Call for prospective partnerships for the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, Child Protection, Gender-Based Violence prevention and intervention services component in the Palestinian Camps and Gatherings in Lebanon, supported by UNICEF

Call for prospective partnerships for: the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Child Protection (CP), Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and intervention services component in the Palestinian Camps and Gatherings in Lebanon, supported by UNICEF.

The purpose of the call is to have a pool of local NGOs interested in partnering with MAP in the frame of the project with the abovementioned components to achieve common goals and objectives. Local partners will manage and run the daily operations and activities under MAP’s overall guidance and supervision.

Eligible local organizations who have the capacity and resources to deliver the program activities described below are invited to submit proposals.

About MAP

MAP is a UK based charity, registered with the UK Charity Commission. It was established over 30 years ago and works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living in occupied Palestine and in Lebanon’s refugee camps and gatherings.

1.General overview about the Program services

The program encompasses the following.

Multi-layered MHPSS:  Psychosocial Support (PSS) Focused Psychosocial Support (FPSS), Child Protection Case Management (CPCM), Mental Health Specialised Services, in continuum of care setting based on ISAC MHPSS pyramid of four layers.

Layer One and Two: community-based psychosocial support structured and unstructured activities aimed at building skills and strengthening resilience and coping mechanisms for children and families. Children and youth have the opportunity to regularly attend various module-based activities which aim at: supporting their cognitive, social, and motor skills; enhancing their self-esteem and life skills; raising their awareness about potential risks and exploring ways to deal with them and seek trusted support as needed; understanding their emotions and developing skills to deal with them constructively; engaging in and developing positive relationships; recognizing gender roles. The activities also provide opportunities for socialization and peer support. Parents and adults have the opportunity for regular attendance in group support, parenting skills structured modules. These activities aim at enhancing confidence around positive parenting skills, helping parents understand the possible effects of distressful events on them and consequently on their children, providing guidance and support, and others while providing opportunities for socialization and peer support. This layer is an entry point to individual support layers three and four as needed through safe identification and referral mechanisms.

Layer Three: Focused psychosocial support and case management services. Referrals to these services take place within the centre to offer focused individualized support for children (and their families) who experience mild difficulties in socialization or learning, emotional difficulties, health problems, or who may be experiencing more complex psychosocial, health and protection problems. These children include boys, girls, and families who are facing specific protection concerns such as risks of violence against children- physical and sexual violence and abuse, emotional abuse and bullying, girls at risk of child marriage, child labour, involvement in armed conflicts, etc.) and   SGBV case management services for women, girls, men, and boys facing specific gender-based violence protection concerns, Referral to allied external services are offered as needed.

Layer Four: Services at this level take place through referrals within the centre to offer specialised mental health (MH) services for children (and their families) who are experiencing more complex emotional, behavioural, relational and/or developmental difficulties and whose daily functioning has been significantly affected and are in need of specialized support.  Services at this level include individualized and family support, psychological and psychosocial assessment, counselling, and therapy, and others. SGBVCM specialized case management services for women, girls, men, and boys facing specific gender-based violence protection concerns. Referral to allied external services are made as needed.

