Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action

Call for Applications – Cycle D

INVESTING IN SYRIAN HUMANITARIAN ACTION (ISHA)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - CYCLE D

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH)

July2017

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Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action

Call for Applications – Cycle D

Contents

ISHA CALL FOR APPLICATIONS GUIDANCE

ISHA Call for Applications Overview

ISHA Program: Approach and Principles

Eligibility Criteria for ISHA Partners

Criteria for ISHA WASH

ISHA Evaluation Criteria

ISHA Submission Process

ISHA Selection Process

ISHA APPLICATION FORM

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Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action

Call for Applications – Cycle D

ISHA CALL FOR APPLICATIONS GUIDANCE

This section outlines the Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action Program and its Call for Applications process, requirements, and selection criteria.

ISHA Call for Applications Overview

Three international non-governmental organizations are working in a consortium to implement a program called Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action (ISHA). The ISHA consortium ispleased to announce the fourthcompetitive Call for Applications among Syrian humanitarian organizations or groups delivering relief and humanitarian assistance in Syria.

The purpose of the Call isto identify 4Syriancivil society partnersthat will receive intensive and tailored financial, technical, and operational capacity strengthening support from ISHA teams during the project cycle. This support will be provided through intensive coaching by technical, financial and operational specialists. The selected Syrian civil societypartners willalso receive sub-grant funding to deliver humanitarian assistance projects in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector.Projects will be between 6-9months in duration, and sub-grants for projects will be between USD 100,000 and USD 200,000.

NOTE: Selected ISHA partners will participate in both program components- capacity strengthening and delivery of humanitarian assistance projects. ISHA will not consider Applications for only one or the other (i.e. either funding for humanitarian assistance or technical assistance for strengthening capacity).

The Investing in Humanitarian Action Program’s Call for Applications is a multi-step process:

Once approved, ISHA consortium staff will work with the prospective partners to develop a full proposal (including budget and indicators) based on the project ideas originally submitted through this Call. This project package is then submitted to ISHA’s own donor for final approval. This process will vary by partner, but usually takes around 4 or 5 months.

Upon approval, the selected partners will then sign a sub-grant agreement, enabling them to receive funding for project activities in accordance with the full proposal, budget, and agreed upon indicators.ISHAcannot guarantee funding until the sub-grant agreement is signed.

ISHA Program: Approach and Principles

ISHA Program Objectives

  • To strengthen Syrian organizations’ technical, management, and programmatic skills
  • To support Syrian civil society organizations in responding to humanitarian and emergency needs throughout Syria

ISHA Capacity Strengthening Approach

This is not a classroom-based, pre-defined training program and it is unlikely that partner staff will attend formal courses as part of this program. Instead, ISHA will provide tailored and targeted support, based on needs and goals identified and prioritized together witheach individual partner.ISHA’s support to its partners will focus on the key technical, financial, operational, and project cycle management capacities necessary for delivering humanitarian assistance in a rapidly changing, highly complex, and increasingly dangerous environment. Consequently, ISHA’s specialists will need to engage directly with their counterparts in each partner organization – ISHA’s finance staff will liaise directly with the partner finance staff, for example.

Much of ISHA’s training and support to its partners will be anchored in the sub-grant and project implementation lifecycle.This is designed to support partners to navigate international standards and the wider Syria response environment, particularly funding and the related requirements. At first, with guidance from ISHA staff, partners will focus on finalizing key project documents, such as a proposal, work plan, results matrix, and budget.This process will build on the project approach and budget included in this Application.

Then, once the projects have been launched, ISHA’s support will shift to the provision of technical assistance focused on partners’ delivery of high quality humanitarian assistance in Syria. Throughout implementation, ISHA and its partners will jointly monitor and revisit the work plans, performance monitoring plans, and budgets to make informed changes to the project and enable real-time decision-making.

