Expression of Interest Request: Regional Connectors- Eastern Africa & Southern Africa

Innovation for Change (I4C) Africa Hub

Deadline: August 15th 2020

Introduction to Innovation for Change (I4C)

Innovation for Change (I4C) is a growing global network of people, organizations and online Hubs with seven connected regional centres in Africa, Central Asia, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), South Asia and the Pacific. An eighth Global Innovation Hub, co-facilitated by CIVICUS, supports project implementation and drives innovation across the entire network.

Here, people connect, partner and learn together to find positive approaches to overcome barriers to closing civic space and restrictions to our basic freedoms of assembly, association and speech. As a community-led network, these shared working spaces inspire the exchange of ideas, the sharing of successes, debates about the challenges of today and the creation of sustainable solutions and opportunities that can shape positive social change for tomorrow.

Our networks spark collaborations within civil society as well as partnerships with social and technology businesses and academia. We help power methods, create campaigns and drive programme development across sectors by offering advisory services, education and training, convening and network building, fundraising, free online tools/digital literacy and support with technology product development.

Innovation for Change (I4C) – Africa Hub

Launched in 2017, the I4C Africa Hub – based in Nairobi, Kenya – has been working to strengthen the capacity of civil society through promoting home-grown African solutions, and as a result of being part of a global network, offered network members access to the latest thinking, resources and collaborations.

It has become a vital new physical and online space for regional ideas and social innovations, powered by its dynamic, growing community of civic space advocates, including CSOs, technologists, and cross-sectoral partners.

Innovation for Change (I4C) Africa Hub’s main goal is to protect, respect, strengthen, expand and recover civil society space.

Innovation for Change (I4C) Africa Hub Objectives

Civil society around the world is under significant and growing pressure as restricted freedoms, including those on funding, barriers to registration, interventions on how and where to operate, funding limitations, and open political harassment, have become the norm. This internal and external pressure is leading to dwindling space for civic engagement as well as a shrinking role for civil society in advocacy. The existence, survival and sustainability of many civil society organizations (CSOs) now depends on innovative responses that allow for inventive options to scale up and continue the critical work they are currently undertaking.

Specific Objectives

1. Developing and sustaining an interactive and easy to use online resource centre essential to the campaign for the opening and maintaining of civil society space.
2. Providing rapid support and legal analysis of regulations, administrative decisions and referrals for individuals or organizations in Africa.
3. Improving the ability of civil society to mobilize and provide solidarity to countries or individuals affected by closing civic space in Africa.
4. Facilitating and coordinating alliance-building among networks and relevant organizations across Africa and beyond.
5. Growing and sustaining the Hub’s position as a continental platform for protecting and expanding civic space in Africa.

For more information about Innovation for Change (I4C) Africa Hub, please visit innovationforchange.net.

Description of Regional Connectors Activities

Innovation for Change (I4C) Africa Hub invites interested local organizations to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) statement to partner with I4C Africa Hub in the implementation of its sub-regional activities for supporting civic space. It is anticipated that the I4C Africa Hub will select implementing partners from the following locations:

• Eastern Africa
• Southern Africa

Each selected local implementing partner organization will play a key role in supporting the Regional Hub implement programs that provide support to the network development as well as drive innovation, new practices and learning.

Specifically, the selected organization will:

● Provide technical input into the I4C Africa Hub’s activities to ensure that they are relevant and culturally appropriate; and, to ensure and strengthen engagement with the local civil society organizations, marginalized groups, youth and tech organizations;
● Support the visibility of the Africa Hub across the region, through mapping of civil society organizations and enabling them to become part of the Innovation for Change (I4C) Platform;
● Provide management, organizational and logistical support to local, regional and continent-wide training and networking events, including supporting participant identification and logistics, identifying and managing the venue, and developing and managing the conference programs;
● Collect data and research information through consultation with various the I4C Africa Hub Consultants; and
● Provide support to the I4C Africa Hub monitoring and evaluation activities within the sub-region, including data tracking and management.

Innovation for Change (I4C) Africa Hub will provide awards to support associated costs for the implementation of the Hub’s activities. The I4C Africa Hub intends to renew the grants for up to 4 years if the partnerships prove effective.

Evaluation Criteria:

Applications will be evaluated with the following criteria:

i) Experience in engaging and supporting civil society organizations;
ii) Networking and alliance-building experience among the public, private, and civil society sectors;
iii) Experience in promoting Human Rights, Transparency, or Governance thematic areas;
iv) Ability to successfully manage a wide range of complex activities including research, M&E, and and high-profile, large-scale conferences; and
v) Expressed commitment to long-term engagement with Innovation for
Change (I4C) Africa Hub.

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit your complete Expression of Interest (EOI) form via email no later than August 15th 2020. Questions regarding this Expression of Interest (EOI) request can also be sent to the same email address for response.

Grant Application:

A. Organizational Information

Please complete the blanks below:

1. Legal Name of Organization (English);
2. Legal Name of Organization (Local language, if applicable);
3. Name and title of responsible official from organization; and
4. Organization Registration.

B. Organizational Description

Previous Experience and Funding:

Please list your previous experience implementing similar projects funded by international donors.

C. Organizational Capacity

Please respond to the following questions in two pages or less:

1. Please describe your organization’s experience engaging with civil society organizations and networks?

2. The local organization selected for this project will be responsible for logistical coordination of events across the sub-region. Please briefly describe the potential complexities involved in a large multi-country event and how your organization would handle them; if you have experience coordinating such events, please describe.

3. Please describe your organization’s experience building alliances and partnerships with public sector, private sector, and civil society organizations.