Drivers will be able to experience the full benefits of the first self-driving vehicles when they arrive, as government sets out how they should be driven safely on UK roads.

The government has today (20 April 2022) confirmed planned changes to The Highway Code, responding to a public consultation, continuing to pave the way for safer, more efficient travel.

The changes to the code will help ensure the first wave of technology will be used safely, explaining clearly that while travelling in self-driving mode, motorists must be ready to resume control in a timely way if they are prompted to – such as when they approach motorway exits.

The plans also include a change to current regulation, allowing drivers to view content that is not related to driving on built-in display screens, while the self-driving vehicle is in control. It will, however, still be illegal to use mobile phones in self-driving mode, given the greater risk they pose in distracting drivers as shown in research.

With self-driving technology rapidly developing across the globe, Britain’s first vehicles approved for self-driving could be ready for use later this year. Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and only be approved as self-driving when they have met stringent standards.

The government is continuing to develop a full legal framework for self-driving vehicles to enable the safer and greener movement of people and goods in the UK. The Department for Transport will also work with industry, regulators and safety organisations to ensure drivers can access information, including online, to help them use the vehicles safely.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said:

This is a major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles, which will revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys greener, safer and more reliable.

This exciting technology is developing at pace right here in Great Britain and we’re ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads.

In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britain’s place as a global science superpower.

The development of self-driving vehicles could create around 38,000 new, high-skilled jobs within Britain’s industry that would be worth £41.7 billion by 2035. 

The measures confirmed today follow a public consultation launched by the government, which found the majority of respondents were broadly supportive of the proposed changes to The Highway Code to clarify drivers’ responsibilities in self-driving vehicles.

The introduction of the technology is likely to begin with vehicles travelling at slow speeds on motorways, such as in congested traffic.

Following a landmark call for evidence, the government announced in April last year that vehicles fitted with automated lane keeping system (ALKS) technology could be the first example of self-driving technology. Existing technology available on the market is ‘assistive’, meaning drivers must currently always remain in control and responsible.

Designed for use on a motorway in slow traffic, ALKS enables a vehicle to drive itself in a single lane, up to 37 mph, while maintaining the ability to return control easily and safely to the driver when required.

Meanwhile, the government expects to have a full regulatory framework in place to support the widespread deployment of the technology by 2025, helping to make the movement of people and goods safer, greener and more efficient.

The technology could improve road safety across Britain by reducing human error, which is a contributory factor in 88% of all recorded road collisions.   

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:

The Highway Code has been updated a number of times in recent years to reflect the rapidly changing transport world we live in and these latest additions will help us all understand what we must and must not do as we move forward to an environment where cars drive themselves.

The final part of the jigsaw is to ensure these amendments are widely communicated to, ​and understood by,​ vehicle owners. Vehicle manufacturers and sellers will have a vital role to play in ensuring their customers fully appreciate the capabilities of the cars they buy and the rules that govern them.

Self-driving technology in cars, buses and delivery vehicles could spark the beginning of the end of urban congestion, with traffic lights and vehicles speaking to each other to keep traffic flowing, reducing emissions and improving air quality in our towns and cities.  

The technology could also improve access to transport for people with mobility issues and lead to more reliable public transport services, helping to level-up access to transport in historically disconnected and rural areas.  

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:

Amending The Highway Code to reflect the pace of technological change will help clarify what motorists can and can’t do when a self-driving feature is engaged, so promoting its safe use.

The technology could be available in the UK later this year and, with the right regulations in place, consumers are set to benefit from safer, more efficient journeys while the UK will strengthen its position as a global leader in the deployment of self-driving technology.

A new requirement for the forestry sector will be piloted to combat the threat from pests and diseases and further strengthen UK biosecurity, Defra and the Forestry Commission announced today (Wednesday 20 April).

The Biosecure Procurement Requirement means that, from June 2022, applicants for funding under the England Woodland Creation Offer and the Future Farming Tree Health Pilot must commit to sourcing their trees from suppliers who are either accredited under the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme or who have passed a Ready to Plant assessment, as provided by Fera Science Ltd.