Given the access constraints faced by both INGO and Syrian humanitarian organizations in this operatingenvironment, coaching and mentoring support to ISHA partners will primarily be delivered remotely through a variety of methods, including Skype, WhatsApp, and Viber (and any other suggestions from participating partners).Coaching and technical assistance to partners will be complemented by materials and resources posted on an Arabic-language learning portal (website) specifically focused on the professional development needs of humanitarians working in Syria.

ISHA’s Underlying Principles

ISHA values Syrianhumanitarian organizations as independent entities driven by their own missions, approaches, and ground-tested humanitarian expertise. The program believes that strengthening Syrian civil society to deliver assistance and provide services more effectively is critical in laying the foundation for a future peaceful Syria.

As such, the program is centered on partners and, as far as possible,partners drive the design, decision-making, and implementation of their projects in Syria.ISHAadvises, guides, probes, and holds partners accountable to ensure that their projects are needs-driven and use resources effectively – but theISHA teamneither designs the projects nor makes day-to-day decisions during implementation. However, the ISHA team does support partners to navigate and meet international and donor standards, which may result in substantive adjustments to the project design and implementation.

Eligibility Criteria for ISHA Partners

Eligible Groups

ISHA is designed to support mid-size Syrian-led humanitarian organizations with annual portfolios of less than USD 2,000,000. This Call for Applications targets organizations involved in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)sector. The following types of potential partners are eligible to apply for participation in the ISHA program:

  • Civil society organizations or groups based in Syria or the Syria response region (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan) focused on the delivery of humanitarian assistance
  • Syrian-led organizations with leadership/ management based in Syria or the Syriaresponse region (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan), but with offices or a presence in other countries
  • Syrian-led diaspora organizations or groups with leadership/ management based in Syria or the Syria response region (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan), but with registration or bank accounts abroad
  • Syrian-led organizations that represent and coordinate between multiple smaller Syrian groups through a membership system (an umbrella/ network organization), based in Syria or in the Syria Response Region (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan)

Organizations applying to ISHA must also meet the following criteria:

  • An annual portfolio of under USD 2,000,000
  • Previous experience in water supply, sanitation or environmental health
  • At least one office inside Syria and access to the suggested project location
  • Previous or ongoing implementation of a single grant for at least USD 50,000
  • The ability to cover/ reach multiple communities with the assistance provided

NOTE: Formal registration is not a pre-requisite for applying to or participating in the ISHA program.

Ineligible Groups

As described above, the ISHA program targets mid-size Syrian-led civil society organizations with leadership teams based in the Syria response region (Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq). This means that strategic decisions - including the development of organizational strategy, decisions about the type and location of programs, financial management, and the development of organizational policies and procedures - are made by the staff based in Syria or neighboring countries (Turkey, Iraq or Jordan).

Therefore, the following types of organization are ineligible:

  • International non-governmental organizations
  • Large diaspora groups with leadership or management based in Europe,North America or other locations outside the Syrian region (which for the purposes of ISHA is considered Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq)

This program prioritizes humanitarian principles and partners’ ability to deliver aid in an impartial manner. As such, the following organizations are also ineligible:

  • Private businesses or other for-profit entities[1]
  • Groups associated with parties to the Syrian conflict
  • Organizations banned from receiving resources or support from major institutional donors
  • Political parties or groups whose affiliation with political parties compromises the impartiality of assistance

In addition, ISHA will not fund the following types of organizations through this Call for Applications:

  • Organizations that have already or are currently partnering with the ISHA program[2]
  • Any organization managing an annual portfolio of more than USD 2,000,000[3]
  • Any organization with no previous experience in water supply, sanitation or environmental health programming
  • Any organization that has not previously received a grant of at least USD 50,000
  • Any organization with leadership and headquarters outside of the Syria response region (Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq)
  • Government or quasi-government agencies, bodies or entities, including local councils or directorates

NOTE: ISHA’s own donor has regulations that do not allow us to fund organizations with headquarters, leadership or management teams based in Lebanon.

