Background

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people represent some of the most marginalized populations in Asia and the Pacific. Ignorance, intolerance and hatred based on prejudices continue to result in social exclusion and fuel violations of the rights of LGBTI people, including intolerable levels of violence. Social and cultural attitudes and beliefs relating to LGBTI people are often well entrenched in punitive legal and policy environments and can be difficult to change. More limited space for civil society groups in some countries serves to limit advocacy activities.

Despite these challenges, and while progress has been slow and uneven with some significant setbacks, the overall trend has been towards a more accepting supportive social and political environment for LGBTI people in much of Asia and the Pacific. To build on this progress, there is a clear need for sustained programmatic work to promote LGBTI inclusion in the context of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Being LGBTI in Asia and the Pacific is a regional programme aimed at addressing inequality, violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status, and promotes universal access to health and social services. It is a collaboration between governments, civil society, regional institutions and other stakeholders to advance the social inclusion of LGBTI people.

UNDP is the UN's global development network advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP’s vision is to support countries in achieving the simultaneous eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion.

In this context, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub invites civil society organizations, networks and community-based organizations in the region to submit grant proposals relating to one of the following four thematic areas:

• Supporting LGBTI Youth leadership in the Asia-Pacific: Support towards innovative community-led solutions for LGBTI youth inclusion and rights at national and regional levels; leadership training of a new cadre of advocates; technical support and capacity building for youth groups and advocates
• Transgender leadership and advocacy in the Asia-Pacific: Support innovative community-led solutions and leadership training for inclusion and rights of transgender people at national and regional levels.
• Strengthen digital capacities of LGBTI civil society organizations in the Asia-Pacific: support strengthening of digital capabilities for advocacy and/or service delivery
• Action on LGBTI inclusion in climate change adaptation and/or COVID-19 recovery: capturing and leveraging lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic including access to health care, employment, food security, data and research needs; supporting inclusion of LGBTI communities in COVID-19 recovery efforts; and/or LGBTI inclusion in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction

Eligible project proposals may include a combination of activities, research and strategic information generation, skills training, organizational strengthening and management cost.

Project to be awarded

It is expected that a total of four awards of up to USD 30,000 each will be granted for completion within a period of maximum 8 months (tentatively from 1 May to 31 December 2021). Each organization may be awarded a maximum of one grant at a time. UNDP may reject any or all applications received, accept other than the lowest cost application, accept more than one application for each thematic area, or award fewer or more than the expect number of awards in total.

Eligibility Requirements

• Be a non-state, civil society organization/network in the Asia Pacific region;
• Be legally registered and demonstrate the capacity to manage the award funds and implement activities;
• Leadership of the organization includes LGBTI community members and/or has established links to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities and experience directly involving members of those communities in the development and implementation of programmes and activities;
• Demonstrate organizational capacity and existing relationships with national/regional stakeholders on issues relating to the promotion and protection of human rights of LGBTI people;
• Demonstrate that the organization’s mandate, values and ways of working are guided by principles of Human Rights and Human Development.

Selection criteria

Applicants are invited to submit a grant proposal using the attached template.

Proposals will be assessed against the criteria below:

1. Thematic responsiveness and relevance (30 points): the extent to which the proposal responds to the theme of the call; strategic relevance of proposed activities to LGBTI inclusion and rights; demonstrated demand for the activities from the community and/or research; strength of evidence-base for activities.
2. Potential for impact (25 points): clarity of objectives; expected contribution to the thematic area; linkages to ongoing or previous initiatives.
3. Soundness of method (25 points): the extent to which proposed methods logically contribute to reaching the stated objectives; are feasible to implement within the given timelines and budgets; are community-led/involve the community in design and implementation.
4. Value for money (20 points): Scope and scale of activities proposed and anticipated impact vs proposed cost. Recommend not exceeding 15 per cent of total budget for operating cost (including capital and recurring cost, i.e. office rent, electricity, etc.) unless justification for exception is given due to country or security situation among other factors. Any human resource cost to be covered should be clearly linked to outputs. Co-funding will be considered an advantage.

Proposals will be reviewed and selected by the Grants Committee established by Bangkok Regional Hub.

Please submit Proposals to:

Ms Katri Kivioja, Policy Specialist, Being LGBTI in Asia and the Pacific, HIV, Health and Development, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, Email: katri.kivioja@undp.org

The deadline for submission is Friday, 19 March 2021.

For additional information on the Being LGBTI in Asia and the Pacific programme, please visit our website.