The threat of pests and disease is significant and growing as a result of globalisation and climate change. Introducing the Biosecure Procurement Requirement Pilot now will address these risks to our biosecurity, minimise the net loss to our existing treescape, and serve to realise our long-term vision for our trees and woodlands.

This pilot will enable suppliers to demonstrate that their operational practices comply with the industry benchmark Plant Health Management Standard. This Standard includes protocols which are key to developing a robust plant health management system and sets out practical requirements for suppliers to help protect the plant supply chain.

Professor Nicola Spence, UK Chief Plant Health Officer, said:

Our biosecurity standards are among the highest in Europe. As we build back greener, we must consider new and ambitious ways to not simply maintain these standards but further strengthen them.

By leading the way with this new pilot, we are addressing the significant and increasing threat of pests and diseases and building a strong biosecurity culture across the country.

Sir William Worsley, Forestry Commission Chair, said:

Our nation’s biosecurity will be integral to the success of our tree planting ambitions.

This pilot will ensure that the forestry sector plays its role in upholding rigorous standards of biosecurity and in doing so, safeguards our much-loved trees and forests for generations to come.

The launch of the Biosecure Procurement Requirement Pilot fulfils a commitment within the England Trees Action Plan, which sets out our long-term plan for England’s trees, woodlands and forests. Healthy trees and plants benefit people, the environment, and the economy. Protecting the long-term welfare of our treescapes will underpin Government efforts to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament and plant 30,000 hectares of trees across the UK per year by 2025, as well as form part of wider efforts to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

For more information on the Biosecure Procurement Pilot Requirement, read this Forestry Commission blog.

The Biosecure Procurement Requirement Pilot will run for 12 months from June 2022.

Overview

• The Combatting Illicit Economies Programme (“CIEP”) is a programme funded through the UK’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund. It partners with countries in Latin America to tackle threats including serious organised crime (from drugs to money laundering to environmental crime), grand corruption and instability/conflict.

• Primarily, the CIEP does this through an illicit economies approach: tackling the corrupt and criminal networks operating transnationally and through a focus on the illicit finances that sustain them.

• The CIEP seeks to maintain a constant understanding of illicit finance mechanisms, threats and modalities in region recognizing that those dynamics are constantly evolving. As part of this approach, we are seeking to partner with a suitable implementer to undertake a regional investigative journalism project over a 3 year period and which focuses on the dynamics of corruption, serious and organized crime and illicit economies impacting Latin America.

• We recognize that illicit finances are a transnational issue and do not respect (indeed, exploit weaknesses at) international borders. For that reason, the project should take a regional approach in terms of following illicit flows around Latin America. However, we expect that journalists or journalist networks within CIEP focus countries – Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela – would be the principal beneficiaries of project funding.

Bid Priorities

• Proposals should demonstrate a clear strategy by which investigative journalism can be used to analyse, provide evidence and raise awareness around the interplay of transparency and corruption dynamics, organised crime and illicit financial flows within Latin America. Successful bidders should outline a series of project outputs that will support the achievement of an outcome or outcomes linked to the strategy.

• As stated, the CIEP is particularly interested in how criminal and illicit financing works cross-region, sustaining illicit economies of concern in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. Recognizing the transnational nature of illicit financial flows, projects that can show how they will build inter-regional collaboration (that is to say the promotion of investigative journalism initiatives across multiple countries/territories) will be preferred.

• Bidders are otherwise encouraged to develop their own proposal incorporating innovative approaches to strengthening the capacity of investigative journalism in the region. Nonetheless – and although in no way prescriptive – the following indicative criteria might guide bidders in so far as they are able to:

1. Demonstrate a track-record of producing transnational investigative journalism around corruption, serious organized crime and illicit economies. A focus on illicit finances, money laundering and corruption is most appropriate to the CIEP’s aims, including how these typologies interact with broader illicit economies.

