Call for project proposals: Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) in Kosovo
The British Embassy Pristina invites consortiums of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to submit proposals to become implementers of our Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) 2022 to 2025 project ‘Support civil society to increase public oversight and accountability of Kosovo public institutions’. Only applications that comply with all the requirements will be considered. The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 May 2022.
Background
Kosovo’s public institutions remain inefficient and lack capacities to deliver good quality services and works. While Kosovo has undertaken many reforms since its independence, it still ranks the second lowest among Western Balkan countries in all 2020 World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators. Limited progress has also been made in increasing transparency and accountability of public institutions, regarding recruitment processes, public procurement, provision of grants and subsidies, licenses and tariffs and management of publicly owned enterprises (POEs). This situation allowed the decisions to be made to serve specific interests rather than the needs of the citizens.
The British Embassy Pristina seeks to work with Kosovo civil society organisations to address these weak governance practices in public institutions and enterprises, prevalence of nepotism in the recruitment of senior public officials, corruption in public procurement, mismanagement of POEs, and bribes and pocketing from grants and subsidies as well as unlawful awarding of licenses.
Objectives
The overall objective of this intervention is to increase civil society oversight of Kosovo government institutions, agencies, and publicly owned enterprises.
The oversight will be focused on areas vulnerable to malfeasance including all of the following target areas:
1) Recruitment processes
2) Public procurement practices, including contract management
3) Granting of licenses, permits, and tariffs
4) Distribution of grants and subsidies
5) POE governance and performance
Identified irregularities should be brought to the attention of relevant authorities for rectification, and if not addressed exposed to the public. Good examples of governance and transparency should be promoted. The projects must have strong and innovative communications to showcase the results of monitoring, and impact from continuous evaluation of impact of proposed activities.
Scope
This project will be delivered by a consortium of local NGOs. The consortium shall consist of 2 or more NGOs with demonstrated experience and expertise in the targeted areas, and in which they can deliver best. One NGO shall serve as a lead project implementer for all of the components, ensuring achievement of project outcomes and serving as a contact point for the British Embassy Pristina throughout the entire duration of the project.
Project proposals must be clear and concise, supported by a clear Theory of Change, and achievable and measurable outcomes and outputs. In line with adaptive programming, the proposal should remain flexible and open to change, based on needs on the ground.
The project will be delivered in 3 phases:
1) inception phase
2) implementation phase
3) exit phase
Each phase shall be dependent on the success of the previous phase. The duration of the inception phase will be 2 months, unless agreed otherwise and will serve to refine and agree the final version of the Theory of Change; Results Framework and Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation and Learning (MREL) approach; Activity Based Budget, and Exit Phase necessary documents.
Budget
The indicative (nearly) 3-year budget for this call for project proposals is £560,000, distributed among components of the project. Budgets must be Activity Based Budgets (ABB), with specified costs in GBP, and staff fees commensurate with Kosovo NGO market rates.
You can spend up to 5% of the annual budget on MREL related activities. You should budget one independent/external evaluation at the end of each financial year.
Administrative costs (project management and finance rates, utilities, internal communications, stationery, bank charges etc.) must not exceed 10% of the total project budget. This budget shall not be used to cover academic courses or research, the purchase of IT or other equipment.
The annual budget should be spent according to the following targets:
- Q1: 20 to 30%
- Q2: 50 to 60%
- Q3: 80%
- Q4: 100%
By the end of December of each financial year, the annual budget must be spent 80%. Accordingly, project design and delivery of activities should be aligned with these targets. The budget should be detailed for the first year, and contain a general estimate of the costs for the following year(s). Any eventual auditing costs for the entire project (all 3 years) should be incorporated in the budget of the third year.
As part of due diligence in the selection process, the British Embassy Pristina reserves the right to seek references from other partners on potential grantees.
Timeframe
The duration for the implementation of this project is expected to be 2 years and 10 months. The project is anticipated to commence on 1 June 2022 and end on 31 March 2025.
Submitting applications
Bidders should fill in the standard in English and include a breakdown of project costs in the by 15 May 2022. Proposals submitted in other formats will not be considered.
The proposals should also include:
- list of NGOs in the consortium, indicating the lead NGO
- CVs of the key personnel, indicating the positions and role they will have in the project and the percentage of their engagement in the project
- the 2021 Auditor Report for organisations of the consortium
- consortium NGOs’ board approved salary ranges for staff
- information on any funding by other donors for similar activity that they currently have or are in the process of receiving during the implementation of the project
Proposals should be emailed to the British Embassy Pristina at: britishembassy.pristina@fcdo.gov.uk indicating project bid and name of the lead organisation in the subject field.
Bidding is competitive and only selected consortium of NGOs will receive funding.
Evaluation criteria
Successful bids must demonstrate strong strategic relevance to the areas of project focus and have a clear focus on delivering change and sustainability.
Technical compliance criteria:
1) Submission of the application within deadline
2) Proposal submitted by a consortium of NGOs
3) Consortium organisations’ and/or proposed teams’ experience in focus areas
4) All requested information submitted
5) Project design is gender mainstreamed and ensures sustainability
6) Project activities are climate and environment sensitive, i.e. ‘Paris aligned’
Bids will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1) Methodology and approach (3 points)
2) Coherent and concise theory of change, supported by a robust MREL approach (3 points)
3) Integration of innovative public communication activities into the proposal (2 points)
4) Activity based budget and value for money (1 point)
5) Consortium’s staff expertise and experience in the thematic area (1 point)
Indicative timeline
These dates are indicative and may be subject to change.
| 13 April 2022 | Call for proposals published |
| 26 April 2022 | Online open information/clarification session with interested bidders on MS Teams. Join the session at 1pm to 2:30pm |
| 15 May 2022 | Deadline for submission of applications |
| 16 to 20 May 2022 | Evaluation window and announcement of results |
| 27 May 2022 | Address of possible comments by the winning consortium |
| 31 May 2022 | Signing of the grant agreement |
| 1 June 2022 | Project implementation starts |