Guidance

CSSF Gender, Peace and Security Portfolio: call for bids 2023 to 2024, gender-transformative approaches to transnational threats, terms of reference

Published 24 May 2023

The Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) is a unique cross-government fund that tackles conflict, stability and security challenges overseas, which pose the greatest threat to UK national security. Since its inception in 2015, CSSF programmes have addressed threats arising through conflict, serious and organised crime (SOC), terrorism and violent extremism in more than 85 countries and territories.

The CSSF is designed to be catalytic mobilising smaller-scale activities that provide a foundation and evidence base for longer-term programmes and has the appetite for innovative and new approaches to existing or emerging challenges. It has been a catalyst for a more integrated UK government response to fragility and conflict and is a key mechanism for delivering the Integrated Review 2021 (IR21) and Integrated Review Refresh 2023 (IRR23).

The CSSF’s delivery is structured around 4 fund level outcomes:

• conflict and instability: building resilience and stability overseas, including catalysing political settlements in order to mitigate threats to UK national interests
• state threats: strengthening the defence of the UK and our partners from hostile state activity
• transnational threats: enabling a more secure UK by tackling serious organised crime and countering terrorist threats from abroad
• women, peace and security: progressing gender equality through the protection and promotion of the rights and inclusion of women and girls, and addressing the gender-specific impacts of conflict

The CSSF Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Portfolio, through its Gender and Conflict programme, aims to invest in research, pilots and evidence generation on the gendered nature of security issues, particularly on how gender-transformative interventions can support better delivery of Integrated Review objectives. This will also contribute to the implementation of the fifth UK National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security . This NAP redefined our approach to WPS, responding to the changing nature of conflict and provides the strategic direction for the UK’s global diplomatic, development and defence efforts.

The Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Portfolio team is now seeking bids that pilot research or gender-transformative interventions that improve gender equality and the UK’s responses to transnational threats.

Project rationale and content requirements

The CSSF is looking for innovative and catalytic interventions that address a priority for the CSSF to tackle transnational threats and contribute to the implementation of the UK NAP, specifically strategic objective 5 on Transnational Threats: ensuring we respond to the needs of women and girls as part of our approach to transnational threats.

In a connected world, the UK is increasingly mindful of rising transnational threats and the need for a collective response. The IR21 and IRR23 highlight the importance of a coordinated effort to tackle the complex, overlapping, and evolving security challenges that are not confined to a particular country or region. It is vital that as security threats emerge, we consider their impact on women and girls and develop a gender-sensitive response, as well as responding to the knowledge gap on how gender can drive and intensify key threats, such as climate, cyber, artificial intelligence (AI) and SOC.

For example, increasingly climate security and conflict are interlinked, with many women and girls experiencing greater risks and existing gender inequalities exacerbate the impacts of climate disasters. Women and girls also face a heightened risk of gender-based violence (GBV) during and following disasters, and yet are often excluded from formal systems and negotiations to address the drivers of climate change, despite being at the forefront of finding localised solutions.

Cyber threats are growing in complexity and severity with a noted increase in online targeting of women and girls, particularly those that are advocating for democracy and the rights of women and LGBT+ people. Terrorist groups and violent extremist organisations recognise the importance of gender in their recruitment methods, in communication and propaganda activities and in planning and execution of extremist operations, capitalising on gendered grievances such as social inequality or patriarchal belief systems.

The UK recognises the critical role of women in improving resilience to, and mitigate the effects of, both the longstanding and emerging transnational threats and it is clear that gender considerations must be at the forefront of any response to effectively address these issues.

