British Embassy San Jose: call for bids 2021/2022

Thematic areas

The British Embassy San Jose is aiming to support short-term interventions in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, valued at up to US$20,000 that focus on the following thematic areas:

• Open societies (democracy, human rights, media freedom)
• COVID-19, vaccines, recovery and global health security
• Climate and biodiversity

We are looking for projects that deliver real, measurable results in support of the abovementioned priorities in these countries and are particularly interested in proposals aimed at the following objectives:

• Strengthen democratic governance and rule of law;
• Support the rights of marginalised groups, including through the prevention of human rights violations and strengthening of protections for marginalised groups, such as women and girls, indigenous communities and migrants;
• Support media freedom, including strengthening of responsible journalism, fighting misinformation and improving the enabling environment in which freedom of the press is protected and respected;
• Deliver robust response to and recovery from the pandemic, including Covid-19 variant surveillance and data driven initiatives to tackle the virus. (Proposals in support of this objective must show evidence of matched funding or similar shared commitments.)
• Support delivery of ambitious environmental targets and plans ahead of COP26 and beyond, including technical support and capacity building to institutions, indigenous groups and youth working on climate issues. (Proposals in support of this objective must show evidence of matched funding or similar shared commitments.)
• Support delivery of strong sectoral action to accelerate transitions to clean growth nationally and in the global economy. (Proposals in support of this objective must demonstrate a strong UK link.)

Project bid guidance

• Projects will be funded for the period running from 1 August 2021 to 31 January 2022, with no expectation of continued funding beyond this period;
• Project bids should demonstrate 85% spend by 30 November 2021 and 100% spend by 31 January 2022;
• Proposals must be submitted in United States Dollars (USD) currency;
• Minimum project budget limit: $5,000;
• Maximum project budget limit: $20,000.

Project bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Alignment with the above mentioned thematic priorities and outcomes;
• Outcomes are achievable within the funding period (1 August 2021 to 31 January 2022);
• Project design includes clear monitoring and evaluation procedures, as well as risk and financial accountability procedures;
• Evidence of sustainability – demonstrating that project benefits continue after the funding ends;
• Alignment with the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that a climate and environmental risk and impact evaluation was done and no environmental harm will be done;
• The organisation’s safeguarding policies ensure protection of beneficiaries, tackle discrimination and ensure equality of opportunity for those with protected characteristics;
• Overall value for money;
• Administration costs should not exceed 10% of the total project budget.

Funding exceptions

Funding cannot be used to finance the following:

• Procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), vaccines, diagnostic tests/materials and COVID-19 related medicines;
• Purchase or maintenance of IT or capital equipment;
• Communications strategies or campaigns.

Key dates

17 June 2021 (midnight)	Deadline for receipt of project proposals
1 July 2021	Implementers informed of bidding round outcome
1 August 2021	Projects begin
30 November 2021	Projects to achieve 85% implementation and spend
31 January 2022	Projects to complete all activities, achieve 100% spend and submit project completion report

Bidding process

• Proposals must be submitted in English using the relevant Project Proposal Form (up to US$10K or above US$10K) and Activity Based Budget template provided below;
• All proposals must be received by midnight on 17 June (Central American time). Late proposals will not be considered;
• Proposals must be submitted to Denise.Lewis@fcdo.gov.uk with the subject line “Organisation name – Project Title” and include a point of contact in the body of the email;
• Successful bidders will be notified by 1 July 2021.

Additional information and documentation

All implementers will be expected to sign a standard FCO contract or grant agreement with the Embassy. The terms of the contract or agreement are not negotiable.

As all projects are expected to have achieved 85% spend by 30 November 2021, Activity Based Budgets must reflect this requirement.