority from conducting an objective assessment. One information session on this Call for Proposal will be held on Monday, 8thof April 2013, at 10.00 am Beirut Local Time at PU-AMI office in Saida. Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 5 days before the deadline for the submission of Proposal to both addresses below: lib.hob.sai@pu-ami.org lib.apc.sai@pu-ami.org Deadline Project proposals shall be submitted by Monday 22ndApril 2013at 12.00 noon Beirut Local Timein a sealed envelope by private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to the address below: Postal address PREMIERE URGENCE – AIDE MEDICALE INTERNATIONALE SAIDA OFFICE Murjan square, Adnan Hariri bldg, 1st floor Attn: Mrs. Kelly Jeannet Phone/Fax: 07 723 735 Project proposals shall be forwarded via ‘email’ to both PU-AMI staff: Head of Base – South, Mrs. Kelly Jeannet (lib.hob.sai@pu-ami.org). Area Project Coordinator – South, Mrs. Laetitia Martin (lib.apc.sai@pu-ami.org) The outer envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the call for proposals, together with the full name and address of the applicant, and the words ‘Not to be opened before the opening session’. Budget involved The overall budget for project action grants under PU-AMI in 2013 is USD 40,000 (USD 20,000 per project). Evaluation and selection of proposals Applications will be examined and evaluated by PU-AMI with the possible assistance of external assessorsi.e. donors. If the submission deadline has not been met, the application will automatically be rejected. The proposal that pass the first administrative check will be evaluated on the relevance and design of the proposed action.The proposal will receive an overall score out of 80 using the breakdown in the evaluation grid below. 1. Financial and operational capacity Sub-score 30 1.1 Does the applicant have sufficient experience of project management and sufficient management capacity? 10 1.2. Does the applicant have sufficient technical expertise? 10 1.3. Does the applicant have stable and sufficient sources of finance? 10 2. Relevance of the action Sub-score 30 2.1 How relevant is the proposal to the objectives and priorities of the Call for Proposals? 10 2.2 How relevant to the particular needs and constraints of the target governorate? 10 2.3 How clearly defined and strategically chosen are those involved (final beneficiaries, target groups)? Have their needs been clearly defined and does the proposal address them appropriately? 5 2.4 Does the proposal contain specific added-value elements, such as environmental issues, promotion of gender equality and equal opportunities, needs of disabled people, rights of refugees and rights of host communities? 5 3. Effectiveness and feasibility of the action Sub-score 10 3.1 Is the action proposed appropriate, practical, and consistent with the objectives and expected results? 5 3.2 Is the action plan clear and feasible? 5 4. Sustainability of the action Sub-score 10 4.1. Is the action likely to have a tangible impact on its target groups? 5 4.2. Are the expected results of the proposed action sustainable?: - financially(how will the action be financed after the funding ends?) - institutionally(will structures allowing the activities to continue be in place at the end of the action? Will there be local ‘ownership’ of the results of the action?) - environmentally(will the action have a negative/positive environmental impact?) 5 Maximum total score 80 After the evaluation, a table will be drawn up listing the applications ranked according to their score and within the limits of the funds available. Submission of supporting documents for provisionally selected applications The statutes or articles of association / Municipality of the applicants Legal entity and financial identification form (Annex C) duly completed and signed by the applicant and certified by the bank to which the payments will be made. Where such documents are in Arabic, a translation to English must be attached and will prevail for the purpose of analyzing the application. After verifying the supporting documents, the Evaluation Committee will make a final recommendation to the Contracting Authority, which will decide on the award of grants. Notification of the Contracting Authority’s decision The applicant will be informed in writing of the Contracting Authority’s decision concerning their application and, if rejected, the reasons for the negative decision. Indicative timetable 1st April 2013 Publication of the call on daleel-madani.org (Lebanon civil society portal) 8th April 2013 10:00 hours Beirut Local Time 1st information meeting 15th April 2013 10:00 hours Beirut Local Time Deadline for requesting any clarifications from the Contracting Authority 22nd April 2013 10:00 hours Beirut Local Time Deadline for submission of Project Proposal 23rd April 2013 10:00 hours Beirut Local Time Public opening session of Project Proposal 26th April 2013 10:00 hours Beirut Local Time Deadline for submission of Full Application Form 30th April 2013 Notification of award 1st May 2013 Contract signature 30th June 2013 Maximum deadline for Project completion List of Annexes (DOCUMENTS TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT) Annex A: Grant Application Form (Word format) Annex B: Budget of the action (Excel format) Annex C: Legal Entity &Financial identification form (Word format)