2. Produce initiatives that will increase coverage (particularly in the CIEP focus countries of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela) of investigations/stories with the desired thematic focus and, particularly, that are trans-regional in scope;

3. Demonstrate a proven capacity to assist media outlets/organizations throughout the region in their investigations including editorial, legal, and security advice;

4. Have awareness of – and a proven capacity to deliver/enhance – the platforms and instruments that will enhance the capacity of journalists in CIEP focus countries to undertake investigative journalism in the core thematic areas and including in editorial, legal, and security matters;

5. Produce a clear and detailed, multi-year strategy of impact showing how the resourcing of this project would lead to an improvement in the capacity of journalists/journalist organizations to work on the identified themes (particularly trans-regionally/trans-nationally) over the project’s lifetime;

6. Rely upon a pre-existing presence (or proven ability to work) in the CIEP focus countries – Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. The project need not have a permanent base in each of these countries and can operate from one or more with regional reach; and

7. Gender mainstream activities across the project lifecycle to ensure a gender-sensitive approach that demonstrates compliance with UK Equality Act 2010. The project must be underpinned by a gender analysis that is monitored and updated regularly, and that demonstrably shapes the project’s design and implementation, with concrete commitments and action demonstrating the project is suitably privileging gender.

• In terms of the desired impact of the project, again, we invite bidders to suggest their own bespoke approaches to demonstrating the impact of their activity. The CIEP itself operates an ‘outcome harvesting’ approach to monitoring and evaluating its activity across the region and the successful implementer would be expected to adopt similar processes in collaboration with the programme.

• The project implementer will need to be (or be aligned to) a not-for-profit or non-governmental organization as required by Official Development Assistance obligations (see below).

Scope and Scale of Project

• The total project bid should not exceed GBP£900,000 over a three-year period (starting April 2022 through to March 2025). We are open to considering different proposals as to how that funding might be split over the three-year period

• Because of the nature of the CIEP’s funding, resource cannot be guaranteed beyond one-year windows within the three-year project life-cycle. Break clauses will be included within the documentation governing the grant and a review of activity, impact and general grant compliance will take place at the end of each UK financial year and before funding can be released for additional years.

• The proposal should provide the specific outcomes, outputs and activity the project aims to deliver. Each output should be linked to clear indicators, milestones and target dates. The CIEP welcomes suggestions as to innovative methods of achieving results/impact against the broad themes proposed as focus areas of the project. Details of these methods should be captured in the project proposal and work plan accompanying the bid.

• The bidder should also state in the proposal the scope and scale of the personnel, resource and time required to complete the project, its activities and achieve the outputs.

• The successful bidder would be expected to be able to operate in Spanish and English. For international organizations expecting to sub-contract delivery to regional implementers, a clear strategy for control and management of these sub-contracted relationships will be required. Whilst not a disqualifying criteria, it would be anticipated that a Spanish-speaking management team would be in place (likely in region but possibly remotely) to manage downstream implementation.

• The project should ensure gender mainstreaming, risk mitigation strategy, and conflict sensitivity.

Official Development Assistance

• All expenditures must qualify as ODA. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is a term created by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid. ODA should be undertaken by the official sector (official agencies, including state and local governments, or their executive agencies) and has promotion of economic development and welfare as the main objective.

Confidentiality

• The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office seeks no editorial control over the activity produced through the funding of this project, trusting instead the successful implementer to support the development of investigative journalism of interest and relevance to the region whilst upholding relevant legal and integrity standards. Consequently, it is not anticipated that any particular British Embassy nor the British Government itself would be expressly referred or linked to within the individual outputs of the project (i.e. individual articles, events etc).

• In so far as there is scope to make reference to or publicise the British Embassy/British Government’s involvement in the project, this will be discussed and agreed with the successful bidder upon award of the grant/contract but usually will be decided on a case by case basis.

Essential skills and competencies of the implementer

• The successful implementer will have:

1. Experience working on the relevant issues identified in this document;

2. Network of contacts in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Venezuela.

3. Experience of developing training sessions for journalists and producing transnational investigative pieces in issues related to corruption, illicit economies and illicit finances;

4. Familiarity with challenges and solutions related to investigative journalism of thematic including specifically illicit finances, money laundering and corruption (but also including how they link to broader illicit economies such as illegal mining, drugs, environmental crime etc);

5. Proven project and budget management experience, including mitigation of risks to ensure the project is delivered effectively.

6. Fluent Spanish is essential for operating in the region.

7. Fluent English is essential for drafting communications and financial reports.

8. Policy or Programme experience in Latin America.

• Private consultancy firms, consortia of multidisciplinary experts or non-profit organisations can participate in this call for bids.