These four MHPSS layers of service are delivered through

• The Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) at community centres. These CFSs are used as gateways for delivering multi-level MHPSS services, i.e., information, registration, immediate response, recovery and stabilization, preparedness, prevention activities and response services. The CFSs are an entry point for further continuum of care. Groups are formed according to specific characteristics (e.g., age group) and needs and are offered activities that follow validated structured and unstructured PSS methodologies for children and caregivers. Focused individual non-specialized, and specialized MHPSS services are also offered for children and adults experiencing more complex emotional, behavioural, and relational difficulties. Child protection case management (CPCM) is offered to children facing specific protection concerns, other particular risks and violence. Applicant Local NGOs/CBOs must have experience and required staffing, i.e., PSS animators/facilitators, PSS Senior officers/ Social workers, child protection Case Managers/ Case Workers, Psychologists/ Psychotherapists, etc. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 7: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations
• The GBV Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS’s) in community centres. These centres are used as gateways for delivering Gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and intervention services. This includes Sexual, and Gender based Violence (SGBV) response and prevention services offered at Women and Girls Safe Spaces. These services give individuals the opportunity to attend life-skills building programs, GBV awareness sessions, psychosocial support activities, and other awareness and education activities to explore topics related to sexual and reproductive health, GBV, gender equality, women’s rights, addressing stigma and taboos related to psychological support and mental health, and others. Activities are run in a way that allows discussions, listening support, and provides a general orientation to the range of services available both within the frame of the project and externally. This component also includes engaging men and boys in Gender Equality program cycles which represent entry points to individualized support offered by the GBV Specialists if needed. The GBV prevention and intervention services include individual support and counselling services for survivors of SGBV, support groups, and SGBV case management including access to referrals for other allied services which might offer legal counselling and other complementary women empowerment services. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs must have experience and staffing required, i.e., SGBV social workers, SGBV Case Managers/ SGBV Specialists/ Psychotherapists/ SGBV supervisors. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 7: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations
• The Child developmental multidisciplinary specialized services community centres. These centres are used as gateways for delivering Special Needs/disability services, child developmental multidisciplinary specialized services. This includes specialised developmental services, boys and girls with more complex developmental difficulties and disabilities. The services include psychotherapy, psychology service, speech therapy, special education, occupational therapy, psychomotor therapy and physiotherapy and other developmental conditions. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs must have experience and staffing required, i.e., social workers, multidisciplinary special needs specialists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, special educators, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and could offer medical assessment and tests, and assistive devices through referral. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 7: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations

NGOs interested in providing services under one or more of the above-mentioned domains: PSS Child Friendly Spaces, SGBV Women and Girls Safe Spaces, and Special Needs services/ Child developmental multidisciplinary specialized services are invited to apply. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form

Note: Programmatic priorities addressed are in line with the UNICEF Rolling Work Plan (RWP), Area Programme Document  (APD) and Country Programme Document (CPD) strategies. In case the above-mentioned UNICEF RWP, APD and CPD strategies change, this will require modifications in the program priorities, outcomes, outputs, and activities respectively.

2. Beneficiaries:

Underserved vulnerable women, girls, boys, and men across all program locations and gateways from all nationalities who are living within targeted Palestinian camps and gatherings.

3.Geographic scope, localities gateways.

Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form/ Part 7: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations

The program will run in 5 regions hosting Palestinian refugee camps and gatherings including:

In Akkar: Nahr el Bared camp

In Tripoli: Beddawi camp

In Bekaa: Saadnayel and Bar Elias gatherings

In Baalbek: Wavel/Al Jalil camp

In Mount Lebanon: Shatila, Burj el Barajneh camps, and Wadi El Zeini gathering 

In South: Ein El Helweh, Rashidyeh, al Bass, and Burj Shemali camps

Other camps/gatherings not listed above might be considered, depending on the justification included in prospective partner’s application.

4. Prospective partners:

Local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) / Community Based Organizations (CBOs) working in the Palestinian camps and gatherings. Partners will receive technical support, capacity building, competency skills as needed.

5.Required qualifications, and eligibility of the prospective partner(s):

5.1. The program services are delivered inside Palestinian refugee camps and gatherings. This Partnership call is only open for Local NGOs/CBOs who are registered and eligible to work in Lebanon according to Lebanese laws, are active inside the Palestinian camps or gatherings, and regardless of if they were partners in the previous phase of the project or not. Non-registered Grass roots groups (i.e., clubs, youth activists’ groups, women activists’ groups, community networks) who are active and who have the needed capacity, skills, and unique or complementary services and resources that contribute to the achievement of the project’s activities and goals are encouraged to approach one of registered Local NGOs/CBOs in their area who is applying for this call to negotiate including them/their activities and services under this Local NGO’s/CBO’s umbrella.

Eligibility through this call for doesn’t guarantee funding or partnership, however, eligible applicant Local NGOs/CBOs will be included in MAP roster for future partnerships in calls opportunities.

5.2. Interested applicant local NGOs/CBOs are encouraged to submit their proposal according to locations and service domains - which the applicant local NGO/CBO is more specialized in and have the required infrastructure and expert staff specifically related to one or more of the following services: Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form/ Part 7: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations.

5.3. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs have five years and more of experience in planning and implementing services in one or more of the above-mentioned domains; and have evidence of technical expertise, capacity, and supervision in place. The applicant should have a portfolio of projects implemented in the past 3 years with focus on one or more of the domains mentioned above.

