REQUEST FOR INFORMATION_Tunisia CSO.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Release Date May 31, 2022 RFI Closing Date & Time June 14, 2022 Activity Title Civil Society Activity Submission must be emailed to TunisiaSolicitations@usaid.gov Industry Day Registration Due Date June 20, 2022

Dear Interested Parties:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Tunisia hereby issues a Request for Information (RFI) to gather feedback to strengthen the design of an activity with the preliminary title: Civil Society Activity. The anticipated goal of the activity is to empower Tunisian citizens to act and advocate for specific issues and effect change at the local, regional and national level in advancing Tunisia’s development and to build the legitimacy and sustainability of the civil society sector. Attachment 1 includes the draft Program Description of this activity. An Arabic version may be posted in the coming days.

This RFI is issued solely for information, research, and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal nor a Request for Application. The RFI does not commit the U.S. Government to issue a solicitation/Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). When a solicitation/NOFO is issued, it will be announced on https://www.grants.gov or https://sam.gov in the coming months.

USAID/Tunisia is also planning to conduct an in-person Industry Day on June 30, 2022 in Tunis. The event will serve as a forum for USAID to collect verbal feedback from organizations and to engage in a Question & Answer session to help further strengthen the activity design. If your organization would like to attend, please send your contact information (name, title, organization name and email address) by June 20, 2022 to Tunisiasolicitations@usaid.gov. Each organization will be limited to two (2) attendees. More details will follow regarding the venue, time, and agenda. Please continue to monitor this posting on grants.gov for updates on the Industry Day.

Organizations who do not confirm their participation by June 20th may not be allowed to attend. USAID will not pay any costs associated with attending the Industry Day.

Responding to this RFI and/or attending the Industry Day will not give any advantage to or preclude any organization from any Request for Application/Proposal that may be subsequently issued. Any/all comments received through this RFI and Industry Day process will be strictly for information gathering purposes. USAID will not pay for any costs associated with responding to this RFI. Information received in response to this

RFI or at the Industry Day shall become property of USAID, therefore, information that cannot be shared should not be send.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted by email only to Tunisiasolicitations@usaid.gov no later than the date and time shown above. Hard copy submissions will not be accepted nor will phone inquires be entertained. Respondents will receive electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt response but will not receive individualized feedback.

We look forward to receiving your comments and seeing you on June 30th.

Best Regards, David Arnett Contracting and Agreement Officer Office of Acquisitions and Assistance mailto:Tunisiasolicitations@usaid.gov

Response Requirements

Responses shall include the following:

1. Cover page, not to exceed (1) page, that includes:

a. Organization name and address

b. Point of contact name and contact information

c. Legal registration status to work in Tunisia

d. A brief statement that indicates the organization’s interest in applying as a prime or sub-recipient in any future Request for Application

2. Comments, both positive and negative, on the draft Program Description. USAID is interested in receiving feedback which will help in strengthening the activity design. Please limit comments to two (2) pages.

3. Questions to USAID related to this proposed activity which will be used to steer the agenda of the June 30th Industry Day. Please limit questions to one (1) page.

No other documents or information is requested at this time. USAID asks respondents to not send any additional information other than what is requested above and to adhere to the page limits mentioned.

Attachment 1: Program Description

I. Program Goal and Objectives

The overall goal of the Civil Society Activity (“The Activity”) is to empower Tunisian citizens to act and advocate for specific issues and effect change at the local, regional, and national level in advancing Tunisia’s development and to build the legitimacy and sustainability of the civil society sector. Interventions will be focused on five to ten thematic areas decided through a participatory approach, over the course of the award, that reflect local priorities, political will, and strong potential to make tangible improvements in the daily lives of citizens. This activity has three main objectives:

1. Increase the engagement and agency of citizens to act and advocate for specific issues of public interest.

2. Strengthen the institutional capacity of civil society organizations to promote positive change on citizen and constituent priorities (based on the organizational mission).

3. Promote effective partnerships (intra- inter- and multi-sectoral) at local, regional and national levels (e.g., government, civil society, citizens, private sector) to advance shared development objectives.

