Request for Grant Applications for the USAID/Lesotho Khutlo Activity – Sonke Gender Justice

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

Guidelines for Sub-Grant Applicants

“Reducing stigma, discrimination, and violence against women, girls, and LGBTQI+ communities and strengthening the capacity of civil society to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights and provide inclusive quality GBV prevention, mitigation, and response services.”

Reference Number: RFA/Khutlo-USAID 0002/2023

Deadline for Applications: 4^th of August 2023

Important Notice: 

This Request for Applications (RFA) forms the basis for applying to Sonke for a grant. It must neither be construed as a grant agreement nor be regarded as confirmation of a grant awarded by Sonke. Consequently, Sonke is not liable for any financial obligations, or otherwise, incurred by any entity in responding to this Request for Applications. Such costs will not be considered part of the grant budget if a grant is awarded to an applicant.

This RFA is issued as a public notice to ensure that all interested, qualified, and eligible organizations have a fair opportunity to submit applications for funding. For the purposes of this RFA, “organizations” are defined as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), or faith-based organizations (FBOs). 

Summary Award Information

• Funding Reference Number: RFP/Khutlo-USAID 0002/2023
• Announcement issuance date: 12^th July 2023 
• Proposal submission deadline: 4^th August 2023. Note: We are unable to consider proposals submitted after this deadline.
• Expected program duration: 15^th September 2023 – 16^th April 2025
• Deadline for submitting questions: 24^th July 2023
• Pre-Bidders Conference: 26^th July 2023, Time: 2pm (Join via teams on this link)

• Deadline for responding to questions: 26^th July 2023
• Funding Limit: Up to a maximum of USD 10,000 per funding year, per organization.

1. Introduction and Background

Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) is a multi-award winning, high-impact South African NGO working in twenty-five countries in Africa, and with key partners globally, to promote gender equality, prevent violence, advance children’s rights, and reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS. We are widely recognized for the impact of our work, including, as one of many examples, our expertise in engaging men and boys for gender equality.

In April 2023, under Civil Society and Media-Strengthened Together and Advancing in New Directions (CSM-STAND) Leader with Associate Award, Pact was awarded a two-year project for the USAID/Lesotho Khutlo Activity (Khutlo) which will be implemented by Sonke. Khutlo will contribute to reducing stigma, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ communities, as well as cis gendered and heterosexual (cishet) women and girls and strengthening the capacity of civil society to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights and provide inclusive quality gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, mitigation, and response services. This goal is underpinned by two mutually reinforcing objectives, namely, to increase civil society coordination and capacities to apply behavioural science principles that engage and empower communities to reduce GBV against LGBTQI+ people and cishet women and girls, and to strengthen the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) to provide inclusive, high-quality GBV response services. Through these objectives, Khutlo seeks to address and shift social and gender beliefs and norms underscoring the deeply patriarchal nature of social relations that continue to encourage GBV against LGBTQI+ people and cishet women and girls.

Sonke, therefore, invites eligible CSOs in Lesotho to apply to be considered as a grantee. 

2. Goal and Technical Focus Areas

The overall goal is to reduce stigma, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ communities, as well as cishet women and girls, and strengthen the capacity of civil society to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights and provide inclusive, quality GBV prevention, mitigation, and response services. The project approaches will be:

• Promoting a Systems-Aware Socio-Ecological Approach to Social and Behavioral Change.
• Committing to Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI).
• Investing in SBC-informed GBV Prevention and Response through Capacity Development (CD) and Grants Management.
• Conflict Sensitivity and Do No (More) Harm.

Implementation Strategies and Approaches

3. Objectives of the Project

The proposed intervention should align with the following objectives:

Objective 1: To increase civil society coordination and capacities to apply behavioral science principles that engage and empower communities to reduce GBV against cishet women and girls, and LGBTQI+ communities, and all people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

Objective 2: To strengthen provider capacities of Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanisms sub-recipients to provide inclusive high-quality GBV response services.

Geographic Coverage

The proposed districts for project activities are Maseru (lowland and highlands area), Leribe (lowlands and highlands area), and Mokhotlong (Polihali Dam Area).

Intended Target Audience

The projects should target LGBTQI+ people and cishet women and girls.

 Expected role of grantee in the program

The sub-grantees will be expected to design projects that will be implemented at grass-root communities of targeted populations, and such projects should be directly linked to the objectives of Khutlo as outlined above. This means that applicants should design and develop projects that will: (1) utilize behavioral science principles to engage and empower communities to reduce GBV against LGBTQI+ communities and cishet women and girls, and all people of diverse SOGIESC and, (2) provide inclusive high-quality GBV response services, to the same communities. 

