Call for Bid: Advancing Gender Equality and Inclusion in the OPTs

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British Consulate General Jerusalem is accepting proposals for a two and a half-year project October 2022 to March 2025 with a total budget of £1.77m

1. Introduction:

The United Kingdom, including through its Conflict Security Stability Fund Programme (CSSF), supports progress towards gender equality and inclusiveness in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Due to its impact on peace building, economic and security objectives the evidence shows that increased levels of gender equality links to reduced levels of internal and external conflict.

The British Consulate General Jerusalem (BCG) is accepting proposals for a two and a half-year project October 2022 to March 2025 with a total budget of £1.77m under its Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). The overall aim of the project is to promote gender equality and inclusion in the OPTs, with a focus on women’s political and social empowerment and tackling and preventing gender-based violence (GBV). BCG is anticipating an evidence-based novel and innovative approach to protect and promote gender equality and inclusiveness in OPTs rather than replication of past interventions.

Deadline for submitting applications: 30 August 2022.

2. Project Objective:

The objective of the project can be achieved through three complimentary focus areas (proposals can focus on one, two or all three areas):

2.1. Enabling of women’s political and social participation and empowerment:

  • Setting positive precedents, overcoming social norms and tackling structural and institutional barriers that limit women’s ability to achieve leadership positions within the Palestinian political and social sphere;
  • Provision of technical assistance to CSOs and Palestinian Authority institutions and ministries that support inclusiveness and help set positive precedents of women in leadership; and
  • Increasing equitable participation of women in democratic processes and civic life, particularly for young and marginalized women and those with multiple intersecting forms of deprivation.
  • Design and implement interventions to prevent, mitigate and respond to violence against women in politics, community engagement and leadership positions including online harassment and incitement, against women potential leaders.

2.2. Tackle Gender Based Violence (GBV):

  • Vulnerable women and men, girls and boys, including those facing intersecting and multiple forms of deprivations, have better access to adequate and appropriate support and protection and multi-sectorial services (economic, medical, psychosocial, security and shelter, case management, legal aid, etc.);
  • Working to prevent GBV and strengthening the GBV service delivery capacity of Palestinian CSOs and public institutions;
  • The contribution should also enable actors to move from project-based planning to longer term and more strategic sustainable models, e.g providing sustainable exit plans for victims of GBV such as economic empowerment/independence through training opportunities; (thought this should not be the primary focus of the proposal).

2.3. Social Norms work

  • Engaging men and women, religious leaders, media outlets, private sector and public institutions and other community members in issues of gender equality targeting, inclusion and challenging pervasive social norms
  • Tackling harmful beliefs and social norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls and other minorities. This can include perceptions survey to identify those groups within society most susceptible to change their view on diversity and inclusion, in particular on women’s roles in society, politics and the workplace”

3. Summary of requirements:

  • The call for bid is open to all types of organisations, including commercial, not for profit, international and local, partner government or multilateral. Any proposals from for-profit organisations for grant funding can only be considered if an officially registered non-profit making arm or division of the for-profit organisation will deliver the project.
  • Bidders should have presence and previous experience working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), with in-depth knowledge of the local context, including HMG political sensitivities.
  • Bidders should consider sub-contracting with local CSOs, using appropriate selection criteria.
  • Technical know-how and organisational capacity to deliver such a project. Bidders should have previously received a direct fund of at least $200.000 for a one year spend.
  • Suppliers should pay particular attention to relevant UK legislation on aid divergence. All activities must be conducted in accordance with UK values, standards and HMG policy.

4. Required Submissions

  • Bidders should submit the Activity Based Budget Template (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 27.3 KB) and the Project Proposal Form Template (MS Word Document, 72.1 KB) Template for the entire project period. We will not consider proposals submitted in other formats

  • Budget must be Activity Based Budgets (ABB), including monthly breakdown, of a maximum ceiling of £1.77m under CSSF programme over three years divided as follow:
  • FY October/November 2022/to March 2023: £177k
  • FY April 2023/ March 2024 £0.8.k
  • FY April 2024/ March2025 £0.8K
  • All costs should be listed in GBP (not ILS).

  • The budget should be detailed for the first year, and contain a general estimate of the costs for the following year(s).

