1. PROJECT TITLE:             “Strengthen national and local systems to support the effective socio-economic integration of returnees in the Western Balkans”

1. DURATION

Contract start date:      15^th of October 2023

Contract end date:        14^th of June 2024

Duty station:                  Prilep, Shtip, Shuto Orizari

III.        BACKGROUND

UNDP is the development arm of the United Nations system, with offices in 180 countries. Globally, the organization employs 17,000 people and manages a budget of USD 5 billion each year. The UNDP office in Skopje employs a team of around 65 and currently manages a portfolio of projects in environmental protection, good governance, and social inclusion worth USD 18 million per year. 

UNDP with EU support has developed the project Strengthen national and local systems to support the effective socio-economic integration of returnees in the Western Balkans that initially was developed to respond to the challenges of implementation of the strategies for migration and reintegration of returnees especially at local level. The project is part of the IPA II Multi-Country Action Programme of the EU support to fundamental rights of Roma community, and reintegration of returnees, which has been entrusted to the WB, UNDP and the CoE. The Project aims to enhance the ability of Western Balkan authorities at central and local level to implement comprehensive models for reintegration of returnees. The project addresses the broader social inclusion agenda promoting the socio-economic well-being and tackling the root causes and negative drivers of migration of Roma and vulnerable populations.

As part of the two-track approach defined in the Project Document, North Macedonia is one of the WB countries that implements local-level programmes and tests innovative solutions for sustainable socio-economic reintegration of returnees for which the project envisages close cooperation with civil society organizations (CSOs) as implementing partners at local level.  The community outreach and established trust, in many instances makes the local NGOs first point of contact for the vulnerable returnees. 

The role of local NGOs active in supporting the reintegration of returnees and socio-economic inclusion of Roma is instrumental for ensuring that the voice and the needs of returnees are adequately reflected in the local priorities. However, in order to ensure that NGO’s capacities encompasses experience in all the fields relevant for reintegration of returnees such as: social protection, housing, employment, health, education and legal assistance, under project output 2, the Project aims to strengthen capacities of local NGOs to identify and develop approaches for improved governance in public service provision for returnees, services which are expected to be institutionalized by the end of the Action implementation. In this regard, the proposal is to include the methodology that will provide support in activation of unemployed returnees into the labour market and their socio-economic inclusion, as a comprehensive approach to socially vulnerable categories for their empowerment and inclusion in the labor market including experienced team to do training, coaching, and monitoring. As next step in that will provide support in activation of unemployed returnees into the labour market and their socio-economic inclusion methodology is spreading it at the national level, thus by using the network of local NGO’s, the project will ensure proper dissemination of the methodology as well as scaling up and providing sustainability to this methodology. 

4. OBJECTIVE

The objective of this Request for Proposal is to identify an NGO provider to perform capacity building according to the methodology which will support capacity building of local NGOs in 3 targeted municipalities – Shtip, Suto Orizari and Prilep to provide services for labour market activation, employment and general socio-economic inclusion of the target group. Simultaneously, assistance will be provided to the trained personnel in local NGOs to achieve the set targets.

Furthermore, the increased capacities of the NGOs will enable to become an effective partner of public service providers and local businesses. 

To achieve the objective the applicant is expected to include in their proposal the following activities:

1. Managing and coordination of the established core team in the NGO as provider; 
2. Support of the local team through training, coaching, and mentoring of at least 2 representatives in the selected NGOs by conducting assessments according to the proposed methodology.
3. Dissemination of the methodology by conducting trainings to local staff over the course for provide support in activation of unemployed returnees into the labour market and their socio-economic inclusion,
4. Joint implementation of proposed methodology with NGOs at local level in 3 municipalities by:

- couching of the established local staff;

- Mentoring and providing support to the local staff on the field;

1. Connecting the economic component (labour market activation, employment and general socio-economic inclusion of the target gourp) with other aspects (psychosocial support, social cohesion, access to education, and documentation provision for returnees).
2. Monitoring and Evaluation of Activities.
3. Guidelines for establishing a network of consultants.
4. Recommendations for future implementation of the proposed methodology for Roma returnees, Roma people, and other marginalized individuals at the local level.

The period allocated for the implementation of the activities is 8 months. The implementation will occur in three phases:

- Team consolidation phase - one month.

- Training and coaching phase - five months.

- Mentoring phase - two months.

These activities will help out in achieving the following project indicators (targets):

• Organization of work that includes:

• Preparation of materials required for training and a list of logistical needs; 
• Preparation of an action plan for the implementation of activities by the NGO provider; and 
• Systematization and description of the positions of trained non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in accordance with the proposed methodology.At least 12 people assessed via interviews as potential local staff in all 3 municipalities.
• At least 10 trainings with local staff conducted in all 3 municipalities as part of dissemination of the proposed methodology;
•  At least 18 couching sessions conducted in person and at least 30 couching sessions conducted online, including NGOs from all 3 municipalities;
• At least 12 mentoring session to be carried out in all 3 municipalities as part of the mentoring phase;
• Assistance and guidance in developing an implementation plan for the activities, with a plan for achieving the specified targets for each NGO individually and for the overall engagement of the NVO provider;
• Creation of templates for monitoring and evaluating the activities; and
• Creation of a report on future steps for the implementation of the methodology for utilizing the network of consultants and its application at the local level in other environments.

