Ambasciata d Italia Il Cairo Ministry of International Cooperation ITALIAN EGYPTIAN DEBT FOR DEVELOPMENT SWAP PROGRAMME PHASE 3 Civil Society Component CALL FOR PROPOSALS Projects implemented by Egyptian Development NGOs Deadline for submission of the Proposal: 9 January 2014 h. 04:00 p.m. 1
1. Publication reference 01/IEDS3/2013 2. Programme and Financing source Debt for Development Swap Programme Phase 3 / Civil Society Component 3. Introduction The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Government of the Italian Republic, with a view to promote their bilateral co-operation and relieving Egyptian debt burden, signed in Cairo on the 10 th of May 2012 the Third Phase of Debt for Development Swap Agreement. The Agreement entered into force on the 15 th of August 2012. Funds resulting from debt-for-development swap operations amounting to approximately 100,000,000 US Dollars shall be used to finance projects aimed at promoting sustainable social, human, environmental and economic development of Egypt. The Agreement identifies the priority sectors of intervention and the Applicants who will benefit from the Debt Swap funds, among which Egyptian and Italian Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs): 90% of Debt Swap funds is allocated to Egyptian public institutions, while 10% will benefit the Civil Society mainly to finance projects implemented by Egyptian and Italian NGOs. These projects are intended to make a direct and lasting contribution to alleviating poverty and improving the living conditions and development capacities of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups in Egypt. The present Call for proposals refers to projects to be implemented by Egyptian NGOs. 4. Rules for this Call for Proposal The conditions for the submission, selection and implementation of projects financed under this Call for proposal are set hereunder, in conformity with the rules and procedures of the Italian Egyptian Development Swap Programme Phase 3 (IEDS3) approved by the Management Committee and applied to the present Call. 2
5. Eligibility criteria There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to: applicant(s) which may request the grant (5.1); actions for which the grant may be awarded (5.2); Costs that may be taken into account (5.3). 5.1 Eligibility of applicants: who may apply In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants (Egyptian development NGOs) must fulfill the following criteria: i. They must be constituted as Egyptian non-profit-making, Non Governmental Organizations in accordance with the legislation in force in Egypt; ii. iii. iv. They must have their headquarters in Egypt and those headquarters must be the main centre for decisions related to their actions; They must have valid registered areas of work in terms of sectors and/or geographic areas in accordance with the legislation in force in Egypt in order to implement the proposed Project; They must provide evidence of having sufficient operational capacity to implement the proposed project: (a) the applicant shall provide evidence of having regularly carried out development activities for 3 to 5 years at the time the application is made, in projects funded or co-funded by International Cooperation Agencies or International Organizations (such as the EU) in the field of poverty alleviation, community development and social inclusion, with special reference to disadvantaged groups mainly in rural areas; (b) the applicant must have sufficient financial capacity (see supporting documents); v. They must provide evidence that development is a priority sector of the NGO's activities (see supporting documents), vi. They must have adequate experience in the field of development of the kind covered by the Italian Egyptian Debt Swap Programme (see point 5.2 and supporting documents). The applicant organization will act as a signatory to the Project Implementing Agreement and have full legal, financial and management responsibility for all aspects related to the 3
execution of the project. The applicant shall sign the "Declaration of the applicant" (format in Annex 1). Applications may be presented by an individual NGO or by an NGO consortium. A consortium is an ad hoc group of two or more NGOs established and/or registered in Egypt which take joint responsibility for the project. If the project is presented by a consortium, then the eligibility criteria listed above must be satisfied individually by all the members of the consortium. The consortium will designate among its members a lead NGO ( the Applicant which becomes, in case of selection, the contracting party) which must be able to assume full contractual responsibility for the project undertaken, based on a mandate from the other members of the consortium. Applicants may also act with local partner institutions and/or organizations and/or Italian partner NGOs. Partner organizations must be registered in Egypt. Preference will be given to partner institutions and/or organizations based in the Governorates where the project will intervene or have branches in those Governorates. 5.2 Eligible actions: actions for which the application may be made Definition A project (or action) is composed of a set of related activities. Total cost of the project The minimum contribution to a project is EGP 500,000, the maximum is EGP 5,000,000. Duration 24 to 36 months Sectors and themes In line with the general objectives of the IEDS Programme, actions should aim to support poverty alleviation with a special focus on disadvantaged groups and social inclusion as well as sustainable social, human, environmental and economic development: a. Women Empowerment: promotion of income generating activities, access to microcredit, capacity building, awareness campaigns at grassroots level; b. Family and Child protection; c. Education and vocational training; 4
