Civil Society Partnerships for the Registration and Quality Improvement of Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres in Namibia and visibility of results and sustainability.

Call description

UNICEF, with European Union financial support, seeks partnerships with eligible Namibian civil society organisations to improve early childhood development (ECD) centre registration and service quality. The assignment is national, with priority regions of Khomas, Kunene, Kavango East, Kavango West, Hardap, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa. It supports centres in vulnerable and marginalised communities through education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition, infrastructure, inclusive play and parental engagement. The wider action prioritises young girls and boys from marginalised communities and informal settlements, and children with disabilities.

The attachment describes a 13-month partnership and says the assignment runs from January 2027 to February 2028, with delivery scheduled around centre operating calendars. It provides indicative phases for inception, rolling delivery and review; the separate portal and attachment dates need reconciliation before a detailed schedule is finalised.

Priorities and eligibility

The lead-applicant category is legally registered Namibian civil society organisations with existing ECD experience and reach.

The call requires familiarity with ECD standards and registration procedures; working financial, procurement, data, safeguarding and data-protection systems; and qualified programme and monitoring staff. It also requires a named safeguarding focal point. A partner must have a prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse policy and training in that area; safeguarding covers staff, contractors and volunteers with access to centres.

The call assigns 50% to contribution of resources and 10% each to innovation, previous UN experience, local experience and presence, project and financial management, and realistic timelines and plans. Previous UN experience is highly desirable, rather than stated as an absolute eligibility condition. Innovation can include adapting a proven approach where the difference from current practice and expected results are explained.

Applicants may propose either component or both, but must justify their choice and state the regions and number of centres for each. Component 1 provides broad registration or re-registration support and low-cost improvements to meet minimum standards. Component 2 provides more intensive improvements for vulnerable and marginalised centres, including infrastructure, WASH, inclusive play, learning materials and parental engagement.

The portal location list includes Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as well as Namibia, whereas the detailed assignment describes a national Namibia project and names Namibian priority regions. The supplied evidence does not establish activities in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Confirm the portal entry with UNICEF before relying on it as an eligible location.

Funding and application requirements

This is a UNICEF call for expression of interest, not a general funding call. Applicants are directed to the UN Partner Portal to apply; attachments should be uploaded there and clearly described. The concept note template encourages use of UNICEF’s electronic concept note platform, followed by export to PDF and submission through the portal. The electronic platform is encouraged, not stated as compulsory.

The UNICEF concept note template is to be used for submissions, including responses to a call. Its results framework includes outputs, indicators with baselines, targets and means of verification, activities, implementation periods and activity-level budgets. It also includes a supply contribution plan and a programme management output. These are parts of the concept note, not established by the supplied passages as separate application attachments.

The generic UNICEF template permits concept notes using the Arabic, French, Russian or Spanish template as well as the English version. Does UNICEF Namibia accept each of these languages for this specific call, and are any translations or additional application attachments required? The supplied call passages do not resolve those call-specific conditions.

What total funding is available, what amount may an individual applicant request, and is any minimum partner contribution required? The supplied portal extract shows no indicative budget figure, while the concept note asks applicants to cost both their contribution and the funds and supplies requested from UNICEF. No allocation, grant ceiling or contribution percentage can be established from the supplied coverage. Request the applicable funding limits before finalising the budget.

The attachment gives an estimated start of 20 February 2027 but also describes the assignment as running from January 2027; the portal gives a start of 22 February 2027. The attachment also places completion and final reporting in January 2027 to December 2027, although its review phase is in December 2027 and its overall period extends into February 2028. These dates should be reconciled with UNICEF rather than treated as a confirmed sequence.

Recommendations

Existing relationships with centres in the proposed regions and the ability to supervise field teams across those regions matter to the choice of geographical coverage. Intended coverage alone is not sufficient evidence of engagement. An interested applicant should select regions where it can demonstrate current relationships and sustained field capacity, rather than propose a wider reach it cannot substantiate.

The component choice has a material capacity consequence. For Component 2, an applicant without its own demonstrated construction and rehabilitation management experience must bring it through a named consortium partner. The call also requires a technically qualified coordinator for those works. If proposing this component, identify the responsible organisation and coordinator and explain their relevant experience in the concept note; do not assume that a general community presence satisfies the works requirement.

The inception workplan and progress reports are described as deliverables linked to payment, not as separate application attachments. The concept note nevertheless needs a credible implementation period and activity-level budget. Describe the proposed delivery approach in the concept note while reserving the detailed inception and reporting products for the stage stated in the call.

For Component 2, centre selection criteria are to be agreed with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture at inception. Each selected centre is to be assessed and given an improvement plan; the listed upgrades are needs-based and not all are necessarily required at every centre. Explain how proposed selection and baseline assessment will guide accessible improvements and maintenance, without presenting every possible upgrade as universal.

The programme design and budget should account for safe works, disability inclusion, community participation and visibility, while avoiding duplicate funding of similar activities with the Education Outcomes Fund programme. Works must follow documented, auditable partner procurement procedures and national standards; UNICEF strongly requires three quotations for work. Show how supervision, procurement, accessible design, maintenance and coordination will be resourced in the proposed activities, without assuming that the call has supplied a works ceiling.

Registration support is not the same as authority to approve a centre. An approved quality-assurance partner completes the checklist and submits the package; a partner without that approval prepares the package and coordinates an inspector’s visit. The registration decision remains with the authorities. A Component 1 proposal should explain its applicable assessment route, follow-up and appeal support without presenting registration approval as solely under the partner’s control.

The targets are assignment-wide, with their distribution across partners and regions to be confirmed at contracting; they should not automatically be presented as targets for one applicant. The proposal should specify its own regions and intended numbers of centres, service providers and parents. Link those proposed numbers to feasible activities and indicators, including baseline, target and verification sources, and explain how registration and works progress will be tracked.