INELIGIBLE: ISHA will not fund organizations with headquarters located outside the Syria response region (Syria, Turkey, Jordan or Iraq); headquarters are defined as offices with the following functions –senior staff, strategic, management, organizationaloversight, financial management, financial oversight or implementation.
Functions that cannot be outside of the Syria Response Region:
  1. Headquarters for senior staff: head of organization, finance director, board of directors (if applicable) and other senior staff are located in this office.
  2. Strategic: responsible for deciding the direction of the organization, including the type and location of programs, accepting funds from donors and organizational priorities.
  3. Management: responsible for the day to day decisions about where, when, what and with whom your organization works.
  4. Organizational oversight: responsible for high level decision making and organizational policies and procedures, but does not intervene in day to day management decisions.
  5. Financial management: responsible for the day to day finance and accounting tasks.
  6. Financial oversight: responsible for consolidating the accounts and financing and producing annual finance reports.
  7. Implementation: responsible for delivering humanitarian or development activities to beneficiaries.
ELIGIBLE: If you have an office outside the Syria response region (Syria, Turkey, Jordan or Iraq) that is not considered your headquarters and is responsible only for functions such as fundraising, policy, advocacy and representation or technical assistance or advice, your organization is still eligible to apply to ISHA.
Functions that can be outside of the Syria Response Region:
  1. Fundraising: responsible for identifying and applying for funding opportunities and raising money from individuals, as well as the ongoing management of those relationships.
  2. Policy, advocacy and representation: responsible for promoting your organizations’ priorities and objectives with the international community (governments, United Nations, international media, international non-governmental organizations and others).
  3. Technical assistance and advice: providing support to complex operations and program tasks to guarantee quality and effectiveness.

Criteria for ISHA WASH

ISHA will support projects that are in line with the objectives set out in the WASH section of the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria:

  1. Sustainable water and sanitation systems are maintained and/or restored
  2. Most vulnerable groups receive humanitarian life-saving assistance and livelihood support

Regardless of the chosen sub sector, all projects must focus on humanitarian WASH. Higher priority will be given to interventions proposed in conflict-affected communities, areas experiencing massive displacement, locations in which existing networks do not have the capacity to support the population, and temporary settlements or IDP camps hosting IDPs. Note that ISHA cannot fund WASH projects in schools, clinics, or other public buildings not hosting IDPs and cannot fund solid waste management or water supply projects in areas where those services are provided by local governance structures.

The table below includes the types of projects that can be funded under ISHA through this Call for Applications. These are illustrative and are meant to provide guidance. Other project ideas that meet the technical criteria outlined below are also encouraged. The table also outlines the expectations, considerations and restrictions associated with this Call[4]. Applications that propose any of these restricted activities or interventions will be disqualified from further consideration.

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Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action

Call for Applications – Cycle D

Sub-sector1: Water
Programming Area / Expectations & considerations / Restrictions
  • Water trucking for IDPs or in hard to reach areas
  • Rehabilitation of water facilities and networks in collective centers, camps, temporary settlements
  • Water vouchers for vulnerable groups
  • Water safety plans(community level)
/
  • Partners should take account ofthe Syria water supply minimum requirements for households of 40-50 liters/per person/per day
  • In water supply programs, user fees to off-set basic maintenance costs should be integrated into the program design as a sustainability plan.
  • For water network projects, site selection needs to be justified- including how the proposed intervention will ensure access in the longer term, how it links to other parts of the network, etc.
  • Rehabilitation or improvements to water systems must be overseen by qualified engineers and include assessments of the water supply/electricity capacity to meet any additional needs that may be created.
  • Projects may consider distribution of water storage tanks for vulnerable households (typically 500L – 2,000L).
  • All tankered water must be chlorinated and monitored for free residual chlorine (FRC) at point of discharge.
  • Household level monitoring is required to ensure water is adequately chlorinated to achieve free residual chlorine (FRC) of 0.2mg/L at the point of consumption. This includes water that is distributed through water supply infrastructure/ piped networks, water trucks and household point-of-use products.
  • Solar water pumps and other alternative energy sources can be considered for areas with little to no access to fuel and where borehole depths/yields are appropriate.
/
  • No new construction of permanent infrastructure (improvements, renovation, alteration and refurbishment only)
  • No large-scale construction – all construction costs will be within the sub-award (USD 100,000 – USD 200,000) and the partner must be able to manage the construction themselves (no further sub-awards or sub-contracting)
  • No rehabilitation of water facilities in schools or clinics if they are not hosting IDPs
  • No distributions of aqua tabs at the household level
  • No salaries to government employees
  • No restricted items: food; baby formula or milk; medicine, drugs or pharmaceuticals; agricultural commodities, fertilizers, or pesticides; and, unrestricted cash vouchers