d. Promotion of handcraft and agro-food production, promotion of fair trade; e. Capacity Building of NGOs/ local development structures; f. Environment and cultural heritage: management of protected areas and natural parks, promotion of ecotourism, clean energy; g. Job creation, training for youth. Geographic criteria Priority shall be given to the poorest Governorates according to the 2010 HDR, mainly to the following Governorates: - Governorate of Fayoum - Governorate of Minya - Governorate of Sohag - Governorate of Beni Swaif - Governorate of New Valley - Governorate of Red Sea - Greater Cairo. 5.3 Eligibility of costs Costs which may be taken into consideration for the grant The budget is a cost estimate in EGP and a ceiling for "eligible costs". Eligible costs are detailed below. They must be based on real costs, not lump sums (except for indirect costs). Eligible direct costs To be eligible under this call for proposals, costs must be necessary for carrying out the action, comply with the principles of sound financial management and cost-effectiveness. The Budget Line related to Project Management and Running Expenses should not exceed 30% of the total budget the rest should be devoted to the project activities where these components should receive at least 70% of the total budget. The checks on the budget may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead the Evaluation Committee to ask for amendments. It is therefore in the applicant's interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget. Eligible direct costs include: the cost of staff assigned to the Project; 5
travel and subsistence costs for staff taking part in the action, provided they do not exceed those normally borne by the Beneficiary or his partners, as the case may be; the cost of services and equipment (purchase or rental), provided they correspond to market rates; the cost of consumables and supplies; subcontracting expenditure; Costs for visibility material and dissemination of information (public events, translation, printing, publishing). Ineligible costs The following costs are not eligible: debts and provisions for losses or debts interest owed items already financed in other projects purchase of land or buildings Eligible indirect costs (contingency) A lump sum not exceeding 7% of the direct eligible costs of the Project may be claimed to cover contingencies. 6. Application and Supporting Documents Applications must be filled in by using the format required for this Call for proposals and provided in Annex 2 (PROJECT DOCUMENT). The Project Document (PD) shall include Budget and Annexes including Logical Framework. Presentation of applications which are not submitted in the above format will be excluded. An applicant may submit only one project proposal (PD). The PD must be written in the English language. Hand written applications will not be accepted. Please complete the PD format carefully and as clearly as possible so that we can assess it properly. Be precise and provide enough detail to ensure the PD is clear, particularly as to 6
how the objectives of the project will be achieved, the benefits that will flow from it and the way in which it is relevant to the IEDS Programme's objectives. Any mistake related to the points listed here below or any major inconsistency in the PD (e.g. the amounts mentioned in the budget are inconsistent with the activities mentioned in the PD narrative part) will lead to the immediate rejection of the proposal. Please do not send any supplementary annexes in addition to those requested in this Call for proposals. Based on the attached format, the applicants must submit a Project Document including: How relevant is your proposal to the objectives of the Call for proposals? Which of the priorities of the Call for proposals are addressed by your proposal? Who are the actors involved (partners, target groups, others please specify)? What are the objectives and expected results (e.g. in terms of attitude and behaviour change)? What are the synergies and complementarities with the on going and planned actions of other Donors and national and international NGOs in the area of intervention? Methodology and Sustainability What particular issues do you want to address and what are the main project activities? What is the role of the individual actors (local partners, target groups, etc.) and how will they participate in the implementation of the project? How will the project have a sustainable impact on the target groups and will the project have multiplier effects? Operational capacity and expertise What is the experience of your organisation in project management? What is the experience of your organisation, consortium members and partner(s) in the development issues to be addressed? Supporting documents Applications must be accompanied by the following supporting documents: i. Statement of legal registration of the applicant organization in Egypt, any legal document showing the organization is allowed to implement the Project; 7
