Humanity & Inclusion: Handicap International (HI) / Call for Expression of Interest for Organizations of Persons with Disabilities in Moldova / SYNERGIES Consortium

Call for Expression of Interest

I. Context of the Call for Expression of Interest

1- The Call for Expression of Interest

This call for Expression of Interest aims to identify eligible^[1] Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) for prospective partnerships supporting the Humanity & Inclusion 2023 Moldova Strategy within the SYNERGIES Consortium of Solidarités International (SI), Médecins du Monde (MDM) and Humanity & Inclusion (HI), and funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Fondation de France (FdF).

Eligible OPD are invited to express their interest by filing and sending before 20^th February 2023, the Due Diligence application form, highlighting their relevant experience and capacities, expertise, skills and ability to support the Disability Inclusion Barriers and Facilitators Analysis and Removal outlined in section II below.  

(Women with disabilities led organizations are strongly encouraged to apply)

2- Context & sectors of intervention

Humanity & Inclusion: Handicap International is an International Non-Governmental Organization founded in 1982, and headquartered in France, deployed an emergency response in March 2022, aiming to enhance the local capacities to respond in inclusive approach to humanitarian challenges. To achieve its main goal, HI is taking part of SYNERGIES consortium, alongside with Médecins du Monde France, Première Urgence International and Solidarités International. This mechanism aims to adapt to the rapidly changing humanitarian context of recent years, in particular by promoting the complementarity of expertise and the pooling of resources, in order to respond better and more quickly to the needs of to respond better and faster to the needs of populations affected by a crisis.

Inclusive Humanitarian Action context analysis by HI with key stakeholders in Moldova revealed 1) lack of disaggregated data by disability related to weak monitoring capacities, 2) lack of meaningful participation of persons with disabilities, 3) significant environmental barriers. 

• Data disaggregation: the identified prevalence of persons with disabilities among locals and Ukrainian refugees, is quite low in comparison with the international WHO prevalence, and incoherent depending on sampling size, and statistical tools.
• Meaningful participation: local organizations of persons with disabilities are well networked. However, the representation of this network is confined only in the Disability Task Force. Persons with disabilities, with their priorities and needs, are not well represented in the sectors coordination committees. This meaningful participation is also affected by the need of empowerment and capacity building in terms of methods, tools and resources related to Inclusive Humanitarian Actions.
• Environmental barriers: Exiguousness of environmental inaccessibility, related to the absence of monitoring strategies for accessible architectural standards arouse multiple environmental barriers. Additionally, the medical approach is frequently adopted to identify impairments, which leads the actions addressing the “medical” needs of persons with disabilities. In the absence of the adoption of the rights-based approach, implementation strategies for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD, 2007), that has been ratified in 2010, are still indisposed.

Through the SYNERGIES consortium, HI will implement activities in different sectors to collaborate with organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in order to empower them, develop their capacities in line with the “IASC Guidelines for Inclusion of persons with disabilities in Humanitarian Action” and ensure their meaningful participation in the response of future humanitarian crisis in the country.

II. Objectives and targeted missions

1- Objective of the Call for Expression of Interest

• Generale objective

HI is looking to partner with OPDs with experience on barriers and facilitators analysis for persons with disabilities, and barriers removal to support the implementation of the project on those thematic areas.

• Specific objective(s)

This call encloses two (2) lots. Each OPD can apply to only one lot:

• Lot 1: Inclusive Education for children with disabilities (Formal/Non-Formal, Public/Private Education), aiming to work on barriers and facilitators analysis for children with disabilities, and the implementation of barriers removal and inclusion process in the education sector.
• Lot 2: Inclusive Employment for persons with disabilities, aiming to work on barriers and facilitators analysis for persons with disabilities in the Moldovan Labor Market, and the implementation of barriers removal and inclusion process in the employment/livelihoods sector.

2- The mission covered by this call for Expression of Interest

HI and the selected Organizations of Persons with Disabilities will be working together to plan and implement activities listed below for a period of 6 to 8 months maximum. HI, will be covering the workshops and capacity-building activities’ costs, including the refreshments, lunchs, and contribution to transportation fees.

III- Conditions of the call for Expression of Interest

1- Eligibility

Inclusion criteria:

The OPD must:

1. Be legally registered in the Republic of Moldova.
2. Be active in the Disability Task Force, and OPDs Alliance in Moldova.

Exclusion criteria:

OPDs submissions which:

1. Are not sent by email OR to the HI office Moldova address in a sealed envelope before the specified deadline.
2. Do not include the required documents duly completed and signed.

