The purpose of this call for proposal is to solicit interest from existing or prospective implementing partners that wish to participate in UN-Habitat operations and contribute complementary resources (human resources, knowledge, funds, in-kind contributions, supplies and/or equipment) to achieving common objectives, as outlined below and subsequently agreed in an Agreement of Cooperation.

Maximum size of grant: USD 170,000

 

Purpose of Call for Proposal:

UN-Habitat Lebanon is launching a call for proposal (CfP) to contract a competent non-governmental organization (NGO) to support in the implementation of the Project entitled “Beirut Housing Rehabilitation and Cultural and Creative Industries Recovery”. The collaboration will mainly involve the implementation of Component 1 of the Project that focuses on the rehabilitation of moderately and severely damaged residential buildings and on technical assistance provided to families on rental support.

The selected NGO will contribute to conducting evidence-based work including outreaching to the local community, identification of vulnerable households in a long-list of pre-selected damaged housing units affected by the Port of Beirut (PoB) explosion, raising awareness about the project activities with beneficiaries and multiple stakeholders, addressing housing and property legal disputes and facilitating the implementation of activities under the aforementioned component.

Non-profit locally registered organizations, referred below as Implementing Partner (IP), are invited to submit proposals that should contribute to the achievement of the overall goal of the project: “Support the recovery of Beirut following the Port explosion, by rehabilitating a select number of moderately and severely damaged residential buildings of heritage value and providing emergency support to creative entities and practitioners”.

Submission Deadline Date and Time: 31 March 2022, at 12:00 p.m. Beirut time

Proposals must be submitted in soft copy, stamped and signed, before the deadline via email to unhabitat-lebanon-cfp@un.org

     

Project Key Information

• UN-Habitat project title: Beirut Housing Rehabilitation and Cultural and Creative Industries Recovery Project P176577
• Locations
  • Towns/Cities: Medawar, Rmeil, Achrafieh and Saifi cadastres - Beirut
  • Country: Lebanon
• Anticipated project start date: 15 April 2022
• Estimated project duration in calendar months: 24 months
• Maximum proposed value in USD: 170,000
• Lead organization unit: UN-Habitat Lebanon Country Programme

 

Brief Background of the Project

On 4 August 2020, a massive explosion at the PoB devastated the city, killing at least 200 people, wounding more than 6,000 and displacing around 300,000 individuals. The explosion caused widespread destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure, and disrupted economic activity. In the immediate aftermath of the blast, a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) was undertaken to estimate the impact of the disaster on the population, changes in economic flows, physical assets, infrastructure, and service delivery in Beirut. Total damages were estimated to be between USD 3.8-4.6 billion, while losses amounted to USD 2.9-3.5 billion, with the housing and culture sectors as the most severely affected.

The World Bank has mobilized financial assistance through the Lebanese Financing Facility (LFF) to support the recovery of select residential buildings of heritage value and cultural and creative industries affected by the PoB explosion.

This rehabilitation and recovery project will be implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), in collaboration with multiple concerned stakeholders. The project will support an integrated urban recovery approach, using housing recovery as an entry point. The project will target residential buildings of heritage value located in socially vulnerable and culturally significant neighbourhoods in the areas affected by the PoB explosion, as well as support the revival of cultural activities that represent a vital source of livelihoods for cultural workers and entities.

The assistance to the impacted areas will contribute not only to the recovery of the physical conditions of the housing, but also to promote a comprehensive regeneration of the diverse neighbourhoods.

The project is structured around the following components: 1(a) rehabilitation of severely and moderately damaged residential buildings, housing the socially vulnerable; 1(b) the provision of technical assistance for rental support; 2) support to cultural entities and practitioners through the provision of grants for cultural production; and 3) project management and institutional capacity building.

 

Component 1. Resilient Housing Recovery Reconstruction

This component aims at supporting the return of the displaced socially vulnerable households to the targeted buildings. As such, the component is divided in two subcomponents to contribute to this goal: i) Residential housing rehabilitation, and ii) Technical assistance for rental support. The housing rehabilitation and the rental technical assistance subcomponents will be implemented as integral parts of the overarching housing recovery strategy and action plan adopting a social stability-sensitive approach to provide assistance through an area-based lens and developed as a separated activity.