ii. The statute/articles of association of the applicant organization; iii. Certified annual activity reports for the last three years of the applicant organization; iv. Copy of the applicant s latest accounts (the profit and loss accounts and the balance sheet for the previous financial year for which the accounts have been closed); v. Curriculum vitae of key staff performing the work in the proposed project. NGOs which have received funds under the previous phases of IEDS programme will be healed from submitting the supporting documents indicated in items ii, iii, iv. 7. Evaluation and Selection of applications Phase 1: Initial phase The following will be assessed: a. The deadline has been respected; b. The application satisfies the criteria mentioned in this Call for proposals and includes the Project Document, Budget and Annexes including Logical Framework fully completed; c. All supporting documents are attached. Phase 2: Eligibility of applicant/consortia members The Declaration of the Applicant and supporting documents will be verified to assess their eligibility according to the criteria set out in this Call for proposals. Phase 3: Technical evaluation An evaluation of the quality of the proposals, including the proposed budget, and of the capacity of the applicant and its partners, will be carried out in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in the Evaluation Grid below. There are two types of evaluation criteria: selection and award criteria. The selection criteria are intended to help evaluate the applicants' financial and operational capacity to ensure that they have the management capacity, professional competencies and qualifications required to successfully implement the proposed project. The award criteria allow the quality of the proposals submitted to be evaluated in relation to the objectives and priorities set according to IEDS objectives and priorities, and grants to be awarded to actions which maximise the overall effectiveness of the Call for proposals. They enable the selection of proposals which the Management Committee can be confident will 8
comply with its objectives and priorities and guarantee the visibility of the Debt Swap Programme. They cover such aspects as the relevance of the action, its consistency with the objectives of the call for proposals, quality, expected impact, sustainability and costeffectiveness. 9
Evaluation Grid Date: / / I. IDENTIFICATION DATA Reference number: Applicant: Project Title: Amount requested : Contribution in kind if any: Duration (months): Scoring guidelines This evaluation grid is divided into sections and subsections. Each subsection must be given a score between 1 and 5 in accordance with the following guidelines: Score Meaning 1 Very poor 2 Poor 3 Adequate 4 Good 5 Very good 10
II. EVALUATION GRID 1. Operational capacity Score 1.1. Does the applicant have sufficient experience of project management? / 5 1.2 Does the applicant have sufficient technical expertise? (notably knowledge of the issues to be addressed.) / 5 1.3 Does the applicant have sufficient management capacity? / 5 1.3 Has the applicant implemented similar projects before? /5 Total score: / 20 Comments: 2. Relevance Score 2.1 How relevant is the proposal to the objectives and priorities (themes, sectors, geographic areas) of the Call for proposals? Note: a score of 5 (very good) will only be granted if the proposal contains / 5 specific added-value elements, such as promotion of gender equality, family and child protection and youth employment. 2.2 How relevant is the proposal to the particular needs and / 5 priorities of the Country / Governorate / area in the sector of intervention? 2.3 Have the initiatives of the Italian Cooperation and other Donors in the target area been taken in consideration (including those implemented by Italian and Egyptian NGOs)? / 5 Total score: / 15 Comments: 3. Beneficiaries Score 3.1 Have the needs of final beneficiaries / target groups been / 5 clearly defined and does the proposal address them appropriately? 3.2 Are direct and indirect beneficiaries clearly identified and quantified?? / 5 11