The following table outlines the thematic areas and illustrative activities to be considered in applications. Applicants must be willing and capable to contribute to the activities described below.

Activities	Outcomes
Capacity building of Traditional and Religious Leaders on Gender, GBV and Human Rights	Dismantled gender-discriminatory customary and religious norms and practices
Provision of containment, referral and linkages to Pre-care and Post-care GBV Services	Improved access to GBV Services
Rights Education & Awareness Campaigns	Improved awareness and exercise of Legal Rights
Lobbying and Advocacy for Laws and Policies Reform	Commitment of government to amend laws and policies
Mobilization and Capacity Building of community based LGBTQI+ and cishet Women and Girls movements/groups	Established and strengthened LGBTQI+ Rights groups/movements
Dismantling Harmful Mindset of cishet Men against LGBTQI+ communities (Men-engage)	Cishet men-champions for LGBTQI+ rights
Creation and Facilitation of community-based Safe-spaces for victims and survivors of GBV	Improved reporting, counselling, and redress of GBV survivors
Establishment of Partnerships and Coalitions between opposing social groups on LGBTQI+ rights	Strengthened collaborations for advocacy of LGBTQI+ rights

Additionally, the role of the grantees is to manage the award received and be responsible for the implementation of the work plan and budget. The grantees are the direct implementers of the project.

The responsibilities of a grantee include the following: 

• Negotiating and signing a grant agreement with Sonke. Note that agreements will be signed on an annual basis and renewed based on annual performance, and the submission of annual work plans and budgets.
• Complying with all conditions of the agreement, including timely program and financial reporting, and undertaking an annual audit.
• Implementing the work plan according to the timelines and working closely with Sonke to identify and address any challenges, proposing changes to Sonke on work plans and budgets when necessary.
• Participating in performance review meetings and any training to improve grant performance and impact.
• Responding timeously to Sonke’s requests to provide all relevant information related to the grant management.
• Collecting, analyzing, and submitting project data in line with requirements by CSM-STAND, Sonke or USAID.
• Providing input into any evaluations or reports as and when requested by Sonke.

4. Eligibility Requirements

All interested applicants must meet the following minimum criteria to be short-listed as potential grantees:

1. Applications will only be accepted from legally registered organizations with extensive experience in reducing stigma, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ communities, as well as cishet, women and girls, and strengthening the capacity of civil society to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights and providing inclusive quality GBV prevention, mitigation, and response services.
2. Be a legally registered organization in the Kingdom of Lesotho.
3. Experience in stakeholder engagement particularly, and experience with traditional and faith-based leaders as an added advantage. 
4. Have no conflict of interest with the principles of the USAID, CSM-STAND, or Sonke, including but not limited to being involved in the production and/or sale of weapons, firearms, and related products, materials, or products that exploit women, men, or children, alcohol, drugs, etc.
5. Have a fully functioning and diverse board in place that meets regularly.
6. Have demonstrated technical expertise and management capacity, including at least 3 years of experience in managing grants.
7. Have received unqualified annual organizational audited financial statements consecutively for at least the last 3 years.
8. Have strong management, human resources, and financial controls and systems in place.
9. Have relevant institutional policies in place, including a safeguarding policy.
10. Have a sound Research Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) system in place.
11. Have a UEI number (a nine-digit identification number required for all procurement-related activities). A UEI number is not required for application but may be required for receipt of award.

5. Application and Submission Instructions

*All applications must be submitted using the templates provided.

ALL APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED, IN ENGLISH, VIA EMAIL TO [email protected]  BY NO LATER THAN 17:00 SAST ON 31 JULY 2023. PROPOSALS SUBMITTED AFTER THIS DATE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Applications must be submitted by the applicant organization.

To be considered for funding, Applicants must submit a complete application package, including:

• Proposal narrative, in the provided template (Annex A), including a work plan.
• Proposal budget, in the provided template (Annex B)
• Copy of your organization’s Code of Conduct, Registration Documents, and Safeguarding Policy.
•  Organisational Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) plan which indicates how data will be collected, analyzed, reported, and stored. The plan should also include how the organization will share best practices.
• Copy of your organization’s audited financial statements for the previous three years.

Section A – Narrative

Only applications aimed at achieving the objectives as indicated in Sections 2 & 3 are eligible for funding under this Request for Applications.