How to bid: General Guidance on Project Proposals

• Stage 1: Bidders are invited to submit by 15 of May 2022, 11.59pm Bogotá time, to CSSF.CIEP@fco.gov.uk, the following documentation:

1. Full proposal (template attached)
2. Activity Based (template attached)
3. Work plan (bidder’s own template)
4. Risk register (bidder’s own template)

• Stage 2: The CIEP Programme technical committee will evaluate all proposals based on the above requirement. A decision is anticipated to take place end of May 2022

• Stage 3: The CIEP Programme team will seek to notify the successful bidder by June 2022 and start project mobilisation / set up afterwards.

Duty of Care

The implementer is responsible for the safety and well-being of their personnel and third parties affected by their activities under this grant agreement, including appropriate security arrangements. They will also be responsible for the provision of suitable security arrangements for their domestic and business property. HMG will share available information with the implementer on security status and developments in country where appropriate.

The implementer is responsible for ensuring appropriate safety and security briefings for all of their personnel working under this contract and ensuring that their personnel register and receive briefing as outlined above. Travel advice is also available on the FCDO website and the implementer must ensure they (and their personnel) are up to date with the latest position.

Tenderers must develop their tender response on the basis of being fully responsible for Duty of care in line with the details provided above. They must confirm in their tender that:

1. They fully accept responsibility for security and duty of care;

2. They understand the potential risks and have the knowledge and experience to develop an effective risk plan; and

3. They have the capability to manage their duty of care responsibilities throughout the life of the contract.

Acceptance of responsibility must be supported with evidence of capability. In providing evidence, Tenderers should consider the following questions:

1. Have you completed an initial assessment of potential risks that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding, and are you satisfied that you understand the risk management implications (not solely relying on information provided by FCDO)?

2. Have you prepared an outline plan that you consider appropriate to manage these risks at this stage (or will you do so if you are awarded the contract) and are you confident/comfortable that you can implement this effectively?

3. Have you an appropriate mechanism in place to monitor risk on a live/on-going basis (or will you put one in place if you are awarded the contract)?

4. Have you ensured or will you ensure that your staff are provided with, and have access to, suitable equipment and will you ensure that this is reviewed and provided on an on-going basis?

5. Have you appropriate systems in place to manage an emergency/incident if one arises?

Gender sensitivity

The FCDO views gender equality and women’s rights as central to promoting peace and stability overseas. This project will take into account any gender-related differences where data is available; consider its contribution to reducing inequality between persons of different gender; and ensure that the project does no harm to any particular gender group.

As such, gender must be fully integrated across all aspects of the intervention. The project design must be underpinned by a gender analysis that is monitored and updated regularly, and that demonstrably shapes the project’s design and implementation, with concrete commitments and action demonstrating the project is suitably privileging gender.

The work plan and project monitoring mechanism must set out how the implementer proposes to adopt a gender-sensitive approach that demonstrates compliance with UK Equality Act 2010. The implementer is expected to mainstream gender in all activities of the project by integrating a gender equality perspective that takes into account the needs of all beneficiaries, men, women and LGBTQ+ people.

Conflict sensitivity

The FCDO requires implementers to take a robust approach to conflict sensitivity. This includes going beyond ‘do no harm’ principles to include maximising opportunities for positive effect on peacebuilding and conflict dynamics, such as improved community relations, enhanced mediation, and good governance

The FCDO also expects implementers to demonstrate an understanding of how the project might affect/is affected by extremist groups and can contribute to addressing drivers and enablers of violent extremism. This requires a well elaborated conflict sensitivity plan, including how conflict sensitivity will be brought into design (including processes, baseline analysis), implementation, monitoring, evaluation and lessons learning, and conflict sensitive communications. It requires the Implementer to have the required team capacities, and an approach to building the capacity of beneficiaries and other stakeholders on conflict sensitivity.

Review the Call for bids: Local Legal and Criminal Justice Policy Development Capacity in Support of Programming if interested.