II. Background and Development Challenge:

Country Context:

Since the Tunisian Revolution in 2011, civil society has gained increased political space to become established, implement activities, and advocate for reforms. The number of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) post-2011 doubled with an actual ratio of 1.9 CSOs for 1,000 inhabitants1. Of the twenty-four thousand registered CSOs per the latest IFEDA statistics, only six thousand CSOs at most are active. CSOs are over-represented in Tunis while the rest of the country continues to lack appropriate representation. The CSO landscape transformation involved a diversification of activist profiles, including youth and women, from urban and rural areas. CSOs are becoming more representative of the economic and social diversity of Tunisia, although the sector still remains predominantly urban and elite-driven.

Problem Statement:

During the post-2011 period, CSOs have played a crucial role in Tunisia’s post-revolution efforts to transition to a more participatory democracy and include citizens in decision-making. Civil society has played an important role as watchdogs, calling for government accountability, monitoring policy, and supporting civic education. However, CSOs are not always constituency- based, they often are incentivized to respond to donor priorities, and their leadership can be hierarchical and personality-driven. CSOs have not entirely

1 TADAEEM NGO priority Identification Report succeeded in embracing democratic values, mobilizing citizens and the private sector effectively, or advocating for change at local, regional, or national levels. CSOs are also not always flexible or adaptive to address specific community needs. Tunisia’s 2021-2023 Open Government Partnership action plan2 has identified several ways to increase public participation in government and for the government to embrace governance based on transparency and accountability.

While Tunisian civil society organizations have flourished significantly since 2011, covering a wide range of activities funded by various donors, the influx of funds has contributed to the distortion of civil society efforts. Donors have noted that the sector has become weakened by the abandonment of smaller organizations for the larger, more well-funded organizations. The COVID crisis exacerbated the challenges and CSOs continue to shift their priorities to respond to immediate needs in the absence of government intervention. The 2020 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index (CSOSI) highlighted that the political instability and the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the country in 2020 have both impacted the sustainability of CSOs in Tunisia.3

Various CSOs lack the technical expertise, reporting skills, or legal knowledge to fully engage in the development and implementation of successful strategic plans. Government bureaucracy at every level creates hurdles to their work. Financial management remains a weakness in the CSO sector, and only a few CSOs have effective financial management systems. CSOs, particularly those in the interior regions of the country and along border areas, face significant financial obstacles and lack required technical skills, both of which disrupt their activities and their ability to operate effectively. The Center for Training, Studies and Documentation on Associations (IFEDA), serves as a center of resources and expertise but lacks the necessary tools and resources to provide long-term and expansive capacity building to CSOs.

Another set of challenges that was emphasized by CSOs during USAID consultations was the lack of coordination and resource disparity between “center” and “periphery” CSOs.

Organizations based in Tunis or in other regional capitals are closer to policy and decision-making and are often better resourced, although Tunis-based CSOs also reported that sustainable financing remains a challenge for them. There is a lack of connection or network between CSOs in urban and peri-urban areas with those active in more rural areas. Tunis-based CSOs recognized that they were not effective at reaching out to smaller, nascent organizations in the outer reaches of the country. City-based CSOs identified the need to cross-pollinate with local groups and actors through peer exchanges and learning. While most national organizations comprehend what advocacy is and have engaged in several advocacy campaigns, CSOs in the regions have not fully embraced advocacy strategies for change at a local or community level.

The political uncertainty of the post July-25, 2021 period, including the dissolution of the

2 opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Tunisia_Action-Plan_2021-2023_EN.pdf

3 Tunisia 2020 CSOSI Report, https://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/csosi-mena-2020-report.pdf parliament, left CSOs without legislative counterparts, and increased their reluctance to speak out for fear of reprisal. While the current legal and regulatory environment for CSOs to operate is considered to be permissive, many experts are worried that changes to decree/laws will limit CSOs ability to operate effectively. The draft leaked version as it currently stands would likely limit association and international funding, forcing some CSOs to cease operations.

Purpose and Relationship to the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and USG Policy and Other Donors:

The CSO strengthening activity seeks to empower Tunisian citizens to act/advocate for positive changes at the local, regional and national level in advancing Tunisia development and to build the legitimacy and sustainability of the civil society sector.

The proposed activity aligns with the new draft CDCS Goal, “Foundations for a resilient, prosperous, and democratic Tunisia developed” and proposed Development Objective DO2: “Social contract between citizens and government strengthened”. It will contribute directly towards the proposed Intermediate Result IR. 2.2 “Local communities empowered” This program will coordinate with other USAID programming in the CDCS, including the Political Transitions Project (PTP) and the Ma3an Activity.

