91�鶹������Ʒ����

Closing date: 08 April 20255 (18:00 IST)
Submission via email to: procurement.ndl@unesco.org
Inquiries via email to: c.ganguly@unesco.org (technical aspects)
c.park@unesco.org (administrative & financial aspects)
 

I. BACKGROUND:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Agenda 2030 adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. This Call for Partnerships (CFP) for Implementation Partners relates to the UNESCO project:
Developing eco-system to incubate creative entrepreneurship at Rural Craft and Cultural Hubs (RCCH) for holistic growth of arts, artists and villages in West Bengal.

West Bengal is globally renowned for its rich traditions in performing arts and crafts, but these traditions are currently facing significant challenges. These challenges include the poor socio-economic status of practitioners, a gradual loss of traditional knowledge and skills, and a lack of strategic promotion and trade opportunities. As a result, many young people are discouraged from continuing these traditions, opting instead for alternative livelihoods, leading to the risk of several craft practices becoming extinct.
To address these issues, 91�鶹������Ʒ���� been working in collaboration with the West Bengal Government's Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T) since 2013 to improve the livelihood opportunities for artisan communities and folk artists in rural West Bengal.

The second phase of this initiative, the Rural Crafts and Cultural Hub (RCCH-II) project, aims to provide robust, innovative, and inclusive support to 50,000 beneficiaries. This includes support for 25,000 new practitioners to upgrade and further develop their practices, scale up their creative enterprises, and promote Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) through culturally sensitive marketing tools and strategies, including digital platforms. Additionally, the project will offer need-based support to 25,000 existing beneficiaries from the previous phase.

II. OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS/ DELIVERABLES:

The objective of this Call for Proposals is to Implementation of second year project titled “Developing eco-system to incubate creative entrepreneurship at Rural Craft and Cultural Hubs (RCCH) for holistic growth of arts, artists and villages in West Bengal” in selected natural-fibre-based Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) skills.

1. Identify and implement safeguarding measures to ensure the viability and revitalization of natural-fibre based ICH skills.

2. Plan and implement capacity-building initiatives for the art/craft practitioners to strengthen the selected natural-fibre based ICH value chains.

3. Undertake appropriate institution-building initiatives and sustaining measures through formation/ strengthening of producers’ collectives of the practitioner community.

4. Raise awareness and increase outreach for the targeted handicraft and natural-fibre based  ICH elements and their practitioners with the goal of achieving sustainable commercialization.

5. Implement overall measures to foster respect and sustainability of the partitioner communities, groups, and individuals involved with in the targeted handicraft and natural-fibre based ICH skills.

Final Beneficiaries:

Eligible proposals will be those focused on natural-fibre based ICH value chains and targeting 3000 as the direct and final beneficiaries.

III. PROPOSAL:

Proposed Methodology, Approach, Quality Assurance Plan and Implementation Plan

This section should demonstrate the entity’s response to the Terms of Reference by identifying the specific components proposed, how the outputs/ delivery shall be addressed, as specified; providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics proposed; identifying the works/portions of the work that will be subcontracted.

Moreover the proposal should demonstrate how the proposed methodology meets or exceeds the TOR, while ensuring appropriateness of the approach to the local conditions and the rest of the project operating environment. This methodology must be laid out in an implementation timetable and a quality assurance.

Management Structure and Resource (Key Personnel)

This section should include the comprehensive description of the management structure and information regarding required resources including curriculum vitae (CVs) of key personnel that will be assigned to support the implementation of the proposed methodology, clearly defining the qualifications in areas relevant to the TOR.

IV. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGY:

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1) Sound technical proposal that includes innovative and replicable inclusion mechanisms to maximize the value transfer to the beneficiaries.

2) High impact interventions directly targeting and responding to the needs established in the TOR.

3) Size of budget requested commensurate with the organization’s proven administrative and financial management capacity.

