Guidance

Piloting gender-transformative approaches to natural resource management in a time of climate and environmental stress: terms of reference

Published 21 May 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on 25 August 2021

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund gender, peace and security: calls for bids 2021 to 2022 now closed

Objective

The CSSF is a cross government fund that supports and delivers activity to tackle instability and to prevent conflicts that threaten UK interests. It has been a catalyst for a more integrated UK government response to fragility and conflict, including delivering the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security (WPS) 2018-2022.

The Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Portfolio funds innovative projects which address emerging trends and critical gaps within the WPS agenda, including a focus on piloting approaches to gender-transformative interventions in climate-conflict programming.

The impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss such as resource scarcity, economic shocks, displacement and sea level rises increase risk of violent conflict and threaten peace. Such impacts can further worsen gender inequalities and affect women and girls uniquely, limiting their access to education, decision-making, and increasing their vulnerability to disaster-induced poverty, exploitation, violence and fatalities.

Improving natural resource management mechanisms can serve as an effective first entry point to conflict and disaster risk reduction. It also helps create an enabling institutional environment for promoting the goals of resilience-building and peacebuilding simultaneously. The GPS team are seeking bids to gender-transformative approaches to natural resource management.

A gender transformative approach seeks to address the prevailing power relations and tackle discriminatory practices that hold back girls and women and deny them their human rights. It involves challenging root causes of gender inequalities, social norms and breaking stereotypes, such as notions of masculinity that condone violence against girls and women. It requires support for women’s rights organisations, leadership and collective action to strengthen women’s decision-making, agency and control in all areas of their lives.

Project content requirements

With growing recognition of the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss on peace and stability, there remains a limited understanding on the gendered impact of climate-related conflict risks. Through piloting gender-transformative approaches, the CSSF aims to build the evidence base for on how a gender-climate lens can be used to tackle conflict and build sustainable peace.

The implementer will pilot interventions under the following suggested priority sub-themes:

a) Social cohesion: strengthening dialogue and co-operation on natural resource management and the environment more widely (e.g. inclusive environmental discussions in peace-building; community cohesion initiatives around the environment)

b) Peace processes: supporting the inclusion a gender-climate or gender-environmental lens and voices in peace processes that have a bearing on natural resource management

c) Addressing patterns of marginalisation and exclusion to ensure inclusive access to decision-making processes (e.g. state capacity to engage marginalised groups in decision-making to ensure environmental justice)

d) Improving natural resource management mechanisms, to ensure they are gender-transformative

e) Gender-equal and inclusive approaches to Land Laws and other areas of environmental legislation

f) Environmental defenders, providing support to individuals who strive to protect and promote human rights related to the environment and using a gender-climate lens to understand the risks faced by these individuals

If the implementer considers additional sub-themes to be relevant then in their Project Proposal they are welcome to propose these.

Proposals should clearly outline timeframes, costs, risks and sustainability. Activities should take an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach, working with local organisations and partners wherever possible.

Bids for the project should address the following key concerns:

a) How your organisation is well-equipped with the expertise and resources for this project

b) Your organisation’s proposed approach to delivering and monitoring the impact of the pilot. Bids should include a particular focus on how they shall measure the value for money impact of their proposed approach Strong proposals will be high-impact interventions, defined by clear evidence of the potential to deliver solutions that are sustainable and/or scalable.

c) How your organisation will deliver its activities and outcomes under different COVID-19 scenarios, including full or partial lock-downs and restrictions on local/international travel

Bids should look to focus on one to three countries/regions. Priority geographies include:

• Amazon
• Cameroon
• Congo Basin
• Gabon
• Indonesia
• Lake Chad Basin
• Mali
• Myanmar
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Yemen

If the implementer considers additional geographies to be relevant, they are welcome to propose these.

Scope and scale

The project will require that all activity take place by 31st March 2022. The project can range in value from GBP 150,000 up to GBP 450,000. Bidders should not craft proposals in such a way to reach the budget ceiling. Bidders should instead construct their Tender to specifically meet the objectives in pursuit of demonstrable impact and value for money.

The funding will be available as Official Development Assistance in line with the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines.

Essential skills and competencies of the implementer

The implementer will have:

• experience working on the relevant issues identified in this document
• relevant network of contacts in the UK and in the proposed geography
• experience and familiarity of gender and climate programming
• project and budget management skills, experience, capabilities and capacity
• programme experience

Eligibility criteria

The project will be managed under an Accountable Grant Agreement (or MoU for inter-governmental organisations only). Projects in this framework are not allowed to generate a profit for the delivery partner.

Proposals from for-profit organisations can only be considered if an officially registered non-profit making arm or division of the for-profit organisation will deliver the project.

Bidding process

1. Potential implementers are invited to submit a completed Project Proposal Form (PPF) and Activity-based Budget (ABB) to CSSFGender.PeaceSecurity@fcdo.gov.uk by 23:59 (BST) on the 10 June. Emails should include “Piloting Gender-transformative approaches to Natural Resource Management in a time of Climate and Environmental Stress” in the title.
2. We will not consider proposals that are delivered after the submission deadline.
3. The GPS Team will evaluate all submissions using the Selection Criteria (see below) and decide which proposals should be funded. Feedback will be provided for incorporation in any successful proposals. Unfortunately, as we expect a large amount of interest, we are unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful bids.
4. The project approved for funding will start in July 2021.

All bid submissions must be in English. The Budget must be presented in pounds (GBP).

Selection criteria

Bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

• value for money - criteria for economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and cost- effectiveness
• alignment with the terms of reference
• project viability, including capacity and capability of implementing organisation(s)
• project design, including clear, achievable objectives/outputs/outcomes/impact

Contact

Please send queries to CSSFGender.PeaceSecurity@fcdo.gov.uk