This effort will also contribute to the USAID Draft Local Capacity Development Policy4, which is still in development, by shifting more leadership, ownership, decision-making, and implementation to the local people and institutions who possess the capability, connectedness, and credibility to drive change in their own communities.

USAID is aware of the large interest from donors in the CSO space since 2011 and hopes to avoid similar types of past interventions such as deciding project themes without input from local citizens and groups, not enough money focused on local capacity development, too much generic capacity building support, and focused disproportionately on Tunis-based civil society, which have often not yielded lasting results.

Other Donor-funded programs:

While many donors and donor-funded projects have worked with and through civil society, the below mentioned program focuses explicitly on civil society strengthening.

USAID encourages close collaboration between the Civil Society activity and any relevant other programs.

Strengthening Emerging Civil Society Organizations in Tunisia - ROSE (European Union) 2021-2026: The ROSE project is implemented by the consortium of Oxfam, Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), and Jamaity, with the objective to support emerging civil society and strengthen its role as an influential agent of change.

4 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/LCD_Policy_-_FORMATTED_508_01-11.pdf

III. Objectives/Results and Theory of Change

A. Description of Results and their Relationship to the Objectives

Throughout the activity, Tunisian citizens will be empowered to act and advocate for positive change on specific issues of public interest at the local, regional, and national level to advance Tunisia’s development. In addition, CSOs will be better equipped to build their legitimacy and sustainability to promote positive change on citizen and constituent priorities through strengthened institutional capacity. All the following objectives will work together and towards specific salient themes decided through a collaborative approach and themes that reflect citizen realities and needs in order to achieve real impact. USAID seeks to address the funding and financial sustainability issues facing CSOs, provide tailored capacity building to cover any skill gaps that CSOs may need, support CSOs to carry out advocacy campaigns, and decentralize resources in order to ensure greater access for CSOs outside of Tunis and in the periphery. The recipient will increase effective partnerships (intra- inter- and multi-sectoral) at local, regional, and national levels (e.g., government, civil society, citizens, private sector) to advance shared development objectives. It will also increase the ability of civil society organizations to represent their constituents’ priorities and encourage the creation of more effective cross-sectoral partnerships in order to implement activities that drive active citizen participation.

The recipient will promote citizen participation and ensure interventions are demand driven, and address issues/themes important to citizens. The activity will help partner CSOs become more inclusive by encouraging the participation of vulnerable and marginalized groups (including persons with disabilities, women in rural areas, youth in underprivileged communities, Black communities, LGBTQI+, ethnic and religious minorities and others) into civic activities and democratic processes. Also, the engagement of youth is paramount, as they were critical to past change efforts.

Expected Activity Level Results:

● Citizen’s perception of their ability to make changes to local problems improved.

● Capacity of civil society to represent Tunisian priorities at the local, regional and national level enhanced.

● Effective intra-sectoral partnership among local, regional and national level civil society organizations is promoted.

● Long term sustainability of CSOs and the impact of their initiatives enhanced.

Objective 1: Increase the engagement and agency of citizens to act and advocate for specific issues of public interest.

The recipient will increase the ability of civic actors to identify and provide viable solutions to local problems. Citizens will gain an understanding of how they can improve their local communities through locally driven approaches to identifying, addressing, and sustaining citizen initiatives. The recipient will build community assets and trust in civil society that can contribute to Tunisia’s overall democratic development.

Expected Results

a. Citizen feedback mechanisms developed at national and local levels.

b. Citizen-driven civic initiatives empowered and increased.

c. Effective local and national level civic issue-based advocacy campaigns implemented.

Objective 2: Strengthen the institutional capacity of civil society organizations to promote positive change on citizen/constituent priorities (based on their own organizational mission).

The recipient will improve CSOs’ ability to mobilize citizens and deepen relationships with constituencies. This activity will help CSOs ensure citizen buy-in by better identifying citizen priorities and solutions to their issues. The recipient will help CSOs better promote their activities, in addition to enhancing public knowledge of what citizen engagement is.

This activity will support IFEDA to expand on its curriculum and operations. All of these activities will increase the trust and legitimacy of CSOs among citizens.

Expected Results:

a. Civil society capacity to mobilize citizens and constituency building improved.

b. CSO capacity to advocate for policy change improved.

c. CSO communication strategies and public image enhanced.

d. Funding sources for CSOs are diversified.

e. Technical assistance provided to IFEDA.