  • Bidders are required to differentiate in the Annual Budget between their (a) Administrative Costs (e.g: general administration and support costs; office maintenance, repair and running costs; accountants, HR, and senior managers; other cross-cutting staff costs not directly attributable to a single project and are shared across the implementer’s business platform and any mandatory operational or legal costs incurred by an implementer in order to operate in a given location administrative staff salaries, office maintenance, repair and running costs), and (b) Project Costs which should include all project associated costs including implementing staff costs, travel, M&E costs.
  • Please explain clearly, what you have included in each category. Administrative costs must stay within the limit of 10% of the total project budget.
  • 2-pages summary of resume of key personnel who are proposed for the project. (Do not submit full resumes of staff please)
  • Official registration of the organization

5. Bidding process

  • Proposals should be sent to dalya.abuomar@fcdo.gov.uk by 30 August 2022 Opts Time. In subject line please indicate the name of the bidder and title of the bid ‘Gender Equality and Inclusion in OPTs’’ Proposals should not be more than 13 pages, with minimum font size 11 Arial. If you have not received a confirmation email within 24 hours, please get in touch with us. (we recommend limit the size of submissions to 10MB to avoid technical issues or send in two separated emails).

  • The British Consulate reserves the right to carry out due diligence of potential grantees as part of the selection process. Due to the volume of bids expected, we will not be able to provide feedback on unsuccessful bids.

6. Evaluation criteria

Successful bids must demonstrate strong strategic relevance to the project outcome and objective, and have a clear focus on delivering change and sustainability. Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

  • Strategic fit to project objective – to what extent the proposal is clear, coherent, realistic and how appropriate is the work plan of activities in order to achieve expected results.
  • Quality of project – the strength of the Theory of Change, and the monitoring and evaluation framework.
  • Value for money – what measures (effectiveness, efficiency, economy and equity) have been optimized and how.
  • Expertise- Evidence of understanding of the context; ability to manage and deliver a successful project that includes dissemination activities and engagement across society, and an existing network of relevant connections. If staff members and sub-contractors possess sufficient knowledge and experience of the project area.
  • Gender-sensitive approach – If gender implications of the project have been identified and how the project will take account of gender-related differences; ensuring the project does no harm to any particular gender group or gender context.
  • Potential of scaling up and sustainability- how the project outcomes will continue to have impact beyond the lifetime of the project
  • Risk management – the extent to which the proposal identifies serious risks, together with a management strategy.

Published 5 August 2022



Minister for Sport speech at International Working Group on Women and Sport handover

Thank you to New Zealand for your generous hospitality.

I am genuinely delighted to be able to attend today’s event which starts the official handover of the International Working Group on Women and Sport from New Zealand to the UK.

It is great that the event could be happening at the very same time as Birmingham 2022, which – and this is worth repeating – has the largest female sport programme in the history of the Commonwealth Games and will be the first time a major multi-sport event will feature more women’s than men’s medal events and I think that is fantastic.

I am absolutely committed to supporting women’s sport at every opportunity – pushing for greater participation, employment, commercial opportunities and visibility in the media. The fantastic success of the Lionesses this weekend shows just how far we have come.

The UK has a strong track record and strong history of empowering women and girls through sport. There is a long way to go but we have much to be proud of in this area.

The media profile of women’s sport is continuing to rise and recent research shows that two-thirds of UK sport fans currently follow some form of women’s sport, and half have attended an event featuring women’s athletes.

Our domestic initiatives, like This Girl Can, are inspiring millions of women and girls to get physically active. Something that is particularly important as we recover from the pandemic.

We have also seen the growth in audiences for women’s sport.

Recent research published by Women’s Sport Trust shows that domestic women’s sport attracted a record British broadcast audience of nearly 33 million in 2021, the main drivers being The Hundred and the FA Women’s Super League.

And the leadership role of certain media outlets is very important, including the BBC, which made the strategic decision to make sure that many of those matches were on BBC One, peak time. It worked. It showed that there is a mass audience for women’s sport. And that is pivotal. If the eyeballs are there, then the money and commercial opportunities start flowing. Instead of just doing that because it is the right thing to do, we will have increasing competition to hold these events and make sure these events are on TV because they are commercially viable and commercially lucrative.