Sub-sector2: Sanitation
Programming Area / Expectations & considerations / Restrictions
  • Repairs of sewer/waste water networks (cleaning, provision of sewer pumps, replacement of pipes/culverts, man-hole covers, rain-water drains, etc.) in areas with increases in the population above the capacity of the existing networks or in areas with conflict related damage
  • Quick impact, small-scale rehabilitation projects to repair sewage lines or clearclogging incollective centers, camps, temporary settlements
  • Desludging at collective shelters and for household septic tanks
  • Installation of temporary latrines (for IDPs only, not for settled communities or institutions)
/
  • Projects must demonstrate there is enough household water per person per day available to properly operate the sewage system
  • For sewage network projects, site selection needs to be justified- including how the proposed intervention will ensure access in the longer term, how it links to other parts of the network, etc.
  • Post- project sustainability, and operations and maintenance plan needs to be clearly outlined in the application.
  • During project design, partners must demonstrate appropriate septic tank design where connections to existing sewer networks are not feasible.
  • Applications must ensure that desludging is linked to an appropriate final disposal site that limits environmental degredation, and plans for disposal must be clearly articulated.
/
  • No new construction of permanent infrastructure (improvements, renovation, alteration and refurbishment only)
  • No large-scale construction – all construction costs will be within the sub-award (USD 100,000 – USD 200,000) and the partner must be able to manage the construction themselves (no further sub-awards or sub-contracting)
  • No rehabilitation of WASH facilities in schools or clinics if they are not hosting IDPs
  • No salaries to government employees
  • No restricted items: food; baby formula or milk; medicine, drugs or pharmaceuticals; agricultural commodities, fertilizers, or pesticides; and, unrestricted cash vouchers

Sub-sector 3: Environmental health
Programming Area / Expectations & considerations / Restrictions
Solid waste management - SWM (may include rubble or debris removal) /
  • Community cleanup campaigns and materials may be supported (wheelbarrows, brooms and trash receptacles) for conflict-affected areas and must be accompanied by personal protective equipment, such as gloves, boots and masks.
  • Applications must ensure that SWM is linked to an appropriate final disposal site, and plans for disposal must be clearly articulated.
  • Projects should prioritize employing former SWM workers, where feasible.
  • Waste collection outside camps, collective centers, or temporary settlements will only be considered as a short-term intervention.
/
  • Proposed projects should not replicate responsibilities of local authorities and should only be implemented on a short-term basis in response to a change in the local conflict environment
  • No salaries to government employees
  • No restricted items: food; baby formula or milk; medicine, drugs or pharmaceuticals; agricultural commodities, fertilizers, or pesticides; and, unrestricted cash vouchers

Hygiene Promotion
  • Hygiene promotion is mandatory for all sub-sectors above, but will not be funded as a standalone project. Hygiene non-food items and/ or kits are considered to be hygiene promotion and will only be supported where complementing a sub-sector above.
  • Messages in hygiene promotions activities must be prioritized to focus on behavior change or enabling the practice of key behaviors in new and changing environments.
  • Adapting personal hygiene in a water scarce environment is encouraged.
  • An analysis of the barriers faced by target populations, focus group discussions, or social assessments can be used to develop hygiene promotion programming to ensure its relevance for adults and children.

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