RAPID Fund
Revised “Call for Proposals” – September 28, 2012
Call Reference: RF/1828
1. Introduction to the RAPID Fund
RAPID (Responding to Pakistan’s Internally Displaced) is a funding mechanism established in September 2009, under a cooperative agreement between Concern Worldwide and the USAID Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) to facilitate a timely response to the urgent needs of populations displaced due to conflict and natural disasters in Pakistan.
Since 2009, the RAPID fund has provided lifesaving assistance to over 2.6 million individuals in conflict and flood affected areas, through supporting local, national and international non-profit organizations in providing humanitarian assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) and disaster affected communities.
2. Call for Proposals
The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to fund national and international humanitarian organizations working in Pakistan to implement short-term emergency and early recovery projects in FATA and Sindh. Interested organizations active in the humanitarian sector are invited to submit applications for projects through this Call for Proposals, in accordance with the procedures and instructions available on http://www.concern.net/where-we-work/asia/pakistan/rapid-fund
Some of the basic parameters of the RAPID Fund stipulate that:
· Interventions supported by the RAPID Fund must be completed within 3 months of approval;
· Grants must range between PKR.425,000 and PKR.25,500,000;
· Pakistani and international non-profit, non-governmental organizations interested to apply to RAPID must be registered and legally permitted to provide humanitarian aid in Pakistan by respective authorities.
3. Current Relief and Early Recovery needs in FATA and Sindh
Pakistan Army’s operation against anti-state actors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has caused the displacement of more than 5 million people. As of August 5, 2012, there are 159,484 IDPs families (730,000 individuals) residing in KPK out of which 141,535 families (89%) are living outside camps in host communities of Peshawar, Nowshera, Kohat, Hangu, DI Khan and Tank. Recent displacement from Khyber Agency is continued and displacement of more populations is expected in the coming months due to the on-going security operations. As it is becoming increasingly difficult for host communities to accommodate the growing number of IDPs, IDPs are now living in rented accommodation, forcing them to engage in negative coping strategies including spending their savings, selling their assets, borrowing money and begging.
On the other hand, the return of IDPs to the de-notified areas of Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai and Kurram Agencies continues. According to the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA), the return of IDPs is in progress and (as of July 6, 2012), a total of 150,335 families have returned back to Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai, Kurram, South Waziristan Agency and FR Tank.
Gaps in funding continue and huge gaps in assistance persist across all clusters. According to UNOCHA, there is funding gap of 95 per cent for WASH and 94 per cent for Shelter/NFI sector.
Flash floods and hill torrents triggered by heavy monsoon rains that fell across Pakistan in early September 2012 have caused widespread losses of life, livelihoods and infrastructure. Southern Punjab, northern Sindh and northeastern Balochistan have been hardest hit. The Government is providing assistance to the affected people and has requested the UN and its humanitarian partners to support the response by supporting the flood affected people through the available resources in the country.
In view of this, Internally Displaced and Return families of FATA and flood affected populations in Sindh continue to require support in the rehabilitation of shelter and WASH facilities in their areas. Furthermore, they also require support in agriculture and income generating activities to resume their normal life.
4. Geographical focus
This Call for Proposals is targeted at organizations that respond to the needs created by the 2012 floods, the complex emergency in FATA and the 2011 floods in Sindh Province. The RAPID Fund will accept applications for the following districts/Agencies:
Flood affected districts 2012Kashmore / Jacobabad / Shikarpur
DG Khan / Rajanpur / Naseerabad
Jaffarabad
Complex Emergency/2011 Early Recovery areas
Mirpur Khas / Umarkot / Tharparker
Sanghar / Badin / Shaheed Benazirabad
Bajaur Agency / Lower Kurram Agency / Mohmand Agency
Lower Orakzai Agency / Any new displacement
Proposals should be made for these areas/districts where clear needs and gaps are identified and where there is no other agency providing similar assistance to affected population. As per Concern/OFDA mandate, priority will be given to relief and lifesaving activities while early recovery activities will be given second priority. The applications for recent Khyber IDPs and any new displacement in FATA will be considered on priority basis. Preference will be given to the applicants having strong presence in the proposed geographic areas with strong sectoral experience. RAPID Fund will encourage the applicants to coordinate with relevant cluster/working groups for validation of needs and appropriateness of the proposed activities.
5. Sectoral Focus[1]
In the context of the current needs and gaps in the prioritized geographic areas, the RAPID Fund has also prioritized the following thematic sectors;
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)(Relief & Early Recovery) / Early Recovery and Market Systems (ERMS)
(Early Recovery only)
Shelter and Settlements
(Relief & Early Recovery) / Agriculture and Food Security
(Early Recovery only)
Health
(Relief phase only) / Logistics Support and Relief Systems
(Relief phase only)
Applicants are strongly encouraged to focus their activities on these key sectoral interventions, giving careful consideration to the activities of other humanitarian actors in the same geographic area(s). General guidance on the main sectors supported by the RAPID fund, plus detailed instruction on how to make an application can be found via the link on Concern’s web-page http://www.concern.net/where-we-work/asia/pakistan/rapid-fund
Those proposals that show a response clearly related to a specific, assessed need will stand the greatest chance of success. As such, applicants are required to submit their needs assessments along with their completed applications. Due to the limited funding available and the scale of the affected population, the RF will prioritize specific needs based packages reaching maximum beneficiaries rather than broad-based/generic packages.
Applicants should carefully consider the scale and size of their proposed activities in relation to their capacity and previous humanitarian project experience.
We encourage health related activities to be coordinated with WHO/ UNICEF for ensuring the supply of medicines and Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated Mosquito Nets (LLIN).
All application will be reviewed on daily basis and this call remains open until further notice; however given that there is a fixed amount of funding available early applications are encouraged.
Applicants are requested to use the latest application formats available on the RAPID fund website
http://www.concern.net/where-we-work/asia/pakistan/rapid-fund
6. Restricted Goods
Please note the items listed below which are categorized as restricted goods by USAID, if they are included in your proposal.
Restricted Goods / NoteVehicles or land / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
Pharmaceuticals - Human and Veterinary / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
Pesticides / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
Fertilizer / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
Used equipment / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated Mosquito Nets (LLIN) / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
US Govt-owned excess property / Cannot be funded by RAPID Fund
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[1] Please note that the sectors identified above are in no particular order of priority.