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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
ENSURING WOMEN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN NATIONAL
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Issue Date: April 5th, 2015
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: April 19, 2015; 04:00 PM KABUL TIME
Counterpart International is seeking an experienced firm/Individual consultant(s) to provide a series of capacity
building trainings aimed at strengthening the capacity of women-led and women-focused Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs) in designing and implementing effective policy advocacy. This capacity building will
empower women-led and women-focused CSOs to effectively engage in provincial and national policy
development processes.
Building upon the existing capacity of Women-led CSOs working in the areas of policy advocacy, this initiative
enables these CSOs to design and implement effective advocacy campaigns and policy initiatives supported by
quality research and reliable data. It is expected that after receiving the capacity building trainings the Women
Led CSOs will become strong and professional organizations able to shape women collations that can influence
policy at the provincial and national levels.
A. Background
The mission of Counterpart International (www.counterpart.org) is to empower people to implement innovative
and enduring solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges. For nearly 50 years, Counterpart
International has been forging partnerships with communities in need to address complex problems related to
economic development, food security and nutrition, and building effective governance and institutions .
The Afghan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP) is a five-year program, funded by the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) and implemented by Counterpart International (Counterpart), Internews, the
Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and International Centre for Non-profit Law (ICNL). The program goal is to
promote civil society and media engagement that will enable Afghan citizens to influence policy, monitor
government accountability and serve as an advocate for political reform. The program will address five primary
objectives: 1) Increase Citizen Mobilization and capacity for policy advocacy; 2) Improve civil society legal and
regulatory framework; 3) Promote civic education that results in active and engaged citizen in target communities
4) increase access to independent media and objective sources of information 5) building civil society
organizational capacity and credibility through establishing a respected, utilized and sustainable CSO certification
system.
B. Scope of Work:
While some women Led CSOs in Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan are active and have adequate professional
capacity in influencing policy formulation in national and provisional level, others lacks the skills and capacity to
contribute. Furthermore, some CSOs feel isolated due to geography, cost or simply the need to strengthen
networks with other Women-led organizations. Additionally, many Women-led CSOs in the provinces
experience marginalization or feelings that they are cut off from the activities shared by organizations in Kabul.
In order to build Women Led CSOs capacity to be actively involved in policy development, ACEP will hire a
firm/consultant(s) to build Women- Led CSOs capacity and skills in two different areas of
1) Policy, Advocacy and Campaigning, and 2) Networking, Communication and Negotiation. Skills will be
strengthened through a series of trainings (2-3) for a group of 10- 15 people from women Led CSOs. The
trainings will be delivered over the duration of two to three weeks. The contracted consultant(s)/firm will be
expected to conduct an assessment of CSOs to establish the level of trainings required and develop a training
manual or manuals that cover the above areas.
The quality and duration of the capacity building trainings for each of the above identified areas will be decided
by Counterpart Gender team.
Scope of Work/ Key deliverables:
The successful firm/Consultant(s) will be required to submit the following deliverables:
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Need Assessment Questionnaire to identify the gaps in the area of expertise in Policy advocacy,
campaigning, Networking and Negotiation, and Communication.
Need Assessment summary of findings
Design and develop trainings materials/manuals in the above mentioned areas
Prepare presentations/handouts for training to target group
Deliver a series of 2- 3 capacity building trainings to target CSOs for the duration of two Weeks. (10-15)
people from Women-Led CSOs Training/capacity building report with specific recommendations for
future activities
Submit a final report on the assignment with recommendations for future follow up
C. Proposal Requirements:
The firm/consultant(s) will propose an approach to achieve the above mentioned deliverables on time and with
high quality, the proposal should include:
1. Detailed description of the methodology, including needs assessments, capacity development tools for
each of the key areas outlined above, trainings and materials development
2. Timeline of activities – in weeks, required for each stage of this initiative, including conducting needs
assessment, design and delivery of the trainings, development of manual/ presentation for the trainings,
submitting the final project report. Please include information about any scheduling conflicts you may
have due to work on other projects.
3. The qualifications of the firm/individual(s), including description of similar type of work in Afghanistan
or other challenging environments
4. The itemized budget in AFS. Whenever consultancy days are involved, the budget should clearly indicate
the level of effort per task per Consultant as well as a justification for the required level of effort.
5. Three references (contact information) from past relevant experiences.
6. CVs of key personnel
7. Valid license (in case the applicant is a firm)
When drafting the proposal, the Firm/consultant(s) should be careful to include all information requested above.
Failure to do so will weigh heavily against the firm/consultant(s) selection.
D. Period of Performance
The firm/consultant(s) is expected to start the actual work in May 2015 and finish at July 2015 with the following
anticipated timelines for the deliverables required:
Deliverables
Anticipated Dates
Need Assessment Questionnaire
May /2015
Need Assessment Summary of Findings
May /2015
Training
Materials,
including
manuals,
May / 2015
presentations/handouts
Capacity Building Trainings (1 to 2 trainings ) to
June /2015
target group
Final Report
July /2015
E. Submission of Questions on this RFP
Questions regarding clarifications on this RFP shall be in writing and must be submitted to
sphelps@counteerpart.org : with a cc to bnadir@counterpart.org. No phone calls shall be answered to respond
to questions. Please use as the email subject line: RFP ACEP. Ensuring Women Civil Society Organizations
are involved in National Policy Development
Counterpart will not respond to questions in relation to this RFP received after Sunday April 19 /2015; 04:00 PM.
F. Submission of Proposals and Selection of Successful Firm/Consultants(s)
After a competitive assessment of proposals received from qualified companies/consultants, Counterpart will
appoint one or more firm/consultants (s) under this RFP.
The detailed proposal requirements, enclosures and supporting documents are listed in C. Proposal Requirements
above.
Proposals should include detailed budget (price list) in AFS stating the individual cost of each separate service
offered under this Request for Proposals. All rates quoted should be inclusive of all costs including labor,
material expenses, admin costs and applicable taxes and fees. Indirect / overhead costs as well as profit are not
allowable.
All the capacity building activities shall be based on the assumption that these will be provided in Kabul. Should
travel outside of Kabul is required to perform services under this RFP, Counterpart will cover such costs
separately and these should not be included in the proposed budget. Counterpart will directly cover the costs
associated with training venue, accommodation and travel of participants and these should not be included in the
proposed budget.
Interested companies/consultants are invited to provide portfolio of their services, list of clients, and any other
information in support of their proposals.
Please submit all proposals and related enclosures via email to admin@counterpart-afg.org with a cc to
sphelps@counterpart.org and bnadir@counterpart.org . Simply attach your proposal to the e-mail and click
send. Once in our inboxes, you will receive a written response confirming receipt.
Proposals received after Sunday, April 19, 2015 04:00 PM Kabul Time will not be accepted
This RFP does not constitute a solicitation. Counterpart reserves the right to change or cancel these requirements
at any time in the pre-qualification and/or solicitation process.
We thank you in advance for your interest in working with Counterpart International.