GEEA Suva SOW.docx

Scope of Work (SOW) (Draft until finalized)

U.S. Embassy Program Strategic Goals and Objectives

The U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for a regional program in eligible Pacific Island countries at $1.5 million or less to promote greater leadership roles and economic opportunities for Pacific women and girls as part of the region’s ongoing clean energy transition. Pacific Island Countries – among the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of climate change – have set ambitious goals and targets for renewable energy deployment and decarbonization of their economies. Transition to renewable energy however presents specific structural and cultural challenges to ensuring that women girls – including from marginalized and underserved populations – have sufficient opportunities, resources, and freedom to benefit from and participate fully in new economic opportunities provided by the region’s emerging renewable energy sector. Increasing female participation in the Pacific energy sector will also bring valuable additional viewpoints to help foster greater innovation in the sector.

This new program will help secure women’s economic future by strengthening institutions and gender-responsive policies in the Pacific’s male-dominated energy sector, enhancing employment opportunities for women in the clean energy workforce, promoting women’s access to and representation in decision-making around the clean energy transition in the Pacific Islands, and promoting relevant science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education opportunities for women and girls.

Additionally, this program will further solidify U.S. engagement in the Pacific Islands and contribute to the U.S. government’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the U.S. State Department’s Women’s Economic Security Strategy. This program will be funded through the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund (GEEA) Fund, which is intended to advance gender equity and equality through enhancing the security of women and girls, including by securing their economic future through green jobs and building resilience to climate change.

In particular, the Pacific’s energy sector has long been male dominated. Currently only 20 percent of the workforce of utilities in Pacific Island countries are female, with only 5 percent in technical roles. Women in the region remain absent from energy-related decision-making at all levels. Parents and relatives often discourage women and girls from becoming entrepreneurs or from pursuing male-dominated careers, such as those in the energy sector. Female participation rates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in Pacific tertiary institutions remains low, with only 20 percent at university and 5 per cent or less at Vocational Education and Training Courses (TVET).

For the past two decades, Pacific regional organizations like the Pacific Community (SPC) and other bodies have been working towards gender equality and integrating the perspectives of women and girls in region’s the energy sector, including its growing clean and renewable energy sector. This initial work contributed to the establishment of the Pacific Energy and Gender Network (PEGI) under SPC. PEGI subsequently carried out an Energy Gender-Based Assessment Report for the Pacific in 2019 that informed the development a Pacific Energy Gender Strategic Action Plan to serve as a guiding framework for PICTs to lead the implementation in alignment with national priorities.

PEGSAP seeks to promote women's climate and clean energy leadership and economic security by increasing career, income generation, and economic opportunities for women and girls across the region. Planned PEGSAP activities include conducting sub-regional market assessments to identify employment and income-generating opportunities for women in clean energy and supporting or related fields; supporting pilot projects to increase opportunities for women-owned businesses in the sale, distribution, and maintenance of renewable energy systems; and providing scholarships for women and girls to pursue university studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of relevance to existing, new, and emerging clean energy sector jobs.

PEGSAP was officially launched at an October 2022 Pacific Regional Women in Energy Conference and Clean Energy Workshop in Fiji that was co-hosted by Embassy Suva and SPC and funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR). The conference culminated in the selection of a regional steering committee of conference participants from across the Pacific Islands, including representatives from national Energy Departments, utilities, regulators, and private energy companies, to oversee PEGSAP implementation over the next three years. In her keynote address at the conference, ENR Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Laura Lochman also officially launched the Department’s global Women in Energy (WE) strategy.

The program is in alignment with Embassy Suva Integrated Country Strategy (ICS), including:

Embassy Suva ICS Mission Goal 2: Respond to and address the global challenges including climate change and global pandemics that threaten the region’s security and prosperity.

Mission Objective 2.1: Increase cooperation with Pacific Islands on climate and other global environmental issues, including biodiversity protection.

Mission Objective 2.2: Foster more healthy, educated, and resilient populations through assistance aimed at promoting sustainable and resilient health, economic, and social systems.

Mission Goal 4: Strengthen democracy in the region; promote equity, accessibility, human rights; and advance transparent, accountable governance that works in the public interest.