The bid should outline an innovative, gender-transformative intervention that addresses emerging and existing priority areas identified in the IRR such as climate, SOC, cyber, terrorism and AI. Below are suggested sub themes for intervention:

• identifying and mitigating the security implications of climate change/biodiversity loss:
  • understanding and addressing climate related drivers of conflict and instability
  • addressing conflict drivers and risks that inhibit environmental progress
  • improving mitigation and adaptation approaches to climate change in FCAS
  • safeguarding at risk biodiversity in FCAS
  • improving the consideration and incorporation of environmental issues into political settlements
• understanding and responding to emerging transnational threats:
  • developing understanding of emerging threats or risks from rapidly advancing technology, such as AI
  • building capability to tackle cybercrime
  • improving the capability of international law enforcement and criminal justice actors to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes
  • influencing international partners to introduce new (or amend existing) legislation, policies and strategies to tackle cybercrime, and encouraging international cooperation
• mitigating the threat of international SOC:
  • building international will and capacity to tackle SOC
  • reducing intent to conduct SOC and building resilience to SOC-related harms in communities
  • disrupting transnational SOC markets and tackling transnational SOC enablers
  • supporting UK government and international SOC research, intelligence sharing and coordination
• reducing the terrorism risk to the UK and UK interests overseas
  • understanding and reducing international drivers of terrorism
  • disrupting and weakening overseas terrorist groups’ capabilities
  • improving the security of overseas at-risk locations
  • countering violent extremism
  • building UK government and international capability, research and collaboration on counter terrorism and countering violent extremism

Where possible, bidding organisations should consider implementing in the countries listed in the NAP; however this is not compulsory and bids that address other countries at risk, with critical areas of biodiversity that are under threat, or are of strategic importance to the UK will be considered. All activities should take an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach and work with local partners.

• projects will be funded between August 2023 to March 2025
• budgets should be between a minimum of £400,000 and maximum of £600,000 per financial year (April to March)
• successful implementers must receive project funding in GBP
• proposals should not be crafted to reach the budget ceiling, but to specifically meet the objectives in pursuit of demonstrable impact and value for money
• the funding will be available as Official Development Assistance
• bids should not exceed 3 pages. Partners will be selected to provide detailed plans after an initial sift
• bids must be written in English

Bidding guidance

See attached bid template. Bids must be no longer than 3 pages. All bids must cover:

• purpose of the project (the intended change and outcome)
• total cost (a detailed budget will be requested at a later date)
• start and end dates
• project plan, outlining the main activities and outputs
• summary of the main risks and
• statement on how gender equality issues have been integrated into the proposal

Process

• deadline to submit project proposals is 11:59pm (British Summer Time) on 7 June 2023. Late proposals will not be considered
• include ‘Gender-Transformative approaches to Transnational Threats’ and organisation name in the subject line
• documents must be submitted in Microsoft Office formats
• selected bidder/s will undergo a Due Diligence Assessment
• the GPS team aim to finalise grant agreements with successful implementers by 1 September 2023

Assessment

This is a competitive process and each assessment will consider:

• alignment with the above mentioned priorities and policy
• design that demonstrates the ability to deliver outcomes
• innovative and catalytic nature of the intervention

Essential skills and competencies of the implementer

The implementer will have:

• experience and strong working knowledge on gender and security
• strong thematic expertise or operational experience of working in the country or region in which the project is based
• project and budget management skills
• appropriate cyber security controls to protect participants, the organisation and UK funding
• robust approaches to risk management, conflict sensitivity, and safeguarding policies and implementation plans in place that ensure the protection of beneficiaries and to safeguard against sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH). The project must be in line with UK equalities legislation, including International Development (Gender Equality Act) and Public Sector Equality Duty.

Contacts

Organisations should email proposals to CSSFGender.PeaceSecurity@fcdo.gov.uk.

Additional information and documentation

If the purchase of assets is essential for achieving the project outputs and impact, we will ask for a separate Equipment Purchase Supporting Letter (ODT, 8 KB) when a full budget is submitted.

Digital development costs in excess of £10,000 for “any external-facing service provided through the internet to citizens, businesses, and civil society or non-government organisations” will need to be depicted separately in the Digital Spend Proposal form (ODT, 20 KB).

The FCDO is moving away from using a flat NPAC rate. See guidance (PDF, 689 KB). However, for the majority of projects, admin costs are unlikely to exceed 10% of the total project budget. Ten percent is not a target or a cap and there will be circumstances where admin costs over 10% may still represent value for money. NPAC costs should be included in the total costs. Further detail will be required when the full budget is submitted and will be reviewed during the assessment process.

All successful implementers will sign a standard FCDO grant agreement. The terms of the contract or agreement are not negotiable.