Applicants should consider the following fundamental principles in designing their proposals:

• Partnership/collaboration/cooperation with other stakeholders including partner organisations, women’s rights organizations, Key population such as LGBTQI+ focused organizations, youth organizations, traditional and religious leaders and/or UN agencies.
• Respect a rights-based approach encompassing all human rights.
• An approach that values GESI, including respect for all, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs.

Indicative activities that will be supported include:

• Community mobilization and education activities, for example community meetings, dialogues, and workshops to educate communities on key technical issues.
• Social media and branding campaigns.
• Advocacy activities, including meetings with policymakers to influence laws and policies.
• Engagement with community and religious leaders to promote gender justice and social norms change.
• Forming partnerships with national and local media to raise awareness of key issues.
• Document successful practices and models of implementation.

Section B – Project Budget

Budgets should be developed using the template provided and should be both realistic and cost-effective. Budgets should be clearly aligned with the activities outlined in your work plan. Budget notes are an essential part of the budget and should reflect the activity details provided in the narrative proposal. Please take note of the guidelines on how to fill out the budget template, provided in Annex B.

The following costs are not eligible under this Request for Applications:

• Purchases of land or buildings, and construction costs.
• Purchase of vehicles.
• Interest owed.
• Debts and provisions for losses and debts.

6. Evaluation and Assessment Process

The evaluation of submissions will be guided by the following process:

• During the first stage, Sonke will review the proposals submitted and will shortlist the applications that meet the minimum criteria related to organizational requirements and proposal format. The shortlisted applications will be submitted to a selection panel composed of Sonke and representatives from Pact.
• The second stage will involve the selection panel conducting a qualitative assessment of the proposals, based on programmatic content. The panel will make a provisional selection considering factors such as: the quality of the proposal and budget, diversity of themes contributing to the objectives of the call; geographical area representation; innovative approaches to network strengthening; and previous sub-grants received.
• The organizations provisionally selected will be notified by the selection panel of their selection and will be required to undergo a pre-award assessment by Sonke to determine the level of risk involved in the grant. This stage will involve an assessment of the applicants’ institutional capacities; a review of key institutional documents; capacity-building needs; project implementation capacity; M&E capacity, among others. The organizations must ensure that appropriate staff is available on site when the pre-award assessment visits are conducted. 
• Subject to the pre-award assessment outcome, the final stage will be the notification of the award and the signing of the grant agreement. The applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications in writing by Sonke.

Evaluation criteria for the application

In evaluating the applications, Sonke will examine overall merit and feasibility, as well as the specific criteria relevant to each component, as elaborated in the table below. Applicants should note that these criteria both serve as the standard against which all applicants will be evaluated and serve to identify the significant matters that applicants should address in their applications. Sonke will instruct the technical review committee to evaluate all applications according to the criteria as established and weighted in the following table.

Evaluation Criteria	Points
I. Technical Approach and Feasibility of Program DesignThe review team considers a strong technical design to be one that is informed by local circumstances and needs. It should demonstrate coordination with other efforts or ongoing processes, including the efforts of LGBTQI+ organizations and human rights organizations Proposals must be in line with the technical areas outlined in section 3.	20%
II. Management and Staffing PlanThe review team will evaluate the extent to which the management and staffing plans demonstrate the applicant’s ability to effectively implement proposed activities responsive to this RFA. Reviewers will assess whether the organization has proposed sufficient level of effort to achieve stated results.	15%
III. Past PerformanceReviewers will evaluate whether the organization has managed successful projects of similar size and scope in the geographic areas specified.	15%
IV. Monitoring and Evaluation PlanReviewers will assess how the applicant intends to collect data, ensure data quality, and measure progress using their organizational M&E Plans.	10%
V. Work PlanReviewers will assess the proposed timeline for implementing proposed activities for feasibility.	20%
VI. Cost EvaluationThe cost application will be evaluated for reasonableness, allocability, allowability, cost effectiveness, realism, and financial feasibility. Sonke reserves the right to determine the resulting level of funding for the grants being selected for this RFA, regardless of what the applicant specifies in the cost application.	20%
Total	100

7. Key Dates

The deadline for the submission of a fully completed proposal is 31 July 2023. The key dates for the application process are shown in the table below:

Key	Activity	Dates
1	Deadline for submitting questions	24th July 2023
2	Deadline for submitting applications	4th August 2023
3	Pre-award Assessments	14-28 August 2023
4	Notification of Application Outcomes	8th September 2023
5	Agreement Signing	10th to 15th September 2023

8. Contact Details

Please direct your requests for information, assistance and queries by the 24^th of July 2023 at 1700HRS SAST to [email protected] 

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