Call for the Expression of Interest from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

Citizens for Good Governance: Strengthening Citizens’ Engagement for Inclusive and Accountable Local Governance

Background

Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) is an independent, non-partisan and a not-for-profit civil society organization working on issues of peace and development in Pakistan. It was established in September 2003 by a group of concerned citizens who realized that there was a need to approach the issues of peace and development in an integrated manner. It seeks to inform and influence public policies and civil society initiatives through research-based advocacy and capacity building to promote citizenship, build peace and achieve inclusive and sustainable development. Areas of special sectoral focus include promotion of peace and tolerance, local governance, rule of law, transparency and access to information, budget watch, legislative watch and development and freedom of media and expression.

CPDI is planning to implement a project titled “Citizens for Good Governance” in the selected districts of Sindh and Baluchistan. The objective of the project is to strengthen the ability of CSOs, media groups and citizens to promote efficient, transparent, responsive and accountable local governments in Sind and Baluchistan. The specific objectives of the project are:

1. To strengthen public demand for efficient, transparent, inclusive, responsive and accountable LGs through evidence-based debates, dialogues, discussions and public awareness initiatives.

1. To enable CSOs and citizens effectively engaging relevant government institutions and establishing partnerships for efficient, transparent, inclusive, responsive and accountable LGs; and

1. To build capacity of journalists, media groups and social media activists for accessing information, analyzing data and producing investigative reports with focus on promoting efficient, transparent, inclusive, responsive and accountable LGs.

Under this Project, CPDI invites eligible civil society organizations to submit their expression of interest and capacity statement for work aimed at strengthening the ability of CSOs, media groups and citizens for promoting efficient, transparent, responsive and accountable local governments in Sind and Baluchistan.

Purpose of the assignment:

The main purpose of the assignment is to strengthen the capacity of community members and other relevant stakeholders to promote inclusive, efficient, transparent, and accountable local governments in the Sind and Baluchistan.

Project Tasks for CSOs

The selected CSOs will be expected to perform or assist CPDI and its partners in performing certain tasks in their respective tehsils and districts. The tasks to be performed will include:

1. Promotion of dialogue among key stakeholders on promoting inclusive, efficient, transparent, and accountable local government. The themes for the dialogues will be, among others, gender and social inclusion, importance of civic engagement, local governance, public participation in budgeting and development planning, right to information, community resilience, natural disasters, and climate change.
2. Establishment of Out of School Youth councils and then facilitating them in organizing public awareness, community mobilization and institutional engagement activities.
3. Promote effective use and implementation of right to information including proactive disclosure.
4. Facilitation of Research Based Youth Initiatives in Universities with focus on good governance and active citizenship for meaningful debates.
5.  Support appropriate advocacy initiatives for inclusive and participatory budgeting and development planning.
6. Organization of media campaigns/ virtual events on various project related themes in target districts and the respective province.
7. Participation in the capacity building workshops organized by CPDI on various subjects.
8. Organization of interactive sessions with CSOs, journalists and bloggers to discuss synergies at the district level.
   1. Any others, as required.

For successful implementation of these activities, CPDI requires dynamic CSOs with strong mobilization and coordination capabilities, who can play an active role at the district level. Preference will be given to the CSOs having relevant experience. Each selected civil society organization will be expected to recruit one full-time staff member for the smooth implementation of project activities in the target district. The CSO’s focal person should be a team player who can work in tandem with the project team.

Eligibility Requirement and the Selection Criteria for the CSOs:

Only those CSOs are eligible to apply, which meet the following requirements:

• It is a not-for-profit organization;
• It is registered with the relevant government agency in Pakistan;
• It has the functional Bank account;
• It is registered with the relevant tax authorities and has the NTN Number;
• It is not in default or guilty of involvement in any unlawful activity under the laws in Pakistan.

The eligible applying organizations will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Strong presence and mobilization capacity in the district in which the applying organization wishes to work under this project;
• Presence of office in the selected district;
• In operation for at least two years.
• Adequate financial management capacity;
• Accounts with audit reports for the last one year.
• Existence of policies (e.g., HR, Finance, Procurement) and evidence of their implementation.
• Project management capacity;
• Experience of working for or with local governments.

• Experience of working on human rights and with women and vulnerable groups like minority rights, PWDs, transgender persons.
• Cleared through CPDI’s vetting procedures.

Target Districts:

One CSO can apply for only one of the target districts, which include the following:

Duration:

Expected duration of the project can be up to 21 months.

Please provide the organizational information on the following form.

Annex I: Organizational Information Form