The targets expected to be achieved by the provider are as follows:

1. Materials for training with a list of logistical needs;
2. Description of the job positions
3. Conducted interviews (assessment of capacity of persons provided for training).
4. Plan for the activities;
5. Templates for monitoring and evaluation 
6. Recommendations for developing a plan for achieving the specified targets for each NGO individually;
7. Report on the functioning of the network of individual consultants in the future.
8. Preparation of mid-term and final report.

Additionally, the provider, together with the trained personnel of the local NGOs, will need to achieve the following targets:

*Note: all these targets refer as a cumulative value for activities within all 3 municipalities

• Up to 542 Roma and returnees supported in their activation and reintegration through proposed methodology, by providing the following opportunities:
• Assessing the strongest link in the family, guidance and joint participation in psychosocial support of the family according to proposed methodology;
• Enrollment and completion of soft and digital skills training;
• Enrollment and completion of vocational trainings (3.2 A & 3.2 B);
• Registration of legal entities/ companies from Self-employment programme (start-ups);
• Direct employments in private companies;
• Provision of social services and psychosocial support

V.         REPORTING

The applicant shall report to UNDP on the implementation of the activities and achievement of the expected results under this assignment. For this purpose, the applicant will be requested to submit:

• Mid-term report with financial statement not later than December 20, 2023.

• Final report with financial statement not later than June 30, 2024.

Note: Template of the report including necessary reporting elements will be additionally provided by UNDP.

4. DURATION AND SCHEDULE OF INSTALMENTS

The duration of the assignment is envisaged to be within 08 months, starting from 15^th of October 2023 to 14^th of June 2024.

The total budget will be realized in three tranches:

1. First instalment 30 % after contract signing.
2. Second instalment 30 % after acceptance of mid-term report
3. Third instalment 40 % after acceptance of final report

VII.      DUTY STATION AND TRAVEL

The assignment will include office and field work at local level in 3 municipalities in North Macedonia (Shuto Orizari, Prilep and Shtip) according to the established dynamics of activities.

VIII.     APPLICATION PROCUDURE AND DEADLINE

The applicant has to provide record of delivering outputs for development projects requiring expertise and experience in the following areas:

(1) Experience in mentoring and coaching in terms of providing capacity building of NGOs or other entities; 

(2) Implementation of employment support activities and/or services leading to employability enhancement, labour market activation and labour market integration of unemployed persons; and

(3) Experience in establishing effective partnerships with the municipality and the private sector in issues targeting Roma inclusion and/or returnees is not mandatory but will be considered as a strong asset.

The criteria that entities with the submitted LVG proposals will be assessed against, are as following:

1. To be registered minimum 3 years
2. At least 3 years of experience in provision of employment support activities and/or services leading to employability enhancement, labour market activation and labour market integration of unemployed persons. 
3. At least 3 years of experience in providing counseling and mentoring support in order to provide capacity building of NGOs or other entities.
4. Organization capacities: management/ coordination /implementation of project/component with a team of at least 4 members

*** If any of the above listed minimum requirement are not met, the evaluation grid of the organization shall not be scored and will lead towards disqualification of the proposal.

Note: The applicant should follow the proposed structure of coordination/ implementation team according to the proposed methodology by including in the proposal: 

• 1 Project Coordinator
• 1 Intercultural Mediator
• 1 Employment Intermediary
• 1 Employment advisor

Required documents for submission:

1. Registration of the CSO/NGO (Current Condition from the Central Registry); 
2. Balance Sheet for the last 3 years - (Report on the balance sheet and data from the Income Statement, issued by the Central Register)
3. Low Value Grant Proposal containing budget for proposed activities, work plan and performance targets as per Annex 1.
4. Profile of the NGO referring to previous experience and reference list of similar projects/activities, in the area of implementation of employment support activities and/or services leading to employability enhancement, labour market activation and labour market integration of unemployed persons according to proposed methodology etc. (Annex 2)
5. Proposed methodology
6. CVs of the proposed team members to be enclosed

In addition to this Request for Proposal, the following annexes are enclosed for your review and submission:

1. Annex 1 - Template of Low Value Grant Proposal
2. Annex 2 - Reference list of similar projects
3. Annex 3 - Evidence of professional experience of Team member
4. Annex 4 - Self-Certification
5. Annex 5 - Availability confirmation form

The application deadline for submission of all relevant documents including the request for proposal should be not later than Friday 13^th of October 2023 by 12 pm.

Additional information and related annexes can be found on the following links: 

Annex 1 - Template of Low Value Grant Proposal

Annex 2 - Reference list of similar projects

Annex 3 - Evidence of professional experience of Team member

Annex 4 - Self-Certification

Annex 5 - Availability confirmation form