UN-Habitat’s vision is “a better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world”. UN-Habitat works with partners to build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities. UN-Habitat promotes urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities, reducing inequality, discrimination, and poverty.

In line with the New Urban Agenda, UN-Habitat seeks to contribute to increased equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, improved sanitation, and sustainable management of water resources, including wastewater treatment, recycling and safe reuse. It does so by facilitating policy dialogue, sharing good practices, by providing technical assistance for the development and implementation of field demonstration projects, and by supporting local, national, and global data collection and monitoring in order to strengthen advocacy, policy- and decision-making.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN-Habitat is a co-custodian agency responsible for tracking global progress towards indicator 6.3.1 as part of SDG 6.3, which seeks to “by 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally”.

Background

For the last two years, UN-Habitat has implemented the Scaling Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) Service Systems Project whose aim is to demonstrate approaches to building locally relevant sanitation data information systems that inform local, national, and global decision-makers; 2) integrate and advance CWIS in national-level programming; 3) integrate CWIS into GWOPA training curriculum and sessions.

The UN-Habitat Global Report on Sanitation and Wastewater Management in Cities and Human Settlements is one of the main deliverables of the Project. The Report was launched at the second session of the UN-Habitat Assembly in June 2023. It provides a global reference on wastewater and faecal sludge management in urban settings. Drawing on a mapping of 18 focus cities in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America – including 5 in-depth case studies, – the report aims to raise awareness of the critical importance of sanitation in cities and human settlements, to highlight best-fit practice, and to provide technical guidance on the level and types of action required to drive change.

UN-Habitat is looking for a suitable partner to disseminate the Report and maximize its uptake by city, regional and national-level decision makers, with a focus on urban planning and sanitation and wastewater practitioners. The selected partner will develop masterclass with chapter-specific lessons, featuring the 5 in-depth case studies. The dissemination will be administered through a series of webinars.

Description of the Assignment

To disseminate the Report, a selected partner will work closely with UN-Habitat to:

a. Develop the master-class with chapter specific lessons:

– Conduct a chapter-by-chapter translation of the report into short courses for engagement with different levels of urban sanitation and wastewater actors.

– Develop interactive online digital content / modules to disseminate the Report among the key stakeholders.

b. Develop a structured series of webinars:

– Conduct a series of webinars on the Global Report targeting urban planners, utility staff and their associations, national and city-level decision-makers and other sanitation and wastewater stakeholders.

This call invites expressions of interest from international organizations, nonprofit organizations, NGOs, and research and academic institutions, to lead the dissemination process. Selected institution(s) will be expected to work under the overall guidance of UN-Habitat and in collaboration with other partners in developing the structure and scope of the dissemination process, including the development the masterclass and a series of webinars.

Selected institution(s) will prepare an Inception report to detail the proposed dissemination process. Prior to the completion of the activities, the institution(s) will develop activities report with the overall activities including the outcomes expected and agreed during the inception report. All materials and raw data, if any, shall be handed over to the UN Habitat as part of acceptance of final deliverables.

Institutions interested in complementing their expertise through collaboration are encouraged to submit joint expressions of interest. Such partnerships should appoint a lead entity responsible for subsequently subcontracting the other partner(s). Short-listed candidates may be requested to submit detailed proposals or provide clarifications.

The Expression of Interest

The Expression of Interest (EOI) should contain, but may not be limited to, the following:

1. A concept note including background information and the approach that will be applied by the institution’s contribution towards the dissemination, including the staff/expert, time frame and workplan of each activity proposed;

2. Experience of the institution in water, sanitation, and related topics especially in CWIS and the Global Report on Sanitation published by UN Habitat. This should include a portfolio of projects undertaken in similar areas (references);

3. Institution should specify their intended support, detailing cash and in-kind contributions, which may include staff time, office space, equipment, and other resources, quantified in monetary terms;

4. Details on governance and organizational structure, along with resumes highlighting the experience and qualifications of key staff and descriptions of the organization’s infrastructure facilities, should be provided;

5. Certified true copies of original Audited Account Statements for the last two years

6. Latest annual report;

7. The estimated UN Habitat Financial contribution, detailing cost breakdown of each proposed activities.

Upon selection, UN-Habitat will enter into an Agreement of Cooperation with the selected entity with a value of US$ 52,500 for the successful deliverables.

Overall Timeframe

The work outlined in this EOI will commence in April 2024 and be completed within 7 months.

Submission Requirements and Guidelines

The EOI must be delivered in electronic format no later than Tuesday, 12 March 2024, to [email protected] cc-ed to [email protected] with the reference “Dissemination of Global Report” indicated in the subject.

Contact information

Simon Okoth,

Associate Coordination Officer, Urban Basic Services Section, UN Habitat [email protected]

Other

Please note that this EOI notice does not constitute a solicitation. UN-Habitat reserves the right to change or cancel this requirement at any time in the EOI/or solicitation process. Submitting a reply to an EOI does not guarantee that a Cooperation Partner will be considered for receipt of the solicitation when issued and only Cooperation Partners who are deemed qualified by UN-Habitat upon completion of evaluation of submission will receive the final solicitation