 

Subcomponent 1.1 Residential housing rehabilitation

The subcomponent will prioritize the complex repairs of severely damaged residential units of a historical neighbourhood located within 5 km of the epicentre of the blast that have not already been completely rehabilitated, according to a set of criteria. A focus is on a subset of vacant residential buildings that were inhabited by lower-income and socially vulnerable households with low tenure security who may have been temporarily displaced.

 

Subcomponent 1.2 Technical assistance for rental support

The rental support subcomponent will provide i) mechanisms to vulnerable renters and landowners of apartment units benefited from the rehabilitation component to achieve sustainable rental agreements and ii) capacity development to renters in the cadastres of Rmeil, Medawar, Saifi and Achrafieh for them to advocate for renters’ rights and minimize eviction risk. The intended outcome of this subcomponent is to promote the return of the vulnerable households who were living in the affected area prior to the explosion and ensure stability on their rental agreements for a reasonable period after the rehabilitation. To do so, the subcomponent will tackle housing and property (renter–owner) issues within selected buildings to provide the tools to help individuals and facilitate the return of affected households, promoting affordable rental housing and minimize eviction risk.

 

The outcome of the project: Nearly 31 moderately and severely damaged residential buildings are rehabilitated, and 160 most vulnerable affected families have access to return to their housing units damaged by the PoB explosion.

 

Main activities and outputs

The IP is responsible to undertake the following, but not limited to, key activities:

• Support in reaching out to tenants of the preselected buildings for the project, approximately 60 buildings.
• Develop the list of families, including their basic information and contact details, to help in communicating with targeted families throughout the project implementation process.
• Map the relevant active stakeholders (based on the Stakeholder Engagement Plan Annex 1 [SEP] developed by UN-Habitat) who might engage in/impact project implementation.
• Validate, through field testing, socioeconomic and legal assessment questionnaires developed by UN-Habitat. Recommend changes based on the outcomes from the field testing.
• Compile data and supporting documents related to the socioeconomic conditions of targeted families as well as to the legal status of tenancy, using questionnaires provided by UN-Habitat. Collected data will be stored in a database platform created by UN-Habitat, and it will be owned and managed by UN-Habitat.
• Support in the verification and validation of gathered data, including any field gap-filling.
• Introduce project details, process, and work plan to beneficiaries, ensuring regular exchange of information throughout the project.
• Facilitate the signature of lease agreements between owners and tenants where applicable, based on Lebanese laws and regulations and as advised by the Legal Advisor assigned by UN-Habitat.
• Conduct individual and/or group meetings to facilitate negotiations between owners and renters and help resolving legal disputes as advised by the Legal advisor.
• In collaboration with the Legal Advisor, prepare awareness raising materials and conduct sessions on the rights to adequate housing targeting tenants, (I)NGOs, and public institutions.
• Provide logistical support to conduct awareness-raising sessions on housing and property rights and on other topics targeting beneficiaries.
• Take part in the discussions on the housing recovery strategy. This involves meeting with different stakeholders to advise on existing challenges and gaps.
• Facilitate meetings and consultations with the beneficiaries/stakeholders based on the SEP.
• Support in the signature of consent forms by residents for housing rehabilitation.
• Keep records of meetings, consultations, awareness sessions, etc., implemented with the tenants and owners in two languages (Arabic and English) and share with UN-Habitat as appropriate.
• Support UN-Habitat in disseminating project materials to the stakeholders, through a set of communication tools. 
• Coordinate with UN-Habitat for the implementation of the grievance and redress mechanism (GRM), ensuring timely referral of concerns, complaints or suggestions raised by the tenants, owners and/or stakeholders. This has to be done in compliance with the provisions of the Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) (see below for more details).
• Ensure proper communication between the project team and the beneficiaries throughout the project lifespan.