And a record crowd of more than 87,000 attended this year’s UEFA Women’s Euros final – the highest attended match at either a men’s or women’s European Championship.  I was lucky enough to attend some of the matches including the final and I can honestly say that there was a superb atmosphere. The spectators were evenly balanced and importantly, more than 100,000 children were spectators in those matches. I know the whole nation will have been inspired by the Lionesses.

There have also been record sponsorship deals struck with women’s sports leagues, such as Barclays’ sponsorship of the Women’s Super League, the premier women’s football league in England.

And the UK is due to host a number of high profile women’s sports events this year, including the Rugby League World Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. Plus Birmingham 2022 of course which is going on at this moment in time.

We are working tirelessly to make the most of these events in showcasing women’s sport, and encouraging more women and girls to get active as a result. But we recognise that we need to go further.

The IWG is a great opportunity to build on this success and not only share the fantastic work we are doing but to learn from other countries too.

The UK Secretariat’s vision for a ‘just and sustainable post-pandemic world where women and girls play a full and equitable role’ is something that I feel passionately about.

It is vital that we continue to strive for greater equality and opportunity in sport.

We have been working with our women’s sport working group in the UK, which many of you have attended, to look at some of the challenges and opportunities that exist and I am really keen that we continue to make progress as a result of these discussions.

I would also like to commend the work of the current hosts New Zealand in sharing, promoting and supporting stories of inspiring change from around the world.

Their development of the world’s first IWG Insight Hub as a home for the world’s best research, insight, case studies, news and interactive programmes such as training and seminars has also been ground breaking.

I believe the IWG can be a catalyst for women’s sport as we recover from the impact of the pandemic.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the role you have all played in securing the IWG secretariat for the UK.

It’s absolutely essential that we work collectively to share the messages behind the bid of inclusivity, equity and collaboration.

I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that women’s sport continues to thrive not just in the UK but on the international stage.



UK monkeypox case numbers begin to plateau

As of 4 August, there are 2,859 confirmed and highly probable cases of monkeypox in the UK.

Analyses of the current UK outbreak shows that monkeypox continues to be transmitted primarily in interconnected sexual networks of gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). The median age of confirmed cases in the UK was 37 years old. In England, 73% are known to be London residents over the course of the outbreak.

In the past few weeks, there have been a small number of women confirmed to have monkeypox but there is not enough evidence currently to suggest that there is sustained transmission outside of interconnected sexual networks. Twenty-two cases in women have been identified and 99% of all UK cases are male.

A small number of cases with no known travel history during their incubation period have been detected prior to 6 May, pre-dating the previous first-known report of a monkeypox case in the UK. This is not unexpected given our understanding of the outbreak to date.

Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections, UKHSA, said:

While the most recent data suggests the growth of the outbreak has slowed, we cannot be complacent. Be vigilant of and check yourself for monkeypox symptoms, including rashes and blisters.

If you are concerned that you may have monkeypox symptoms, take a break from events, meeting with friends or having sexual contact. Instead, stay at home and contact 111 or your local sexual health service for advice.

The smallpox vaccine is being offered to individuals at higher risk of coming into contact with monkeypox in order to offer them protection and to reduce the spread of disease.

The briefing now includes monkeypox genomic surveillance data from the UK. As is described globally, the majority of outbreak cases in the UK belong to a distinct genetic lineage (B.1) which has mutations of unknown significance when compared with the closest previously characterised monkeypox virus genomes.

UKHSA will continue to publish regular technical briefings as the response to the outbreak continues.



Secretary of State visits Warwickshire health and care services

  • Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay thanked NHS staff at two sites in Warwickshire for their unwavering work busting the Covid backlogs
  • He visited the new Community Diagnostic Centre at George Eliot Hospital that will further support people access tests and scans locally and more rapidly
  • Visits highlight continued commitment to ensure patients can get timely, quality care from the NHS

Patients across Warwickshire are benefiting from use of innovative digital health technologies and the opening of a new Community Diagnostics Centre to improve access to services and bust the Covid backlogs.

