Strengthen Local CSOs to Provide Protection Services to Women and GBV Survivors in Palestine is a 3-year project designed to address the high demand for protection services, targeting women and girls in the West Bank and Gaza with a special focus on vulnerable women and gender-based violence (GBV) survivors, and will be implemented with local CSOs who have the competence and experience to improve the well-being of women and young girls through access to adequate and appropriate protection, prevention and livelihood support services. The project will fill gaps by focusing on underserved and marginalized communities who have experienced gender-based violence. The project is envisioned to enhance the social fabric, cohesion, and resilience of the local community.
A maximum of 1.5 million Euros has been allocated to finance the Strengthen Local CSOs to Provide Protection Services to Women and GBV Survivors in Palestine project which is structured under the form of a call for proposals addressed to the Palestinian civil society in West Bank. The NGO Development Center has been entrusted by AFD with the management of the Strengthen Local CSOs to Provide Protection Services to Women and GBV Survivors in Palestine Project including the call for proposals.
The project primary objective is to improve the overall well-being of women and women survivors of GBV. The project specific objective is to provide protection, support, and prevention services through CSOs to target women and to strengthen the institutional capacity of these CSOs. The project has two components:
1- Financial Grants to CSOs to implement subprojects
Designed with the overarching goal of improving the overall well-being of women and women survivors of GBV in the West Bank and Gaza, this call for proposals is dedicated to CSOs in the West Bank and aims at providing funding to organizations deeply embedded within the local context and with a proven track record in delivering quality services. The aim is to significantly improve the accessibility and quality of mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), legal counseling, sexual and reproductive health services, and rapid livelihood support, economic empowerment, etc. and thus creating a safer and more supportive environment for the beneficiaries.
2- Capacity Building for the selected CSOs
Capacity Building will be an integral part of the financial grants and aims to foster civil society organizations capacity building, thereby strengthening their role in serving their communities. NDC will support targeted technical assistance and capacity building activities to improve the management skills of the selected CSOs and ensure compliance with the project implementation guidelines and procedures, aiming at improving CSOs governance, accountability and sustainability. This begins with organizational capacity assessment, followed by the development of customized capacity-building plans, and implementing these plans. Additional technical assistant activities such as workshops, coaching, and networking activities will be implemented by NDC throughout the project implementation. CSOs are encouraged to allocate a maximum of 10% of the requested grant amount for capacity building activities to implement both administrative and thematic capacity building activities.
Throughout the project, NDC will not only provide financial grants and capacity building, but will also facilitate peer learning, coordination and collaboration among the selected CSOs and information sharing and knowledge exchange. NDC will establish a network from the selected CSOs, the network will hold quarterly meeting for coordination, knowledge and lessons learnt sharing, and discussing the possibilities of conducting joint activities and advocacy initiatives.