Guidance

CSSF Gender, Peace and Security Portfolio: call for bids 2023 to 2024, gender-transformative interventions in security and justice programming, terms of reference

Published 24 May 2023

Objective

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, 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 and Integrated Review Refresh 2023.

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 UK is committed to driving forward the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and launched its fifth WPS National Action Plan (NAP) in February 2023. The 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 for gender-transformative interventions that improve gender equality and secure the rights of women, girls and marginalised groups in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCAS).

Project rationale

The CSSF is looking for innovative and catalytic interventions that align with NAP and specifically achieve progress on:

Strategic Objective 4 (SO4): Security and justice - increasing the accountability of security actors, institutions and systems to women and girls and ensuring they are responsive to their rights and needs.

The impact of conflict and instability on women and girls is immense and multi-layered, affecting their experiences of, and roles within, security and justice (S&J). Some women and girls are active combatants (members of the security forces, the police or armed groups), but many more are the victims of exploitation and violence perpetrated against them. In these contexts, S&J actors, both in informal and formal institutions, can play roles both as abusers and as protectors and upholders of rights. If abuse goes unchecked, it can fuel more conflict as male household members seek revenge and exact their own forms of justice.

Security agencies are often dominated by men and can embody harmful patriarchal norms, leading to discriminatory practices against women and girls. Women and girls often experience barriers to claiming their rights, accessing justice, and holding those that violate their rights to account, all of which is exacerbated during times of conflict and unrest. Barriers to claiming rights are particularly acute when women and girls have been targeted with gendered-based violence (GBV) and conflict-related sexual violence. Reporting GBV to law enforcement is often not feasible and risks additional harm due to security actors’ harmful beliefs about GBV. Additional barriers to accessing assistance are faced by LGBT+ women, those from racial or ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities.

To be effective, security and justice actors should operate in a way that protects the human rights of civilian populations, considering any gender-related differences in needs, and contribute to reducing inequality between genders within key security and justice institutions. Women and girls should be among those making decisions about national and subnational security and justice mechanisms and how they are implemented. They should have equal opportunity to participate through targeted recruitment and retention efforts in law enforcement agencies, judicial structures and defence. This should include participation in management structures and oversight mechanisms. Equitable, effective and accessible security and justice mechanisms are essential for mediating conflict and enabling peaceful dispute resolution within communities and societies, enabling the transition to sustainable peace. Many S&J actors do not understand women’s and girls’ needs and priorities. In many contexts, they do not believe women have the same rights as men. Increasing incentives and capabilities for S&J actors to listen is therefore just as important as supporting their capacity to respond.

Project requirements

The GPS portfolio is seeking to fund transformative and innovative projects that will help to realise the change and vision set out above and contribute to the achievement of the SO4 as set out in the UK NAP. Bidding organisations can consult this guidance note on WPS and Security and Justice (PDF, 732 KB) for further information.

Partners should prioritise the focus countries in the NAP in the first instance and all activities should take an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach and engage local partners or groups.

• 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 and budgets after an initial sift
• bids must be written in English

Bidding guidance

Complete the attached bid template. Bids must be no longer than 3 A4 pages. All bids must cover:

• purpose of the project (the intended change and outcome)
• total cost, with indications of how this will be spent (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

• the deadline to submit project proposals is 11:59pm (British Summer Time) on 7 June 2023. Late proposals will not be considered
• you should include ‘Gender-Transformative approaches to Transnational threats’ and organisation name in the email subject line
• documents must be submitted in Microsoft Office formats
• selected bidder/s must undergo a Due Diligence Assessment
• the GPS team aim 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 the WPS agenda
• strong 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.