I’d like to start by thanking Kelly Clements and António Vitorino for their briefings. And as we have heard today, the people of Ukraine continue to bear the terrible costs of Russia’s invasion, and as Russia begins a new offensive on the Donbas, millions of Ukrainians face further suffering.

Our consideration of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine must be guided by two overarching principles: protection of civilians and prosecution of war crimes.

After 55 days of war, 7.1 million people are displaced within Ukraine, and 4.7 million people have fled to neighbouring countries.

And like others, I pay tribute to the compassion and solidarity of neighbouring countries who are hosting refugees, and the work of the UN – in particular the UNHCR and the IOM for their initiatives – and in particular the Blue Dot Initiative, to protect unaccompanied women and children who may face sexual exploitation, abuse and suffering.

Many Ukrainians, including children, have been forcibly deported, against their will, to Russia – they should be allowed to leave in safety and with dignity.

For the thousands of civilians remaining in Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and other cities, struggling to survive without food, water, warmth and medical supplies, the UK joins others in supporting the Secretary-General’s call for an urgent humanitarian pause to allow assistance to reach civilians in the hardest-hit areas.

And to this end, the UK has pledged almost £400 million in aid to Ukraine, and is a leading humanitarian donor, providing £220 million of humanitarian assistance to deliver life-saving assistance and support countries receiving and hosting refugees. We have also guaranteed $1 billion in World Bank lending to Ukraine.

Second, the prosecution of war crimes. For those who suffered in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Chernihiv, and many other towns, from Russian forces’ occupation and atrocities – let there be no doubt that justice will be sought for these crimes against humanity.

We welcome the International Criminal Court investigations, led by Karim Khan, which are underway.

As the Prosecutor said – Ukraine is now a crime scene.

The investigations of the appalling sexual violence in Ukraine will be informed by the Murad Code, which we launched here last week, and are a vital step towards supporting survivors and bringing perpetrators to justice.

For the sake of those we could not protect from violence, there must be prosecution of those who committed it.

Finally, we should not ignore the looming humanitarian needs caused by secondary displacements, as the economic consequences of this war translate into rising food, energy and finance costs, exposing more than 1.2 billion people in 69 countries to perfect storm conditions. The urgent and simple solution to this humanitarian crisis is for President Putin to stop the war.

Overview/Objectives

• The Combatting Illicit Economies Programme (“CIEP”) is a programme funded through the UK’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund. It partners with countries in Latin America to tackle threats including serious organised crime (from drugs to money laundering to environmental crime), grand corruption and instability/conflict. It is currently scheduled to operate until March 2025.

• The CIEP works with a series of State institutions across the region, particularly criminal justice and regulatory agencies. Programming supports development of new processes, protocols and – ultimately – capacity within these institutions to improve the regional response to organized crime and corruption.

• As a complement to programming, we are seeking to fund a think-tank or civil society organization (‘CSO’) that is headquartered in Latin America and has a track record of delivering in at least one of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador or Panama that is focused upon improving institutional responses to organized crime in the region of Latin America.

• The aim of this cooperation will be two-fold: firstly, to strengthen state responses in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and/or Panama to organized crime and corruption through enabling uptake of evidence-based policies, strengthening inter-institutional collaboration and building support for transformation initiatives; secondly, to build a sustainable, critical and regional capacity that will continue to engage with criminal justice and regulatory agencies beyond the project lifespan; and thirdly, provide expert advice to the CIEP as the programme itself designs, develops and delivers interventions across the region.

Project bids

The total project bid should not exceed GBP£600,000 over a three-year period.

We are open to considering different proposals as to how that funding might be split over the three-year period but would generally anticipate graduated funding (e.g. GBP£150,000 for year one, GBP£200,000 year two etc.) to allow for initial proof of concept and then building ambition through the project’s lifecycle, with an upper limit of GP£600,000.

Because of the nature of the CIEP’s funding, resource cannot be guaranteed beyond one-year windows within the three-year project life cycle. Break clauses will be included within the documentation governing the grant and a review of activity, impact and general grant compliance will take place at the end of each UK financial year and before funding, can be released for additional years.