Total score: / 10 Comments: 4. Methodology Score 4.1 Are the overall objectives and specific objectives clearly formulated? Are the expected results, necessary to achieve the / 5 specific objectives, sufficiently detailed? 4.2 Are the expected results tangible, quantifiable and verifiable / 5 through indicators? 4.3 Are the activities proposed appropriate, practical, and / 5 consistent with the objectives and expected results? 4.4 Were assumptions and risks, which may affect project / 5 implementation, appropriately taken in consideration? 4.5 Is the partners' level of involvement and participation in the action satisfactory? / 5 4.6 Is the action plan clear and feasible? / 5 4.7 Does the action plan include monitoring and evaluation? /5 Total score: / 35 Comments: 5. Sustainability Score 5.1 Will the project continue to produce benefits after the conclusion? / 5 5.2 Is the project likely to have a tangible impact in its target / 5 groups? Total score: / 10 Comments: 12
6. Budget and cost-effectiveness Score 6.1 Is cost analysis sufficiently detailed for each budget item? Does the project document sufficiently explain that costs are in line with prevailing market prices (neither inflated nor under-evaluated)? / 5 6.2 Is the allocation of financial and human resources sufficiently described in the project document? / 5 Total score: / 10 Comments: Total score Score 1. Operational capacity / 20 2. Relevance / 15 3. Beneficiaries / 10 4. Methodology / 35 5. Sustainability / 10 6. Budget and cost-effectiveness / 10 TOTAL* : * Threshold for positive assessment is 80/100. / 100 Note on Section 1 of the Evaluation Grid (Operational capacity) If the total score is less than 12 points for Section 1, the proposal will be rejected. Note on Sections 2 and 3 of the Evaluation Grid (Relevance and Beneficiaries) If the total score is less than 16 points for Section 2 and 3, the proposal will be rejected. Note on Section 6 of the Evaluation Grid (Budget and cost-effectiveness) If the total score is less than 8 points for Section 6 (4 points at least for each subsection), the proposal will be rejected. 13
8. Deadline for submitting applications and address Applications must be received in both hard and soft (CD) copies in a sealed envelope by courier or by hand delivery at the latest by 9 January 2014, at 04:00 p.m. hours at the address below: Italian - Egyptian Debt for Development Swap Programme Technical Support Unit 1081, Corniche El Nil (Belmont Building), 17 th floor Garden City Cairo Attention: Ms. Mariam Waheeb Email: debtswap.cairo@esteri.it 9. IEDS Management Committee (MC) Rights The MC reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received in response to this Call for Proposals without giving any clarification, or to negotiate with any of the applicants in the best interest of the MC. The MC also reserves the right to select, reject or postpone any project proposal received from qualified NGOs based on the MC cash flow and/or its priority areas of intervention without giving prior justification. 10. Notification of the IEDS Management Committee decision Applicants will be informed by e-mail of the Management Committee decision concerning their application. Selected applicant NGOs will be requested to submit a final Project Document including additional information, if required, related to the following: a. Detailed description of the project, objectives, activities and expected results; b. Financial plan and budget, including a detailed yearly costs breakdown and implementation procedure; c. Technical annexes e.g. Logical Framework and Annual Work Plan. 14
11. Conditions applicable to the implementation of the project following the Management Committee approval Following the Management Committee approval of the selected projects, a Project Implementing Agreement related to each project will be signed by the applicant NGO and the representatives of the Management Committee (Minister of International Cooperation and Ambassador of Italy in Egypt). The Project Implementing Agreement defines the rights and obligations of the parties, such as the final amount of the grant, the starting date, the reporting, monitoring and evaluation and disbursement procedures. The starting date of the project will be the first day of the month following that on which the first installment has been disbursed to the applicant. Project funds will be disbursed in annual installments to each NGO in a dedicated bank account that each NGO will be requested to open. Annual installments will be released based on actual disbursements / commitments in the previous year. The applicant NGO will submit progress (technical and financial) reports on six-monthly and annual basis. The technical report shall identify the progress and pace of implementation of each activity. The financial report shall provide evidence of actual disbursement vs. planned budget. 15
ANNEX 1 DECLARATION OF THE APPLICANT The applicant, represented by the undersigned, being the authorised signatory, hereby declares that: The applicant has the sources of financing and professional competence and qualifications specified in the Guidelines for Applicants; The applicant undertakes to comply with the obligations foreseen in the application form and with the principles of good partnership practice. The applicant is directly responsible for the preparation, management and implementation of the project with its partners and is not acting as an intermediary. Signed on behalf of the applicant Name Signature Position Date 16