Objective 3: Promote effective partnerships (intra- inter- and multi-sectoral) at local, regional and national levels (e.g., government, civil society, citizens, private sector) to advance shared development objectives.

The recipient will link organizations based in Tunis or in other regional capitals with peripheral groups and actors, and link private actors (civil society, private sector, citizens) with government actors to work on shared priorities.

Expected Results

a. Thematic issues are defined and addressed by CSOs on a regular basis with inputs from local stakeholders.

b. Engagement between CSOs, private sector and the Government are strengthened.

c. Linkages across CSOs, especially those increasing center-periphery connections are strengthened.

B. Development Hypothesis

IF there is increased engagement and agency of citizens, AND capacity of civil society is strengthened, AND there are more effective cross-sectoral partnership among local, regional and national level civil society, government and private sector entities around shared development issues, THEN Tunisians will be able to advocate for specific issues and effect change at the local, regional and national level, AND the legitimacy and sustainability of the CSO sector will be enhanced.

C. Assumptions

USAID developed this Activity based on the following set of assumptions:

● The Tunisian democratic consolidation continues forward peacefully and without significant backsliding.

● The Civil Society enabling environment remains open and permissive.

● Stakeholders are open to collaborate with each other.

● CSOs are willing and able to accept donor funding from USG.

● Citizens will be willing to remain informed and willing to engage in creating positive change.

● The security and public health situations in Tunisia remain stable.

● The type of assistance provided is flexible and action-oriented.

IV. Activity Parameters

Inclusive Development/ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) principles:

Implementing partners must strive to incorporate the following principles into the design and measurement of activities:

- Inclusive Development: Inclusion is one of USAID’s core values. USAID promotes a nondiscriminatory and inclusive approach to development that ensures that all people

– including those who face discrimination and thus may have limited access to a country’s benefits, legal protections, or social participation (including, but not limited to LGBTQI+ people, persons with disabilities, religious/ethnic minorities, black communities, women and girls in rural areas, youth in underprivileged communities)

– are fully included and can participate in and benefit from development processes and activities. The legal framework in Tunisia remains an impediment to the effective participation of LGBTQI+ individuals in public life as they are subject to high levels of state-sponsored persecution, with active arrests and imprisonment occurring under Article 230. Though their rights are guaranteed by law, persons with disabilities, women, youth, religious and ethnic minorities and Black communities still face challenges accessing government services and being treated on an equitable basis with others in society.

- Youth Engagement Policy: USAID’s Youth Policy outlines a conceptual approach to youth in devel-opment and provides guiding principles and operational practices in support of USAID’s efforts to mainstream youth in development, carry out more effective programs, and ele-vate youth participation. If youth and women continue to feel disassociated from the democratic government, and are unable to secure gainful employment and/or receive a living wage, then they will continue to lose confidence in Tunisia’s budding democracy.

- Gender Inclusion: The 2020 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy affirms USAID's vision of a prosperous and peaceful world in which women, girls, men, and boys enjoy equal economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and are equally empowered to secure better lives for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries. A recent Tunisia gender analysis (February 2022) showed that women are numerically well represented in elected and appointed governance institutions including leadership roles within CSO and as such, they can play a pivotal role in advancing gender priorities. However, Tunisia still has a long way to go to achieve gender parity in practice as cultural biases hinder the implementation of laws and regulations. The Recipient must systematically consider gender aspects and implications of specific interventions and seek opportunities to promote women participation in targeted interventions. To that end, data collected for monitoring and evaluation purposes must be gender disaggregated and other monitoring and evaluation tools, including surveys, must include questions to elicit information enabling differentiation of impact based on gender.

Implementation Approach: The following principles must be considered in design and implementation.

- Target Beneficiaries - The Activity does not have a primary target, but emphasis should be placed on reaching organizations that are based outside of Tunis and/or that which have limited capacity. Civil Society Networks and pre-2011 organizations must also be considered for this program.

- Local Engagement and Sustainability – Local engagement, participation, leadership, and country ownership are fundamental to the long-term sustainability of development outcomes and are core operating principles of this activity. As such, local partners and organizations are expected to be at the forefront of the Activity and the recipient must work closely and collaborate with local partners on all phases of activity design, implementation, and evaluation. For further guidance on the vision please see the Draft Local Capacity Development Policy5.

- Networking of actors and efforts: The activity will work to increase trust, coordination, collaboration, and cooperation between CSOs and civic groups, media, and the government; between the private and public sectors; and between donors to maximize and synergize efforts. The activity will aim to increase partnerships based on common development issues, but partnerships do not necessarily need to create permanent networks.