5.4. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs have five years or more of experience working in Palestinian camps and/or gatherings is preferable; having experience working in more than one Palestinian camp or gathering is considered a key advantage. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 8: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations

5.5. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs must have at least 1 physical centre in the locations mentioned above in point 2. Organisations are encouraged to link service domains which the applicant local NGO/CBO is more specialized in, with the centre(s) location(s). Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 8: Thematic Area(s) of Intervention, Services and Geographic Locations

5.6. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs are expected to have policies and procedures which reflect good governance practices, promote culture and values of do no harm, safeguarding, disability inclusion, protection, women’ and girls’ rights, gender equality principles, neutral, and impartiality. Local NGO/CBO should have good reputation in areas of operations and have transparent recruitment policy and procedures in line with standards that provide equal recruitment opportunities. The prospective partner(s) will undergo a full Due Diligence process and will be required to provide supporting documents before the signing a partnership agreement. Failure to provide these documents will lead to disqualification. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 3: Organization Details/ Compliance and Policies

5.7. Applicant local NGOs/CBOs will be requested to have a separate bank account for the project. Applicants are requested to fill the estimated budget template and indicate the total amount as well as their contribution (in-kind and in cash). Depending on the service domain(s) selected by applicant local NGOs/CBOs mentioned above, please note that the submitted budget will be subject to changes and will be revised as per the program formulation process and donor approval.

Disability: Applicant local NGO/CBO are expected to be working to enhance the inclusion of people and children with disabilities by addressing negative attitudes, stigma, preventing judgmental discourse, stereotypes,

and understanding societal barriers to inclusion to create opportunities for, and, to promote participation in an inclusive environment.

Safeguarding

Zero tolerance against Child abuse and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Applicant Local NGOs/CBOs are expected to provide evidence of developing of, or proof of presence of an existing functional Safeguarding Policy in place, i.e., Child protection and Code of Conduct (CP/CoC) and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), which their staff are well-aware of, and their operations and programmes abide by.  Applicant local NGOs/CBOs are expected to provide an overview of safeguarding work, e.g., safeguarding capacity building delivered to their staff, policy review frequency; means of verification which indicates how the beneficiaries have been made aware of safeguarding policy and complaint mechanisms, etc. In addition to the policy document, the applicant local NGOs/CBOs is expected to provide an overview of an active safeguarding system in practice (i.e., non-identifiable samples from their safeguarding log of allegations received on breaching safeguarding policy/CoC by staff, processes they have in place such as complaint means, and how the follow up initiated, process, measures taken as response, investigation, actions, and commitment to learning and improving). Ability to demonstrate best practices and effective safeguarding systems, or actions of developing and improving Safeguarding Policy is considered a key advantage. Please refer to Annex I MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form / Part 3: Organization Details/ Compliance and Policies

Health prevention acknowledgement and commitment (i.e., COVID-19, Cholera, and other pandemics outbreaks)

Applicant local NGO/CBO are expected to adhere to preventive and precautionary measures as per Lebanese authorities’ endorsements and adapt their activities and services to pandemics outbreak related scenarios.  Service delivery modality might have to be shifted or adapted in the implementation, as per the instructions of the donor and the Lebanese government. This will be in line with the interagency sectors guidelines in Lebanon. Simultaneously applicant local NGO/CBO are expected to adhere to guidelines, such as the standard operating procedures, key areas of preparedness, prevention measures, and required routine infection prevention and control for safe service spaces.

6.How to apply:

Applicant Local NGO/CBO are requested to refer to and submit the following documents:  

• Annex I: MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form
• Service cost- Budget. You may use your own form. Cost to be reflected per Activity and Output, budget template submitted as part of this proposal must be in editable excel and clearly indicating the items, i.e., unit cost and quantity with description column.

Applicant Local NGOs/CBOs are invited to submit documents by email to [email protected] and [email protected].  Please use the following subject: Submission of MAP-MHPSS Partnership – adding “Name of the Applicant”, attaching the requested templates and any supporting documents. No need for submission of hard copies.

The proposal must be submitted no later than 23/01/ 2023. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

The Panel will be reviewing the applications and shall send you feedback on the decision made by the end of (DATE). After initial Selection. The prospective partner(s) will undergo a full due diligence process and supporting documents will be requests, before the final decision to proceed with partnership process. The selection criteria mentioned in Annex I: MAP Prospective Partner Summary Form