 

Environmental and Social Safeguards

The selected IP must comply with the provisions of the Environmental and Social Safeguard Standards (ESSS) set by the World Bank and shall support UN-Habitat in the implementation of the ESSS as detailed in the attached ESS documents (the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (Annex 2 ESCP), the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), and the Environmental and Social Management Framework (Annex 3 ESMF) which also includes the Labor Management Procedures (LMP). The IP shall submit monthly monitoring reports indicating the fulfillment of applicable ESS standards. 

The IP must further report any incidents related to occupational health and safety measures, labor management, environmental and social protection, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment (SEA/SH) to UN-Habitat within 48 hours of the incident.

The IP must ensure that all staff, contractors, beneficiaries and other stakeholders are informed about the ESS and how to submit complaints and grievances related to the project. UN-Habitat will monitor the implementation of the ESS.

The IP must recruit an ESS expert for the project.

The Project shall be carried out in accordance with the applicable requirements of ESS and implement adequate mitigation measures (including emergency preparedness and response measures) and incorporate labour requirements into the Code of Conducts, contracts and agreements with workers, consultants, trainers and other parties implementing activities under the project. It should also include procedures relating to working conditions, terms of employment, non-discrimination and equal opportunity, and prohibition of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse.

 

Communications Activities

The selected IP must comply with the visibility and communications guidelines set by UN-Habitat and World Bank. On all visual material to be used, selected IP is to adhere by the project’s overall brand identity and guidelines as outlined by the UN-Habitat communications team. Any communications plan linked to this project is to be reviewed and approved by UN-Habitat before implementation. All visibility and communication material (including social media posts, press release, interviews, vests, t-shirts, flyers etc.) that are to be used to promote the work of the IP or the project, are to be reviewed and approved by UN-Habitat communications team at least one week prior to the issuance date. The selected IP is requested to facilitate and support communications activities related to beneficiaries of the project as requested by UN-Habitat. All communications outputs are to be reported to UN-Habitat as per the set template and as required. The selected IP must take all steps to not cause any reputational crisis throughout the different steps of the implementation of the project. The selected IP is requested to regularly visually document, in line with do no harm principles, their activities through photos or videos and to share this material with UN-Habitat.

 

Risk Analysis

(The IP should indicate the mitigation measures to below listed risks and should state any additional risks associated with this project and the mitigation factors)

• The unstable situation and fast-changing context in Lebanon, with continued risk of road blockages, protests, political tensions.
• The COVID-19 situation in Lebanon that may cause risk on activity implementation.
• Tenants and direct beneficiaries are hesitant to collaborate and share information.
• Environmental and social risks, such as labour, health, social and environmental risks, SEA/SH risks are difficult to monitor.
• Perception of exclusion by certain vulnerable groups which may cause social tensions.
• Weak communication, outreach, and transparency on the eligibility criteria under components 1 and 2.
• An inadequately functioning grievance mechanism to handle feedback and complaints.

 

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria	Submission Details/Documents Required
Legal status	Certificate of registration/incorporation, i.e.: Proof of registration in Lebanon Proof of country operational presence
Organization profile and details	Clear organization profile and structure of the organization indicating: Organization’s vision, mission and objectives Management structure Members of the Governing Board and their designations duly certified by the corporate secretary, or its equivalent document Proof of membership to professional associations if any
Financial capacity	Audited company financial statements (balance sheet and income statement) and auditors report for the last two years
Exclusive bank account	Is the organization willing and able to have a separate bank account for the funds provided by UN-Habitat?
Integrity and governance	The organization should complete and submit a signed Partner Declaration Form. The organizations should provide the profiles of the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Head of the Organization and Chief of Finance. The organization will ensure all workers and contractors sign code of conducts and ESS policies.

