RFP for Implementing Partner for FLIGHT - Funding & Learning Initiative for Girls in Higher Education & Skills Training

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Call for Proposal (CFP) for Implementing Partners (For Civil Society Organizations- CSOs) FLIGHT – Funding and Learning Initiative for Girls in Higher Education and Skills Training

About the Organization:

UN Women is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. UN Women is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

Context & Purpose:

 The SCE Programme being piloted by UN Women, is generating evidence about experiences of women and girls, highlighting that finding job opportunities are restricted due to the lack of degrees and/or diplomas from higher education/training institutes, lack of employable skills (domain and transferable skills) and lack of entrepreneurship opportunities. The proposed project is informed by this evidence. The experience gained from the proposed project coupled with the evidence generated by the SCE pilot programme will support UN Women to be better able to assist in shaping relevant policy to increase women workforce participation, especially in skilled jobs of the future.

Understanding Challenges and Opportunities in Formal education:

• The average educational attainment of girls is up to class 8 – education in government schools is free till the 8th grade.
• Dropout rates among students belonging to the marginalised communities (Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe and Minority communities) in all programme districts are high.
• As mobility continues to remain a major challenge for rural women, girls are often forced to discontinue their education as a secondary or high school in their areas are few and thus are often required travel to neighbouring regions to continue their education.
• Other reasons are – conditions and infrastructure of the schools, distance to school, poverty, illiteracy among parents, burden of household responsibilities for the girls and marriage at a young age.
• Post lockdown, and due to the ongoing crisis, it will be difficult for women and girls from the villages to pay educational fees as the livelihood for many families has been affected
• Options like open schooling (NIOS) have not started their classes and study material is not easily available for upcoming exams and assignments
• Education of girls is not a priority for parents and also the young women who may have submitted their fees or had shown willingness towards enrolling themselves in Open Schooling may not necessarily find the required support to ensure completion of education.
• A large number of girls drop out after they complete their school education and parents are in a hurry to marry them young

Target Audience:

• Women and girls’ studying in colleges, ITIs, polytechnics and their families/communities(especially from the most marginalized communities (including but not limited to) scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities, survivors of rape and violence, survivors of trafficking, disabled, women headed households) from Greater Metropolitan Region- Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Palghar & Raigad in Maharashtra.

Objective of the Proposed Project:

To motivate and enable 750 young women to pursue and complete their higher education for degree or diploma and gain employable skill. Further, about 5000 girls and their parents will be sensitized on gender equality and women empowerment.

Outcome: The proposed three-year program will create a cadre of skilled women, who have completed their higher education and are ready to gainfully participate in formal economy.

• Output 1: Enhanced knowledge of project stakeholders on education, skill and employment gaps
• Output 2: Enhanced awareness and enable 750 women and young women to pursue a higher education and career aspirations
• Output 3: Enhanced capacity of young women on transferrable and future skills for increased employability

Roles and Responsibilities of Parties:

Responsibilities of UN Women:

• UN Women India Office will be the executing agency responsible for management of the Implementing Agency. Within India Office, the SCE Country Programme Manager will be responsible for the implementation of the assignment as well as the day-to-day management and coordination.

Responsibilities of Implementing Agency:

• The Implementing Partner will be responsible for implementing the project and activities as mentioned above.

Budget: The budget range for this proposal should be [INR 1,25,00,000 – INR 1,50,60,000]

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