Social Accountability Implementing Partners for Gambela Region

Source: World Bank — Enhancing Shared Prosperity through Equitable Services

VNG International BV PLC

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (REOI)-

For Gambela Region

Background

The Ethiopian Social Accountability Program (ESAP) is part of the Enhancing Shared Prosperity through Equitable Services (ESPES) program, which seeks to improve basic public service delivery by local governments by making services better attuned to the needs and priorities of citizens.

ESAP3 is financed by a multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) managed by the World Bank on behalf of five development partners (DPs): the European Union, the Irish Embassy, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, the Embassy of Sweden, and the Austrian Development Agency. VNG International has been contracted by the World Bank to administer and monitor grants awarded to social accountability implementing partners (SAIPs).

ESAP aims to bring citizens in dialogue with local governments and service providers to improve access to and quality of basic public services. This is done in support of the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE) efforts to improve transparency, accountability, and citizens’ participation in basic public services delivery. 

This expression of interest format is developed with the purpose to invite civil society organizations (CSOs), other non-governmental and non-profit actors such as NGOs, CBOs, CRs and FBOs and qualifying for-profit private sector organizations (such as consulting firms, technology development firms and private universities) to express their interest in competing for a grant under ESAP’s program with its revised strategy.

Instruction

All interested applicants are required to submit this Expression of Interest (EOI) in order to assess the potential eligibility of your organization to compete for a grant in response to the upcoming Request for Proposals (RFP).

All EOIs will be reviewed.  If your organization is meeting the basic eligibility criteria to compete under the RFP, you will be notified and the ESAP management agency will share the RFP package with you at the same time as it will do with other eligible organizations. Please note that neither the consideration by the MA of your EOI, nor the invitation by the MA to your organization to submit a proposal in response to the RFP should be construed as a guarantee that your project will be granted funding.

You are required to answer each and every question in this EOI in order to provide us with sufficient information to establish whether your project is eligible for applying to an ESAP3 grant.

Eligible applicants could be CSOs, CBOs, NGOs, radio stations (community and other where appropriate, but no commercial stations), universities, research firms and technology firms.  We highly encourage applications by consortiums, i.e., a partnership between organizations.  In all cases, the lead applicant among the consortium members must be a duly registered CSO.   Co-applicants can be CSOs, and any other organizations mentioned above as eligible applicant.  Please note that you are required to specify all co-applicants with the submission of your EOI.  VNG International does not accept additional partners later on during the proposal submission process.  

How to obtain the REOI package:

• Obtain hard copy from the ESAP Management Agency at: Gurd Shola, Yeka Sub City, Woreda 09, Asmara Road, Asier Building, 12th Floor (opposite Century Mall)
• Request by sending an email to: query@esap.org.et

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1.1 Title __________                              1.2 First Name __________________________________  

1.3 Last Name __________________________________   

1.4 Contact Address Including full Postcode ________________________________

1.5 Telephone Number ________________________________

1.6 Mobile Number   __________________________________

1.7  Email Address   _______________________________

1.8 Organisation Name  _______________________________

If the applicants are more than one organization, please include all information listed above (Ref. 1.1-1.8)

 1.9 Type of Organisation

Circle the relevant number from the list below. See the table below for the key which

gives each organisation type a number. If your organisation type is not in

this list write your organisation type under number 7.

1. Civil Society organization
2. Community Based Organization
3. Private Company
4. Fishermen's association
5. Public University
6. Private University
7. Other, please specify in the box

1.10  Organisation Registration Number[1]

1.11  Write a brief note about your organization

         (Include mission statement, no. of staffs and completed projects)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.12    Briefly explain why you are interested to implement Ethiopian Social Accountability Program.­­­­­­­­­­

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.13    Explain where you work currently (regions or woredas) and how your relationship with local government  structure.[2]

   Give a brief description.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.14 The grant application targets a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 woredas. Briefly explain how many woredas you will cover and specify the name of the woredas.

(Give a brief explanation about your experience working in those woredas as well)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.15  Explain the total grant fund you have managed and what percentage of the grant award amount goes to program in the past 3 years.

______________________________________

1.16  Do you have appreciation letter from the donor agencies?

         Yes ________    No__________

         (if the answer is yes, please attach the letter)

1.17  Deadline for submission of expressions of interest

1.17.1 The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is Monday, 15 March 2021, at 5:00PM  

1.17.2 No submissions will be accepted after 5:00PM exactly, without exception

1.17.3 Submit this form either by recorded post-delivery, direct delivery by hand, private courier service, or email, to: 

Management Agency ESAP

Gurd Shola, Yeka Sub City, Woreda: 09, Asier Building, 12th Floor, Asmara Road (opposite Century Mall)

Telephone: +251-(0)11-663-4661 or +251-(0)11-663-4601 Fax: +251-(0)11-663-2567

Email: query@esap.org.et

Include ‘Expression of Interest’ in the subject header if submitting your form by e-mail.

Once we receive your Expression of Interest we will determine eligibility of each applicant. We will provide you with the result within 10 working days of receipt of your EOI provided all required information was included in your submission.  

Please note: an invitation to submit a full application is no guarantee for funding.  It merely means that you are eligible to compete with other eligible applicant for funding under ESAP. 

You are required to sign below once you are satisfied that you have completed the form correctly.

I, as the applicant, declare that I have read and understood the guidance and EOI form.

I declare that the information given in this EOI form is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

I declare that I have permission from any other partner(s) involved in the project to sign the EOI form on their behalf.

I understand that all ESAP3 grants are discretionary and there is no automatic entitlement to any grant.

I am not aware of any reason why my organization and its partners are not eligible to compete for a grant with ESAP.

I understand that any information provided is treated in confidence, but may be verified against records held by government, other agencies, local authorities and the police, for the purposes of assessing my eligibility for a grant or for the purposes of the prevention or detection of fraud.

I understand that I will be excluded from any consideration if I have knowingly provided information which I know to be false and may face legal consequences.

I declare that I have not committed any serious infringement or fraud as outlined in the EMFF regulations.

Print name of applicant                            : _____________________________

Signature of applicant                              : _____________________________

Date (DD/MM/YYYY)                                 :______________________________

Print name of applicant                            : ______________________________

(If the applicants are more than one)

Counter signature of the applicant           :  ______________________________

Date (DD/MM/YY)                                         :_______________________________

[1] Attach renewed registration certificate.

[2] If you have written recognition letter from the region or woreda, please attach the copy of the letter.