The George Eliot Hospital CDC, which will open mid-August, will host a new x-ray suite and dedicated clinical areas, opening up capacity for up to 12,000 ultrasound scans and 19,000 x-rays each year. This will speed up appointment times so patients are able to access treatment quicker, easier, and closer to home.

Visiting the region today (Friday 5 August), Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay went to both the new George Eliot Hospital, and Manor Park Surgery to thank NHS staff for their tireless efforts to provide care to their local communities.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

With the backlogs due to covid it is vital that we innovate to speed up diagnosis and treatment. So  it was great to see the state of the art new diagnostic centre in Nuneaton, which opens in 10 days time, and to discuss with local GPs how this will also help them deliver improved patient care.

Diagnostic one-stop-shops, like the George Eliot Hospital, are right at the heart of local communities and are helping to speed up access to X rays, lung funtion tests, ultrasound, and endoscopy. By bringing under one roof cardiac and respiratory diagnosis with access to pathology investigations, it will allow patients to attend once rather than need repeat visits. It is also good for staff retention and progression to have these new facilities with state of the art equipment.

This, combined with other innovations in the region like remote monitoring at Manor Park Surgery are supporting the NHS on the biggest catch up programme in history.

The Health and Social Care Secretary also met with radiographers at the George Elliot hospital who are doing vital work carrying out diagnostic imaging and intervention procedures to bust the backlogs and ensure people are being seen quickly. Combined, CDCs in the Midlands region have delivered 257,239 tests between November 2021 and 17 July 2022 – which has helped thousands of people across the region to get tests earlier, speeding up diagnosis of a range of conditions from cancer to heart or lung disease, and enabling patients to access treatment faster.

At Manor Court Surgery in Nuneaton the Health and Social Care Secretary met dedicated staff to discuss what the surgery is doing to support patients. The practice, which forms part of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Primary Care Network, told the Secretary of State about their innovative use of remote monitoring to better support patients in care homes and those with long term conditions. Remote monitoring, where patients monitor their condition via technology and feedback to their doctor home, both improves patient experience, receiving the care they need from their home, and frees up valuable time.

Over 280,000 people have already used remote monitoring at home and in care homes across the country in the last year and increasing the availability of remote monitoring across the country could support a further 500,000 people receive personalised care from home by March 2023.

Dr Catherine Free, Chief Medical Officer at George Eliot Hospital, said:

By putting X-rays, scans and other tests for a large range of conditions in the same location we can begin to provide a one-stop service for patients to improve patient experience and reduce the time people wait between appointments.

The need for tests to help diagnose and treat patients is forecast to increase so we need to ensure we have the right facilities to meet the demand.

This is the first phase of the project and we are waiting to hear confirmation of funding to complete the second phase of the project which will bring CT and MRI scans and all the tests for cancer under one roof, improving outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious conditions.

Backed by £2.3 billion, up to 160 community diagnostic centres will be rolled out across the country by 2025, delivering 9 million tests and checks a year.

Over 90 community diagnostic centres are already open across England and have delivered over 1.5 million checks – including over 700,000 additional CT, MRI, ultrasound, endoscopy, and ultrasound tests, with around 30,000 tests a week.

As a result, good progress towards reducing the longest waits is already being made – the number of patients waiting over two years for treatment falling by more than 80% since February.

Over the next 3 years, a record £39 billion will be invested in the health and social care system to ensure it has the long-term resource it needs while working to bust the Covid backlogs, reducing patient waiting times and speeding up diagnoses.



FCDO Minister statement on treatment of Baha’i in Iran

The UK is deeply concerned by increasing arrests of the Baha’i in Iran, including recent reports that the Iranian government has demolished houses and confiscated land in Roushankouh, Iran. Former spiritual leaders of the Baha’i in Iran are also reported to have been detained.

FCDO Minister responsible for Human Rights and Freedom of Religion and Belief, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, said:

The persecution of religious minorities cannot be tolerated in 2022. We strongly condemn the increasing detention of members of the Baha’i community in Iran, as well as reports of forced closures of their businesses and land seizures. The persecution of religious minorities is a serious violation of international human rights law.

We are working closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account and continue to raise human rights concerns regularly with the Iranian Government.

Published 5 August 2022
Last updated 5 August 2022 + show all updates

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