CFPs: Advocacy Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence Against Women (East and Southern Africa)

About

UN Women has launched the call for proposals for women’s rights organizations, networks or coalitions operating with regional/multi-country operations in East and Southern Africa for the Programme ''Advocacy Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence Against Women.''

In support of these results, UN Women seeks to engage between three and five regional women’s rights organizations (WROs), networks or coalitions operating in East and Southern Africa, or submissions from organizations working as a consortium to design and implement actions in line with the objectives above. This will support strong and empowered feminist women's rights organizations at regional levels and multi-stakeholder coalitions of actors from all sectors to enhance regional advocacy to end VAWG.

The Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence Against Women (ACT) programme, a partnership between the European Commission and UN Women as co-leaders of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence, is working to accelerate progress to end VAWG. Operating at global and regional levels, with an initial focus in Africa and Latin America, it is supporting and investing in strong and empowered feminist women's rights organizations at regional levels and in building coalitions with multiple stakeholders and actors from all sectors to strengthen regional advocacy to end VAWG. 

The ACT Programme aims to contribute to:

• Outcome 1: Strengthened coalition building, networking, leadership, and resilience of global and regional feminist women’s rights movements, where. 

  • Output 1.1: Strategic planning, organizational, technical, and financial capacities of feminist women’s rights coalitions at the global and regional levels are strengthened.

  • Output 1.2: Women’s rights organizations and/or coalitions have strengthened capacities to collect and use knowledge, research, and data including practice- based learning; and 

  • Output 1.3: Women’s rights organizations and coalitions have strengthened access to resources and spaces for feminist networking, knowledge sharing, strategizing, collaboration, and coalition building to ending violence against women.

• Outcome 2: Increased and enhanced advocacy, campaigning, and policymaking to end violence against women and girls (EVAW) through multi-stakeholder partnerships and coalitions, where:

  • Output 2.1:  Impact oriented EVAW initiatives and advocacy actions at regional and global level led by women’s rights movements and multistakeholder coalitions are implemented.

  • Output 2.2: Representation and participation of women’s rights organizations and coalitions (including intersectional groups) in formal global and/or regional fora is enhanced and supported.

Funding Information

• The budget range for this Call is between $130,000 and $670,000 depending on the component: (Maximum per component as follows: Component 1: $670,000, Component 2: $670,000, Component 3: $460,000, Component 4: $130,000, Component 5: $150,000). 

Timeframe

• Detailed timeline spanning 24 months, (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026) with activities aligned to a budget and the requirements as per the TOR.

Description of Required Services/Results 

• Through the partnership, UN Women will collaborate with three to five women’s rights, feminist organizations, networks and coalitions or consortiums of organizations working at the regional level in East and Southern Africa to contribute to one or more of the following Components. Organizations are encouraged to submit proposals as a consortium, drawing expertise from diverse organizations, networks or coalitions in the areas outlined below. Proposals may include between 1 and a maximum of 3 Components as follows:

  • Outcome 1:

    • Component 1: Strengthen institutional capacities, resilience and care practices for regional and sub-regional women’s rights and feminist organizations, networks and coalitions operating in East and Southern Africa. This would involve:

      • support to organizational governance, technical and financial capacities, and deepen effective approaches to organizing and strengthening care and solidarity (to enhance connections between regional and national civil society and feminist networks); and 

      • support to co-creation of processes for deepening sub-regional collaboration (e.g., Horn of Africa, Great Lakes Region, etc.) in support of collective action against backlash, including through the provision of grant making.

    • Component 2: Provide support and resources to regional networks and organizations working on EVAWG to promote cross-institutional collaboration, networks and deepen resilience to backlash and increase capacities to collect and use knowledge for advocacy. This should:

      • enable existing organizations to strengthen their institutional capacities and to dialogue, convene, and build solidarity across actors and movements (e.g., in fragile contexts, with women-led organizations of persons with disabilities, young women's networks) on EVAWG and strengthen partnerships with under-represented groups; and 

      • enhance capacities for cross-movement solidarity via knowledge exchange and documentation of lessons and promising practices on applying intersectional approaches to advocacy. 

  • Outcome 2:

    • Component 3: Implement impact oriented EVAW initiatives and advocacy actions at the regional level by:

      • Strengthening annual accountability reviews, monitoring, and reporting on regional EVAWG commitments; and 

      • Strengthening capacities of non-traditional actors (traditional leaders, media, influencers, etc.) as EVAW advocates and to promote evidence-based messaging and movements for EVAWG at regional and sub-regional levels. 

    • Component 4: (Note: Only GBV Action Coalition Members (commitment-maker or leader) are eligible to apply or submit proposal to this result area) Coordinate annual monitoring and reporting of progress on the GBV Action Coalition and related AC Commitments in Africa for strengthening collective and evidence-based advocacy. 

    • Component 5: Support the engagement, facilitate participation and strengthen the visibility and influence, particularly of under-represented groups of women and girls, within collective advocacy on EVAWG in preparation for and during spaces such as the Commission on the Status of Women, the High-level Political Forum, African Union Summits, and other regional or global policy and decision-making fora relevant to EVAWG, including through the provision of grant making.

Eligibility

Competencies

• Technical/functional competencies required by submitting organization:

  • The organization, network, coalition or consortium must have the following functional/technical competencies:

  • Prior experience in institutional strengthening, coalition-building or collective advocacy for ending violence against women and girls;

  • Experience working with diverse partners, including marginalized groups and multiple stakeholders; and existing relationships with feminist organizations, allies, networks, regional or sub-regional bodies, and other relevant stakeholders;

  • A strong understanding of potential opportunities, challenges and strategies on ending violence against women and girls in East and Southern Africa and an ability to engage in diverse political environments;

  • An in-depth understanding of various EVAWG commitments and advocacy processes and platforms for advancing gender equality in the region;

  • A robust monitoring and evaluation system, participatory monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of gender equality interventions and ability to adapt approaches as needed. 

• Organizational: CSO Criteria 

  • The eligible organization should also meet the legal, programmatic, and technical criteria defined below: 

    • Be a women’s rights organization, network, or coalition organization, with organizations led by women or young women in all their diversity considered as an asset.

    • Operating at a multi-country, sub-regional or regional level in East and Southern Africa (organizations with programmatic focus on only one country are not eligible)

    • Duly registered under the laws of the country of operation with the East and Southern African region and legally authorised to operate. 

    • Gender equality must be a demonstrated priority area of work for the organization.

    • Operating for at least five years with demonstrated programmatic experience related to institutional strengthening of women’s rights organizations and networks, advocacy, or advancing efforts to ending violence against women and girls and promote gender equality more broadly. Organizations operating for three years can be accepted with evidence of strong experience in the areas above.

• Other competencies, which while not required, can be an asset for the performance of services:

  • Experience working with United Nations will be an added advantage 

  • Demonstrated experience working on intersectional approaches will be an added advantage

Post Date: April 26, 2024