BINA' Fourth Call for Proposals for Local Civil Society Actors Working Under the 3RF Framework or Working in Alignment with the National Anticorruption Strategy.

PROJECT BRIEF
Funded by the European Union (EU), and in partnership with Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S), Transparency International-Lebanon (TI-LB) and the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS), BINA’ (Building Integrity and National Accountability in Lebanon) project overall objective’s is to enhance the role of civil society actors as active pillars in enhancing governance, accountability and transparency in Lebanon, as it specifically expands the abilities of civil society, both local and national, to actively monitor and advocate for transparency and accountability on the 3RF in Lebanon.

Type of Call: Call for proposals
Intervention Sector(s): 
•     "National level policy advocacy" in the priority areas of the 3RF's Revised Framework.
•     "Local action for anti-corruption" in alignment with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Deadline: 14th October 2024, Midnight.
Timeframe and budget: 
The expected start of successful Action implementation is January 2025.
•    Actions with a maximum duration of 6 months with a budget of up to USD 100,000. You can access all documentation by clicking here

Pre-Submission Webinars, Workshops, FAQ (Webinars to provide potential applicants with an overview of the call, its objectives, and the application process, log frame, budget, frequently asked questions). (End of Sep.2024) for registration click here 

1.     SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
The objective of this call for proposals is to empower civil society organizations (CSOs) in Lebanon. "National level policy advocacy" will specifically focus on CSOs operating under the 3RF (including Working Groups, IOB, CG, LFF, etc.) and strengthen their role as advocates for issue-based policy-reforms by focusing on one of the priority areas of the 3RF’s revised framework. "Local action for anti-corruption" will empower CSOs and operating in various regions of Lebanon and enhance their role in advocating for anti-corruption and good governance actions in alignment with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
For this specific call the portfolio consists of USD 400,000.

2.    TYPES OF ACTIVITIES
The following types of activities are eligible:
For "National level policy advocacy" in the priority areas of the 3RF's Revised Framework:
•    Sector-specific advocacy actions in relevant priority areas of the 3RF’s revised framework;
•    Concrete advocacy actions that focus on policy change at parliament, government, or ministerial/administrative levels;
•    Advocacy actions that adopt participatory and inclusive approaches, creating dialogue and target government counterparts, donors, international and local civil society organizations involved in the 3RF reforms process;
•    Actions enhancing awareness and engagement among communities and local authorities on reform efforts;
•    Engagement of citizens in advocating for reforms, with a particular focus on women, people with disabilities, and youth;
•    Mainstreaming transparency and leveraging anti-corruption laws across working groups to advocate for reforms within 3RF working groups. This may involve requesting information from public stakeholders based on the right to access to information law #28/2017, proactive disclosure of information of the progress, advocating for good public procurement practices within the sector, etc.
Attention: Additional research and/or capacity building activities are encouraged only to the extent that they directly contribute to the action, and each should not constitute more than 15% of the entire action. 
For "Local action for anti-corruption" in alignment with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy:
•    Mobilization of civil society organizations and activists to encourage responsiveness, access to information, and proactive disclosure by municipalities and public institutions at the local level;
•    Advocacy on the application of the Access to Information ATI and proactive disclosure law, adhering to best practices in public procurement and addressing issues related to illicit enrichment;
•    Advocacy actions for good governance in the public sector on specific issues related to citizens’ needs and/or public services;
•    Actions designed to raise awareness among communities and local authorities regarding reforms, transparency and accountability mechanisms;
•    Engagement of citizens in advocating for reforms, with a particular focus on women, people with disabilities, and youth;
•    Internal governance and organizational development activities. This encompasses capacity building, consultant services, the formulation of internal policies, or any other pertinent actions aimed at enhancing transparency, operational efficiency and sustainability. These activities should not surpass 30% of the total budget.

The following types of action are ineligible:
•    stand-alone research or awareness raising efforts;
•    actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses;
•    actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses.

3.    ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS OF APPLICANTS
CSOs can submit stand-alone applications or applications that are part of a consortium. Specific eligibility criteria for co-applicants and affiliated entities are detailed in the application form. In order to be eligible for a grant, the applicant or the lead applicant must: Be a registered non-profit organization in Lebanon that has been involved in the 3RF or in the local action for anticorruption with a minimum of 2 years of experience in project implementation.
1.    Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
2.    Complete the application form, provide a detailed budget and a detailed logframe (please use provided templates), and submit the required documents, including registration certificates, financial capacity evidence (audited financial statements, management letters, staffing of programs and finance team, accounting and procurement policy (if available), bank account details).
Note: For sub-grantees who were awarded funding in the previous calls for proposals
The maximum subgrant amount per organization under all BINA’ calls have been changed to $100,000. Therefore, organizations that received funding under BINA’ can also benefit from this call and apply as an individual organization or as part of a consortium.
If you previously received funding under BINA, the new proposal budget structure should take into consideration that you cannot receive more than $100,000 and this should be reflected in your budget through the following strategy:  your portion of the budget added up with your total previous budget should not exceed the limit of $100,000.

4.    APPLICATION PROCESS AND MILESTONES

• 1.    Posting the Call for Proposals (Mid of September 2024)
• 2.    Pre-Submission Webinars, Workshops, FAQ (Webinars to provide potential applicants with an overview of the call, its objectives, and the application process, log frame, budget, frequently asked questions). (End of Sep.2024) for registration click here 
• 3.    Proposal Submission deadline: 14th October 2024
• 4.    Proposal Review 
• 5.    Selection Announcement for awarded Applicants (Notify successful applicants by second week of November 2024 - indicative)
• 6.    Co-Design meetings (Meetings with selected applicants to further refine project ideas and align them with the project's goals (including Log frame, budget, and Application proposal). 
• 7.    Awarding and signing of contracts (Beginning of December 2024)
• 8.    Implementation phase start: January 2025

5.    EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
•    Applications will be examined and evaluated based on the provided evaluation grid. External assessors might be involved in the assessment to ensure objectivity. All applications must adhere to the eligibility and awarding requirements of this call, including providing all necessary documents. If an application is found to not meet the eligibility criteria or lacks required documents, it will be rejected on this sole basis.

6.    POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS
•    Once awarded, grant recipients must adhere to TI-Lebanon’s Transparent Hearts’ methodology (http://bit.ly/3lva33Z), ensuring the highest standards of transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability. This includes publishing all information related to the implementation of awarded grants on the platform.
•    Grantees will also be required to participate in a capacity development program aimed at contributing to their organizational growth and advocacy effectiveness.
•    Applicants are expected to engage and participate in cross-cutting activities under the BINA’ project where and when relevant, such as coalitions and joint advocacy campaigns, capacity-building programs, EU-structured dialogue events, and using TI-LB's digital tools and platforms, including the Multifunctional Portal, School of Governance, and Transparent Hearts.
Implementing partners should ensure that the basic values and principles commonly shared by the EU are duly respected and promoted by their proposed actions, including respecting non-discrimination based on religion, gender, or sexual orientation.