4) Participatory monitoring and evaluation that will contribute to building a sense of ownership among the beneficiaries to promote the sustainability of the interventions.

V. BUDGET SIZE AND DURATION:

Proposals amounts should range maximum of USD 0.3 million for interventions in multiple communities/activities or geographical area within the same country as stated in the ToR. The amount requested in the proposal should be commensurate with the organization’s administrative and financial management capabilities. In principle, project duration will not exceed 11 months years. 

Regarding the budget of the technical proposal of the partner, UNESCO retains the rights to elaborate the work plan and negotiate the budget with the partner, prior to signing agreement, to ensure value of money. Likewise, UNESCO will ensure that in accordance with its policies the selected Partner will be able to provide added value in terms of financial or in-kind contribution. The partner’s financial or in-kind contribution will be indicated in the budget proposal. No overheads in terms of administrative or service fees are accepted (direct budgeting based on activities.

VI. SELECTION PROCESS: 

UNESCO will review proposals through a five-step process: (i) determination of eligibility; (ii) technical review of eligible proposals; (iii) scoring and ranking of the eligible proposals based on the assessment criteria outlined in the previous section, to identify highest ranking proposal; (iv) round of clarification (if necessary) and work plan elaboration with the highest-scoring proposal; and, (v) Implementation Partners’ Agreement (IPA) signature.

VII. SUBMISSION PROCESS: 

Applicants shall bear all costs related to proposal preparation and submission. Applicants must submit their proposals via email to:

Procurement New Delhi at procurement.ndl@unesco.org.

The following documents must be submitted in order for the submission to be considered: 

1) Proposal documents (technical and financial, including project outline)

2) Partners’ Identification Form (duly filled in, with supporting documents) 

3 ) Audited financial statements for past two years. 

Only one submission per organization is allowed. Once the application is complete and submitted, revised versions of proposal documents will not be accepted. 

Submission Deadline:

Proposals, with supporting documents, should be submitted by  08 April 2025 (18.00 IST)

For additional questions about the Call for Proposals Guidelines or application forms, please e-mail c.ganguly@unesco.org 

Note: UNESCO reserves the right not to fund any proposals arising from this Call for Partnerships. Depending on the value and context of the implementation partners agreement, the final financial report must be audited by the External Auditor of the Partner. The audit requirement will be confirmed during work plan elaboration and contract finalization.

Below is an estimated timeline for this Call for Partnerships:

27 January 2025: Call for Partnerships opens.

08 April 2025 : Deadline for organizations to submit proposals under this Call.

UNESCO requires that partners, bidders and their subcontractors adhere to the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct during the implementation of the partnership agreement and do not engage in corrupt and fraudulent practices.

United Nations Agencies have adopted a zero tolerance policy on gifts and, therefore, it is of overriding importance that UNESCO staff should not be placed in a position where their actions may constitute or could be reasonably perceived as reflecting favorable treatment of an individual or entity by accepting offers of gifts, hospitality or other similar favours. Partners are therefore requested not to send or offer gifts or hospitality to UNESCO personnel.

UNESCO will:

1. Reject a proposal to award an agreement if it determines that a partner recommended for award has engaged in fraud and/or corruption in competing for the agreement in question.

2. Cancel or terminate an agreement if it determines that a partner has engaged in fraud and/or corruption in competing for or in executing a UNESCO contract;

3. Declare a partner ineligible to become a “United Nations registered vendor”, either indefinitely or for a stated period of time, if it determines at any time that the partner has engaged in fraud and/or corruption in competing for or in executing a UNESCO agreement.

This Call for Partnerships is not to be construed in any way as an offer to contract with your organization. Your proposal could, however, form the basis for a contract between your organization and UNESCO.

You are requested to acknowledge the receipt of this Call for Partnerships and to indicate whether or not you will be submitting a proposal. For this purpose, and for any requests for clarification, please contact Mr.Chironjit Ganguly, email: c.ganguly@unesco.org