Projects should be designed to achieve the following four objectives:

Objective 1: Strengthen gender-responsive regional and national energy policies.

Objective 2: Encourage Pacific Energy Service Providers, including utilities and private businesses, to enhance employment opportunities for women in the clean energy workforce.

Objective 3: Promote women’s access to, and representation in energy-related decision-making at the regional, national, community, and household level.

Objective 4: Ensure women have enhanced agency, knowledge, skills, and access to resources to voice their energy needs and engage in the clean energy value chain.

Applicant Project Objective 1: Strengthen gender-responsive regional and national energy policies.

Activities To achieve the goals and expected results, the program should include the following: insert activities/suggested actions here:

· Establish and support a Regional Steering Committee to oversee ongoing strategy implementation.

· Conduct a regional training needs assessment (TNA) of the clean energy sector.

· Develop and conduct a regional gender and energy training and awareness-raising program in focus countries.

· Assist the Pacific Island countries in developing, adopting, and implementing a national gender-responsive energy policy.

· Collect sex-disaggregated data on energy needs and uses and on women’s economic activities as part of national statistics.

Expected Results Specific results could include the following:

· Strengthened gender responsive regional and national energy policy.

Performance Indicators (all required F Indicators must be included in this section):

· Structures in place- teams, steering committees, capacity building plan, national plans that are resources and active.

· Reported increase in capacity by women and men participants.

· Number of regional and national policies that are gender responsive (% of increase in quality standards on policy)

· Number of instances of women taking up new entry points/income generation opportunities/articulated career pathways identified as part of this intervention.

Inputs (resource and time requirements):

· Direct labour/staff costs

· ICT and Facility services

· Full time project manager, Project officer and administrative/finance officer

Outputs (actions completed and/or items produced):

· Established committees, capacity building plans and national action plans.

· Gender mainstreamed into national and regional policies.

· Women engaged in clean energy value chain.

Data should be disaggregated as follows:

· Number of women that are part of this intervention.

· Number of regional and national policies that gender responsive

· Number of active structures in place

Targets (measurable; quarterly and/or other milestones):

· Number of meetings, consultations, training, and workshops

· Development of terms of reference for the committee

· Number of national action plans/frameworks

Outcomes (results or changes caused by these activities):

· Strengthened gender responsive regional and national energy policy.

Applicant Project Objective 2: Enhance employment opportunities for women in the clean energy workforce.

Activities To achieve the goals and expected results, the program should include the following: insert activities/suggested actions here:

· Perform sub-regional market assessments to identify employment and income-generating opportunities for women in the clean energy sector.

· Perform and regional study of women in the renewable energy workforce and work with providers of energy services from the public and private sector to develop and implement institutional gender action plans.

· Collaborate with education/training providers to ensure that career pathways for women are maximized.

· Establish mentoring and networking programs for women and girls employed in the clean energy.

Expected Results Specific results could include the following:

· Enhance employment opportunities for women in the clean energy workforce.

Performance Indicators:

· Number of instances of women taking up new entry point/income generation opportunities/articulated career pathways identified as part of this intervention.

· Percentage of change in women employed in the energy sector (directly at managerial, technical, administrative levels) and as entrepreneurs contracted by the sector.

Inputs:

· Full time project manager, Project officer and administrative/finance officer

· Direct labour/staff costs

· ICT and Facility services

Outputs:

· Women engaged in clean energy value chain.

· Market assessment reports on clean energy income generating opportunities.

· Established network for women in clean energy.

· Regional assessment report on women in renewable energy workforce

Data should be disaggregated as follows:

· Number or percentage of women employed in the energy sector.

· Number of women engaged in clean energy opportunities as part of this intervention.

· Institutions providing training on clean energy.

· Number and type of network established for women in energy.

Targets:

· Number of assessments, surveys, consultations, and meetings

· Number of meetings, exchanges organized for women in energy network

· Number of national gender action plans developed.

· Consultation with Training institutions

Outcomes:

· Enhance employment opportunities for women in the clean energy workforce.

Applicant Project Objective 3: Promote women’s access to, and representation in energy-related decision-making at the society, community, and household level.