- Thematic Interventions: Interventions will be focused on specific thematic areas decided through a participatory approach that reflect local priorities, political will, and strong potential to make tangible improvements in the daily lives of citizens.

- Subgrants: The recipient will consider a significant set aside for small grants every year for local partners that could range from microgrants to core funding based on specific criteria to be developed jointly with USAID at the Workplan stage. The recipient should provide grants around themes or objectives. This will enable local

5 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/LCD_Policy_-_FORMATTED_508_01-11.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00ZB5C.pdf sustainability, and shift more leadership, ownership, decision making, and implementation to the local institutions.

- Flexible approach: It is critical that the Recipient maintain a flexible and adaptable work planning and monitoring system to account for and adjust implementation to unanticipated changes. Per ADS 303.3.18, the AOR may approve revisions to the implementation plan to adjust for changes determined as a result of Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA).

- Private Sector: Integrating Private Sector Engagement (PSE) throughout the Program Cycle better positions USAID and partners to identify market-based approaches, mobilize private-sector investment and expertise, and make more-catalytic use of USAID’s resources. At the same time, it enables USAID and partners to adapt continuously to new evidence, opportunities, or circumstances. USAID envisions vast opportunities to engage with the private sector within this activity.

- Digital: Given the increasing challenge globally to fundamental freedoms online, the recipient will need to equip civil society and media actors with the knowledge, tools and resources to anticipate digital threats, tackle disinformation and protect the public against digital manipulation.

- Climate Risk: A climate risk assessment was done as part of the approved Initial Environmental Examination (IEE ME 19-50) and carries a low - though variable - risk from climate change. The activities implemented under this program will incorporate the current USAID will consider climate mitigation and adaptation strategies as part of the design process where relevant and appropriate. The Recipient will submit a new climate risk assessment specific to this activity for USAID review and approval before major programmatic implementation begins.

- Thinking and Working Politically: The Recipient will continuously explore the local context, to adapt programming according to realities on the ground and opportunities and barriers that emerge.

Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA): USAID’s CLA approach ensures that USAID/Tunisia’s CDCS works as a living strategy, providing guidance and reference points not only for implementation, but also for learning and course correction as needed.

Partners should apply USAID’s approach to CLA to this Activity. In alignment with ADS 201.3.7, partners should integrate approaches to CLA that include:

- Collaborating, where relevant. Collaboration activities may include joint work planning, regular partner meetings that facilitate knowledge sharing, and working groups organized along geographic or technical lines.

- Involving USAID/Tunisia and other stakeholders in learning activities, such as portfolio reviews or stocktaking efforts, as appropriate.

- Using the knowledge and learning gained from implementation, opportunities to reflect on performance, monitoring data, evaluations, knowledge about the context, and other sources to adjust interventions and approaches as needed. These practices will drive decision-making and activity adjustments in an intentional way that responds to new information and changes in context.

Opportunity Response Mechanism (ORM): The recipient must consider setting aside at least $3,000,000 funds in an Opportunity Response mechanism, which may be https://ecd.usaid.gov/repository/pdf/52210.pdf used to respond to unanticipated needs and shocks produced by changing circumstances that are not included or envisioned in the Activity’s implementation plan. The ORM will be subject to available funding and identified opportunities and/or challenges. Both the Recipient and USAID may initiate an activity request under the ORM in the implementation stage.

All ORM requests must be submitted for Agreement Officer’s approval and will be supported by the Recipient’s separate budget and an activity description for the ORM activity(ies). All requests to utilize the ORM must contribute to attainment of objectives under the resulting Agreement. All activities under the ORM will be subject to substantial involvement provisions of the resulting Agreement and will require amendments to, included but not limited to, the Recipient’s approved Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP) and annual Implementation Plan(s).

If the ORM, or a portion of the ORM, is not utilized prior to the final year of the resulting Civil Society Activity Agreement, the AOR or the Recipient may request that the ORM be realigned into the standard program funding partially or in full, subject to funding availability and with the final approval authority of the Agreement Officer. Not all of the ORM must be used at one time and multiple interventions can be considered. Overall, subject to funding and identified opportunities and/or challenges, it is possible that by the end of the resulting Civil Society Activity Agreement, the ORM set-aside: (1) will be utilized in full, (2) will be utilized in part, or (3) will not be utilized at all.