UNDP-Spain MDG Achievement Fund

Terms of reference for thematic window on youth, employment and migration

Request for Proposals (RfP) by the MDG-F thematic window for Youth, Employment and Migration was launched on August 27, 2007. The RfP closed on 2 November. Of the 57 eligible UN Country Teams, 52 submitted a proposal amounting to some $405 million.

The proposals submitted to the window were reviewed by the Technical Sub Committee for Youth, Employment and Migration. The Committee was convened the Executive Director of the Employment Sector at the ILO, Mr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs. It includes representatives of UNDP, UNICEF, IOM, the World Bank and UNFPA as well as four independent experts and two experts nominated by the Government of Spain.

The Technical Sub Committee for Youth, Employment and Migration assessed 6 proposals as suitable for support by the MDG-F. The combined value of these 6 proposals in their original submission was $35.8 million. The TSC, however, identified a number of budgets which could be reduced, bringing the total to $32 million.

24 other proposals were rated as unsuitable in their present form but worthy of resubmission to a future RfP and 22 proposals were assessed as unsuitable under the current TOR of the thematic window. All applicants received written feedback.

The recommendations of the TSC were reviewed by the Fund’s Steering Committee at its consultations in January 2008 which approved 5 Concept Notes with combined indicative budgets of $32 million (out of an $80 million envelope). A list of the approved proposals, which includes an indicative budget for each, can be viewed on-line clicking here. UN Country Teams submitted their detailed Joint Programme documents. As of January 2009, 5 Joint Programmes have been approved –Albania, China, Paraguay, Peru and Sudan- with a total budget of $25.6 million.

A second round Request for Proposals for Youth, Employment and Migration was launched on February 11, 2008. It was decided by the Steering Committee that only 18 out of the 24 concept notes recommended by the Technical Sub-Committee were invited to resubmit. The RfP closed on 14 April. All of the UN Country Teams invited to resubmit submitted a proposal amounting to some $102 million. The proposals submitted to the window were reviewed by the Technical Sub Committee for Youth, Employment and Migration an 9 of them were approved. As of January 2009, all 9 Joint Programmes have been approved – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Philippines, Serbia and Tunisia & Turkey - with a total budget of $47,603,000 approximately (out of a $50 remaining million).

Please note this thematic windows is currently closed to applications