Activities To achieve the goals and expected results, the program should include the following:

· Conduct gender-responsive energy demand assessment at community level.

· Awareness raising of the new gender-responsive energy policy.

· Promote the active engagement of women and girls in energy-related activities.

· Women in energy entrepreneurship awards

Expected Results:

Specific results could include the following:

· Promote women’s involvement in energy-related decision making in communities and household.

Performance Indicators:

· Number of women community leaders and women organizations reporting active participation in energy related decision making at the community level as a result of this intervention

· Number of women graduates, and program participants actively employed, engaged in income-generating activity, or deriving additional support/income as a result of this intervention.

Inputs:

· Full time project manager, Project officer and administrative/finance officer

· Direct labour/staff costs

· ICT and Facility services

Outputs:

· Assessment report on gender-responsive energy demand at community level

· Awareness on gender-responsive energy policy

· Women and girls engaged in energy-related activities.

· Awards for women in energy entrepreneurship Data should be disaggregated as follows:

· Number of women and women organizations actively involved in energy related decision making.

· Number of women graduates and participants engaged in income generating activities.

Targets:

· Conduct assessment surveys for gender-responsive energy demands. Number of community surveys and assessment reports

· Capacity building activities and number of awareness activities on the new gender energy policy

· Type and number of energy-related activities organized for women and girls.

Outcome:

· Promote women’s involvement in energy-related decision making in communities and household.

Applicant Project Objective 3: Promote women’s access to, and representation in energy-related decision-making at the society, community, and household level.

Activities:

To achieve the goals and expected results, the program should include the following:

· Disseminate targeted information to enhance women’s knowledge about energy technologies and how energy needs and uses and vary according to gender.

· Develop and pilot programs for young and/or female entrepreneurs to generate income through the provision of clean energy technologies.

· Implement projects to enhance communities and women’s and youth access to the productive use of energy

Expected Results Specific results could include the following:

· Women have enhanced agency, knowledge, skills, and access to resources to voice their energy needs and engage in the clean energy value chain.

Performance Indicators:

· Number of women reporting increased knowledge about energy technologies as a result of education campaigns and training

· Number of participants (women and youth) receiving support

Inputs:

· Full time project manager, Project officer and administrative/finance officer

· Direct labour/staff costs

· ICT and Facility services

Outputs:

· Awareness products developed on energy technologies.

· Women and youth engaged on benefit from energy-related projects.

Targets:

· Number of women and youths accessing information on energy technologies

· Number of women and youth benefiting form new energy technologies

· Awareness products developed and platforms used for awareness raising activities.

Outcomes:

· Women have enhanced agency, knowledge, skills, and access to resources to voice their energy needs and engage in the clean energy value chain.

As part of PEGSAP implementation, the regional steering committee, SPC, and the U.S. State Department will continue to coordinate with regional organizations, development partners, the private sector, research institutions and civil society organizations to implement and seek additional funding for specific activities. At the national level SPC will work with each Pacific Island countries’ Ministry of Women and Youth, Department of Energy, Ministry of Development Planning, electricity utility, National Chamber of Commerce, Non-government organization/civil society and Young Entrepreneurs Council. SPC, U.S. Embassy Suva, and ENR have also engaged other likeminded donors on potential additional support for PEGSAP, including Australia. Representatives from Australia, New Zealand, and the World Bank also attended the PEGSAP regional steering committee’s in-person meeting on the sidelines of SPC’s Pacific Energy and Transport Ministerial in Vanuatu and have expressed interest in potentially providing additional support for PEGSAP implementation.

Additionally, the project will link closely with SPC’s Pacific Women Lead programme which is an Australian regional investment to advance gender equality in the Pacific ($170 million over 5 years, 2021-2026). The program will enable Australia and the Pacific to work in partnership to strengthen regional gender equality efforts, building on a long history of engagement in this area. Pacific Women Lead will support Pacific-led approaches and prioritise Pacific voices and ownership, through the establishment of a new Governance Board and new strategic partnerships with Pacific organisations, including the Pacific Community (SPC) and Pacific women’s organisations as key delivery partners.