2- Desired expertise and selection criteria

The following categories will be weighted during the Internal Capacity Assessment, to identify the risk level of partnership with the interested OPD:

• Due Diligence and Registration (10%)
  • Accurate and clear information in the Due Diligence Application From.
  • Expression of Interest aligned with the organization's strategic plan and current activities.
• Governance and Organizational Capacity (40%)
  • Mission statement aligned with the Inclusive Humanitarian Principles.
  • Governance structure with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
  • Managerial structure and organizational chart.
  • Code of conduct and organizational/institutional policies.
  • Accessible and Inclusive Feedback and complaint systems.
  • Inclusive strategic planning for persons with disabilities.
• Programmatic Response Capacity (20%)
  • Experience in Inclusive Humanitarian Response in Moldova.
  • Geographical coverage in Chisinau-Moldova and surroundings (Radius of 70 km).
  • Accountability toward affected population policy (GPA)
  • Internal manuals and guidelines in relation to program management and M&E.
• Coordination and Partnership Capacity (10%)
  • Participation in the National Disability Task Force and Sectors coordination cluster/mechanism.
  • Participation in national data collection on persons with disabilities.
• Financial Capacity (20%)
  • Operational guides and policies for financial management and administrative activities.
  • Procurement policies and/or procedures.
  • Budgets and expenditure records.
  • External audit for the financial statement in the last 3 years.

Only eligible organizations with Low to Medium Risk levels will be shortlisted (Total score between 71-100)

3- Documentation required for the submission

• Due Diligence Application Form.
• Documents listed in the Due Diligence Application Form.
• Due Diligence Declaration of Accurate Information (signed, stamped and dated).

Please request the Due Diligence Application Form and other declarations by sending an e-mail to: l.kteich@hi.org 

4- Indicative Timelines

IV- How to Express your Interest

Interested OPD are requested to send Due Diligence Application form with all completed attachments by email with the Subject clearly marked "OPD name _ Call for Expression of Interest _ HI Moldova 2023" at the following email address:

l.kteich@hi.org

OR delivered in a sealed envelope clearly marked "OPD name _ Call for Expression of Interest _ HI Moldova 2023" at the following address:

International Disability – Humanity & Inclusion

31 August 1989, no.108 bl.1,

Chisinau, Moldova

Date of submission of the complete application no later than 20^th of February 2023, for a
framework contract/partnership agreement signed in March 1, 2023, for a validity of 8 Months.

Any request for additional information should be addressed by email before the^15th of February 2023, at the same e-mail lkteich@hi.org. HI responses to all queries or clarification requests will be combined and sent to all applicants by e-mail on the^17th of February 2023.

V- Selection process

Step 1: Due Diligence

Eligible OPDs are invited to submit Due Diligence (DD) applications for partnerships with HI by either via email or via the post as per the instructions in the section 4 "How to express your interest" Interested applicants can submit questions until the^15th of February 2023. Response to these questions will be provided by the 17^th of February 2023 and shared via email.

After the closure of the CIE, a thorough review of DD applications and documents is performed to ensure that partners meet the minimum requirements and is a key initial step to safeguard the accountability of the allocations.

Only DD submissions that comply with the requirements of the eligibility and exclusion criteria will be eligible for further evaluation. Any incomplete application will not be considered. A complete application corresponds to the complete application form completed in its entirety and its supporting documents, including the CV as requested.

It should be noted that participation in this Call for Expression of Interest does not guarantee the OPD will be ultimately selected for a partnership with HI.

Step 2: Internal Capacity Assessment

SYNERGIES Strategic Committee^[2] will undergo an Internal Capacity Assessment to identify the OPDs that have the mandate, capacities and comparative advantage to support the achievement of results for persons with disabilities.

Organizations shortlisted after analysis of their complete application will be contacted in a second
phase to provide additional information (examples of achievements, contacts for reference,
CV details, etc.). They will be offered, if necessary, a technical interview - remotely or on site
depending on the possibilities - with the HI Inclusive Humanitarian Action Project Manager of the sectors concerned, before final validation of their technical profile.

Successful applications will be eligible for partnering with HI throughout the period of implementation in 2023 depending on the needs of the project agreements and available resources.

All applicant OPDs will be informed of the outcome of their submissions by communication sent out to the email/postal address that is indicated in the OPD submission.

VI- Contractualization

The organization finally validated to be part of the project will then sign their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the first week of March 2023 for a maximum period of 8 months, allowing them to start being involved in the implementation of the activities.

^[1] Please refer to the eligibility criteria in section III.

^[2] SYNERGIES Strategic Committee includes representative from all international organizations' partners under the consortium (HI, MDM, SI), representants of the alliance of persons with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova, and representants from the ministries of Labor and Social protection, and Education.