International Medical Corps is pleased to announce the release of this call for applications to identify Local and/or National Non-Governmental Organizations (L/NNGOs) for participation in the Local Engagement and Response Network (LEARN): Strengthening Localized Multisectoral Readiness and Response to Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Humanitarian Settings project.

LEARN is a capacity building project of LNNGOs, to improve the capacity of local first responders, by establishing and supporting networks of representative of all sectors; and working to contextualize, localize, and strengthen their capacity to respond to infectious diseases outbreak and emergencies.
The project aims to;
(i) Support LNNGOs as they engage and coordinate with critical ID coordination platforms and public health institutions;
(ii) Improve LNNGO readiness and multi-sectoral response to ID outbreaks; and
(iii) Improve LNNGO ability to ensure the capacity of community-based structures and
workforces are strengthened, so that there will be an overall improvement in the timeliness,
reach, and coverage of readiness and multi-sectoral responses to ID outbreaks of epidemic or pandemic potential in humanitarian settings.

The project will target 80 L/NNGOs across 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA). Humanitarian emergencies have become increasingly complex, and operational contexts are often characterized by high volatility and security concerns. Local and national NGOs are at the forefront of responding to these emergencies. They are often the first to arrive, bringing critical capacities, including knowledge of and proximity to crisis-affected communities. However, they often have not had the opportunity or resources to strengthen key technical and operational components necessary for addressing large-scale emergency responses. To address some of these challenges, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) has partnered with International Medical Corps (IMC) to systematically support local and national NGOs to ensure that these organizations are best placed to respond to infectious diseases outbreak and emergencies. The LEARN project invites organizations to participate in an intensive training program to become key emergency responders strengthening their capacity to respond to infectious diseases outbreak and emergencies.

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATION
Applicants for the second cohort of the LEARN project will be drawn from local and national NGOs registered in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Cameroon who are committed to strengthening areas of operation within their organization related to infectious disease preparedness and response.

Selected organizations will receive capacity strengthening support from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in core operational areas as well as infectious diseases outbreak and emergency response. The LEARN program will work collaboratively with selected organizations to develop capacity strengthening plans tailored to their needs to enable a better response to humanitarian crises in the future. The support and training will be offered both remotely and in person to provide a highly tailored and hybrid longer-term training program. The project will additionally cover travel expenses related to local and national NGOs’ staff participation as and when applicable.

SELECTION CRITERIA
To qualify as an applicant, organizations must meet the following selection criteria.

Registration as an independent L/NNGO in Nigeria: Organizations must be legal entities with proof of registration as independent L/NNGOs in their home country and without political affiliation. The registration certificate must be valid for at least six months from the date of the application submission. Organizations will be asked to share copies of higher management/board approved institutional policies (i.e., Child Protection policy, HR/Personnel policy, Finance Policy, Mission/Vision), as available.

Geographic presence: LEARN Project will seek to strategically select a worthwhile mix of LNNGOs operating in high impact humanitarian geographic areas with greatest need as well as those located in other parts of the country. Emphasis will be given to organizations working in Borno, Kano, Katsina and Adamawa State(s).

Minimum number of years of experience: Organizations must be operational for a minimum of five years.

Project language: Participating staff must be able to communicate in English (verbal and written communication), as the project activities will be conducted in English.

Level of engagement in humanitarian response activities: Participating organizations must be operational in humanitarian response activities. Priority will be given to organizations with prior experience in programming in the context of humanitarian crises.

Sectoral experience: Organization will be requested to provide a complete list of the
development and humanitarian response sectors they have implemented within/supported in the past 5 years.

Staffing: Organizations must demonstrate that they have 8-10 full or part-time staff covering core organizational areas such as HR, Finance, Procurement, MEAL, and Program Operations. Organizations MUST assign a senior-level staff member as a consistent point of contact for the project; however, project activities are not limited to senior staff.

Sustainability: Organizations must demonstrate that they are currently implementing programs and have sufficient funding to continue humanitarian response programming for a minimum of one year at the time of application. Organizations must also demonstrate that they have a community presence and may work with community workers or volunteers registered with the organization.

Community presence: It is a plus if the organizations have several community workers or
volunteers registered with them, including individuals from various sectors such as development agents, CHWs, VHTs, and field agents. Applicants will be requested to demonstrate the level to which they are present in the communities.

Commitment to Gender balance: Selected Organizations will be required to sign a Letter of
Commitment to uphold gender balance in their organizations and will be strongly encouraged to nominate at least 2 women in senior management positions to participate in project activities.

Organizational Commitment to the LEARN Program: Selected organizations will be required to sign a Letter of Commitment to the LEARN program. The most senior official (President/CEO/ED) of the selected L/NNGOs will be required to sign the agreement with International Medical Corps, outlining the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved. Additionally, organizations must be able to commit to upholding the principles and conduct of International Medical Corps, particularly regarding combating trafficking in persons and protecting against sexual exploitation.

SELECTION PROCESS

1. Review of the Application Package: Upon receipt of the full application package,
representatives from International Medical Corps will review the application packages and confirm that the applicants meet the specified criteria for participating in the project and have submitted all the required documentation.

2. Shortlisting applicants: The LEARN project team will assess the applicant organization based on their applications and shortlist organizations according to the defined selection criteria. When needed, the project team may request clarification or additional information from an applicant.

3. Conducting interviews: The project team will hold interviews with shortlisted local and
national NGOs to discuss their applications. An invitation for an interview does not automatically mean that the organization will be selected for participation in the project.

4. Notification of results: Once the interviews have been completed and the project team has made its final selections, all organization applicants who were invited for an interview will be notified of the results of their application.

5. Letter of Commitment: Upon notification of a successful application, the most senior official of the selected local and national NGOs’ (President/CEO/ED) will be required to sign a Letter of Commitment with International Medical Corps that articulates the roles and responsibilities of all parties during this project. Selected organizations will also be required to agree to uphold the principles and conduct of International Medical Corps including the combatting of trafficking in persons and protection from sexual exploitation.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
Applications should be submitted by the Deadline: October 25th, 2024, 11:59pm WAT.
Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

APPLY HERE: LEARN project Call for applications_Nigeria

READ MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM HERE: LEARN Project-Fact_ENG