 

Selection Criteria

Criteria	Submission Details/ Documents Required	Weighting
1.   Technical capacity		20%
1.1 Does the organization have the relevant experience and proven track record in implementing activities in the areas of the project? Has it managed in the past projects of similar technical complexities and financial size? Is the project linked with the core business of the IP?	List of projects executed in the last 2 years (value, location, donors, nature of projects, execution stage – completed or ongoing). Demonstrate how the experiences in past projects are relevant in the execution of the current proposal. References from past donors
1.2 Does the organization have qualified technical staff with the experience and the technical skills required by the project? What is the staff size, type, qualification and education background?	CVs of key management staff, technical and non-technical staff that will be involved on the project How many technical staff do you have in the concerned country for implementing the project? Is there reasonable assurance that such technical staff required by the project will continue to be available as needed in the project?
1.3 Does the organization have a clear and strong link with an identifiable constituency relevant to the targeted population of the project? Does it have the ability to impact on the targeted population and on the issues? Does it have strong presence in the field and for how long? Does it have adequate capacity to work in key areas/regions where the proposed field activities will be implemented?	Demonstrate, describe and provide proof of local operational presence, including link and ability to impact the targeted population.
1.4 Does the organization possess adequate physical facilities, office equipment, transport, etc. to implement the activities?	Provide location and list of office facilities, vehicles and office equipment locally available to implement the project.
1.5 Does the organization have formal procedures to monitor project execution (e.g. milestones, outputs, expenditures, etc.)	Provide formal project monitoring policies and procedures.
1.6 Does the organization have environmental and social safeguards in place, such as policy against sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, labor and health measures?	Provide examples of occupational health and safety measures (including emergency preparedness and response measures).
2.   Financial and administrative capacity		20%
2.1 Has the organization been in operation over a period of at least two years to demonstrate its financial sustainability and relevance?	State the years of operation. Financial statements for the last 2 years.
2.2 Does the organization have qualified staff in finance? Is the current accounting system computerized and does the organization have the capacity to collect and provide separate financial reports on the activities executed under the Agreement of Cooperation? Does the organization have systems and practices to monitor and report whether the project deliverables and expenditures are within the agreed time and budget? Does the organization have minimum segregation of duties in place (separation between project management, finance/accounting and executive office)?	CVs of key finance and accounting staff. Description and key features and controls of the accounting system used. Organization structure/organogram
2.3 Does the organization have the capacity to procure goods and services on a transparent and competitive basis? (if applicable) check for procurement unit with experienced staff.	Copies of procurement policies and procedures. The procedures should show how the organization procures locally and internationally.
2.4 Does the organization have formal procedures and controls to mitigate fraud, such as multiple signature signatories on bank accounts, reporting and prosecution of incidences of fraud?	Describe anti-fraud controls and provide formal procedures.
2.5 Does the organization have capacity to provide in-kind, financial, personnel contribution as UN-Habitat implementing partner in this present project? Please give details of contribution nature and size.	Describe nature and value of contribution (in-kind or cash).
3.   Financial Proposal		30%
3.1 Is the budget for each component of the activity to be performed by the implementing partner (i) cost-effective (i.e. the cost should be economical and prudently estimated to avoid any under/over estimation) (ii) justifiable/well supported and (iii) accurate and complete	Budget Proposal <see attached template> BOQ (if applicable) Other supporting documents
4.   Technical Proposal		30%
4.1 The technical proposal is sound and responds adequately to the specifications and requirements?	Technical Proposal Document <see attached template>
Cumulative score for ratios		100%

 

Notes:

1. Interested organizations must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochure, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.).
2. The CfP and accompanying documents must be received in accordance with instructions provided. CfP submitted to a different email address other than the specified one will not be considered.
3. CfP from applicants failing to provide the complete information to fulfill the basic eligibility criteria will be considered non-responsive.
4. CfP received after the above deadline will not be considered
5. Organizations will be selected in accordance with the procedure set out in the UN-Habitat IP Management policy and Standard Operating Procedures.
6. CfP from applicants failing to provide the requested information will be disregarded.
7. This CfP does not entail any commitment on the part of UN-Habitat, either financial or otherwise. UN-Habitat reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant(s) of the grounds.
8. All prices must be in USD.