Bidders will need to submit a proposal with the following requirements:

1. Propose methodology. Maximum of three pages describing the approach and operational methodology that will support the proposed delivery solution, providing evidence of the capacity, capability, experience and expertise of the organisation to deliver the proposed solution within the location(s) and context (including the thematic context) specified. Bidders should support their response with evidence from similar/relevant projects already delivered;

2. Curriculum vitae(s) of those proposed to work on the project (maximum of two pages per person);

3. FCDO Project Proposal Template that should include a detailed project plan that includes a clear project timeline and supporting detail; and

4. Activity Based Budged template, with a detailed breakdown of cost per activity proposed in the Project Proposal.

The project must have started all activity within four months of signing the grant agreement.

Official Development Assistance

All expenditures must qualify as Official Development Assistance (“ODA”). ODA is a term created by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to measure aid. ODA should be undertaken by the official sector (official agencies, including state and local governments, or their executive agencies) and has promotion of economic development and welfare as the main objective.

Selection Criteria

The successful bidding organisation will need to demonstrate the following characteristics:

1. Demonstrable experience in engaging with and influencing criminal justice and regulatory institutions in the region (and particularly in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and/or Panama);

2. A proven track-record in producing high-quality, action-oriented legal and/or policy analysis and research that has, in turn, influenced change in institutional processes or capacity in the region;

3. Headquarter in Latin America with a track record of working in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and/or Panama and with proven capacity to provide analysis, technical advice and support to institutions across Latin America in Spanish language.

4. A clear institutional vision setting out plans for sustainability beyond the three-year window that the CIEP might offer support and how this activity would build the capacity of your organisation to tackle organised crime and corruption over the long term. The vision will show how your organization plans to position itself as a key critical friend to institutions seeking to tackle organized corruption and corruption in Latin America over the long-term;

5. An understanding of the international donor architecture, and particularly that working on organised crime and anticorruption in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and/or Panama

6. A clear approach for embedding both gender and conflict-sensitivity into the organization’s work funded under this grant (see further below) and;

7. A proven-track record in efficiently and effectively managing international donor funding.

Scope and scale

The scope and scale of the personnel, resource and time required to complete this project can be set out within an implementer’s bid for activity.

The bid will ideally set out an ability to work and influence stakeholders in the four countries of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Panama although bids will also be considered proposing activity in a smaller combination of those countries.

Deliverables

We are seeking an organisation that can deliver the following outcomes and provide details how your organisation will achieve them:

• Create broader international, political and public support for institutional transformation around approaches to organised crime and corruption including through identifying and engaging with key decision-makers and champions.

• Produce detailed analysis on deficiencies and areas of opportunities undermining the functions of criminal justice and regulatory systems – with particular target to illicit financial flows and related serious organized crime – across Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and potential expansion to other similar countries.

• Build a network of contacts at the highest levels across key criminal justice and regulatory agencies of the countries involved in the project. While promoting collaboration and exchange of best practice between the criminal justice and regulatory agencies of the countries.

• Enable the uptake of evidence-based policies by those same criminal justice and regulatory agencies and leading to evidenced improvements in institutional performance.

• Lead on initiatives that will promote collaboration and exchange of best practice between the criminal justice and regulatory agencies of CIEP countries.

• Undertake broader influencing of key figures (politicians, civil society, and international donors) to promote reform.

• Provide strategic insight to developing programme project areas, including undertaking background analysis, providing strategic support to projects as they develop and using network of contacts to promote project aims (where they otherwise align with your organization’s analysis of required change)

In addition, we will ask the successful applicant to offer an expert advisory service to the CIEP team helping us develop project areas, including undertaking background analysis and providing strategic support to projects as they develop. This service should be included in the budget.

Products

Outputs and products are for the implementer to decide. We are interested in how your organisation will use these to deliver the above outcomes.

Monitoring: the CIEP operates an ‘outcome harvesting’ approach to monitoring and evaluating focused on capturing the significant changes that programme activity achieves through its lifecycle. The implementer will be expected to adopt this approach as well and it will be fully explored with the successful bidder upon grant award and with shared aims, objectives and methodologies to demonstrate impact being agreed at that stage.

Confidentiality

We anticipate the implementer may be an institution engaged in building awareness around the issues raised by this study.

In principle, the UK Government would not object to the products of this project being made public and, indeed, accept that part of the project’s proposal is to externally influence and raise awareness.

In so far as information may be gleaned from sensitive sources though and whilst working closely with the UK Government, the parameters of such public awareness raising will need to be discussed and agreed with the UK Government at the time of signing a contract/grant.

Private consultancy firms, consortia of multidisciplinary experts or non-profit organisations can participate in this call for bids.

How to bid: General Guidance on Project Proposals

• Stage 1: Potential implementers are invited to submit a full proposal (template attached) to CSSF.CIEP@fco.gov.uk by 15 May 2022, 11.59pm Bogotá time. We will not receive proposals after this deadline.

• Stage 2: The CIEP Programme team will evaluate all proposals and decide which should move forward to consideration by a technical committee of the programme board due to take place at the [date].

• Stage 3: The CIEP Programme team will seek to notify the successful bidder before the end of June 2022 and with a view towards activity starting as early as possible.

Duty of Care

The implementer is responsible for the safety and well-being of their personnel and third parties affected by their activities under this grant agreement, including appropriate security arrangements. They will also be responsible for the provision of suitable security arrangements for their domestic and business property.

HMG will share available information with the implementer on security status and developments in country where appropriate.

The implementer is responsible for ensuring appropriate safety and security briefings for all of their personnel working under this contract and ensuring that their personnel register and receive briefing as outlined above.

Travel advice is also available on the FCDO website and the implementer must ensure they (and their personnel) are up to date with the latest position.

Tenderers must develop their tender response on the basis of being fully responsible for Duty of care in line with the details provided above. They must confirm in their tender that:

1. They fully accept responsibility for security and duty of care;

2. They understand the potential risks and have the knowledge and experience to develop an effective risk plan; and

3. They have the capability to manage their duty of care responsibilities throughout the life of the contract.

Acceptance of responsibility must be supported with evidence of capability. In providing evidence, Tenderers should consider the following questions:

1. Have you completed an initial assessment of potential risks that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding, and are you satisfied that you understand the risk management implications (not solely relying on information provided by FCDO)?

2. Have you prepared an outline plan that you consider appropriate to manage these risks at this stage (or will you do so if you are awarded the contract) and are you confident/comfortable that you can implement this effectively?

3. Have you an appropriate mechanism in place to monitor risk on a live/on-going basis (or will you put one in place if you are awarded the contract)?

4. Have you ensured or will you ensure that your staff are provided with, and have access to, suitable equipment and will you ensure that this is reviewed and provided on an on-going basis?

5. Have you appropriate systems in place to manage an emergency/incident if one arises?

Gender sensitivity

The FCDO views gender equality and women’s rights as central to promoting peace and stability overseas. This project will take into account any gender-related differences where data is available; consider its contribution to reducing inequality between persons of different gender; and ensure that the project does no harm to any particular gender group.

As such, gender must be fully integrated across all aspects of the intervention. The project design must be underpinned by a gender analysis that is monitored and updated regularly, and that demonstrably shapes the project’s design and implementation, with concrete commitments and action demonstrating the project is suitably privileging gender.

The work plan and project monitoring mechanism must set out how the implementer proposes to adopt a gender-sensitive approach that demonstrates compliance with UK Equality Act 2010. The implementer is expected to mainstream gender in all activities of the project by integrating a gender equality perspective that takes into account the needs of all beneficiaries, men, women and LGBTQ+ people.

Conflict sensitivity

The FCDO requires implementers to take a robust approach to conflict sensitivity. This includes going beyond ‘do no harm’ principles to include maximising opportunities for positive effect on peacebuilding and conflict dynamics, such as improved community relations, enhanced mediation, and good governance

The FCDO also expects implementers to demonstrate an understanding of how the project might affect/is affected by extremist groups and can contribute to addressing drivers and enablers of violent extremism. This requires a well elaborated conflict sensitivity plan, including how conflict sensitivity will be brought into design (including processes, baseline analysis), implementation, monitoring, evaluation and lessons learning, and conflict sensitive communications. It requires the Implementer to have the required team capacities, and an approach to building the capacity of beneficiaries and other stakeholders on conflict sensitivity.

Review the Call for bids: The Latin American Regional Investigative Journalism Project if interested.